4soft

Please describe your company and your position there.

Colony is a community-driven accelerator empowering the Avalanche ecosystem through a first of its kind concept: Ecosystem Farming. Colony deploys capital within Avalanche on early-stage projects, provides liquidity to DeFi protocols. It will also maintain an Index on top Avalanche projects, and validate networks through stacking capabilities.

Our open governance mechanism ensures capital is allocated across the Avalanche ecosystem for its sole benefit. The true sustenance and value generated by Colony’s investments is routed back to the Community through airdrops, a buyback mechanism, and staking rewards. In Colony, I act as the CEO.

For what projects/services did your company hire 4soft, and what were your goals?

We, as the founders, had seen huge business potential in building a community-driven accelerator for blockchain projects building on Avalanche. However, we needed a reliable tech partner to actually develop this platform, launch it, and put it on a smooth trajectory.

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

We had pretty strict requirements mostly towards the blockchain and DeFi experience of a potential vendor. We connected to 4soft through our contact in Avalaunch. 4soft turned out to be a quality interlocutor during the initial calls, and their tech experience impressed us, hence we decided to start the collaboration.

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

As an accelerator, Colony will deploy capital within Avalanche on early-stage projects, provide liquidity to DeFi protocols, maintain an Index on top Avalanche projects, and validate networks through stacking capabilities. The first major goal was the platform’s launch. We began our partnership with workshops, where we went through our business objectives and product requirements. In the process, 4soft drew our attention to areas that we might have previously overlooked.

Next, they prepared the system’s architecture and proceeded with the actual development. The priority features before the launch were vesting, staking, and airdrop distribution. After the app’s successful launch, the 4soft team is now working on an automated on-chain investment process, which will be available to both the DeFi project creators and investors.

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

At the moment, the team consists of 10 specialists, that is:

• 3 Solidity Developers
• 2 Frontend Developers
• 1 DevOps Specialists
• 1 Product Designer
• 1 Project Manager
• 2 Quality Assurance specialists

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

4soft’s work was a cornerstone in our product’s launch. This turned out to be a full success and the highest raise on the Avalanche Ecosystem up to date.

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

Since the kick-off, the workflow has been going smoothly both regarding the development progress and the business aspects of our collaboration. If an issue comes up, 4soft works quickly to resolve it and adjust to our comfort.

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

We are most impressed with 4soft’s level of tech expertise. In a field as specialized and novel as DeFi development, a team of specialists with years of experience and brilliant business acumen is rare to come across.

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

Our collaboration launched after the expected date due to the preparation work on 4soft’s side, which was worrying at the moment. However, once the work actually started, they met all the deadlines, so at the end of the day everything turned out fine.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the COO and Co-founder of Paribus. I have a background the traditional finance field and have been involved in the blockchain space for 3 years. Paribus is a cross-chain borrowing and lending protocol for NFTs, liquidity positions, and synthetic assets. One of its goals is maximum interoperability so that DeFi holders and investors can focus on value exchange, not on tech limitations.

Thus, the project runs on Cardano, which removes restrictions and allows value to flow freely. Paribus's mission is to remain chain agnostic and simultaneously connect innumerable assets across multiple blockchains, allowing win-win transactions between borrowers and lenders.

For what projects/services did your company hire 4soft, and what were your goals?

Development of the architecture and actual software that will act up to expectations calls for years of blockchain and DeFi experience. This includes services such as: Lending, borrowing, or staking synthetic assets NFT collateral-based loans NFT Staking LP collateral-based loans LP staking PBX token profit sharing

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

Our collaboration started from the consulting phase, where we detailed our business objectives and reviewed the list of planned features. The outcome was a budget estimate, which let us make the decision on the scope of the minimum viable product we’d first build.

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

Simultaneously, we worked to build a staking app. Proof of Stake (PoS) is an algorithm used for validating transactions within a given blockchain network. A user can “block”, i.e. stake their tokens, and receive a reward in return. Creating the app included developing the staking algorithm in alignment with the founders’ business assumptions and the front-end part of the application. The staking app was released in Dec 2021.

