Apex Lab

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and CEO of a made on demand marketplace company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed a B2B marketplace built to service the made-on-demand products industry and did not have internal resources available to move fast enough on the opportunity. We wanted to go fast, validate each feature as it was being built, and have the ability to adjust quickly as we received customer feedback.

SOLUTION

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

I interviewed 4 dev agencies for this project. The most important factor was the ability to approach this project with a MVP type of mindset - able to build a feature, push it live, feedback, revise, repeat. The second, and nearly equal to the first, I was looking for a firm that was willing to be creative, provide feedback and suggestions on ways to proceed. Price came further down the list, but it was also a strong point for this firm. Excellent value.

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

We wanted a multi-vendor, open marketplace model that allowed approved suppliers to onboard their products in a self-service format. In addition to product details, there had to be options for print template files and mockup template files. The buyer, an ecommerce merchant, required a connection to their Shopify store in order for product publishing and order routing to be seamless and a fully integrated part of their supply chain for drop ship fulfillment.

Additionally, the creation of mockups with the buyer's graphic designs in a self-serve way was also important. From that scope of work, the team evaluated various technologies. The backbone of the marketplace leveraged Vendure (open source headless ecommerce system) based upon javascript. EasyPost API for the shipping system, Stripe Connect for the marketplace payments, Media Modifier mockup API for mockup generation, and Chakra UI for the merchant dashboard.

Enabling supplier self-service was step 1 and was accomplished in weeks. Payments and shipping were implemented shortly thereafter. The merchant dashboard was also quite fast to implement. The hardest part was leveraging the Media Modifier mockup API as that technology stack isn't well documented and is still being built out - but it served our needs in order to move quickly.

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

The total unique people involved in the project was 8. Initially, there were 2 - the PM/Business Analyst and the lead architect. Both were partners in the firm and were the most familiar with my project as they had been in the discussions from the beginning.

Then, the projuect spooled up quickly with a set of 4 senior full stack developers (2 of which also has architecture experience) and 2 additional full stack developers (1 with Print On Demand & Ecommerce industry experience).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The biggest outcome was that our project was able to begin generating revenue for our customers within 2 months of starting development.

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

During the first month, we had daily standups and weekly sprints as the core of the stack was being built.  Then, it moved to a more stnadard 2 week sprint schedule.   We still maintained a daily standup that allowed for open communicastion amongst the entire team.

We predominantly used Jira, Miro, Slack, and Notion as the tools for communication and collaboration.

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

Their ability to quickly flex with a project to meet timelines and to adjust resources as needed.  Additionally, their cooperative building style was very welcome as it provided another viewpoint on how to solve our particular problems. 

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

Not much comes to mind.  If I had to find something,...

Upfront there was a discussion and agreement that their team would flex up and down in size based upon the project's needs.  There were a few times during the project when the team change caught me offgaurd (without immediate warning/communication).   But, it was quickly resolved and really didn't hinder the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Recart automates Facebook Messenger and SMS marketing to drive hundreds of millions of dollars for e-commerce brands all over the world. I am one of the founding members and former CMO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

It was a greenfield project with a product idea in the beginning. No MVP, no P/M fit. We were looking for a partner to work with us from day 1 to come up with feasible solutions and own the technical delivery.

SOLUTION

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

We started recruiting technology experts on various social media platforms. One of the applicants was Apex Lab’s CEO. After several rounds of discussions about previous e-commerce experiences and partnering possibilities, we got convinced to work with them in the long run.

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

The initial idea was to win-back customers through email marketing. We started building our first MVP, and developed the first version of the product. After some quick iterations, we had to realize that there is no product/market fit, so we had to pivot.

After several rounds of iterations and pivoting, we came up with the idea to use Facebook Messenger to win-back customers and convert them from visitors to subscribers, which resulted in a huge success. We worked closely together as a product team throughout the whole product development, so we were able to iterate quickly and pivot without any major challenges.

Reart is a SaaS using Node.js, microservices architecture, Kubernetes, and React. Initially, we used Angular on the frontend, but we switched to React due to Angular’s limitations. Recart connects to the webshop through a plugin and gives the user a dashboard view to analyze abandonment rate, campaigns’ success, revenue increase, etc.

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

1 CTO/Tech Lead and 2 full-stack developers. Later on, they helped us build a development team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After several pivoting rounds, we found our product/market fit and Recart became an instant success. We have generated $210M+ extra revenue for our users so far.

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

We worked together well as a team, held regular catch-up meetings, and there were no issues with the delivery. Thanks to them, everyone was motivated and driven by the product’s success.

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

Expertise.

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

They could estimate the deadlines better.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Hellomoso is the Uber for car washing. I’m the founder & CEO of the company. Hellomoso makes car washing all-time accessible and available to users. It is not even needed for car owners to get into their cars, find a car-washing company nearby and wait for their vehicle to be clean (or even do it for themselves). Hellomoso receives car-washing service requests and payments online; our team finds the car location and cleans the car at the given spot.

