Brainhub

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a producer at an entertainment company that has a video game.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainhub?

Most games these days require a launcher system to initiate, so we needed someone to help us develop our game’s desktop launcher.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Brainhub is in charge of our desktop launcher development needs. When they joined, the product was already in place, so we provided them with all of our existing documentation. Ours is an ongoing project with no end date, so they basically work as our development team, handling the tasks and projects within the scope of that product.

Our launcher executes our game on desktop devices and pushes updates. We update our game regularly, so this product notices when there’s an update and patches the game for the user. Additionally, it helps us communicate news to those users. As for the technology stack, Brainhub uses Electron, React, and Node.js to develop our launcher continuously.

What is the team composition?

We work with two software developers from Brainhub.

How did you come to work with Brainhub?

I had worked with Brainhub before at another company, so I was already familiar with the developers and their skill sets. I also had a good rapport and sense of trust with them, so when our needs arose for this project, they were the first ones we went to to see if they could fit our needs. It turned out that they did, so we hired them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around June 2022, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure the success of our engagement by the number of rollbacks needed after our releases and whether Brainhub finishes their tasks on time. Thus far, everything has gone well; we haven’t experienced significant issues requiring major rollbacks, and Brainhub has delivered as expected.

How did Brainhub perform from a project management standpoint?

Brainhub has fulfilled our expectations regarding their work pace and communication. The project management is handled entirely in-house, so Brainhub’s resources aren’t directly responsible for that. We communicate via email and biweekly calls, and we collaborate daily with their developers.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of Brainhub’s developers is very high, and they know how to take ownership of their work. Their resources don’t simply deliver upon requirements; they’re active participants in the technical design process.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I’m satisfied with Brainhub so far.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them with technical ownership. They have great ideas, so if you let them share those ideas and participate in the technical design process, you’ll get better results.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

CTO of recruitment marketing agency

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Brainhub?

We hired Brainhub to conduct a UX audit and implement changes to the application to improve the ease of use of our system. Ease of use is one of the main values that our application must have. We knew that our app still had confusing points for users. The aim of the audit was to find them and implement solutions to optimize the time users spend at these points and ultimately reduce the user churn rate.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We wanted a company that has the resources of UX Designers and Web Developers. We created a list of 4 companies with whom we started discussions. We chose Brainhub because of its business approach to executing projects

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

We started our cooperation with a strategy workshop. We wanted Brainhub to understand the needs of our system users. The next step was a comprehensive analysis of our system in terms of the usability of our application. The goal of the analysis was to find points of user leaks and confusing points, which were characterized by, among other things, too much time spent on a particular tab and a high rate of return to the previous tab. During the audit, we were in constant contact with Brainhub so that we were on the same page. We were impressed that Brainhub was able to list multiple recommendations in a short period of time, with a prioritization of each recommendation and the projected impact on the churn rate of our app users. It was the perfect introduction to the entire project, which defined the project's implementation plan. We then moved on to the development phase. The project was carried out smoothly, with no delays. We are very satisfied with the process of carrying out the project and the quality of the final product

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

In the initial phase of the project, the team consisted of two UX designers. Their influence in the initial phase of the project was crucial, as they defined the plan and the tasks needed for the implementation phase of the project. Two JavaScript developers and a scrum master joined the team in the development phase. The project also involved a Technical Advisor and a Business Analyst. This selection of the team guaranteed smooth implementation of the project. Each successive functionality implemented by the developers had a business basis. In other words, both the project team and we were on the same page. Each of us knew what the functionality was supposed to contribute to the final product

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project had no delays. We are very satisfied with the final result. We appreciate the fact that Brainhub paid great attention to the business functionality of the proposed solutions. As a result, we believe the implemented functionalities have a business basis, which should increase customer satisfaction with our product. Unfortunately, it is too early to assess with certainty the impact of the new functionalities on user satisfaction. However, we expect increases in metrics such as NPS. The lack of project delays has allowed us to continue developing the product as planned

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We met with the team once a week for a planning meeting, during which they showed us the results of their work. There was an atmosphere of transparency and we were fully informed about the progress of the project. The project was well scheduled. We had direct contact with every member of the team. Each sprint brought the implementation of new functionality that was usable and had business value. In addition, the project team was flexible and open to our suggestions. I appreciate Brainhub employees for their business knowledge. We spent a lot of time in discussions and workshops.They made sure that each functionality implemented had business value.