Later, we moved on to create the MVP. It had to include the basic, crucial processes for any lending business, among others: borrowing and repayment flows, interest models, and liquidation. Aside from these standard operations, Paribus will introduce a totally novel feature, that is price evaluation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This means that an algorithm will be able to price out a given NFT, so it can be used as collateral. We are now in the process of developing this feature. All of the products will be deeply integrated into the PBX native token.

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

7 specialists (2x solidity dev, 1 x react blockchain frontend dev, 1x qa, 1x product design, 1 x dev ops, 1 x PM)

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

The staking app was launched and users are already collecting rewards for their participation. At the moment, we are testing the MVP demo and awaiting Cardano’s smart contracts launch. We will keep this page updated as the project progresses.

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

Thanks to their consulting work, we had a wide perspective when choosing the features included in the MVP version. We spoke over google voice and telegram. They are very quick to respond to and questions or comments.

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

We are impressed with 4soft’s work pace and work experience. We are impressed with 4soft’s work pace and experience.

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

They act quickly and contribute significant blockchain market context that comes from their past projects and they complete it with expertise from other development areas. Any difference in working style or communication was addressed in the initial stages of our collaboration.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of Thaumatec Tech Group. We provide chip-to-cloud solutions, covering every layer of product development.

For what projects/services did your company hire 4soft, and what were your goals?

The project under which we had the opportunity to cooperate was an application that combined IoT with web technologies. We are a software development company, and we needed some extra resources to deliver the desktop application for this project. Our goal was to get a proven vendor that will deliver high quality code on time. We had to meet a strict deadline for our client.

How did you select 4soft and what were the deciding factors?

We had mixed experiences with external vendors. We selected 4soft based on recommendations of partners and an additional background check.

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

The guys were very involved in the development of the desktop application, they also came up with a great idea to possibly save time and decided to build their own library of reusable components.

Both applications used React, but the assumptions for the desktop application were such that it could be installed natively on Windows and Mac systems, then the entire React was wrapped in Electron.

One of the most interesting challenges we faced was the communication of an application written in technologies with a natively written module that supports communication via the Bluetooth protocol with an IoT device.

The developers coped with this challenge without any problems. One of them was to break the backend into microservices that communicate with each other via the JSON RPC protocol and RabbitMQ mechanisms.

As a result, they created a microservice written in NodeJS (NestJS), communicating with the Gatway API written in Python.

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

The team in which the programmers worked consisted of a total of 5 people with a team leader. The team was conducted in the agile methodology (SCRUM). In the framework of cooperation, 4Soft provided us with two front end developers and one full stack developer.

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

Everything went according to the schedule. An interesting solution proposed by 4soft was the use of the InfluxDB database, which allowed us to count the user's activity during the day.

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

The project management was very good. We had great communication, proper development process, they responded quickly and took ownership for their work.

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

They are good at working with an unknown and constantly changing scope of work. They come out with initiative and ideas for changes and improvements to the system.

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

None that I can think of.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Co-Founder & Head of Sales at Applover, a Full-Stack Digital Agency and 2020 Deloitte Fast 50 Laureate.

For what projects/services did your company hire 4soft?

We needed a short boost in Blockchain development capacity to deliver a particular element of a bigger project for a client. The task for 4soft was to build a custom DLT ledger based on Hyperledger technology to store financial data.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to build a bulletproof, secure ledger that will be seamlessly integrated with our platform.

How did you select 4soft?

We’ve already been working with 4soft a couple of months back. The communication between our teams was excellent, and we were happy to get back to them as soon as we needed their skills.

Describe the project in detail.

We requested for 2 Blockchain developers and a part-time PM, and provided them with all the necessary data. There was a short discussion at the beginning regarding the technology itself, as we briefly considered other options, but decided to settle for Hyperledger anyway.

I have to admit that they were open for discussion and eager to provide us with examples and arguments for certain design choices. We went through a smooth development process, and the blockchain they created met our standards.

What was the team composition?

