Brival

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I created an ad server last year with my business partner.

What challenges were you trying to address with Brival?

They support the technology behind our ad server.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They deliver software solutions to solve business challenges that our clients and we face. They’ve been working with us since the beginning to develop our product. This included building a creative preview tool that we can use to demonstrate our product to potential customers. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with six people. 

How did you come to work with Brival?

I used to work on building mobile apps. Mateusz (CEO & Founder) had helped one of my old colleagues with a project. My partner had also worked with Matt indirectly. We knew firsthand how great Brival was. 

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent about $300,000–$350,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July or August 2019, and our engagement is ongoing. 

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

As a result of their work, we’ve seen a 30% revenue increase. Anecdotally, they’re efficient and deliver on time. They keep the momentum of the project going. 

How did Brival perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re always available, and the team is very responsive. 

We have weekly standups and use YouTrack. They did a great job in terms of organization, and they used an agile framework with two-week sprints. They’re consistently delivering solutions. 

Brival built us our own QA site partway through our collaboration to make the process more efficient. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They delivered on time. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

Make them part of your team and engage them.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the President of Plunjr, a video, self-help app that provides personal help from a licensed plumber to help you fix your DIY plumbing project.

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

We had three prior developers that struggled to make a reliable video connection as well as stay on time and within budget. Brival was asked to rebuild the app from scratch and provide a production version within a months time. They did.

How did you select Brival and what were the deciding factors?

Brival came as a recommendation from a trusted source. Mateusz's ability to communicate clearly what he thought might be the problem was well as offer solutions within a very shorty window of time (24-48hours) was logical and reassuring. The app itself is a diagnostic tool and as the president of the company I diagnose problems myself within my own trade daily. A craftsman can recognize another craftsmen regardless of the discipline and the Brival team is made up of main talented folks.

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

Brival was originally tasked with producing and app that would make a video connection with only a single button. That connection had to be made %99.9 of the time. They have completed that task and helped us work through some UI/UX problems as well. We are currently working on a timeline through the rest of the year to build out the other features such as e-commerce and scheduling.

Brival has included us in their live coding session for some fine-tuning of the app before release and the Plunjr team has found this extremely helpful as well as amusing to see behind the curtain. They work both fast and efficiently. Deliverables have been on time and complete.

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

4 members of the Brival team 1 - CEO 1 - PM 2 - Developers

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

Brival does a good job at communicating timelines as well as under promising and over delivering. They have a firm grasp on their trade and it shows in their work. Deliverables have been on time and complete. Any feedback given about bugs was addressed usually in a mater of hours not days.

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

Management style is very warm and customer facing. All meetings are meet with professionalism but the team is also able to offer a friendlier side that we have not seen from the tech community before. They communicate with us using both Slack and Pivotal Tracker

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

Their ability to work quickly and produce a quality product.

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

I traditional find this section of a review the most important as I prefer to only ready the "improvement" section. However, I have yet to find a fault with the Brival team. The tech industry is plagued with lazy bodies that want free food and a ping pong tournament every day. This team wants to work! If I was pressed to respond though I would say they're geography far from us but even that they compensate for by "time shifting" to work around our schedule.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief product officer for a luxury travel startup. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Brival?

We needed to build our website in order to launch the company.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were asking for a basic e-commerce site, requiring a CMS and solid visual implementation of designs. Our company worked with a design studio to create the look and feel of all the pages. However, we needed a dev shop to handle the backend and the JavaScript on the frontend to ensure that the site was representative of the designs. At this point, the main aspects of the work are complete, but we’re still doing check-ins with them every two weeks.

How did you come to work with Brival?

We had a mutual friend that connected them with us. That friend was helping us get spun up with them, but we took them in as part of our team 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $100,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2019, and our teams are still collaborating. 

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

I owned a software development shop for four years, so I have pretty high expectations for technical and communication-related quality. I’ve tried multiple times to try partnerships with offshore teams, and they’ve made the experience satisfying. I’d invite my contacts to work with them, which is saying a lot because they could be considered a rival of mine.  

They were fantastic across the board, meeting all necessary deadlines. Whenever we had an urgent issue, they’d bend over backward to solve the problem for us. 

How did Brival perform from a project management standpoint?

They have an onshore product manager that we could, theoretically, work exclusively with. However, we chose to have a weekly check-in with their entire team. That’s made it feel like they’re all part of our team. Even though they’re in Poland, we’ve communicated easily. We use Slack as our main communication conduit. Throughout the week, we may change priorities, but they’re always available to us to accommodate that.

