Arsum

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I run IntroStellar, a network mapping software. We pull peoples’ networks, similar to how LinkedIn maps your network, except we do it over Gmail. We have an introduction automation process which has been used for recruiting and business development. We’re currently putting the focus on referrals from a consumer basis, like how B2C companies use their existing customers to promote their software. It’s like an introduction-referral automation platform specifically for financial technology companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Arsum?

We’re still an early-stage company, but we had very junior developers that we were using which had been the backbone of our organization. I’m more of a technical person now, after running the business for 2½ years, but I’m still not a coder. We needed a technical product expert to look at things; that’s where Arsum came in.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Let’s say that a startup has fifty employees, and they’re growing and trying to find engineers, product people, and sales people to bring into the organization. We provide a private version of LinkedIn that automates the finding of those people that are within one degree of network proximity and then rewards the individual user for making the introduction.

Arsum was directly involved in building out the software mapping technology. They were able to take not just a senior technical role but also help with product strategy—Johnny [Project Manager, Arsum] in particular. Frankly, they helped me learn how to communicate with engineers better. They had effective technical product leadership, and I would consider them a part of our team.

In terms of their team, we had one main point of contact, Johnny, and anywhere from 1–3 full and part-time developers on the team at a given time, some of which we would interact with directly. The developers were assigned from their end.

How did you come to work with Arsum?

Given the nature of our business, it’s not surprising that we found them through a referral. It was an outreach from me personally to people that were in my circle in San Francisco. One of our mutual friends said, “You should meet each other. It might fit.” And that was that.

What made them stand out was Johnny. He felt right. He’s someone that we connected with on a personal and business front. There was an intimate level of trust built based on the conversations that we had. It felt that he was going to be part of the team from the beginning, and he was.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in August 2016 and we’re still working together. We scaled back on the business a little bit, just in terms of conserving capital. Amidst two of the different firms that we’ve used, Arsum is still a part of our operations.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When they came in, we were still an iOS application. After speaking with Johnny and the team, we recognized an opportunity and we completely transitioned off iOS to a web platform, changing business models in that same time frame. We took four months for making the decision to pivot, and within five to six months after that, we had a fully functioning enterprise software that was being used at 24 tech companies.

How did Arsum perform from a project management standpoint?

It was always faster than I expected, and I feel like that might be a function of the capacity expansion that they have. I know that rarely happens in the technical development world, but they have a way of really getting things out and focusing on the core pieces without getting too lost in perfecting every single technical tidbit. That was helpful for our small organization.

What did you find most impressive about Arsum?

The cool part about Arsum which I liked the most is, as you could imagine, technology needs change. In terms of skill sets, they’re needed quickly, especially when you’re evolving as fast as we were. However, they always have people on demand that fit a particular stack or have the expertise for building what we need.