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

I was impressed by the business approach to the project. Brainhub did not wait for the tasks we gave them but had a huge influence on feature planning. You can see that Brainhub has a lot of experience and a lot of business knowledge. Because of this, they didn't just focus on making sure we implemented a new feature, but also that each feature had business value. All that Brainhub proposed were designed with end-users in mind. A large number of consultations and workshops made it possible to develop a good model of cooperation and design an optimal product. We are very satisfied with the cooperation with Brainhub.

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

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BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior product manager at a fashion media company. We specialize in journalism about the fashion industry. My role involves looking after our mobile app, which is a tool for our subscribers to engage with our content. 

The app’s content includes members-only articles and briefings which educate our members on the history of the fashion industry and about what’s happening in relevant events today. The app also helps them with their careers in the fashion industry, whether they’re students starting out or CEOs of large corporations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainhub?

We hired Brainhub for mobile app development. From working with various partners in the past, we knew that looking at mobile app development specifically and not in lots of areas of development would be beneficial for us. We wanted to get our app to a good place technically and have that expertise to ensure our app would be an industry leader.

Although we’re in a great place in our industry because there aren’t many competitors that have their own mobile apps, we wanted to ensure that ours was great and that we could service the needs of our users. Our internal team had done some work moving our website to a better technical place, so our mobile app had to follow suit. We needed someone with that expertise in building the platform away from a native experience and could own that and work themselves without us having to work on both our website and our mobile app simultaneously.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Brainhub provides us with mobile app development. Since our internal developers had worked on the mobile app, we had the foundations already in place at the start. We used to have a native mobile app built with Swift, but we decided to move away from that to align with how our website is built. Initially, we provided documentation on what we had previously built, and Brainhub helped us take the project forward. 

At the start of the engagement, the project was 70% of the way complete, and the team helped us complete it. They rebuilt the mobile app, making sure the development was done correctly. The team has helped us release the new version. Due to our client base, the team has only developed an iOS app for us.

Since the new version was released, we've worked with Brainhub on building a roadmap of new features to ensure the app is technically sustainable and crash-free. We've scaled down the app's development over the last couple of months, and the team is now focused on maintenance. They help us ensure the app is sustainable for the future. 

How did you come to work with Brainhub?

I believe they reached out to us in an email, though I'm not 100% sure. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in September 2021, and they released the new version of the app in November 2021. Our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since we were working with a critical release at the start, our first measure of success was getting the mobile app out and making sure our features were performative and without bugs or issues. The app’s features are super performative and 99.9% crash-free, which is all down to Brainhub. 

Before working with them, our previous native app had bugs due to the development we’d done on the website, and Brainhub resolved all of those issues. Whenever we release a new version, we get worried that there might be an issue that creeps in even when we’ve tested it thoroughly. However, that’s never happened with Brainhub. The team has been great at achieving our goals; thanks to them, we have a well-performing mobile app. Although there have been small bugs, that happens with any development work, and they’ve jumped on those issues really quickly without waiting for us to identify them.

How did Brainhub perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re excellent at communication and meeting our deadlines. Specifically, their developers are great at communicating. The team is collaborative and super friendly — they’re a pleasure to work with.

What did you find most impressive about them?