As I mentioned before, we had 2 mid Blockchain developers and a part-time PM with experience in DLT projects.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We delivered the solution for the client as planned, and Hyperledger built by 4soft was a substantial part of the platform. I think that we can say that 4soft proved to be an effective partner, and it opens ways for us to deliver projects in technologies that were previously out of our stack.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Smooth. No splitting hairs, they simply knew what they were doing and kept us updated.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are really proactive and friendly.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nope.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of a software startup company. We develop online software and mobile apps for different markets.

What challenge were you trying to address with 4soft?

We were looking to scale up quickly, but didn’t have the capabilities with our internal team. We needed resources in a short amount of time to help us with a particular development project.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We engaged 4soft to augment our own inhouse development team. The project in particular was a web-based platform that required specific skills related to blockchain technology. We had all the project management specificities in place, preparing the requirements for the team ahead of time. 

What is the team composition?

We interfaced with two development resources, as well as a project manager who helped us with some organizational aspects. 

How did you come to work with 4soft?

We knew they had a strong reputation in the blockchain industry. After our first talk with them, we gave them a list of requirements, and within a week we realized they would be a good fit for our project. We interviewed the developers, who were both exactly what we needed, so the decision to partner with 4soft was simple.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $50,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project took place from June–December 2019.

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

Our engagement worked really well right from the beginning. 4soft delivered exactly what we asked for. Also, everything they delivered was pretty much production ready once they finished it—there were few bugs and little need for review.

How did 4soft perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management style was excellent. Their communication was perfect; they even spoke German which we appreciated. Even though the engagement has wrapped up, we’re still in contact with our project manager, who checks in from time to time. It’s impressive that they’re still invested in our project. 

To stay in touch, we used Slack as well as some of our other internal tools.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Overall, they were extremely efficient. The time 4soft needed to find the right developers, as well as the time it took for those developers to come up to speed, was very fast. It was clear they were well prepared, organized, and skilled.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We didn’t have any problems. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Deliver a really defined list of your requirements, so you can begin your project very quickly. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing principal for a data solutions developer.

What challenge were you trying to address with Look4App?

We needed a company to help with software development for a couple of customers, as well as a couple of internal products.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve worked with Look4App in a couple of different capacities. We used them as a staffing agency to augment our own development resources. They weren’t on-site, but they were able to provide additional software development resources to build user-facing apps. They developed both the front- and backends of apps in Python and some web solutions in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and React-based JavaScript. 

We also handed two projects off to them entirely. After documenting and developing the requirements ourselves, they were able to manage the rest of the process on their own.

What is the team composition?

The team varies from 4–10 people, depending on the need. There is one project manager, and the rest are developers.

How did you come to work with Look4App?

Look4App had been working with one of our closest partners, who referred them to us. We had an opportunity to interview them on the work they’d done. There was another company we were working with in the Ethereum blockchain space. They had been partnering with Look4App on some work and had good things to say, and we then talked with them about the work we wanted to do.

How much have you invested with them?

My company has spent $250,000–$500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2019, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

We’ve been really happy, which is why we look forward to continuing our work with them. In two separate instances, we’ve handed requirements off to them. In one case, the requirements were a bit vague. We were expecting a lot of back and forth, but they were really able to run with it and turn things around very quickly. Our customers and we were able to get good feedback; it went really well. 

In the second scenario, they were once again able to clearly define the requirements and figure out potential issues and conflicts. They accurately assessed the pros and cons and presented those back to my team, so that we could make decisions. We handed over big chunks of work to them, and they were very thoughtful and delivered what was agreed upon. 

When we used them to augment our staff, the challenge was finding quality developers that could integrate well with our team. We had an 80% success rate. In each case, they would propose resumes to us, and we had the opportunity to interview them beforehand. In some instances, it just didn’t work out. They were very professional about it, which was fantastic. The majority of the time, it did work out. The additional developers they provided were available, considerate, worked well, and were happy to use our methods and toolsets. They didn’t resist integrating with our team. Although we’re based in L.A. and they’re in Poland, we were able to work around timing issues pretty well.

How did Look4App perform from a project management standpoint?

They managed their own development staff; they made sure that people showed up, and they checked on their deliverables and code. They were responsive and would always get back to us within the same day. 

