Wise Engineering

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO & Co-Founder of Grow (getgrow.io). Grow is the world's easiest way to give meaningful feedback.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Wise Engineering, and what were your goals?

We're a rapidly scaling startup used by 1,000s of teams around the world. Wise has helped us with our DevOps & infrastructure, full-stack feature development, and product roadmap brainstorming.

SOLUTION

How did you select Wise Engineering and what were the deciding factors?

I had worked with them in the past and they always stuck out to me as a firm with fantastic engineering culture (which, of course, meant they had fantastic, curious, high-quality engineers).

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We hired Wise engineers to be an integral part of our engineering team. We don't have a separate scope of work for them relative to the rest of the company.

How many people from the Wise Engineering team worked with you, and what were their positions?

4. Project Manager + 3 full-stack devs.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Our infrastructure is more stable, secure, and reliable. Our features are shipping more quickly. Our engineering processes are improving. This is all thanks to Wise.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Slack + JIRA.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Honestly, we were a little bit nervous about bringing in an agency because of what the impact might be on our culture. We've been blown away by how quickly the Wise team members began living and breathing our values - our newer employees now look up to Wise team members for how to conduct themselves at Grow! It's a dream come true.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Mobile Team Leader at Accelo, SaaS provider of business management software.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Wise Engineering, and what were your goals?

Not being a "mobile first" platform we needed flexibility to scale resources as the need to build features on iOS and Android apps changed with our business. We also had a need to continue to migrate from Java and Objective C on Android and iOS to Kotlin and Swift.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Wise Engineering impressed us during the selection process by quickly building a prototype feature to a high standard, and with the right people.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Over multiple years so far we’ve built multiple app features and improvements to a large product on two platforms, mainly in Kotlin and Swift and with the majority of our devs being from the Wise team. We’ve also adopted a new Test Driven Development process to achieve some automated end-to-end testing on new projects.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

At the peak of engagement we had four developers, two on iOS and two on Android. We also had a local HR manager to help guide that team in their pursuit of task completion in our own internal Agile Scrum process.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We have been able to scale to the needs of additional feature development on both iOS and Android apps in line with the ebb and flow of product needs from the main web application. Planned to delivered ratio has been high, even during COVID lockdowns, and the developers have fed experience and research back into our own local development team.

Also due to us adopting some TDD practices with the Wise team on new feature projects we have had noticeable increase in quality of our development, noticeably less bugs, smoother, faster QA, and less iterative bug-fixes.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We managed the remote Wise Engineering team with our own remote manager. However the HR manager provided was very useful in establishing best practice communication and helping to encourage delivery to timelines as we had significant timezone challenges and throughout a work from home period during COVID lockdowns.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

We are impressed by how they nurture their developers' skills and community internally in addition to the out-staff relationship with our own senior developers, which is very evident in the quality of the team we were given for the level of experience.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Most of the challenges we faced were external, timezone differences, COVID lockdowns, they handled these as well as any might. I'm not sure I can think of anything significant they could have done better in the market conditions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Sounder.fm, a podcast monetization service provider. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Wise Engineering?

We needed help in frontend development and API integration. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Wise Engineering provided us with frontend development, and they also improved the design and user flow of our platform. They worked on our GitHub repository and updated our existing code. 

Additionally, Wise Engineering implemented improvements on our website, and they worked on all our pages. They also integrated and created new workflows. 

Their team handled most of the project, and I only helped on some Python tasks for a few hours a week. They conducted stress testing, performance testing, and QA on their work. 

Podcast listeners mainly used our product — they could create a profile, and the platform will recommend podcasts to them. Alternatively, it had a complex search function that allowed users to search for a podcast. In addition, the app facilitated the monetization of podcasts. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with two frontend developers, one project manager, one UI/UX developer, and two senior developers. 

How did you come to work with Wise Engineering?

I worked with Wise Engineering when I was in a different company and found them very good. I also knew they had a training program and constantly brought new people, so they were a good choice for this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February–May 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Wise Engineering’s code was readable and well-structured. 

How did Wise Engineering perform from a project management standpoint?

