AppTailors

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former head of mobile for a fintech company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AppTailors?

We needed to expand the mobile development teams in our company. We were trying to build products that had never been on the market before, so we needed a team that could work very closely with us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app captures a user's PIN on a mobile device and secures the entry of the PIN. Mobile devices are highly insecure, and we built a way to securely access information like a person’s details or bank balances. One specific feature was that the application interacted with different Bluetooth card readers from across the globe regardless of the card reader manufacturer. AppTailors developed the code to solve this issue and expand our market substantially. 

We divided teams into Android and iOS, and AppTailors led those teams for us. We relied heavily on the team members from AppTailors for architectural decisions because they were the strongest engineers. 

What is the team composition?

We primarily worked with Michał (CEO) and Marcin (CTO), but there were other developers from AppTailors across different teams. 

How did you come to work with AppTailors?

I don’t remember exactly how we found them, but I do know that we were interviewing a lot of agencies at the time, and they stood out to us the most. We were impressed with what they brought to the table, so we decided to move forward with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in December 2016. I left the company, but I know that they’re continuing their engagement.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We delivered the product to companies both in the US and globally, with thousands of transactions occurring daily. The most important end metric is that our investors were satisfied, and the product was able to capture PINs securely and become certified by giant corporations.

On a smaller scale, we were able to deliver to end users and send money back and forth to the correct bank accounts. We were an agile team, so other metrics we measured were how much code coverage we had, that our features were covered by tests so that if something broke we could understand why, and how many of our sessions accrued errors.  Everyone was satisfied when it came to these metrics. 

One other important success metric to note was that our initial contract with AppTailors was not that long, but we continued to add time to their contract because they were so successful. They still work for the company in leadership roles. 

How did AppTailors perform from a project management standpoint?

They provided excellent project management. I worked primarily with Marcin on the iOS team, and was highly impressed by how he was able to take on a large-scale problem and think through everything. We used Microsoft Teams for communication, Jira for bug ticketing and agile process management, and Microsoft OneDrive for file sharing. We had daily stand-up meetings and worked remotely for the most part. 

AppTailors took the lead on the pipeline of turning product requirements into actual implementation tasks and managing those teams. They helped us scale our staff and make sure that everything was being turned out on time in the most efficient way. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were a perfect fit for our team and were very professional. They quickly gained domain-specific knowledge and became individual leaders on our teams because they had the most knowledge. Their staff was incredible and lovely to work with. 

When we collaborated, they quickly worked through complex problems and successfully came up with answers and products that provided a solution. Their code was always very clean and of top-notch quality. They’re some of the best engineers I’ve ever worked with. 

It felt like they were a part of the team, and after the engagement on this specific product ended, they continued to work for the company. They now lead teams within that company, which goes to show the quality they provide. They’re not full-time employees, but they were by far the most qualified, and everyone was very happy with the decision to make them leaders. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I can come up with. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Involve them in every step of the process. They have very technical minds and are capable of absorbing different domains, so use that and involve them. Engage them in as many pieces as possible.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am one of the founders of Motzi, the only source for dining recommendations made for you by people who don’t care about how famous the chef is, how trendy it is on Instagram, or how many stars it has--but only about how good the experience is.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Build a full-stack mobile app, for both Android and iOS, that provided listings, profiles, search, and an in-app messaging system.

SOLUTION

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

They came highly recommended from another founder that worked with them in the past.

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

AppTailors did everything from initial prototype to launching the app on the iOS and Android app stores. We had our own designer, but AppTailors also provided excellent design support when we needed it. Tech stack: iOS, Android, Flutter, Firebase, Algolia

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

Usually we worked with 3 people-- Founder who served as project lead, a lead full stack dev, and a UI designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Delivered on time as spec-ed. Our goal was simply to get to GA on the app stores, and AppTailors got us there.

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

Email, Slack, and Clickup were used effectively to communicate all the time.

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

Beyond just doing the work, they always provided great suggestions and creative solutions for us.

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

Nope.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the president of a social media platform exclusive to the Lesbian Community.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Club Monocle mobile application for iOS and Android build in Flutter The goal was to create a full-service social media experience designed exclusively for the lesbian community to express themselves freely in a comfortable space.

SOLUTION

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

We decided to hire AppTailors because they were highly recommended to us. We were cautious as the previous vendor did not deliver, but after the time we’re confident it was a good decision.

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

AppTailors built our social app that provides a comfortable space for the users. Their team developed the product in Flutter for iOS and Android from the ground up. They also build the Node.js backend on the Google Cloud Platform. From the beginning, I had strong ideas, which I sketched for their team. AppTailors was adaptive throughout the project. I brought them my ideas as to how users could access the different parts of the app, but they ensured we followed best practices.

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

We worked with the project manager, designer, and flutter developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since working with AppTailors, our app has been released to the public and we’re growing our userbase.

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

The project management with AppTailors was highly effective and we are very satisfied with the project management structure. The communication is great, the team quickly answered every question we had during the project.

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

We were impressed by the skills of the whole team. AppTailors is a reliable partner who will always deliver everything we asked for. We are also extremely impressed with how good they understood and interpreted our needs.

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

We are completely satisfied with the results and the process of the development with AppTailors and we can recommend it to everyone who wants to develop their mobile or web application.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of Compete Impossible, and we’re a software platform that focuses on virtual events and awards. Our platform is also a place where athletes can convert activities into sustainable projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AppTailors?

