Begin Software

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of ClaimInformatics, Inc., a healthcare company. We work with self-funded companies across the country.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Begin Software?

We needed help automating a lot of our procedures within ClickUp. Our team members weren’t following our internal processes, so we needed a tool to help us ensure that our staff followed our methods to yield the best results for our customers in an effective and timely manner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Begin Software provided workflow automation services for our ClickUp platform. To jumpstart the project, we briefed them on our policies and procedures and provided some direction on what we wanted. Based on that, they applied their technical automation expertise to build everything based on their perspective.

What was the team composition? 

We worked with three members of Begin Software’s team, including a project manager, a developer, and their president.

How did you come to work with Begin Software?

Someone referred Begin Software to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $10,000 with them on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from December 2022–January 2023.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to Begin Software's work, we noticed a significant positive impact on our business — they met our expectations.

How did Begin Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Begin Software delivered everything on time and within budget. Regarding tools and communication, they were very responsive, and we used phone calls and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Begin Software’s team was highly proficient, communication was great, and they were good across the board.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I didn’t think there was anything they could improve on — I’d hire them again in a heartbeat.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open to taking their advice because they know what they’re doing and are very good at their work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-owner of Mammoth Five Star Lodging, a vacation rental company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Begin, LLC?

We needed help with custom workflow automation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Begin has helped me build custom workflow automations to draw data from various sources and process it based on certain rules, events, and automation processes of my design. Thus far, we’ve done 3–5 different projects together.

For every project, I simply meet with them and tell them what I want to build, and they build it. They also build the documentation and present it back to me. Then, we work together to roll out the products for my company to use in our daily operations.

The process automations built by Begin are web-based and use off-the-shelf UIs to display data. Their team is in charge of developing the automation logic that we use to process the information we gather from other off-the-shelf applications. Then, we export the results of that automation into a project management platform that we use. 

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with 5–6 people from Begin across several projects over the last couple of years, including Brandon (Managing Director & Co-Founder). We usually work with two people from their team, but they’ve had some turnover.

How did you come to work with Begin, LLC?

I’ve known Brandon for a long time, so I’ve been aware of his various ventures. I had been working with two other development teams in the past, but when this project arose, I realized that I needed more work than my prior two teams could deliver. Then, I found out that Brandon had put together a development team for Begin, so I enthusiastically signed up with them and gave them their first projects.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $50,000–$75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in Q2 2020, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The automations built by Begin have helped us take the workload off of our staff by eliminating redundant and consistent manual processes. Thanks to this, our quality of service and consistency are the highest that they’ve ever been and probably among the highest in the market.

We manage around 80 properties and make 4,000–5,000 reservations per year. Out of departing guests, less than 1% leave a three-star-or-lower review. This means that 99% of our guests leave four- and five-star reviews, so we consider them satisfied clients.

Moreover, the systems that we’ve built have helped us go from 18 units to our current 80 properties. We now manage around $100 million in real estate, resulting in $4 million–$5 million per year in gross sales revenue. For next summer, we expect to be managing over 100 properties because we have a waiting list of owners who want to sign up, and our reputation is the best one in town.

Our great results in growth, revenue, and reputation have been possible thanks to the systems and automations Begin is helping us build. These projects allow us to do a great and consistent job, eliminate time-consuming tasks, be highly responsive, and deliver great service in the market. Now, our company is widely successful.

How did Begin, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

Although Begin’s team has had some turnover over the years, we’ve found equal success with everyone we’ve worked with — they have a great pool of talent. Their team has been able to deliver projects on time, and whenever there are delays, those are usually on our end.

We usually communicate via email and schedule Zoom meetings to walk through projects. Typically, Begin develops a flowchart on a whiteboard, shows it to me, and goes over the process. I always like to address projects from a UX perspective because I think about how my employees will use the system, so I tend to leave the technical decisions up to them.

Moreover, my three development teams talk and collaborate with each other well. Thus, if someone from the other two companies has worked on something applicable to the project at hand, we communicate openly and share information. I really appreciate how well Begin works with my other teams because it makes our processes more efficient.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I really value how organized and accurate Begin is. We have three teams doing very similar projects. Out of those three teams, Begin is the most detail-oriented. They tend to be more thorough with their assessments and provide more accurate estimations.

On one project, for example, Begin gave me an estimate I wasn’t comfortable with, and another company estimated a lower price. When the project was completed, I ended up paying the other company as much as Begin had told me the project would cost. Thus, I’ve learned over the years that they’re very thorough in their planning, so I can trust their estimations. If they estimate a high price, it’s surely because the project is hard and expensive.