Wise Engineering worked independently and was very helpful. They had a diverse skill set, and their team took ownership of the project. They even proposed improvements I didn’t think of. They also respected my schedule. Their project manager was dependable to handle everything. 

Wise Engineering used Jira internally, and they did standups, demos, and daily check-ins. They met with me weekly, and they sent an agenda before our meetings. We collaborated through Slack, Google Docs, and Google Sheets.  

They were communicative and took into consideration everything that I said. I didn’t have to remind them about anything, and I received regular reports. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Wise Engineering was organized and took ownership of the project. They made the extra effort to ensure that everything was perfect both functionally and aesthetically. They were very proactive and willing to go the extra mile to resolve unexpected issues. 

I felt comfortable working with Wise Engineering since I didn’t need to spoonfeed their team. They understood my ideas and figured out solutions on their own. In general, I was happy with our partnership. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be communicative, and listen to their questions. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Core Fitness is an all-in-one platform for fitness creators to run their own online subscription and membership business. I am the Chief Technology Officer leading our product development and engineering efforts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Wise Engineering, and what were your goals?

We hired Wise to be embedded engineers on our team, working alongside our product leads, product designers, and on-shore engineering team. We worked across mobile, web frontend, backend, and payments to build first an MVP and then a polished 1.0 product that would be cross-platform and serve the core needs of online fitness businesses.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We had had a very positive experience working with Wise engineering in the past and wanted to work with a reliable, high-skill engineering partner. Wise is also comfortable working in both in all-in-one and embedded situations. We were also looking for engineers that would work autonomously and creatively to fulfill sometimes high-level goals.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We worked using Elixir, Svelte, Postgres, SendGrid, Cloudflare, OneSignal, Linode. We worked on everything from product exploration and experiments/prototyping to, building up a functioning MVP system from scratch, to DevOps work to improve reliability and operations, to constant product iteration. We were able to build a browseable, searchable, video upload and playback library and a feature-full payments system as well as programs and video-less instruction-based workout sessions.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with 6 engineers plus a people/project manager. They were of various levels from entry-level to senior software engineers. Three were backend, three were frontend; however, most could work full-stack on an as-needed basis to keep progress unblocked.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We were able to take our ideas and launch an alpha within just 3 months and get to a well-designed and polished 1.0 in another 3. Our product was able to grow at a very high percentage quarter-over-quarter. Often times we were able to release work internally for testing and rapid iteration and we were able to make quick pivots and accomplish our product goals.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We organized using a fairly standard setup: daily standups, two-week sprints, and weekly demos of work. Engineers would schedule quick calls and conversations in order to resolve issues and ambiguity. We built at an extremely fast pace, some of the fastest I've seen over the course of my career.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Wise is very easy-going and is strong communicators about what is happening. If ever there are misunderstandings, there is a quick course correction, working with their people or project manager. We also loved the enthusiasm that the engineers shared with us in the product and the ideas and initiative that they brought to the table.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

We are very satisfied with the work from Wise.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an e-commerce and auction platform designed to give fans luxurious VIP access to some of the most in-demand events, experiences, and tours the world has to offer. I am a product consultant here.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Wise Engineering, and what were your goals?

Granted hired Wise to repurpose a previously acquired auction platform and develop new functionality to empower their experiential marketplace.

Our goal was to re-use many key features of the existing platform, while also creating new features to expand the feature set of the Granted MVP.

SOLUTION

How did you select Wise Engineering and what were the deciding factors?

Wise Engineering was the development team of the original auction platform Granted used as the foundation of their new marketplace.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

The Wise Team and I first developed a product roadmap for the Granted MVP, which included identifying which features could be repurposed and which features needed to be built from scratch.

Once we had that roadmap defined, Iryna helped assemble a core team of engineers required to hit our target.

Once development began, Ihor made a fantastic proposal for how this marketplace infrastructure should be developed, and began work getting development and production environments built.

In parallel, our team started work on the core backend components required to empower our MVP. All team members - Valentyn, Sasha, Viktor, Vasyl, and Ros - did a fantastic job building out these required backend components in our custom admin panel.

Once designs were finalized by the investment team, we started on frontend work. Sasha led the move to refactor the legacy frontend to Next.JS, giving us flexibility to reuse frontend components and provide a better user experience.

