Zarego

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of PontaMedia, a company that develops technology for the digital advertising industry. We started developing our product in mid-2013 and it was launched in the first quarter of 2014. We’ve worked with more than 100 brands over the last five years, including Fortune 500 companies. They’ve all chosen our company for advertising their services or products in a unique and innovative digital format.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zarego?

When the company was founded, we made a prototype of our BrandCAPTCHA product and managed to raise some money. We needed to take it to the next level, so we went to Zarego for advice and help with developing this service. Our company didn’t have a tech team or a CTO, so they’ve played this role while going through the transition from the prototype to the product we launched.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our product determines whether users are human or robots through the use of a captcha. This includes users interacting with registration forms, surveys, or anything else that requires validation. We came up with the idea for users to interact with advertisements, as opposed to traditional captchas that work with distorted words or letters. Instead of typing an ancient English word scanned from a book, they now have to type in the color of a car, the discount offered by the car company, or whatever the advertisement wanted to communicate to the users.

We needed to accommodate the increasing demand of ads we were receiving. We had big opportunities with telecommunications companies and banks using BrandCAPTCHA, so we needed to go from a hundred thousand to a hundred million captchas per month. Zarego took a few weeks to see the big picture and finally told us to start over from scratch since the prototype wasn’t ready to be transformed into a real product.

They recommended using AWS for the scalability it offers as well as its other useful features. We started creating an architecture there that could handle all the volume we would be having with the telecommunications companies. Zarego was very involved from the first moment they took the project on. They didn’t just think about solving the present problem but rather approached it as a long-term vision and solution.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four of them in the beginning. A few developers left the company, so I believe we were working with 2–3 of them towards the end. Zarego handled all project management. They acted as our CTO for the first year and we outsourced everything technology-related to them.

How did you come to work with Zarego?

One of our partners—our first seed investor—knew them from years ago and considered them capable and trustworthy. He told us that we needed to give this project to a company that could take it to the next level. We met Zarego in 2013 and we trusted them from the beginning.

How much have you invested with them?

I would say we’ve spent $70,000–$100,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Zarego in September 2013 and wrapped up around July 2015. We later took all the work in-house by hiring a CTO and a senior software engineer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In our first year, we had close to 100% uptime. We went from 100,000 captchas served in that time to almost 10 million. More than 20 million people have interacted with our captchas since we started and we’ve run more than 100,000 campaigns on the platform Zarego created, with more than 100 brands. We currently have almost 100 million impressions every month.

All of this was built on the foundation Zarego provided. The architecture is still on AWS and we’re working with the servers we procured back then.

We had a nonverbal service level agreement with them stating that they would intervene whenever we had a bug or a small crash. We didn’t have any problems in the first years, but if something happened, they had different response times depending on the level of importance. Since we didn’t have an in-house CTO, we needed them to give us solutions fast. Their team always responded very, very quickly. They knew that if we wanted to run a campaign for a client, we couldn’t take a week to solve a problem, so they were always available for us.

How did Zarego perform from a project management standpoint?

Zarego did an excellent job. We were very happy with them and we still meet with their team every now and then. We started working with them in 2013 and we’re still looking for new projects to do with them five years later, which speaks for itself.

We didn’t use any project management platforms, only Google Drive, email, and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were sincere and straightforward when providing solutions, but they also listened to our opinions. They know where their strengths supplement a client’s lack of skills. When I explained to them how something on the platform should be developed, they’d kindly tell me what the best way to do it would be based on their experience.

Since I’m not a technical person, I didn’t get involved in the details of the development but rather let them do what they did best. Furthermore, I’ve always appreciated that they were sincere with time estimates and provided precise timelines. They didn’t promise to complete a task in one month if they knew it could take three.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any specific criticisms. I believe the company needs to grow and offer their services to more people, but it’s their decision whether to expand or continue being a boutique software development company. I know that they’re skilled in what they do and they’ve worked with a lot of clients.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should just talk to them; they’ll see that Zarego has great skills for transforming an idea into a product. Their team will work on as if they were part of the company, not just a service provider. Go ahead and start working with them as soon as possible!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of a climate tech company.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Climate tech

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Zarego to accomplish?