Additionally, out of the other two development teams I work with, one is almost retired, and the other one is well into their career. Despite their experience, neither of those teams is as good nor as thorough as Begin is in project management.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything Begin could improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I don’t have any specific advice for working with Begin. If you’re looking to contract development services, think through what you’re looking for before you start the project and ensure to write it down. Additionally, I recommend recording the meetings to be able to review them later if needed.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the President and Creative Director of Foundry512, a full-service advertising and marketing agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Begin to help us develop a custom website application, analytics tool, insights content platform, and mobile application.

SOLUTION

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

We worked with them previously in the past and they came in for us with a large client.

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

Thye developed a react multisite application with SSO. We started with a dedicated discovery stage where we analyze the current digital ecosystem of the client. Once design was completed Begin worked in 1-week sprints. They gave us weekly updates that were conveyed to the client and handled last-minute changes that the client requested. The final product was tested by users and client stakeholders. Final approval was given and the platform was launched.

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

3

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Stunning design and detailed development work. The analytics portion of the project required heavy data analysis and UX to simplify the platform.

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

They regularly provided updates via web conferences on the latest developments. Both email, Slack, and web conferences were used to convey updates.

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

The ability to hang tough on difficult and large projects. They were not quitters when so many other firms would have gladly given up. The project was very difficult and ended up a success because of their dedication.

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

The only thing that we would have wanted is more of their team members. The nature of the project moved so fast that it was not a good idea to interrupt the progress with the learning curve of bringing on a developer.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Jelly; we help restaurants recover unauthorized refunds and unpaid canceled orders through third-party delivery apps.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Begin, LLC?

I wanted to find a development partner to build a backend system to organize our CSV files in a database and expedite our tasks.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, I met with the team to explain what I was looking for and Begin, LLC helped me define the requirements. Then, they built a custom software solution from scratch using pre-existing tools. After developing the system, they used Make to integrate our software with ClickUp to access our tasks. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with 3–4 people from Begin, LLC, including a project manager, a co-founder, and an IT team member. 

How did you come to work with Begin, LLC?

We found Begin, LLC on Instagram. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $25,000 in the partnership with Begin, LLC. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We engaged Begin, LLC in March 2022, and they delivered the project in September 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Begin, LLC has exceeded our expectations, and we’re delighted with the results. They worked with our budget to build a really effective system that changed our business for the better. We’ve encountered minor bugs here and there, but they’ve been quick to fix them. Since implementing the new tool, our customers have been really happy with our services; we couldn’t have gotten to this point without Begin, LLC. 

How did Begin, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

Begin, LLC executed a really smooth workflow. They submitted deliverables on time, and I never felt the need to micromanage because I felt I was in good hands. At the beginning of the project, the team decided to build the system using existing tools to accommodate my budget, which I appreciated. They were efficient, supportive partners; we communicated via email and met via Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very well-rounded and knowledgeable. When we started working together, I wasn’t sure what I wanted or how to ask for it, and Begin, LLC provided me with the answers. They were transparent and genuine throughout the entire process. Even when there was no apparent solution to a problem, they went out of their way to create one. The team was invested in developing the best possible system with our budget. For example, instead of building everything from scratch, they created a spider web of connections between existing technology to deliver what we needed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing they could improve on; I was very satisfied with their services. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I advise you to trust Begin, LLC with your project. They’re experts in their field, and you can rely on them to deliver the project without micromanaging or intervening in their process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a modern social platform that’s specifically developed for the book community.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Begin, LLC?

We were working with a software developer, so we needed an agency that can continue to supply us with custom software development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We brought in Begin later in our development to provide us with continued support. They’re continuing to build the platform to the next level by fixing bugs and rolling out new features.

Some of the features they’ve implemented are a community page, similar to social media sites — the page allows users to see who their followers are and who they're following in one space.

What is the team composition?

We started with one talented senior engineer who transitioned the role to another person, and we've been working with the current one since then.

How did you come to work with Begin, LLC?

I was doing some research online and came across Begin through Clutch. I saw that they were local to my area so I reached out to them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $13,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in November 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s difficult to put a metric on the ongoing development progress, but they’ve resolved dozens of bugs and integrated several features over the past few months so we’ve been experiencing significant progress.