For the projects we handed off to them completely, they kept us abreast of everything that was going on, whether they were ahead of or behind schedule. They did a good job keeping the communication lines open. 

They gave us confidence early on, and they’re very professional overall. Their work is on time and as expected. They remain very engaged throughout the process. They’re realistic, which makes for a fantastic working relationship.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Look4App knows how to run a project; that wasn’t something they needed to learn. They were very realistic about what could or couldn’t be done. They were also open about the pros and cons regarding different features they were building out, such as how to manage them. They were very straightforward and professional. They did a great job of integrating into our process and working with our tools and how we manage software development. They’ve been great. Their organization is run well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing that is a cause for concern. Early on, we didn’t realize that when you hire people in Poland, they generally start on the first of the month. They let us know that they required a month’s notice, but it didn’t quite register with us. This created a few hiccups, but they’ve remained professional throughout the process. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear and upfront. At first, we weren’t sure how to handle the relationship and how much to share. Once we got going, we realized that the more straightforward we were with what we were trying to do, both in the short- and long-terms, the better it made the process go.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m an independent blockchain consultant and the CTO of a digital card and membership management system.

For what projects/services did your company hire Look4App?

One of my clients wanted to build a blockchain platform to manage and unify multiple loyalty programs. We came up with the idea of a blockchain solution that allows customers to store all their points in a single wallet.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to deliver an innovative, fast, and reliable loyalty system solution. The user collects points as before: buying coffee, airfare, flowers, or any other product from the partners. Then, we replace those points with a cryptocurrency value passed to our blockchain. It was crucial to get it done on time and on budget.

How did you select this vendor?

I had an opportunity to work with Look4App on a previous solution. Based on the positive results of this cooperation, I reached out to them as soon as I got another project that required strong blockchain expertise.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

After analyzing our requirements, Look4App proposed a lot of changes to optimize the project. They came up with an effective solution based on Hyperledger and hosted privately on a secure server. They designed and built the whole platform at an impressive pace. We had weekly meetings, and the progress between them was amazing.

What was the team composition?

The project was developed by a team of two experienced blockchain developers,  guided by an experienced blockchain project manager. Thanks to this, we were able to maintain transparent communication.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The project helped our client reduce costs and fraud connected with managing loyalty systems. It’s a perfect use case for this technology, and its execution was spotless. In fact, the success of the project was useful in building my brand image in our target market.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Working with Look4App, I always expect a great, proactive approach and clear communication. We used Google Hangouts and GitLab, and I felt well informed throughout the development process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I’ve worked with other blockchain vendors, and it’s usually a struggle, either with a specific technology or general development issues. Look4App impressed me with their attention to details, development skills, and comprehensive approach.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I didn’t notice anything. Even if some development issues arose, their team quickly solved them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner and the COO at DxChain, also known as DxDigital. We’re a blockchain development company that licenses our digital rights management technology to clients.

What challenge were you trying to address with Look4App?

We engaged Look4App to help us build a variety of blockchain products for third-party clients.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Look4App helps us build distributed applications—a core technology for blockchain. They’ve worked on cryptocurrency wallets, UI/UX design, and developing website frontends to plug into sophisticated backends.

They deliver work using scrum-like methodology. We give direction on each project, but they have excellent designers who we’re comfortable with taking the lead on designs.  

What is the team composition?

We work with around eight team members. The team comprises a project manager, a UI/UX person, and six developers. 

How did you come to work with Look4App?

Another member of our team found them and brought them in as a partner.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2018, and the partnership is ongoing.

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

Most products have not launched publicly. However, we’ve privately received positive feedback from clients on Look4App’s work. They compliment the look, feel, and functionality. Look4App regularly delivers thoroughly tested products that present well. They excel at embedding security protocols into their deliverables; security is a core part of our blockchain products.

How did Look4App perform from a project management standpoint?

The team accurately assesses the risks and obstacles in each project and is open to suggested solutions. Look4App is also highly accessible and communicative. We communicate through Slack, WhatsApp, email, and phone calls. We’ve also used Jira, GitHub, and Project Libra on occasion.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team communicates fluently and intelligently about all things business. They offer scalable resources and demonstrate a high level of integrity.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Look4App has done an excellent job learning about blockchain security for our projects. As they grow, I’m sure they’ll broaden their skills and areas of competency. 