When working with third parties, sometimes engagements can be contractually-based agreements without emotion or friendship even though we speak daily. With Brainhub, this is different. Moreover, I’m impressed with their quality of work and ability to meet deadlines, which they’re great at. They’re organized and super collaborative, which enables them to achieve our timelines. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve had such a great relationship that it’s hard to identify something they need to improve. Instead of improvements, they should keep doing what they’re doing;  being as collaborative as possible, speaking up, giving their opinions, and keeping up their great ways of communication.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice would be to treat your work with Brainhub as a collaboration. They’re such a collaborative company that offers so much great insight that it would be a disservice to your own company if you don’t jump in and explore that partnership as much as possible. Asking for their advice and getting their insights and input on your product roadmap would also be beneficial.

We learned early on when scaling down our app development that Brainhub works in a project-based way, so they don’t really have contracts on retainers. For example, we explored having one developer working with us for a couple of hours a week to fix bugs or do small iterations to our mobile app, but they don’t work that way. Be aware of that, and make sure that you’re happy with a project-based approach so that it’s more of a collaboration rather than a contract.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of a startup developing a crowdshipping app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainhub?

We were developing our mobile app for iOS and Android, and we needed help with its UI.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Brainhub helped us design and develop the UI of our app. Their main goal was to make it simple and easy to use — they’re very experienced in those kinds of projects. Additionally, they integrated a smart analytics solution to help us determine the customer's needs.

It is a crowdshipping app that works similarly to a car sharing app but for packages. Users can send things from one place to another using our solution.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a full team of around 10 people, including a project lead, four iOS developers, four Android developers, and a scrum master responsible for all the agile development process. This person also took care of the sprint cycles.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Brainhub from January–December 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Brainhub delivered a user-friendly interface, and our first impression was that users already knew the app's features without a manual, which speaks volumes about how simple it is.

How did Brainhub perform from a project management standpoint?

Brainhub was really agile, and they were very responsive to the timelines and milestones we established. Throughout the project, we had scheduled agile meetings, as well as daily sync-in meetings. We also had some meetings to overview the project, see what was good and bad, and see what we could improve in the future. We used Trello and Jira to manage the project and Slack for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Brainhub has a lot of experience and a very strong team. Additionally, they offered a very personal experience, as opposed to larger development companies. They asked us very specific questions strongly related to our requirements, and they worked collaboratively with us and not for us, which was great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They even provided us with recommendations for us based on their experience and knowledge, which was really helpful.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I strongly recommend working with Brainhub.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the engineering manager for the mobile and desktop applications of an e-health platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainhub?

We needed help with the development of our desktop application. We didn’t have any knowledge about it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Brainhub has helped with the development of our desktop application. They’ve used the Electron framework. They initially took the legacy project to improve it.

What is the team composition?

We have a project manager as the bridge between two developers and us.

How did you come to work with Brainhub?

They were already working with us when I started working here.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent €100,000 (approximately $104,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2022, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The engagement has been great. They onboard quickly and are efficient. Moreover, they’ve improved the legacy code.

How did Brainhub perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is good. We give them tasks every week, and they complete them seamlessly. We communicate via Slack and Google Meet and use Jira for project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They know Electron. It’s hard to find developers who do, and their developers are excellent.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could be more involved in the project.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You can work with them without any problems.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of delivery for DACH and Italy for a wealth management platform solution. We’re a utility provider and provide services to banks, insurances and asset managers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainhub?

We hired them to do frontend development for projects in Germany and Italy.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Brainhub did frontend development on a website using React, Redux, and TypeScript. We had created the wireframes with the design team and had our own developers. About 8 developers from Brainhub joined our individual Scrum teams. They participated in planning meetings, daily calls, retrospectives, and development.  

Additionally, they supported us in implementing a test automation framework called Cypress, helping us set it up. After the initial setup, the project team took over the framework.

What is the team composition?

We worked with an account manager and about eight frontend developers from Brainhub.

How did you come to work with Brainhub?

I found them on Google while looking for a company who provides staff augmentation for top notch React developers. When searching on Google, Brainhub showed up in the top 10 results and through the entire vendor selection process. they presented themselves very professional. Although we issued an RFP to look at alternatives, Brainhub was the clear winner.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent roughly £500,000 (approximately $613,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from May 2021–April 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Brainhub was very engaged and provided the best service possible.