• Technical resources for roadmap development

SOLUTION

How did you find Zarego?

Referral

Why did you select Zarego over others?

• High ratings
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Zarego were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Front end dev

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Quality resources and output 

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

Yes

What was your primary form of communication with Zarego?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Zarego's responsive management stood out.

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

Not at this time

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CIO of Genesis Bank

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Community Banking Services

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Zarego to accomplish?

• Front end development of Online Account Opening project
• Integration with third party via API

SOLUTION

How did you find Zarego?

Referral

Why did you select Zarego over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Zarego were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Built the frontend for our cusomers to create an account, go through the steps of applying for an account and recieve the information needed for a smooth process.  Integration with our KYC vendor to verify identity and address and perform ofac checks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Successful flow of process and response either way of pass or fail 3rd pary verification.

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

Very fast.  Met weekly and very good testing contstantly

What was your primary form of communication with Zarego?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They had good ideas and a fast response time.  Clean work.

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

no

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Managing Director of La content Factory

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We build hand-tailored digital, interactive solutions for events based on AI, AR, and VR.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Zarego to accomplish?

• Create an interactive application that utilizes a range of AI techniques to spark interest and engage with the young audience at the 'Argentina Programa' governmental fair.

SOLUTION

How did you find Zarego?

Recomendation

Why did you select Zarego over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Zarego were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

A booth with interactive screens and a dedicated app where users could choose from various AI-based playful applications utilizing Stable Diffusion, GPT, and Text-to-Speech services.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

An application functioning with a very strict deadline due to the fair.

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

Excellent communication in meetings and encounters. Good support in the search for solutions. Proactive and participative in the project in general. Deliveries as scheduled.

What was your primary form of communication with Zarego?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their ability to explain possible technological solutions, their capacity to understand needs, and guide the client through the process was impressive.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Gallery owner of (a/an) Arts, entertainment & music

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

An internationally renowned gallery for ancient art

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Zarego to accomplish?

• Assure compliance with European data protection regulations
• Help with maintenance of the website and shop
• Develop a website with online shop for the gallery

SOLUTION

How did you find Zarego?

Referral

Why did you select Zarego over others?

Good value for cost, Referred to me

What was your primary form of communication with Zarego?

Email or Messaging App

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

We run a small but nice art gallery in Germany and wanted to go online with a store. When we approached Zarego, we already had a nice web design, but many technical implementation problems that our previous developer wasn't able to solve. We asked Zarego to relove all technical problems we faced, to bring the website and store in line with European data protection regulations and to help us with maintenance after going online.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• All technical issues resolved
• Website conform with European data protection regulations
• Website and store online

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

Zarego quickly managed to fix all the bugs and technically implement the site the way we wanted it.The team was very responsive and always communicated transparently about different options available to solve one problem or another. We also liked that they assigned a main contact person to our project among their team members, which made the workflow very efficient.

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

Given their geographic location and ours, work was done over night and issues were resolved already by the next morning.

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

We have no recommendations for improvement. We are satisfied with the work they did and will continue working with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

we are a remote digital studio. I am the founder and lead product creative director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

we hired them to help with the development of the custom web app.

SOLUTION

How did you select Zarego and what were the deciding factors?

i met the full team in person, and they showed me a few select projects, their methodologies, and outcomes. They were recommended to me by another colleage in the industry.

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

custom front-end using bootstrap custom backend DB, API, JS, and AWS

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

3 devs in total and 1 team lead/pm

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

happy client. mvp launched and had instant traction. client provided all UX. They asked the right questions.

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

They have been communicative and punctual in the workflow.

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

attentive, good QA, anticipated potential biz-dev issues, and produced on-time.

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

so far so good.