Buildonline

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of ProChurch, a startup that has a website where churches can find and hire freelancers that work in graphic design, Facebook ads, and other avenues. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Build Online?

We needed to bring our idea to life, so we hired Build Online to develop our software app. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially met with Build Online and brought our concept to the table. We wanted the app to be a SaaS product, and customers should be able to find it online, access the website, and find freelancers. They helped us whiteboarding our idea; they showed us the features we needed and the features we might add later. From there, they designed and built our MVP and connected it to our website.

At present, the site functions as a marketplace for freelance professionals and churches. Freelancers can do many lines of work, and churches can locate the right professionals through our platform. They simply have to post their job needs, interview candidates through the platform, and hire people from there. There’s also an automated payment system, so users don’t have to use invoices. 

We currently use Build Online for continual updates and maintenance. When we want to make a change in the software, we communicate with them and they access the platform’s backend. 

What is the team composition?

We work directly with 4–5 people, including Ryan (Director) and a project manager. We also interface with Andrew (Senior Design Director) and Luke (Administrator). Developers work behind the scenes as they do the actual product development.

How did you come to work with Build Online?

Build Online was recommended to us by one of our owners, who had a connection with them in the past. We didn’t shop their competitors because we valued the relationship we formed at the beginning of the process. What made us choose them was their high-quality resources. Luke and Ryan had a lot of expertise. On top of that, their pricing was truly competitive. As a result, we decided to use Build Online for this project from the beginning.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $70,000–$80,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Build Online in October 2020, and the first version of the software went live in March 2021. The engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since we know what we want the software to do, it’s fairly easy for us to see that Build Online has built what we’ve asked them to build. We’ve asked them to customize the app to have specific features, and they’ve done that.

In fact, we have paying customers that use the software every month to manage their digital team. As a result, it’s easy for us to see that Build Online has fulfilled their promise in terms of what our product will do.

How did Build Online perform from a project management standpoint?

Build Online’s project management is excellent in all phases. They’re often ahead of schedule; throughout several months of hard development, they’ve only been behind schedule once. Most of the time, they do things early or at least on time whenever we ask them to build something. That’s quite rare in my experience with software development. 

In terms of tools, we’ve used Nova to manage the product’s backend. We’ve also used ClickUp and Basecamp. For our internal communications, we use Slack. With Build Online, we use telephone or Zoom calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have the ability to take an idea from the whiteboard and turn it into a fully functional piece of software. Other companies only develop software, but they lack design expertise. As a result, we get something that works but doesn’t look good. Other teams are good with designs, but their software doesn’t work. 

By contrast, Build Online has taken our idea and made it come to life as a real-world software app. They’ve also done that at a truly competitive price. It’s quite amazing how we can work with one shop like them that performs at this level. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

This isn’t specific to Build Online; rather, it’s an industry-wide issue — it’s hard to understand why a particular piece of software that seems simple can be highly expensive while a more complex piece of software sometimes doesn’t cost as much. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The best thing to do is to follow Build Online’s process. Take the time to go through the process of meeting with them ahead of time so that both you and them can get on the same page. Sit down with them and map out the first version of your software. 

In our engagement, we’ve even flown to California to sit down with them and map out what the software needs to do. That has allowed us to remove features that we don’t need. This has been helpful and saved us plenty of time and money. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of two small businesses — a rodent control company and a custom farming company. I’m based out of Tulare, California.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Build Online?

We needed Build Online to develop an app for our rodent control company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app is an operational app and a cloud-based CRM software that has all of our workflow between our managers. It helps us organize our employees and keep track of times and costs. We’ve blended a lot of things together such as billing, jobs, and schedules. The team has also helped us build the domain and they’ll more than likely help out with the website in the future. 

The system helps us save time and money and they’ve built it to be user-friendly. Our employees all work out in the field and don’t spend much time with technology, so we’ve built the app to be very helpful and not too complex to avoid having issues. On top of developing the platform, the team has provided training on using the system and they’re providing maintenance services.