We were looking for someone to help us build this platform from scratch.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AppTailors provides me with custom software and web development services. I initially gave them documentation of our requirements and mission to create the product, then started working together to build the UI/UX and user journey. They used Flutter and Firebase as their primary development platform and helped us launch the beta version of the app.

We’re still working together to make improvements to the product.

What is the team composition?

I’ve been working with the CEO, CTO, and several members of their development and design teams.

How did you come to work with AppTailors?

They were recommended by a friend and felt that their work was really credible so I trusted them. Additionally, their price point was accurate, which was good for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent somewhere between £100,000– 150,000 (approximately $130,600–$200,400 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in September 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

So far, we’ve got 3000 users for our MVP and have worked with over 14 partners for our platform. We’re now in the final stages of the build and we’re on track to hit our KPI, which is to get a web version of the product done by the end of the year.

How did AppTailors perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is very good. We have a Slack channel where we primarily communicate and discuss issues and concerns.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The best part about working with them is their transparency in communication. They’re very honest with us when it comes to the process, and they always manage our expectations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The initial design work was a bit too slow, but they’ve since solved that problem. Other than that, I’ve had no complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would suggest being absolutely transparent as possible about what you’re looking for, and keeping open communications. Take the time to scope out the project and be honest about your goals.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Vagus Health. We develop diagnostics and treatment for vagus nerve stimulation. We have a smartwatch and other medical device treatments.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AppTailors?

We needed support developing our smartwatch.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AppTailors is helping us with the app for our smartwatch. They built the iOS version, and the team is about to start working on the next Android version.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two people from the team.

How did you come to work with AppTailors?

One of our team members put the project up on a couple of sites and asked for quotes. We got quotes from a number of different companies, and we initially partnered with a different company before moving on to AppTailors.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about £8,000 (approximately $10,000 USD) so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since April 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app is working very well. There are no bugs as a result of AppTailors’ work. 

How did AppTailors perform from a project management standpoint?

AppTailors has been very precise. They’ve consistently met our needs. Compared to others we’ve used, they’re the best. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

AppTailors does what they say they will. The solution is working as expected. Also, the team is very knowledgeable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We wanted to contract them for more work, but they didn’t have the time and resources at the moment. They could benefit from adding more personnel.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The team thinks independently quite well, so you don’t need to waste time explaining every detail of the specs.  

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO of Rent Items Inc. Our company builds a peer to peer marketplace solution where the users can rent things, generating additional income, reducing waste as well as building better communities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AppTailors?

Rent Items iOS and Android mobile applications.

What were your goals for this project?

Create mobile apps to provide better user aexperience for users to rent items via their mobile devices directly.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Via an announcement and info posted on Angelist.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we signed the agreement with them, we worked together to refine the mockups and choose the technology. AppTaylors was able to debunk unknowns, propose better design and also suggested the technology. At their suggestion we looked into Flutter and we agreed.

It was the best tech for what we wanted to do because it allowed for building iOS and Android application with a single code base. We used Agile methodology to run our project and App Taylors was very skilled at that, suggesting even improvements and helping with the project management.

What was the team composition?

Team was composed from 2 mid level engineers, one senior and one architect/manager/team lead.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within couple of months, the team got up to speed on Flutter and had the first version of the application functional on iOS and Android. They added a multitude of key feature in the application and within 3 months the application was live. It was very well received by the community with 4+ stars reviews.

The mobile application was now providing the same and better experience on mobile as the web application. The team continue to work on enhancing the application, providing additional features and continuously improving the user experience based on customers feedback.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We would have daily scrum meetings at first, but decided to reduce these to every other day because the team did so good following on tasks, providing updates in JIRA and asking questions and requesting design decisions when needed. We used all elements of Agile development.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The efficiency of the team and the capacity of proposing better solutions that we did not even think of at first. They have the experience, adaptability and fast learning capabilities necessary to succeed. The communication was just perfect as well.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We value quality vs quantity and even if the company would have been able to deliver the software sooner, we insisted on a tempo that will allow us to test and provide feedback. They were great on doing that and the quality was excellent.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO / co-founder of a company that provides the best error reporting and post-mortem debugging solution in the market with several industry leaders relying on us to improve software quality.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AppTailors?

We required additional bandwidth to help deliver a high quality open-source library for error reporting on Mac OS / iOS / tvOS in order to minimize impact to existing high priority projects our core team at the time.

What were your goals for this project?

Provide high quality error reports reliably for highly popular applications. Needed to support Objective-C, Swift and Cocoapods easily.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Several vendors were considered. AppTailors came highly recommended from one of our leading engineers, after a series of interviews and close monitoring of early stages of the project, we decided to pursue a longer-term engagement for AppTailor's services.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Provide high quality error reports reliably for highly popular applications. Needed to support Objective-C, Swift and Cocoapods easily. AppTailors were given the following specification: "Design an error reporting library you would want to use as an Apple developer". From this, Marcin was able to develop an easy to understand specification and with minimal overhead was able to work through and solve very tough problems independently.

What was the team composition?

Product management, sales and marketing were involved on our side (team of four). I managed the project and worked with Marcin to ensure milestones were being delivered. The size of the team did not change.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

AppTailors work directly impacted our ability to ease integration of iOS and Mac applications into Backtrace using the Cocoapod ecosystem. An application you or your company use today is using it but unfortunately I cannot name the company.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Weekly check in and review of a deliverables document with clear milestones. Our team was available on Slack to help answer any product or technical questions AppTailors had.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their ability to deliver on time.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I am completely satisfied with their services.