Car owners don't have to leave their apartments anymore to get their vehicles cleaned. We take car-washing service to our customers' locations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed someone for e2e delivery. We only had a business concept in our mind but did not have any designers, developers in our team. So we were looking for a service provider who could take care of every aspect of digital product development and help us in idea validation, design, web development, and maintenance. We wanted someone who could work with us closely to shape our product and deliver the best possible version of it.

SOLUTION

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

We have known the founder of Apex Lab for a long time. We knew that they could provide e2e product delivery and help us with every aspect of digital product development needed for building, launching, and maintaining our platform.

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

In the beginning, we only had a business concept in mind but did not have any detailed specifications about our platform, so this was where we started working with Apex Lab. After 2-3 weeks of close collaboration with Apex Lab, we had detailed documentation about all the business and technical requirements, how our platform will work, and all the work needed to get the platform and our service up and running.

They also created a mockup to see our platform's possible layout and functionality, but they worked with an external designer to create a final version of the platform's design UX/UI-wise. After some review sessions and slight modifications, they quickly and efficiently took care of the web development and made our platform ready to launch.

By the end, we received a stable platform built on React, Node.js, Typescript, Next.js, and Airtable and completed it with Stripe Payment gateway integration. The delivery was very quick and efficient. The whole project took 3 months from initial ideation (product design) until successful launch.

We have an ongoing partnership with Apex Lab as they take care of the maintenance of our platform. We are very satisfied with Apex Lab's services as they are always quick to respond and act to any of our requests.

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

We worked with 2 developers and one technical lead who also took care of project management tasks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The delivery was very quick and efficient. The whole project took 3 months from initial ideation (product design) until successful launch. We have a solid user base and regular orders. The platform is stable and works quite well with just some minor bugs along the way - but they are always fixed right away.

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

It was very efficient. In the beginning, we worked in close collaboration with Apex Lab and had frequent meetings to create a detailed specification for our platform. After that, they worked pretty independently in the delivery phase. We had daily touchpoints with their team to see their progress and discuss any questions they might have had. We had a Slack platform set up for communication and an Asana board for progress tracking.

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

We did not have experience in the digital world. Previously, we only provided services offline, but we quickly recognized the opportunity of the online presence. Apex Lab did not just take care of the delivery, but they guided us through the whole process. They also taught us a lot about how things work and why we should build our platform in the way they recommended. They acted as a true trusted advisor.

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

Nothing, we were completely satisfied with everything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm co-founder and CEO of Ma este Színház!, a platform distributing last-minute theatre tickets for theatre lovers, thus creating extra revenue for theatres. Founded in 2011, maesteszinhaz.hu is the biggest theatre tickets selling platform partnered with all theatres in Hungary.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We wanted to upgrade our platform - improve the codebase, streamline the processes, and provide a great user experience. We hired Apex Lab for frontend and backend architecture upgrades. We wanted to attract more users and reduce the customer churn rate to 5%. We wanted to expand and partner with theaters not only in the capital but in the rest of the country too. Therefore, we needed a stable backend and a simple and appealing frontend.

SOLUTION

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

I've had a long standing friendship with the CEO of Apex Lab and had developed a trusting relationship through small projects over the years. My experience with the previous projects, our overall communication, and the growing size and quality of the development team made Apex Lab a clear choice.

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

Our backend was integrated with a ticketing system that every theatre uses in the country. In the beginning, we chose the easier way and opted for a monolithic backend using PHP. In the long run, we realized that it resulted in slower system responses, and we were losing customers. We hired Apex Lab to help us find better ways to improve the page load time and customer churn rate. After careful consideration, they advised us to upgrade our backend to microservices architecture using Node.js.

They did the whole implementation process by themselves, and they always consulted with us and kept us in the loop. The backend architecture upgrade resulted in great success as the page load time reduced to 0,5 sec from 5-10 sec. They also helped us simplify our checkout process, reducing the steps from 5 to 2. These improvements resulted in a much better user experience, reducing the customer churn rate to 5%. Apex Lab helped us with technology consultation and project management (they called it CTO as a service) when we had to develop viable solutions within a strategic partnership with MasterCard and OTP Bank (leading bank in Hungary).

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

We worked with a backend and a frontend engineer and received continuous support from a project manager. So we basically got a well-tailored team who helped us create a better platform.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Both the frontend and backend are running smoothly with tens of thousands of users, with a surprisingly small amount of bugs along the way that were easy and fast to fix. Since the upgrade, we successfully reduced the customer churn rate to 5% and successfully expanded our seller-base too.

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

The collaboration and the workflow have always been smooth. We always felt that we were part of the team. They were really transparent about their progress - we received daily updates during daily standups, they shared their task management tool with us, so we could always have a look at the current status. They proactively set up business requirements clarification sessions and prepared for them with excellent questions and suggestions.

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

They know what they’re doing, and they always help shape a better product. They are all super friendly and reliable.