How did Brainhub perform from a project management standpoint?

We had weekly check-ins through Google Meet, and they addressed any performance issues we found. They also shared very good feedback when they felt we were missing something or that something could be improved. I could raise issues with them when needed, too. Overall, the experience was very positive. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Brainhub was very proactive and acted as a cohesive company instead of a group of individual contractors. They worked together and really took care of their people. Additionally, we appreciated that they had a key person managing the project who wanted to ensure they were providing the best results possible. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they were excellent. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to be really clear in regards to what you want. Brainhub will tell you if you’re not explaining what you need with enough clarity because they want to be successful.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a B2B SaaS company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainhub?

We needed fast and flexible scaling for our engineering department.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially described our requirements and needs, and Brainhub was quite fast in delivering a project proposal with a framework on how we could work together. Their proposal addressed all of our concerns, questions, and needs. Based on that, we started the collaboration.

Now, we continuously ramp up and extend the work.

What is the team composition?

We work with around eight people from Brainhub. The most significant part of the team is the software engineers, but we also have business analysts and UX designers.

How did you come to work with Brainhub?

We found them online, through my network, and a referral. We got to know them and started with the collaboration.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent about €150,000 (approximately $158,000 USD) so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership began in January 2022, and it’s still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The best metric we can give is that we just finalized our funding rounds and a company evaluation of $12 million based on their work, and we don’t have any internal engineers. We have product management and engineering managers, but no one is writing the code internally.

How did Brainhub perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re professionally set up. Also, they’re flexible in how we can work with them. 

They have multiple clients with different working modes, so they’ve adjusted to our preferred way of collaborating. Overall, it’s working quite well.

We use Jira, Notion, and GitHub as tools and Slack and email for communication. We also have video calls on Google Meet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Brainhub can build up a high level of trust, and they continue to earn it. The quality of their work is based on our internal stakeholders, and it’s good. In the end, it all comes down to trust, the way we work together, and the quality and speed of work — all of which have earned our trust over time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They can improve the availability of resources. It’s a scarce market, so that’s probably where everybody could improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust their experience and best practices in consulting and building the product.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a stealth startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainhub?

We were building our first beta product, so we needed extra help in a short period of time. We already had an internal team, but our hiring was slow, so we hired them to help us hire engineers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Brainhub supported us in building a complex website. We already had an existing product built and Brainhub’s engineers served as additional support to our team. They joined our meetings and learned about our processes and existing codebase.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two software engineers.

How did you come to work with Brainhub?

Their team was recommended to us by another startup.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent €250,000 (approximately $275,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Brainhub from January 2020–March 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We only had a pre-launch, so we didn’t have any metrics yet.

How did Brainhub perform from a project management standpoint?

They didn’t do any project management because they only supplemented our existing team. We communicate through our weekly sprints and on Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Brainhub team was known for their JavaScript expertise.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They tried their best during our engagement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Treat them as experts who would teach your team about JavaScript's best practices.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Chief Brand Strategy and Community Partner. Our company simplifies international education via connecting students, universities and a community all in one platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Brainhub to help us scale our engineering teams to enhance and deliver solutions for students and universities. The goal was to do a significant tech upgrade and simplify our existing architecture of web portals and several mobile applications, which manages the journeys for our key stakeholders.

We looked for the React and React Native specialists, able to transfer one of the platforms to React, with a deep understanding of the technology stack, our business vision, and goals.

SOLUTION

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

Through researching and talking to a range of companies we found on Clutch.

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

Brainhub took responsibility for a huge development part and for organizing their developers' pipelines. Business Analyst, Delivery Manager and Technical Advisor from Brainhub were working closely with us especially in the early stages of development and were responsible for adjusting tech decisions to meet our business needs.