Furthermore, they’re developing a pitch platform and helping out with the marketing of the app. We’ve been working in this industry for quite a while and all the sales that get made are done in person with a handshake. It's a lot different from other industries and things are a bit more direct and that’s why their team is giving us the tools that we need for our in-person meetings.

What is the team composition?

We’ve communicated with four people, including Luke (Administrator). They also have a lot of their employees and supervisors on board at our meetings.

How did you come to work with Build Online?

They were recommended to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $75,000 on their services, but it's probably going to go up to $100,000–$120,000 within the next few months.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2021, and we continue to work together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

A lot of tasks that we were doing before would take up a lot of time and required a lot of organizing on the backend, but the app has allowed us to gain a half hour to an hour a day for each of our managers. For our office staff, it has probably cut their time in half. We’ve just had a lot of time savings and we’re also able to provide a higher level of quality in our services for our customers, which has increased our business by quite a bit. Overall, we’re 100% satisfied with their work.

How did Build Online perform from a project management standpoint?

Build Online has done very well from a project management standpoint. They’ve walked us through every step of the way and have done a great job of letting us know where we're at and how much things are gonna cost before we start working on them. Their team has been phenomenal with keeping us updated throughout the whole thing and making adjustments. We communicate through our weekly Zoom meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed by their communication skills and their ability to exceed expectations on how the app is going to operate.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, I really don't have much to say because we’ve been extremely happy with how Build Online has handled things. They've been great the whole way through. They just need to keep doing what they're doing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have weekly meetings with their team because we’ve had our most important conversations through that. In addition, don’t be afraid to throw your ideas because they have pretty good answers for any issues you have.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Product Manager for Communications software at Tithe.ly, we help churches increase giving and simplify the lives of their staff with software and tools built for churches.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We wanted to provide our customers with free Media designed specifically for churches - sermon series kits, social media, motion graphics and more. We had a very tight deadline as we wanted to launch right before Christmas so we could provide this as a present to our customers (did I say it was free to them?). Buildonline dove right in and beat the deadlines we agreed upon.

SOLUTION

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

We found them through a referral from an employee at our company. Given that we were providing this product for free to our customers we needed a reasonable price AND a team that understood our mission to serve the church.

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

We asked Build Online to take an existing library and built out a customer facing interface that allowed users to download content. We also requested a back end dashboard so we can see how many users signed up, how many items were being downloaded and what items were most popular. That was the first set of deliverables.

Since then we have added more features giving users the ability to schedule posts in social media and edit images. Steps are - I provide designs and set of requirements, Buildonline provides a quote and we discuss anything that needs clarification. The development is then scheduled and we meet weekly to discuss items that pop up during development.

Once testing is ready to start I jump in with the Buildonline team and do my own testing, reporting any issues I find. Once we deem ready, we publish to production. To communicate we use Zoom, Slack, Loom and Click-Up.

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

I mostly worked with Luke who is the Business Director/Product Manager. I had occasional meetings with Ryan, Founder/Technical Director and Juan, Full Stack Developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since launch of our Media product we have seen fantastic growth and usage from our Churches. In 2021 (first full year of the product) 32K items were downloaded and 11K new users created accounts.

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

We meet every week to discuss ongoing projects via Zoom. In between those meetings we communicate via Slack or Click-Up. Luke and now Brian are very good at reaching out with questions and respond to my questions in a very timely manner. The atmosphere is always positive and I feel very supported in my goals to provide easy to use technologies for the church.

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

As our company goal is to provide easy to use technology for churches, I appreciate so much that many of the people I interact with at Buildonline belong to a local church and understand the pain points churches have. They were quick to jump in with ideas and provided feedback on what we were building.

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

Honestly, I cannot think of any - the areas I value the most - economics, communication and quality software are their strengths.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of GreenSlate, a mobile app for landscape contractors to easily select materials for their projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed a V1 mobile app developed to begin onboarding customers and receiving their feedback on new features.

