Captivix

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Founder - BevAnalytics. We are a digital survey company that provides data about how alcohol brands are positioned and placed in the bar/restaurant channel. We hired Captivix to develop the entire platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Captivix to develop the entire platform, data base, mobile app and visualization tool. Our goal was to build an enterprise caliber and ready platform that would be a turn key add on to our target clients current technologies and ways of working.

SOLUTION

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

Captivix came highly recommended due to their experience in building enterprise caliber software, database, and mobile solutions. They already had a lot of experience in this space when we hired them.

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

Scope was everything from ideation to final deliverables and on-going maintenance/improvements. We ideated the best solutions and received a detailed proposal for the effort needed. We proceeded forward and began developing the platform. Captivix enabled us to stay engaged throughout the process. We had weekly update calls to keep the project progressing and remove bottle necks. We built everything in MS.net and MS Power BI to be compatible with our clients technologies.

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

There have been approx 10 or so folks (probably more that I am unaware of) that have worked on this project. However the lead PM has always been our day to day contact. The CEO has also always been available when needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We accomplished the aim of producing enterprise caliber technology that fortune 500 companies would consider implementing within their organizations. We had meetings with 13 of the top 20 companies in this industry and progressed many conversations to near contractual agreements. The challenge was many companies wanted to either be exclusive which was not a good business model for us, and if not they wanted to develop their own internal solutions.

As a result the majority of our engagements ended up being with smaller clients. As a result we were not able to scale the business the way would had initially envisioned.

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

Captivix team was very good at explaining tech to non tech people such as myself. They had the patience to explain the typical technical challenges and decisions that we had to make along the way. They also were very good at documenting their specs and work. Throughout this process they have been very good at explaining difficult concepts to non tech people.

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

They certainly took ownership in the product. They feel like an extension of our team and we introduce them that way when they join us for client meetings. They also have been very good at proposing solutions that are very forward thinking. So that when we finish our dev we are far enough ahead of the curve where we aren't obsolete before even launching.

They also help us plan for the development that we should be considering down the line. This is a tremendous help when budgeting for this type of service because so much is unknown. They do a great job of helping us plan.

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

Looking back, we probably should have trusted Captivix even more. Meaning we should have trusted all their recommendations from the get go. However we often vetted out their recommendations with other tech professionals which usually came back that Captivix was spot on.

Getting 2nd opinions definitely took time and also had a cost associated. I'm glad we did because there is no buyers remorse, however it took working together for a while before we stopped vetting out all their recommendations. That would have saved us some time and money. However otherwise, they are a very strong, talented, and well run organization to work with.