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

Brainhub provided 5 skilled, knowledgeable fullstack developers. The Delivery Manager was focused on making sure everything is going in the right direction, and the Business Analyst took care of the backlog and results. The team was also composed of a Technical Advisor who combined technical and business points of view to make sure technology decisions are made with the business goals in mind.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project ended with the production version of the Client Portal and the Account Manager Portal, and a beta version of a mobile app that had a few thousand users at the end of our cooperation.

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

The project was organized with Scrum sprints. Business Analyst and Delivery Manager from Brainhub made sure the team was working on the right priorities from the business perspective. In terms of tools we used Jira for tasks management, and Slack for communication, which was very convenient.

We had daily meetings, and every two weeks there was a planning session where we discussed what should be delivered next to meet the business goals. Once for two weeks, we had a review when Brainhub showed the results of a sprint and progress toward the product goal. The whole process was flexible, and the team was ready to make changes and adjustments when possible.

The sprints were short so no time was wasted and together we were able to quickly spot when something was going in the wrong direction. The Business Analyst was immediately ready to adjust the tasks allocation and Backlog.

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

We were impressed by the technical knowledge of Brainhub developers and the quality of the code they delivered. We loved the ability to contact developers directly, it facilitated communication and removed possible obstacles. Brainhub team members were very proactive.

The company was able to compose such a team that was focused on aligning tech with business needs and making the right decisions swiftly.

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

Nothing significant to add.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Collegial. We’re an educational technology provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainhub?

We brought them on to support us in the development of our platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our engagement is based on a strategic, tactical, and operational level when it comes to design and engineering. We work with Brainhub. They provide a strategic perspective to ensure that the development and design are aligned with the business objectives connected to what they’re involved and engaged with. Our stack is primarily built on TypeScript, React, and Go. Our cloud environment is AWS.

What our platform delivers is a content aggregation ability. We have an open content catalog that allows for integration with various digital learning providers, whether those may be digital natives or it may be a university or other educational provider that offers virtual interactive programs or on-demand content. We provide those types of integrations that enable our product to deliver a single point of access to a multitude of different learning providers.

Another aspect is that we aggregate data from all of our providers in order to give a holistic view of an individual’s, team’s, and organization’s learning and development activity.

What is the team composition?

Our team consists of six developers, a UX designer, and a team lead.

How did you come to work with Brainhub?

We came to engage with them through a recommendation. One of our own developers had worked with Brainhub at a previous company. I was impressed with both the technical skill of their developers and the cultural aspect of how they worked — both within their own teams and with the organizations they service.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $200,000–$1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started around September 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The impact was seen as early as two weeks in. They immediately produced a very high quality of work. Everyone we have worked with on the Brainhub team has been curious, self-driven, and structured. They have a clear sense of how they work.

After two weeks of onboarding the first three developers, they proposed doing a weekend hackathon in order to accelerate a particular feature they were involved in. This was completely on their own initiative. This showed the commitment that these three individuals had for our company and the product. This was a phenomenal start to our partnership.

Brainhub is fully integrated with our team. They’re an extension of our organization and are valuable members of our team. We don’t see them as external consultants, they’re very much a partner. We have every intention of making this a long-term partnership.

How did Brainhub perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re experts on project management tools. We utilize Jira, and Brainhub is proficient with it. We do regular check-ins. Their team has very good processes for how they work and have been an inspiration to us. For context, we’re a relatively young company and have had our product in the market for about 18 months.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Brainhub brings a lot to the table. They provide quality of work and interest in what they do. What’s more, they’re nice people who are fun to work with. We enjoy having them on the team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any areas that need improvement. We’re successively increasing our commitment because we’re so happy with how the relationship is evolving.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Articulate the value that you’re trying to provide for your customers. The idea of working with something that has a higher purpose really gets your team fired up. Secondly, make sure your organization’s culture matches with that of Brainhub. There needs to be a focus on inclusion, transparency, communication, and care for each other.