Blackcurrant Labs Pvt. Ltd.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Vice President of Finance and Growth Initiatives in the company. My responsibility is to develop & execute growth strategies for any new products or business units of the company. We develop Intelligent Direct to Consumer Marketing Products and services for our clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Blackcurrant Labs Pvt. Ltd., and what were your goals?

We were trying to develop a browser-based video calling technology internally as a part of our iD2C suite of products. The internal teams were able to develop an MVP but it had challenges of scaling. We were looking for partners who could help us resolve this even if it means developing the technology from scratch. This is where we came across Blackcurrant Labs and appointed them for the project.

SOLUTION

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

We were given a reference to Jay (founder of Blackcurrant) by one of our common associates. We did a series of meetings with Jay and his team to understand their capabilities and also explain our requirements. Jay and his team demonstrated not just a product scope of work understanding but also a clear understanding of our business vision, which helped us to choose them over other potential partners.

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

The development was completed in 2 phases. - Phase 1 was a basic video calling technology development - Phase 2 was enhancing the architecture for scale and developing the SaaS model In both phases, there were kickoff meetings, narrowing down the requirements and features to be developed, finalizing the scope and timelines, development, interim reviews, UAT, bug fixing, etc.

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

Our main point of contact was the founder himself and the CTO. There were also at least 2 developers and designers working on the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

On completion, the overall technology became quite stable for multiple parallel video call interactions. The UX/UI was very user-friendly. The quality of video call interaction and time to connections have improved a lot. The new dashboard and reporting module gives us first-hand information on the key indicators to measure business success.

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

We had periodic meetings and teams would collaborate and work together as and when needed. There was continuous communication and update to us on the progress of the development and the deliverables were completed well within the timeframe.

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

They develop the product keeping the business perspective in consideration. The team is very proactive in suggesting new ideas and features that make business sense. Their approach and development process were very well structured and friendly.

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

There were some minor bugs during our testings which they rectified soon as we notified them. Overall they were quick in their response and resolution.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of StyleNook, an online fashion company. It’s a shopping service that uses algorithms and human stylists.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blackcurrant Labs Pvt. Ltd.?

We needed help with increasing customers and sales through our platforms.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blackcurrant Labs has been our tech partner from day one. Our engagement with them started with building our original MVP and then developing more sophisticated cataloging, display systems, a frontend, and the algorithms that power the decisions at this time. We’ve done a gamut of projects with them, including our frontend site and backend processing to the cataloging and styling planner as well as the algorithms that power it.

What is the team composition?

We decide what we’re going to work on, and then they determine what resources will be best suited for the type of work we have. Our main point of contact is always the founder.

How did you come to work with Blackcurrant Labs Pvt. Ltd.?

We were looking for development partners, and we had an extensive list of options. Blackcurrant Labs came in through the head of Google Cloud services who recommended them. We chose them because it seemed like they’d be able to work within our requirements to deliver what we needed.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2017, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They deliver on time and within budget, which are the metrics we look at.

How did Blackcurrant Labs Pvt. Ltd. perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is good; we’ve been clear about what we want so they can understand our requirements. We follow an agile way of development and communicate via video calls where we discuss the various initiatives. In terms of tools, we also use Asana.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They can work despite constraints, which makes them great partners. They’re also very business-oriented.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — they’ve done very well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s essential to be clear about what you’re aiming for and what your priorities are.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a business analyst at Unum, a healthcare benefits company for employees in the US.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blackcurrant Labs Pvt. Ltd.?

We needed someone to create an employee utility platform to view their payslips and calculate taxes.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blackcurrant Labs Pvt. Ltd. built an employee utility platform where 2,000 people can now access their payslips online, especially due to COVID-19 because people weren’t going to the office. They did both the design and development and continue to expand the portal to include more features.

What is the team composition?

There’s a total of 25 people working with us, including a project manager.

How did you come to work with Blackcurrant Labs Pvt. Ltd.?

They were referred to us by someone who knew their word.  We chose them because they could complete our project quickly with confidentiality, which was vital since it’s all about our patients.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent $150,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project’s quality has been outstanding, and they outperform our expectations. We weren’t expecting to have anything so soon, but they’re quick and deliver excellent results. When they were designing, they’d bring up many helpful ideas that we hadn’t thought about. 

In addition to that, our platform went live in May, and we haven’t received any complaints — the project serves the purpose that’s right for me, and employees are happy they can access their payslips without going to the office.

How did Blackcurrant Labs Pvt. Ltd. perform from a project management standpoint?

It's a seamless process; we haven’t faced any issues, and they take the initiative to be always available. We also have a biweekly meeting to solve problems, and the developers help us understand everything. They’ve also met all the deadlines, and their estimations have been spot on. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They make correct time estimations and meet every deadline.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’d love it if they could start growing globally.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go for it and work with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-founder of NuPhi, a cross border financing and SaaS company. We are building to solve for 1 million+ MSMEs in India + SE Asia for digitalisation of Cross Border Trade and Financing needs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Blackcurrant Labs Pvt. Ltd.?

Building a comprehensive SaaS for Cross Border Trade, Compliances, Documentation, Collaboration, Payment recording. It's a product to be integrated with ERPs, Banks and Freight cos. to solve for digitalizing and transforming how EXIM is managed. A USD 500 Billion industry only in India.

SOLUTION

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

We got strong recommendation from customers of BA and some of our investors.

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

- Requirement Gathering

- Domain understanding

- Phasing the product roll out

- Implementation

- QA

- Go live

- Pitching to clients

- IT Teams, business teams, banks and other service providers

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

Total 12

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It was a sucessful launch, we onboarded more than 200 clients on the SaaS in a short span of 2 months from beta to final product launch. Absolutely seamless execution, zero downtime, quick prototyping, changes and enhancements and scalable product was built by Balck currant team.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Seamless and synchronized. The Developer and project management team deeply understood the business requirement and priorities. Prompt turnarounds and practical solutions.

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

Their domain knowledge and technical expertise were remarkable. Also their coordination with business, ownership to deliver across the hierarchy.

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

They should have quoted higher :)