Valentyn led the frontend charge and helped implement the investors vision alongside great work from Vasyl, Sasha, Viktor and Ros.

As we got closer to release, Yaryna joined to help us QA the entire platform. She did a fantastic job in helping us polish up the feature set.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Iryna was our project lead. Ihor was our DevOps lead. Valentyn, Sasha, Viktor, Ros, and Vasyl were our engineers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We have not yet launched the MVP.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

We had daily standups and clearly defined stories in Trello. The team was great at being self sufficient and taking the initiative to pick up work and create new cards where needed.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Wise Engineering is a joy to work with. All team members are self-starters, highly competent, and work with consistent velocity.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Keep doing what you're doing!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and co-founder of Blue Collar Lists, LLC., a general contractor job platform. Residential contractors can use our platform to get information on jobs before they bid.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Wise Engineering?

We hired Wise Engineering to expand the functionality of our mobile app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Wise Engineering has integrated several features and functionalities to our mobile app. One of the first big projects we did with them was implementing a major property data software and linked it to our app. Members can search and easily find relevant data.

Other functionalities they’ve implemented include the ability to read and write reviews on homeowners, as well as a project folder feature, where users can organize projects with relevant information, including pictures and web links. Essentially, they’ve been responsible for every new feature in the app.

The team also optimized our rewards page, making it easier to use and much more interactive. They’ve worked on everything from App Store updates to creating an admin dashboard. They also monitor and address any and all error reports.

What is the team composition?

My primary contact is Irene (Project Manager). I also communicate with a programmer and another team member.

How did you come to work with Wise Engineering?

After vetting numerous companies, I was introduced to Wise Engineering by a friend of mine who’d used them previously. Between the report from my friend and my own interaction, I decided they would be the best fit.

How much have you invested with them?

We typically spend about $2,500 per month, depending on the workload.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our collaboration has been ongoing since July 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Wise Engineering was instrumental in adding all the valuable features to the app now. If we didn’t have them, our app probably wouldn’t be active anymore. 

They do a really good job of taking my recommendations from a layman’s perspective and determining whether or not it will be viable to code. We trust their team  — they make us feel comfortable.

How did Wise Engineering perform from a project management standpoint?

Every project we do with Wise Engineering is very well laid out before they start working, so there’s a clear expectation of what our expectations and their capabilities are. The ability to relay desires and product functions to them has been well received; they understand our target audience very well.

To keep track of the project, they’ve set me up with a dashboard I can check daily to see what’s going on in the backend at all times. I also email with them almost every day. Typically, with the time difference, they budget some time for me later in the afternoon. We also have a weekly phone call. 

They’re extremely transparent. The team keeps us informed of all the details of their work, including timesheets and agendas. If they ever run over time, they’re very upfront about it. Wise Engineering really makes the project easy; I can’t imagine dealing with anyone else at this point.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I truly believe Wise Engineering values their relationships with their clients, and likes to keep them for a long time. The way they do business makes it really easy to work with them. Nothing is complicated.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only thing I would change about the project is that I would’ve given them the app earlier. I have nothing but great things to say about them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Put the controls in their hands and let them show you they can handle the project. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO of Deliverable, Inc

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Builds quoting and estimation software for Creative Agencies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Wise Engineering to accomplish?

• Source an experienced engineer to join our team.

SOLUTION

How did you find Wise Engineering?

Referral

Why did you select Wise Engineering over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Wise Engineering were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Building out a quoting and estimation SaaS platform from scratch, including scheudling Gantt, time tracking, employee profiles, and project quote generation.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We signed a handful of net-new customers once the project was completed. The contracts for those customers included features built coming out of this project.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

We had daily standups, slack communication for async discussion, and we utilized Notion for ticketing. Our Wise engineer always was communicative and punctual, delivering high quality code on time.

What was your primary form of communication with Wise Engineering?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Incredible quick turn around time from: first outreach --> sourcing candidates --> employee hands on keyboard. Their emplyoees are extremely skilled and quick learners.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Wise Engineering could have done differently?

None. I would work with them again in a heartbeat.