1985

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I oversee business strategy and operations for a company called Petterr. We are a platform for pet services and animal wellness. Our app serves as a central hub for pet owners, service providers, businesses, adoption centers, e-commerce, and veterinarians.

What challenge were you trying to address with 1985?

There was no existing platform that approached the pet services market in such a comprehensive way, so what we were doing hadn’t been done before. Our initial challenge was to aggregate the specific services and matching them with the right providers, while also building a versatile framework that could enable all the functionality we were looking for. The services we were looking to provide included e-commerce solutions, appointment scheduling, adoption services, veterinary advice, and others, all of which required specific features within the platform.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our goal was to create a social network, and we approached 1985 with that idea in mind. We’ve worked through everything with them, from conceptualization through development. They’ve provided substantive advice on what specific technologies would best suit our platform and helped us build out our ideas.

They took a very methodical approach to building the interface and went through the entire software development lifecycle on both the web app and the native iOS platform. We valued their expertise in choosing the right technologies and add-ons to create the best user experience possible. We started with wireframes, and 1985 recommended a design agency that they worked very closely with to optimize the frontend. This facilitated project management and made the end product very cohesive. We started out with a relatively basic scope of work to fulfill the basic requirements for the app, which included user onboarding, service matching algorithms, and a few analytic tools for user ratings and things like that. They helped us build a slightly more advanced app than what we needed, and we really appreciated their advice on how best to leverage various features and technologies.

They are currently adding a few new feature sets and modules to the existing app, while also working on a web app that will allow users to access Petterr on any device. They’ve managed to successfully create a consistent user experience across platforms, and that was very important to us.

It can be difficult for small startups to manage offshore development centers, but we worked together very well due to similarities in business structure and the practices that we follow. They are a small team, but they have developers working on analytics, databases, server hosting, and development itself. They’ve helped us bring all our ideas together, and have been flexible enough to hire new people based on the demand we’ve had.

What is the team composition?

We have a project manager and product owner that work with their team every day, and I oversee the engagement via weekly calls to review ongoing developments and any product-related performance issues.

How did you come to work with 1985?

I was in Hong Kong for a startup incubator program, and I knew someone there who had worked with 1985 in the past. At that point, we only had a concept and a prototype that gave an idea of the look and feel we were aiming for. They came highly recommended to us, and after flying down to meet them, we decided to move forward.

How much have you invested with them?

Around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together on conceptualization at the end of 2016 and had defined the scope of work by November. The app went live toward the end of 2017, and we’re still working with them.

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

We went live very recently, so we don’t yet have measurable metrics on active users and the transactions themselves. In terms of user acceptance, the stability and ease of use have been very impressive. We haven’t had any major issues yet, which is a very good sign. They have a great QA testing process.

How did 1985 perform from a project management standpoint?

Our call schedule has become a practice at this point, and we have occasional calls to brainstorm potential improvements. Altogether, we cover development updates, overall progress, and innovation, and they play an active role in all three. I’ve been very happy with their project management overall, and they’ve kept up with timelines throughout the engagement.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I haven’t worked with other vendors in this capacity of work, so I don’t have much to compare to. They measure up to what they claim to provide, and they’re very reliable in working towards actualizing your goals. They’ve also been very accommodating and flexible in making necessary changes, which has been extremely helpful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They are a small team and don’t currently have the bandwidth to scale up quickly. If we were to start a project now that required additional development resources, that would take them some time to hire, train, etc. This is an area that they’ve improved in since the beginning of the engagement. Since they only have a few ongoing projects at any given time, this is probably not their business model, but when they have long-term customers, they should allow for some flexibility in bringing on additional resources.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I co-founded a company that runs an on-demand dating app.

What challenge were you trying to address with 1985?

My partner and I had the idea for the app but lacked a blueprint. We needed outside developers to build the app from scratch.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did a full-stack development on native iOS and Android platforms. The team also designed the apps, consulting on or choosing everything from colors to logos.

Implementing GPS was the biggest challenge. The team configured it to offset locations by 1.5 radii; this technique provided convenience while protecting user privacy. The app is now live.

They also built a website; it’s live with new updates. Website improvements run concurrent to app maintenance, for which we signed an ongoing contract. The new app version with improved navigation came out six weeks ago.

1985 did not provide marketing services. We are doing some social media promotion in-house.

