AccelOne

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CTO of Z League which is located in Seattle Washington, and we’re a one-and-a-half-year-old startup in the competitive e-sports industry. I lead the technical side of things.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AccelOne?

We were ramping up pretty quickly and we needed some additional frontend engineering support. As a result, we reached out to AccelOne to bring on an engineer who had frontend expertise.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team pre-screened the candidates, and they sent us PDFs containing details regarding each of the candidates. When a candidate's skills matched with what we were looking for, we met them through a technical interview. AccelOne specifically helped us in looking for someone who was comfortable with React.

On top of that, the team considered that we wanted to work with someone who had good communication skills and who would be able to work well in a startup environment. In the end, we were able to onboard one person. After that, they were only in charge of handling the payroll of our outsourced engineer.

What is the team composition?

We only worked with one person.

How did you come to work with AccelOne?

We were introduced by one of our investors to their team.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $90,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our collaboration ran from February 2021–March 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The engineer we hired through them was really talented and became a crucial member of our team. In fact, their team member delivered a bunch of important projects for us. Overall, their engineer allowed us to create great products and helped us establish a good engineering team.

How did AccelOne perform from a project management standpoint?

AccelOne was responsive and easy to work with. They were also open to feedback and really supported us in finding the best person for the role we were looking for. More importantly, they were always available if we needed anything. We communicated via email and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their rates were very competitive, and they were a great partner to us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. We had a positive engagement with them because they handled everything extremely well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be honest and transparent with AccelOne. The more information that you provide to them about your needs, the more that they have the opportunity to help you.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Product Manager at a software company in the ticketing industry. Our product provides a way to price and sell tickets across the ticketing ecosystem.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AccelOne?

We needed to add senior engineers with experience in distributed systems and highly performant code. The goal was to bring on additional talent to augment our existing in house team and expand our capabilities.

SOLUTION

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

Our team had engaged recruiters to find local and remote US talent, but we weren't seeing the volume of strong candidates that we expected. We found AccelOne and got an introduction to their offering and ultimately liked their depth and technical focus.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

AccelOne sourced us a talented full-stack developer from Argentina with experience in C#, Azure, and SQL. He worked with us through the design of a logging and alerting system to replace simple email alerting for errors and exceptions. He did independent research on logging solutions like Azure AppInsights, worked with us through several design iterations, and documented all of his progress and findings with exceptional attention to detail. Ultimately his solution was excellent and required little review and we no intervention from developers on our side.

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

We met with our account manager at AccelOne and reviewed the profiles that we were looking for and what would make an excellent candidate. He was able to explain the process and set our expectations before the search got underway. As candidates were submitted to us we could review their resumes, watch videos to gauge their English proficiency, and schedule time to speak with them. We conducted interviews and a technical assessment before deciding to add a candidate to our project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

AccelOne helped us break the gridlock that had kept this role open for months. Their help allowed us to bring new skills to our team and increase development capacity.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

After adding a resource to our project, we were able to stay in sync by including them in our Sprint Ceremonies and communicating with calls and messages in Microsoft Teams. There was never a communication issue or breakdown.

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

They understood the technical profile that we needed more than other recruiters had. AccelOne brought very technical resources to our introduction calls to ensure that they understood the job description and skills required to be successful. Their system for introducing new candidates was very friction free by submitting a resume, a video of the candidate speaking, and a calendly link to self-schedule your interviews.

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

The first candidate that was submitted to us was a great fit but our decision to onboard came too late and he was no longer available. Had we known a slow response risked losing him to our project we could have moved faster. While ultimately disappointing, they were able to provide another great candidate quickly and we were very happy to onboard that person quickly.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am in charge of the marketing area of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired AccelOne to develop our new website to broaden the reach of our brand and reach new audiences.

SOLUTION

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

We performed research of web development companies and the information of AccelOne's page and the good attention of the agent who attended our query made us hire the company.

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

To begin this project we had the first meeting to discuss the best ways to show our company's imprint in web design. Then we have several meetings during the creation process to exchange ideas and in this way achieve the best web design for our company.