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

Everything went smoothly. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Founder and CEO of DokiApp, a mobile and web app offering fast and simple online medical and psychological consultation to patients via live video chat. With DokiApp, everyone can get easy access to professional help whenever they need it. DokiApp has been extremely helpful for patients and users since the Covid-19, and especially during the lockdown when it was almost impossible to get medical advice in Hungary due to the lack of capacity in clinics and/or hospitals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We wanted to launch our product, but we were not able to do so with our previous service provider. The codebase was not stable enough, the app was crashing unexpectedly, and there were several bugs to fix. We wanted to release the first version of our product, got traction, and found our product/market fit, but we couldn’t have done it with the available version. So we had to look for somebody else who could help us build a stable software that we would proudly promote to the users.

SOLUTION

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

We have known each other with the CEO of Apex Lab for a long time, and we had worked on small projects together over the years. I knew that they had the relevant professional experience that we needed for our product to launch, and they would find ways to rebuild our software and make us successful.

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

Our video chat functionality heavily relied on a custom webRTC server which did not work effectively. The Apex Lab guys advised us to change it to Twilio webRTC because it is more stable and as we expand later on, and we can safely use the video chat with even more than 2 participants.

At first, we only had the mobile app developed, and Apex Lab helped us build the web app (using Node.js and React), so now DokiApp is available on all devices. They provided tremendous help in building a user-friendly web app. Although they involved external resources (Kotlin and Swift developers) in the native app development, they took care of its technical project management part: they ensured effective and smooth technical collaboration and communication between the two parties.

They implemented a hosting service (render.com) and introduced CI/CD pipeline, which resulted in quick releases. Finally, they upgraded our codebase to Typescript from Javascript, which resulted in a more consistent codebase and a better developer experience which made the handover process easier.

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

We worked with one software architect, 3 full-stack js developers, 1 swift and 1 kotlin developer (external). We got additional project management support from these guys, too (e.g. they set up an Asana board for task management purposes that they kept it up-to-date all the time).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our web and mobile app launched 4 months after we started working together with these guys. Surely, there were some bugs to fix along the way, but they always acted promptly. We added some extra features to the app and managed to build a product that our customers love. DokiApp was so successful that it won the Application of the Year Award in 2020.

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

Their team was always ready to help, and they worked in a very transparent way. They set up a task management tool that they kept up-to-date, so it was easy for us to see where we are in the process. They also set up a shared Slack channel that really speeded up the communication. What I liked the most is that they were always available and helpful, even if I had tech-related questions late in the evening.

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

They helped us build a successful app. They were full of ideas on how we could improve our product. Our cooperation has almost come to an end as we decided to hire an internal dev team and continue maintaining our software internally, so now we are in the last runs of the handover process. The Apex guys were extremely helpful during the handover; they even helped us in the hiring process and ensured that our guys have everything they need to continue working on the software.

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

The admin process was a bit slow initially, which resulted in slight confusion, but we managed to sort it out and make the process smooth.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

DogGo is a social app for dogs and their owners. Dog owners can make new friends, chat with each other, share walks, and build a community. The dogGo opens a whole new dimension of walking with dogs, not only for dogs but also for their owners. I am the Founder and CEO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I knew what I wanted to build, but I didn’t know how to. I already had a detailed specification and a landing page in place; I just needed someone to help me with the technical side of the project. I hired Apex Lab to build the product’s first version and help with the maintenance.

SOLUTION

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

My business partner previously worked with Apex Lab, and he was very satisfied with their service. So after his recommendation, it was a clear choice to work with Apex Lab.

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

The partnership with Apex Lab started with the review of the specification document. I had a lot of ideas and features in mind, but it was hard to prioritize and select the most important ones (business and tech-wise). Apex Lab helped me define the MVP’s scope, thus simplifying the specification. The development process was quick and smooth.

Apex Lab built a cross-platform React Native app with Expo (using Typescript, Node.js, PostgreSQL, Ably). For the chat functionality, they added Streamchat integration. Once the app was ready to test by users, we organized an onsite user test. We used Expo and Testflight for the testing. We received tons of feedback from the users - and realized that we had to modify the core concept of the product to satisfy their needs.

So together with Apex Lab, we added new feature ideas to our backlog and reprioritized them completely. After almost a year of development altogether, we launched the app on Google Play and Apple Store. DogGo generated users instantly as dog owners started to download and use the app right after the launch. Since the launch, Apex Lab has managed the bug fixing and other technical issues and upgrades needed to run the app smoothly.

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

I started to work with two full-stack developers and one technical lead. Later on, a project manager joined the team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app generated 600 users in one month after the launch.

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

I really liked their style. The communication was easy with Apex Lab. They quickly responded to all of my questions, and they were always reachable. They set up an Asana board to collect the feature ideas, bugs, and any other tasks. We also had daily standups where they gave a quick update about their progress.

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

They were passionate about the work, and they were full of ideas. They were not just following orders, but they always went beyond.

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

After launching the product, they replaced the developers, which resulted in slower progress.