How did Begin, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

I basically serve as the project manager, so we’re utilizing management tools within our organization. We use email for simple correspondence, but our primary communication tool is Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with their responsiveness and empathetic approach to what we’re working to achieve. They’re very flexible when it comes to providing us with support and I really appreciate their desire to help us resolve our problems.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They don’t really need to improve on anything, as they’ve provided me with good resources to continue the project.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise you to set your expectations up front and be very clear with what you’re trying to accomplish.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a business process automation company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Begin, LLC?

One of the software companies that we represent was lacking a plugin for Gmail, and I decided I wanted to develop it. I have developers on staff, but it was more than I could spare them for. Most of our work is client-facing, so we don’t have much of a budget for pure R&D. It would have caused a capacity problem.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We did a discovery phase with them and decided to build a clickable prototype, as opposed to developing the full software package just to see if we could get traction.

The plugin would allow an icon to appear on the side of the screen that connected our customer to their CRM, preventing them from having to click back and forth between two screens.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Brandon quite a bit (Managing Director), and Cody (Co-Founder). I don’t remember all the developers but there were quite a few.

How did you come to work with Begin, LLC?

I never get on Facebook, but this one day, I stumbled across their ad.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September–November 2021 on this project. After receiving the plug-in, we’ve continued to engage them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I have nothing but praise for Begin. They’re absolutely phenomenal. I’m still working with them on this project and others, and I wouldn’t be doing that if they were slackers. We’re in the sell cycle for it right now and are in-talks with our client. They’re impressed by the quality of the work; it’s a perfect representation of how the application would work.

How did Begin, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

They were prompt, transparent, and good with communication. One part of their business that is exceptional is their proposal process. When they send a proposal you expect their to be a range to the cost estimate, but they gave us a hard ceiling on the quote. They took ownership of their process. Rather than hedging their investment or saying they missed something, they stick to what they offer.

We collaborate through GitHub and use Google Meet to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their quoting process stands out the most.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everybody can improve but I don’t have any real constructive criticism. They didn’t drop the ball. I feel like I’m doing this review a disservice by not having anything, but I really don’t’ have any complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I don’t know if this is specific to Begin, LLC or to software development in general, but it always helps if you know what you want. Having a specific request helps the process move along quicker. If you’re going to develop a custom product, have an idea of what you want, or at least be flexible in letting the professionals do their job.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the producer of Live Marketing, a company that specializes in live and virtual events like trade shows and big meetings.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Begin, LLC?

We hired Begin to develop and design a game that would be hosted on a website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Begin helped us create a web-based game that users will be able to play at trade shows. Initially, we gave them the script and some general guidance for how we wanted it to look. Then, they took our guidance and designed all the gameplay pages and the UI.

After we approved the designs, they started the actual coding and development of the game. This process included creating all of the interactions, integrating sound effects, and placing different animations. Eventually, Begin delivered a website where we could play the game and interact with it.

This game was created for a Canadian-based train shipping company that specializes in cold chain logistics for temperature-controlled products. The game allows users to try to find the correct temperature for the product being shipped, and it shows them little, fun animations depending on whether they get the correct answer or not.

What is the team composition?

We interacted primarily with four people from Begin, but there were five people involved in the project. Their team included Cody (Co-Founder), Seth (Project Manager), two developers, and a designer.

How did you come to work with Begin, LLC?

I’m relatively new to Live Marketing, so when I joined, they just told me that Begin was the company we were working with. I believe that my company had already worked with them in the past, but I don’t know how they found them; I only got introduced to them and took it from there.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent just above $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in September 2021, and the project took about eight weeks, so we finished it towards the end of October 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m very happy with the quality of Begin’s work. They delivered a clean design, exactly what we asked for. Additionally, the game works smoothly and as expected.

We haven’t implemented it in an actual trade show yet, so I don’t have any feedback regarding user engagement. However, I see no reason why it wouldn’t be a hit.

How did Begin, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management standpoint, Begin’s collaboration was very smooth. They provided very clear expectations for the timeline, and they were constantly available communication-wise. Overall, I really enjoyed working with them.

We mainly communicated via email and video calls through Google Meet. If we had quick questions, we also used Google Chat, and we shared documents through Google Docs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Begin delivered the exact product that we wanted them to provide. We established our expectations and goals, and they completely met them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

During the design phase, the turnaround time for some of the revisions was longer than expected. However, I don’t know what was happening behind the scenes, and maybe they were busy with other projects.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a lot of clear communication with Begin. They do a great job asking for clarity when they need it, so just try to set frequent check-ins.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I represent Cannin, and we’re a cannabis industry investment financial environment. We give investment-related advice to our members such as technical analysis, fundamental analysis, and trading advice.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Begin, LLC?