SOLUTION

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

referral from a friend - very impressed with my early conversations with two of the company founders.

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

We did a very basic discovery session at the beginning, followed by design iterations for the UX/UI, and finally development

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

Project management split between 2 individuals, not sure how many developers actually worked on the project

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, BuildOnline took great care of the project. I received a good, serviceable V1. I had a lot of confusion on the process along the way, and there was a fair amount of misunderstandings, but they ultimately followed through on the completion of the project

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

The process of project management was confusing overall, but I did see evidence of a lot of process improvements along the way - things they were trying to implement that I just didn't have the luxury of experiencing based of timeline.

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

I was very impressed with the company's commitment to follow through and pushing for excellence. I'm very pleased with the design. Also appreciate their ability to adapt with their own rapidly growing systems and processes. I can tell that rapid growth has stretched them, and I'm hopeful that they're a stronger company as a result.

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

The communication with me about the process and total costs was pretty poor. However, I definitely saw improvement and intentional effort along the way. The owned up to the confusion and ultimately made it right, and that speaks volumes to me.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the executive assistant for the CEO at an online marketplace for podcast content creators to connect, book, and schedule interviews and provide different ways to deliver content. I help with project management between our different subcontractors and teams. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Build Online?

We hired Build Online to develop our app and website.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Build Online initially designed and developed a website and then developed a corresponding iOS mobile app. The Build Online team helped us design the website, incorporating the profiles of our shows and talent and payment and scheduling features. They also added a search function, pro-accounts, and different audio and video pitches options. For the development, Build Online utilized Nova for the backend to handle reporting. 

We’re now working with Build Online to update and maintain the website and app. 

What is the team composition?

Currently, we’re working with Andrew (Senior Design Director), and there is a team of 2–3 developers and a designer working on the project. 

How did you come to work with Build Online?

Our founder was one of Build Online’s first clients. He met them through connections he had in the church space, and they gave him a great deal that he couldn’t pass up. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested under $200,000 with Build Online in 2021, and while I don’t have specifics, we invested $100,000–$200,00 with them in 2020. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership with Build Online began in June 2020, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve received a lot of good feedback on the design and operation of the app from users and investors. We haven’t done much marketing, but our app has grown organically since its launch. Clearly, Build Online produces excellent work. 

How did Build Online perform from a project management standpoint?

Build Online’s project management is generally done well, but the transition from one project manager to another in 2021 wasn’t done very well. Several requests we put through during the transition were missed and not completed. Overall, communication is relatively good, and they’ve improved their systems and communication with us over time. We mainly use Slack to communicate and have two Zoom calls a week to discuss product development and project updates — Build Online is always available and responsive. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Build Online produces high-quality work that really shines through each deliverable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve struggled with the turnaround speed on our requests with Build Online. The initial time to get estimates and roadmaps for our requests is getting longer; Build Online isn’t delivering with the speed we need. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d remind customers that developing products like ours takes time. Build Online’s best work is during the initial development and design of the project, so I’d advise customers to potentially move the project in-house after the first iterations of the project are complete. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO and founder of Guestio.com. We provide podcast marketing services for other company founders.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I am a non technical software founder, so I needed help with our entire software development division.

SOLUTION

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

We chose them because they were getting started at the time and could provide high quality services since we were one of their only clients at the time.

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

They design and develop our software in two week sprints as well as provide weekly calls on product updates, feature prioritization, and more.

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

I work directly with their project manager Andrew Jones, and have been in contact with another project manager, Luke Miller, as well as a founder, Ryan Hayden

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've launched the project and have over 3,000 users to date.

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

We communicate through ClickUp and Slack, and we jump on a Zoom call every week.

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

Their UX/UI efforts have helped position us above our competitors.

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

During a couple transition periods as their team was expanding, we fell through the cracks a little bit, but I'm confident they'll tighten those processes up.