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

We worked with one commercial agent and one programmer who were in charge of our project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After launching our new website, we had an increase of 30% during the first 2 months in our sales.

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

They were open to working with a lot of tools like Jira, Trello, Slack, but we request to work just via email and they kindly accept.

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

The fluent communication between programmers - clients and the ability to translate the ideas that arose in the meetings in the design of the website.

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

Nothing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a third-party consultant for an internet company. We provide a personal safety and security app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AccelOne?

Our app’s codebase had been under three developers’ care for the past 5–6 years, and it needed major adjustments before we could bring it back to the marketplace. We brought in AccelOne to revamp the app for iOS and Android devices. They also helped fix the integrated WordPress website that underlies the mobile platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AccelOne was willing to dive into code written by other developers. They made crucial recommendations and guided us through hard choices about what to fix and what to rebuild from scratch. The team rewrote a great deal of code for the latest version of our app for iOS and Android; in some cases, they refreshed specific modules.

The app includes integration with SMS to send outward-bound messages for clients in case of an emergency. It also had a video component that interacts with the AWS cloud, allowing users to share videos, store them, and revisit them later.

What is the team composition?

We had a primary point of contact as well as 3–5 developers working on the app and website at any given time.

How did you come to work with AccelOne?

In searching for a new development team, we consulted several review sites, including Clutch. AccelOne had excellent reviews, so we interviewed with their team. We tried a more local team–—a partnership that fell through—before ultimately hiring AccelOne for the job.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from June 2018–February 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had stopped advertising the app and website before we began work with AccelOne. Now, thanks to their hard work, we have a new version of both products that we’re happy to promote. AccelOne delivered high-quality work comparable to major software development companies that I’ve worked with in the past.

How did AccelOne perform from a project management standpoint?

AccelOne was incredibly easy to work with. They offered a nearshore model where their sales and marketing team is local while their developers are abroad. As a result, they were always available, provided regular updates, and delivered timely billing. We had weekly calls over Skype and daily conversations over Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Every team member was highly responsive; even the CTO got involved due to the complexity of the project. Their willingness to give brutally honest recommendations also allowed them to reliably meet deadlines. AccelOne always delivered in the timeframe they set for themselves.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If anything, they could have managed our expectations a little better. When fixing identified problems, AccelOne often found additional issues in the code that we didn’t expect, which was hard for our team. A weekly reminder that despite all their progress, AccelOne may find something negative might have helped our team keep spirits up.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of operations at Xapo, a fintech company that works mainly with cryptocurrency. We hold fiat currency for our customers based on our license that we got in Europe for e-money.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AccelOne?

When I was assigned to operations, I saw we were having operational inefficiencies with confirming the transactions that the customers were doing with us and with reporting those transactions to accounting. We needed to have several bank accounts to allow our customers to deposit fiat currency at Xapo and keeping track of all the customer transactions and the balance in those bank accounts was challenging. We wanted to launch a new project for cash management quickly.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked together to develop the scope for the first phase of the project. They were cautious to not overcommit, which was an indication that they were responsible. Then, they started working, and we introduced some changes in the middle. They worked closely with us and they understood that there were some uncertainties that needed to be adjusted initially.

We just finished the first phase. It will be tested and then delivered to production. We plan to continue working with them using a different approach. We’re going to continue as a time and materials contract with the same team that built the first phase. There will be no specific scope to deliver; they will just support our back office team.

They’re building a cash management or reconciliation system to tie all the transactions that the customer makes together. They’re setting it up so we can download bank statements or access them via APIs. AccelOne is developing a platform that can easily incorporate new bank statements and, in some cases, automatically recognize customer orders at the moment that they can be seen at the bank.

What is the team composition?

They have three developers and one project leader. We complemented that team with three people from our side plus a Scrum master.

How did you come to work with AccelOne?

We looked for a consulting firm that could help us, but we didn’t want a huge company because we were a small company. We wanted them to have experience in similar projects, and we wanted them to feel like a partner that could work closely with us to create a good product and help guide us toward the best way to do it. We narrowed it down to three companies in Argentina because I wanted them to be close. We chose AccelOne because they also have a presence in the U.S. They were the right size, they had the right experience, and the price was good.