We hired Begin to help us with our web development and automation needs for a lot of our products.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were following hundreds of cannabis and hemp stocks. As a result, one of the things we requested from Begin was to develop a bot we could use to make predictions on whether a stock price would go up, down, or stay the same the next day. In the end, they’ve created several predictive algorithmic bots for us. A lot of it deals with coding matrices, which happen in an automated fashion each day.

Eventually, our product is going to be on a web-based app where our users are granted access via a dashboard. It is also where information will be synthesized daily and disseminated to our members electronically through email. Overall, they’re in charge of design, development, and testing efforts.

What is the team composition?

We’re working with their founders, and they communicate the goals and timelines of the project. We also collaborate with their team of engineers who are in charge of the actual execution of our products.

How did you come to work with Begin, LLC?

We found them locally.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $10,000–$20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership began in January 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve had limited small projects, but they’ve met our expectations in each of those projects. In comparing and contrasting them with other vendors, we believe their strength over other competitors lies in their ability to communicate to us their hurdles and progress.

How did Begin, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management standpoint, they’ve been doing very well. We use emails, phone calls, text messaging, and video conferencing to communicate with each other.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Begin’s organized approach sets them apart. They ensure that they understand the scope of work they need to do prior to coming up with the timeline and quote of the project. On top of that, they ensure that they’ll do things the right way. Then, in cases when they have to change plans, they communicate why we have to do it and explain what the new execution would be.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind on areas they could improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just give them the information they need so that they could do a good job.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a product manager at a mixed reality tech company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our tech has a software component, and we wanted Begin to help build out a website to assist with that component — mostly providing users a way to upload, manage, and share digital assets. Our goal was to get a prototype up and running for us to evaluate.

SOLUTION

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

With the help our our main web agency we selected them. They serviced tech we were stuck in (Django), and had some more modern approaches that would help us move to more modern tech (Node).

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

We had an old site that we wanted to get updated. We initially asked them to build out a new site using many of the patterns of the old site and to accommodate a list of changes we provided to them. Users should be able to upload, share, and download assets from this site. We had a weekly meeting cadence. We would provide them with spec, and they would provide feedback and consult with us before implementing.

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

• Joe Gardner - Back end developer
• Cody Sherman - Front end developer
• Brandon Frisch - Project Manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We intended to go live with an internal beta of this site. We are still not in a live state due to some challenges with how asset uploading is handled and how UGC is uneditable. A lot of our challenges also came from our own internal organizational shuffling.

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

Begin was very responsive and open about communication and was always eager to share progress to ensure we were on the same page. They also used Click up and invited us to their boards, and provided screenshares to show progress. We have a shared Slack environment as well.

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

They were very straightforward and communicative about practically everything: scheduling, expectation setting, defining what will and won't get done. They were very helpful in advising on choices that we needed to make.

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

We ended up spending much more than the initial estimates. While project progress and timeliness was communicated often, I feel that assessments of costs (& how that compared to the initial estimates) weren't raised by Begin as much as I would have liked. We ended up going over estimates by over 50% due to work not uncovered during estimates or reviewed during development.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work as an executive producer for an event marketing and production agency. Since March 2020, we've been exclusively producing virtual events and digital offerings in substitution of non-virtual events.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Begin, LLC?

We had a client that formerly did in-person workshops, and they wanted to create a virtual one. We needed a partner to build out that virtual workshop for our client.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Begin, LLC developed a virtual workshop platform that made it easy for participants to join, use their webcams, and chat. They also created a web-based tool that allowed participants to collaborate, such as through whiteboards.

They built the platform using WordPress because our end client wanted to be able to easily duplicate and set up workshops on their own. WordPress made it easy for them to log in to the backend. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with Brandon (Managing Director & Co-Founder).

How did you come to work with Begin, LLC?

We found them through a common acquaintance. We met with Begin, LLC and told them about our project needs. They just seemed like a good fit and they were in our budget, so we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together around December 2020, and the project was completed in February 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They delivered exactly what we asked for. Our end client was also satisfied. 

How did Begin, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

We used video calls, phone calls, and email to collaborate. They were very good at project management. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Begin LLC was very responsive and good at communicating. They were very eager to please us and make sure we were happy with the product. They went the extra mile to make sure that the end client was comfortable with everything that we were handing off to them to do their workshops. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd say they were great to work with as a first-time collaboration, and I would recommend them to anyone who's looking for a new development team.