Any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that your objectives are clear and your payments are timely. Clear communication especially is important to achieving the outcomes you want.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the product manager of a small software company in Germany. We have about 25 employees that specialize in delivering ERP solutions to large planning organizations in the construction industry. We have an intern consulting department that guides our clients in digitizing their business processes. My primary responsibility is coordinating client needs across our development and sales efforts.

For what projects/services did your company hire Look4App?

We were looking for external resources with extensive experience in developing mobile applications to work on an extension of our core product.

What were your goals for this project?

To meet our future development goals, it was imperative that we build out mobile extensions of our products.

How did you select this vendor?

We searched online for app developers both in our region and abroad. Looking specifically for mobile specialists, we contacted any vendors that had proven experience. Look4App fit our requirements and stood out among their local competitors, but their motivated attitude and reasonable price were the deciding factors that led us to partner with them.

Describe the project in detail.

After choosing to engage Look4App, we agreed on a contract and got to work. First, we presented them with a detailed, working prototype and a set of specifications. Look4App started working on the most robust technical part; then we handled the small and mid-sized components. After a few iterations, we finalized and approved each element. The final product was built for all platforms—Android, iOS, and Universal Windows Platform (UWP). In addition to their development work, Look4App also help brainstorm new features and possible optimizations.

What was the team composition?

We interacted with a key account manager, who supported us at the beginning and end of the project. In between, we worked directly with our project manager and the assigned developer—both resources coordinated to test all of the product’s components.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Our goal was to have a successful product extension across all mobile platforms, and Look4App helped us achieve it. Their work on the system’s UI has been well received by our customers. At this point, we haven’t officially launched the app yet, but we plan to release it in the coming months.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We mostly communicated via email and Skype. They were very responsive, providing feedback quickly and scheduling appointments as necessary. We spoke German with the account and project managers, and English with the developer. There were a few misunderstandings, but we were able to handle them easily.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We’ve never worked with another vendor before, so I don’t have much to compare Look4App to. With that said, I’m very impressed by their level of dedication and engagement in our project. It wasn’t always easy, but they worked hard to make sure we successfully completed each task.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Both sides could’ve worked a bit faster, and documenting and communicating test results and bug reports could’ve been don’t more efficiently. In the end, we’re completely satisfied with the results of the partnership.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at Renewable Energy Group, a cryptocurrency company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Look4App?

We hired Look4App because of our lack of expertise in the ICO process or how to increase visibility in the cryptocurrency world.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Look4App developed and designed our landing page, backend, and ICO application. Their team helped ours with whitepapers and marketing presentations. The analysts figured out how everything should work within the app. The frontend was built using React.js, and they also used PHP, Java, and Solidity. Look4App also worked on the graphics.

They developed functionalities and features that included voting, token gathering, and how the tokens would work. When users log in, they can gather tokens and exchange them into cryptocurrency.

What is the team composition?

We worked with six people on the team, but their tester and PM weren’t full time.

How did you come to work with Look4App?

We found Look4App on Clutch. Their reviews were positive. After contacting various companies we saw on Clutch, we decided to work with them because their team seemed the most experienced. We met with Look4App in Poland, and they presented themselves as confident and skilled. They provided our team with details of each stage.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $80,000–$90,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We engaged with Look4App between August 2018 and January 2019.

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

We had a strict deadline and their team delivered on time.

How did Look4App perform from a project management standpoint?

Look4App worked in Scrum methodology. Every two weeks, their team ran a demo. They used Jira, giving us access to their process. We received biweekly reports and had real-time project management through a Kanban board. The project manager was in charge of communication, while there was an assigned account manager that focused on the financial rules.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciated their clarity throughout the project. Look4App introduced our team to the development and ICO processes. We had a fantastic experience working with their UX designer.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Initially, some things could’ve been clarified a tad better. We had three calls at the beginning that could’ve been condensed into one long phone call.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend using Look4App for any ICO and blockchain needs.