I asked each of the companies to give me a proposal for a two-week scope where we could narrow down an initial scope. Other companies were charging me for it, but AccelOne did not charge us. It narrowed down the scope for the first phase we were trying to accomplish. They brought on Luis (CTO, AccelOne), who was knowledgeable and affirmed that they had the knowledge that they said they had.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2018 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s had a significantly important impact for our customers. We recognize the transactions more quickly, which results in customers seeing the money in their accounts sooner. It’s also good for accounting because they have those bank accounts almost immediately reconciled as a sub-product of what we’re doing on the operation side of the company.

They met the scope and the timeline. After two weeks of tests, they fixed all the critical things that were required before going into production.

How did AccelOne perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great. They were autonomous, which is what I needed at the beginning. They were open and they integrated with us as a seamless team. The developers worked remotely. We had daily calls, group meetings, and planning sessions. They used Trello initially, but when we incorporated our own Scrum master, we migrated everything to Jira, and they were open to that. We worked in a Scrum methodology so we could iterate the different versions quickly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their level of commitment to the project and our company is truly special. They were willing to collaborate and integrate with other teams. They were always open and flexible. It was amazing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Jus to take into consideration the size of the project. We are a mid-size company. For us, they were perfect, but to do a bigger project with 50 or 100 people, I don’t know if AccelOne would have the capacity to take that on.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of an audio equipment company. We engineer and manufacture audio products for the consumer electronics industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AccelOne?

We were looking for a company with certain expertise in software development to broaden our engineering team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Using a variety of technology, including Unity software, AccelOne works with our in-house team on short- and long-term projects, from software coding and engineering to app development. 

We've had different DSP (Demand-Side Platform) projects, including car and home amplifiers, where AccelOne has been able to provide additional resources on the coaching side. One of our recent projects involved connecting a USB platform to the DSP itself and setting up new amplifiers with various assets of DSP.  In addition, they helped us integrate Bluetooth into the applications. We manage Bluetooth relationships with the Bluetooth consortium, but AccelOne did the coding for some of our Bluetooth products and helped us set up the current environment and strategy on how to incorporate Bluetooth into our products.

It's a collaborative process and AccelOne has built very good relationships with our other team members. They're also very good at working independently and keeping in touch with us throughout the project.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with one or two of their developers. There is also a project manager behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with them?

We were looking to increase our engineering resources and AccelOne had the expertise we needed.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent between $200,000–$1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July 2015 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They help us with many projects for which we don't have the expertise in-house. They're excellent at coding, implementation, and strategy. It's the nature of software that there are bugs when the software is completed, but AccelOne has been able to get any issues resolved quickly.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

We use various platforms to measure software and enable both teams to communicate effectively. We usually have a weekly call and find a way to talk to AccelOne engineers even when they're working remotely or traveling. Both the project lead and the engineers are always very responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of their work is very high. Even though they're not part of our own team, they give us all the support we need.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything. We're happy with the relationship and the rates are very competitive.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Touch base regularly with the engineers, even when you're working remotely. It's been important to us to work with the engineers directly rather than through a middle person.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior director of engineering for a marketing company. We offer a software as a service (SaaS) product that includes online marketing tools.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AccelOne?

We needed an experienced development firm to supplement our engineering team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AccelOne’s staff augments our current development team. They’re part of our core development process and help build SaaS products using JavaScript and React. This includes working alongside our team to understand, estimate, and scope user stories that are defined by our product managers. They’re present during development sprints and work to ensure we deliver products within the required deadlines. Despite working remotely, their team collaborates with us on a daily basis.

They’re currently working on a SaaS product for us that’s a Node.js app. The software helps brick-and-mortar businesses manage how their information appears online. For example, retail stores can use it to make sure their address, business hours, and payment methods are listed on Google, Facebook, Apple Maps, etc.

What is the team composition?

They allocated two developers that collaborate with our internal team of seven.

How did you come to work with AccelOne?