In many of our meetings, we’re not just talking about work. We’re also getting to know them as individuals. We’ve become very close over time. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re passionate about helping us succeed in our endeavors. Our biweekly check-ins showcase how integrated they are with my team. If people are looking to bring on an offshore development team, they should check out Brival. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’re great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Remember that contract software developers are individuals, not assets. To get the most out of your relationship with them, be a good client. That means establishing priorities and being content when someone gives you everything they can. Don’t expect more than is possible. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Lean Street Company is an outsourced tech firm. We support startups globally by matching skills to each client’s needs. We have US-based project managers who work with clients to determine what they need and communicate with developers.

What challenge were you trying to address with Brival?

We were looking to build an application for a private airline.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Brival used Python and Django to create an application. The system helps pilots, staff, and customers coordinate trips and departure times. They worked with the client to nail down requirements. At the end of each 2-week sprint, they would show a demo that included each new feature built.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with Mateusz (CEO, Brival) and one other developer.  he maintains a close relationship with his team.

How did you come to work with Brival?

I was working with another engineer, and he brought them on board. Later, I was working primarily with another team and had Brival working on a few smaller projects. It was clear, though, that Brival’s team was outperforming our other partners. Now they’re our go-to.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in January 2016 and we continue to work on a variety of projects together.

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

They’re all-stars. The team is able to think on their feet and raise flags when things don’t work. They participate in ideation and are helpful partners for things other than coding. They’re incredibly effective and outperform other people I’ve worked with.

How did Brival perform from a project management standpoint?

They always deliver on time. Their estimates are always accurate—they just get it done, and that’s the big thing. We communicate over Slack and Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They think on the client’s behalf instead of just finishing code. They really want it to be the right solution.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Prepare what you want to do ahead of time, and let them know so they’re not surprised. Also, engage with them. Work with the demos and provide feedback on how to improve the system.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a post-production company for photography. Photographers from all around the world free up a lot of their time by sending their photos to us to edit. We offer software as a sale (e.g. offer subscriptions to our clients).

What challenge were you trying to address with Brival?

We wanted to automate file transfers between our clients and us. A lot of those file transfers were done directly from an FTP app with no alerts, synchronization, or custom automation. We needed to remove the human element so that our international and domestic clients could send us their work 24 hours a day.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created a system using a browser-based app as a platform, which includes a user interface for us to monitor the system. They currently manage the backend of the system, which we constantly update.

 The automated system checks the accuracy of files sent. Then, the files go into our production queue where they’re automatically assigned. Brival built the system on AWS, which allows us to be online all the time. So, our clients can send us files even if our power goes out.

We’re using Django as our platform, which is where I use a dashboard to manually manage files. PHP scripts on our File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server are set up to syncs the files with AWS. 

They’re also helping us with Podio, our production management software. It manages billing, file transfer and completion, and emails going to customers. They help customize the software and their scripts integrate well within the system. 

What is the team composition?

I’m working directly with Mateusz (CEO, Brival) — he’s been the project manager and developer. We’ve always been in direct communication. I’m not sure if there are other individuals working with him. 

How did you come to work with Brival?

We contracted Mateusz through a relationship with a PR company. We’ve built our professional relationship by working together on projects from the start. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested close to $10,000 with Brival for this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Mateusz at the end of January in 2018, and we’re still working together.

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

The user interface is user-friendly for someone who doesn’t understand code. Our clients’ experience has improved. 

When clients communicate problems, we can channel them directly to Mateusz. He’s very responsive about taking care of adjustments, and that immediacy and dependability is important because our clients are busy. 

Due to our positive experiences with Brival, we’re looking to expand our investment with him for future projects (e.g. rewriting our entire system).

We believe Brival can take our company to the next level. Mateusz knows exactly what our needs are and has been very accessible and helpful.

How did Brival perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management has always been great. I’ve had no issues with his organization. We use YouTrack to see what’s next in the queue. Mateusz prioritizes tasks well and keeps the project moving forward.

He schedules tasks and then gets estimates for them. He gives an estimate of effort, and he’s very transparent about the cost. 

Despite the time zone difference, Mateusz has been very responsive within our core hours of business, and he makes sure he’s available. He’s very flexible.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their integrity stands out. They make sure that what’s promised gets done. In any business, relationships are the main factor in measuring success. A business relationship is a synergy you’re creating. When you’re thriving, they’re thriving. Our relationship with Brival has taken our business to new heights. We never have a ceiling or limitation to where we can go.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’re in a really good place.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s very helpful to understand what you want and how to communicate that (e.g. understanding technical language). It’s always good to get on a video call and talk through what you want. When you can’t explain it, show examples. I’ve been learning how to communicate better from a development standpoint.

Mateusz is good at meeting me halfway. If he doesn’t understand, he’ll do the research as well. We’re both learning and adapting to each other. He’s very good at understanding the logic of your business needs. So, you should be able to communicate your requirements, your purpose, and the backbone of your business.