What is the team composition?

I had only one point of contact and did not work with anyone else.

How did you come to work with 1985?

One of my partners recommended them. We considered the team as we looked at other local companies. We chose them because during the phone interview they articulated how they could help execute our vision. None of the other firms had such a clear vision, particularly on how to include GPS.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Work started January 2017 and is ongoing.

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

The app has 50,000 downloads prior to its hard launch. We’ve only had a 6-week period for user feedback, but the reaction has been positive and users commend the app’s user-friendly design. We felt optimal user experience was the project’s main goal and that they achieved it fully.

How did 1985 perform from a project management standpoint?

I thought the time zone difference would be our biggest challenge, but they readily spoke to me late at night to accommodate my working hours. We used phone conferences, Skype, and email to communicate. They were accessible and able to answer any question my partner or I asked. We were happy and satisfied with their effort.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Since we’re not app developers, we relied on them to provide solutions for every challenge during development. They produced results in a timely manner; the extra effort made our lives easier.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We haven’t been working together for that long. We’re 100% pleased at this point in the engagement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do the research and interview several companies person-to-person. One-on-one communication is the best way to identify the right firm.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I have a company called Owlificial Intelligence Solutions. We specialize in engineering software that’s focused on using artificial intelligence to make people’s lives easier. We’ve recently rebranded to Umazed Corporation. I’m the CEO and founder. 

What challenge were you trying to address with 1985?

We wanted to create a web-based social networking app. In addition to the standard text, image, and video options on all social media platforms, we wanted to transform social networking into an app for life that people can use to grow in terms of their character. That is accomplished by creating and sharing insights and goals on a mass, online, circle-of-friends level. It’s quite a new strategy for social networking. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

1985 made the decision to use Ruby on Rails with a PostgreSQL database. They took the mockups and wireframes that my team created to build the frontend and backend of the web app. The team sent us an entity relationship document and a data dictionary of the tables that would be created on the backend. We went back and forth a few times to pin down exactly what the backend would be.

The frontend is a combination of HTML5, CSS3, other CSS frameworks, and JavaScript. Those decisions were made in terms of using a software framework on the frontend called Bootstrap. The team at 1985 was very knowledgeable and instrumental in working with an atypical client. As engineers, my team has a good understanding of what’s going on, even though we decided to outsource the web app development to a more seasoned team.

We’ll be finishing the app soon, and they’ll do a 10-day internal test. Then, we’re going to do a two-week alpha test, they’ll polish some stuff up, and we’ll release it.

How did you come to work with 1985?

My co-founder is a graphic designer who works on UX projects. She’d worked with Sharath at 1985 in the past as a freelancer. After she joined my team, she recommended that we hire them to develop the web app.

How much have you invested with 1985?

We’ve invested $17,500.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started on December 1, 2016. We’re currently working on the final features of the app, but we want to continue our working relationship with 1985 for maintenance. We’re running it off Heroku, and we have an infrastructure in terms of S3 databases with Amazon Web Services. The maintenance of those is not a lot of work. It’s something I can do, but I chose to delegate it to 1985. 

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or impact of the engagement?

In February, Sharath gave us a demo of the work done so far. Everything was beautiful and professional. My team and I were very happy. My product manager in Romania has access to the daily progress that’s made on the app. He gives me a weekly progress report, and I can verify that they’re on schedule or even ahead of schedule sometimes.

How did 1985 perform from a project management standpoint?

Sharath is very sharp with his ability to make predictions. I was happy with the timeline he gave, the milestones he provided, and the suggestions he made. The tools he uses are industry-standard, and I’ve been very happy with his decisions. He’s met every deadline he set and was sometimes ahead of schedule. I’m very happy with his team’s ability to deliver what they promised.

What did you find most impressive about 1985?

Communicating with them has been easy and smooth. I’m used to things taking longer and costing more than anticipated. It’s been an amazing experience on every level possible. Sharath has been very gracious with his time, even having meetings with my team on short notice. The team was very accommodating. It’s an unusual experience to not have any problems. I’m very happy with 1985’s performance. The team at 1985 produces excellent work, and yet they’re very humble people. That’s a breath of fresh air for me.

Are there any areas 1985 could improve?

I think they should continue what they’re doing. Sharath doesn’t want to grow the company too much, as forming one-on-one relationships are a big part of their organization.