They were referred to one of our managers by a colleague. The skill-set of their developers aligned well with the work we do. The time difference between us is also minimal compared to other companies we considered.

How much have you invested with them?

We pay each developer $35–$50 per hour depending on their seniority. In total, we’ve spent between $200,000 and $1 million. Most likely closer to $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2017 and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

AccelOne’s developers have demonstrated an excellent understanding of our products and the problems we’re solving. They work well with our internal staff and engage positively with new assignments.

How did AccelOne perform from a project management standpoint?

We oversee their developments internally, so they haven’t needed to assume a project management role. We primarily communicate via Slack and use Google Hangouts so they can attend our daily scrum meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The AccelOne staff invests themselves in the outcome of their work. They’re interested in building exceptional products and not just delivering code.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to communicate the project’s needs and how their staff will assimilate with the existing team. Provide clear documentation and technical resources to facilitate a smooth onboarding process. Furthermore, allocate the internal resources necessary to provide their team with adequate direction.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We develop platforms as a service (PaaS) that enable sales message delivery to be done in a very straightforward manner for multi-level marketing. We're a sales enablement company. I’m the president and co-founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AccelOne?

We were working with a partner company to build an application that answers the "What’s next?" question for a new distributor in the multi-level marketing world, before they ask it. We wanted to it to deliver what they should be doing next, sending reminders, and things of that nature. I hired internal resources to develop the heavy lifting on the backend and I needed someone to help with the UI.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve been responsible for building up the entire frontend of the application. They’ve constructed everything that’s seen by the user on the platform. We worked with our partner company to come up with what the designs and the design fidelity needed to be, and then AccelOne implemented that core work.

The app is for distributors in the multi-level marketing world. Then they need to follow up with their contacts. We’re removing the hurdles and made it so that when you log in and become a distributor, it says, “Welcome here. Let’s start loading contacts.” We show them how to load contacts and pre-write a message for them to deliver to those contacts. Then we help them follow up with the contacts on an interest level all the way up to and including sharing shopping carts. They can manage their business from the palm of their hand, but it also helps them walk through the entire sales process end-to-end.

What is the team composition?

There’s between four and six people. They provided a project manager. My CTO works directly with AccelOne.

How did you come to work with AccelOne?

One of my co-founders knew Scott (CEO, AccelOne) and introduced me to him. Scott and I sat down and had a long chat and talked about what contracts looked like. We moved forward from there.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It's very responsive and we haven't found many issues with bugs from AccelOne’s side. We’re a very dynamic group and our code review is too. We tend to discover, fix, and iterate a lot.

How did AccelOne perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s been really good. They brought experience to the table. As they are based in Buenos Aires, we haven’t suffered issues with time difference that usually affect offshore projects. That was a big plus. They were very professional, the pricing was great, and they're on the same side of the world as me.

We communicate via Slack channels every day. They’re integrated into the team. They’ll be on my standup calls and review calls with the backend team. All of the engineers talk to all the other engineers.

What did you find most impressive about them?

This project was done on a very tight deadline. We created the project in March, kicked it off in June, and our first deliverable was in November in Orlando. They were able to quickly ramp up, understand what we wanted, and do so without breaking the bank.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s always the design interpretation that occurs, which is the area where improvements could be made.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It was really straightforward. Their contracts aren’t complicated. They don’t try to make things too challenging to work with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of Washington Publishing Company. We are based in Seattle, and we publish and license technical standards.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AccelOne?

We have collaborated on three main projects. The first was a migration from a colocation data center to a cloud solution. We also worked with them on a proof of concept on the use of Salesforce, and they built a web application once we decided to implement Salesforce as our CRM solution.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with an assessment of different cloud systems. They provided implications and considerations for using AWS—which we ultimately selected—or Microsoft Azure, and they estimated a pricing structure for both of them.

With Salesforce, they determined how feasible that solution would be. Once we considered it the right fit for us, they developed the web app using Angular.js and coordinated the API integration with our subscription management system.

What is the team composition?

Depending on the project, we’d work with between one and four people.

How did you come to work with AccelOne?

I met their founder through a networking group in Seattle. We felt that AccelOne brought a more competitive rate than what we could find domestically, and we consider their engineers to be world-class. Most of their engineers speak English, as well, so that was another determining factor.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent somewhere in the range of $50,000 and $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in June 2016, and the bulk of their involvement concluded in March 2018. They provide maintenance services for us at this point, but we expect to make considerable enhancements to the web app in the coming months.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since the launch of the web app, we’ve had zero complications. The feedback on the web app has been positive, a result of making membership services more readily available online. We have not yet leveraged the Salesforce system as much as I would like, but I believe it is the right platform for us to accomplish several goals in the future.

How did AccelOne perform from a project management standpoint?

They bring an appropriate amount of project management QA to every engagement. They’re disciplined in making sure they have the correct resources available to keep us on track. We worked mostly through email and Skype, but they also have a presence in the Seattle area, allowing us to meet face-to-face on occasion.

What did you find most impressive about them?

If we run into any issues or have any questions, they’re responsive. The geographic disconnect can sometimes be an issue when working with offshore companies, but this team is trustworthy and stands by what it does.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Our project received adequate attention, but I am unsure what resources they would have available if we were working on something larger.

Any advice for potential customers?

We found it valuable to meet with them in person.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I founded FMB Consulting. We’re a technology and product innovation consultancy that covers everything, including design and development, electrical, mechanical, or firmware engineering, proof of concepts, and prototyping.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AccelOne?

We were creating a showpiece for my client that wanted to extend their reach in the aircraft services and include new and emerging technologies, such as biometrics technologies. We had biometrics technology including retinal scanning, facial and voice recognition, and fingerprinting, all from different companies. Each of those technologies used a different interface to control their product, and we needed to develop a similar frontend user experience across all of the interfaces to make it seamless and simple for the user to interact with, regardless of which technology it was for.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We needed to create a consistent and unified user experience across the technologies. All of the different software interfaces that controlled the biometrics hardware was either Java scripting interfaces or web service interfaces, so AccelOne worked with those and developed a common user experience across them.

These biometric technologies are used all through airports. For example, facial recognition is used as people are deboarding planes and going through immigration centers; shops are using fingerprinting technology for transaction services; multiple biometric technologies, such as voice recognition, retinal scanning, and fingerprinting are used to gain access to secure areas. They developed an interface in which a user could very easily interact with voice recognition technology, and then facial scanning technology, and then fingerprinting.

What is the team composition?

They provided us with four or five developers, as well as a primary program manager. We shared developer management oversight, with us taking on about 25% of that responsibility.

How did you come to work with AccelOne?

Our companies have worked together for six or seven years. I originally met one of AccelOne’s key principals at a social event, and we discussed what we each did for a living. As I got to learn more about his work and capabilities, I decided his company would be good to work with. While this project was certainly the largest in terms of scope, we saw it as a good opportunity to work together, which we enjoy doing.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent roughly $10,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Their involvement with the project began in August 2016 and finished in October 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They did a phenomenal job given the limited time and limited amount of additional resources from the technology providers. The quality of their work and their responsiveness was exceptional, and they were perceptive of the needs of the multiple stakeholders. They were very skilled in developing a plan and implementing it in a very collaborative environment. They had wonderful delivery and execution.

How did AccelOne perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great in terms of communicating, keeping me informed, and managing milestones. We communicated daily and on a weekly basis. Once a week, we would have a team call to address project progress, milestones, or hurdles. Then daily, through either phone calls or email, we would tackle any troubleshooting or implementation.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They did a lot of high-quality work, in a short period of time, at a reasonable rate.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think anyone or any project is perfect, but we didn’t have any notable problems on this project. As I said, we’ve worked with them before, so we’ve addressed results or processes we weren’t happy with during our previous projects. We discussed issues in the past and implemented a course correction, which was evident in how smoothly this project went.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As general advice, I would tell people to be as transparent as possible with their communication. When working with a solutions provider, many people don’t want to share too much information because they’re concerned with intellectual property, but I would say conveying as much information as you can, will get you better results.