Chili Labs

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Product Owner at Bondora AS. Bondora was founded over 11 years ago in the height of the global financial crisis. This was a time when the world was in need of fair finance and a technological revolution. Today, Bondora has served over 200,000 customers around the world who’ve earned more than €60M in interest.

We make sure everyone can access the world of investing and earn a reliable net return, without all the complexities.

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

We wanted to develop a mobile application for out investment product, to make investment experience for our existing and future customers super easy and super convenient.

How did you select Chili Labs and what were the deciding factors?

We have searched online for the companies which are specializing in native mobile app development. The factors we were looking at: - experience / reviews - cost - team capabilities (front-end, back-end, design) - availability (i.e. when they could start) - location - ideally, the agency should have based in Estonia or nearby (Baltics/Nordics) so we can meet in the office if necessary.

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

We had several discovery meetings to discuss our project goals and KPIs. Afterwards, we have provided Chili Labs with the backlog (user stories) and designs, and discussed the estimates. After setting up the formalities, they have started working on the project. The app is being developed for both iOS and Android (native mobile applications).

By now we have been launching the new versions of the mobile application regularly, and the app is used by over 50k of investors.

How many resources from the Chili Labs team worked with you, and what were their positions?

A CPO (Vjaceslavs), 1 developer (additional resources were added if needed - e.g. Senior developer at the beginning of the project), 1 QA. If needed, our internal team was supported with the second opinion from the designer and backend developers. There have never been an issue with the developers' vacations - Slava is managing resources pro-actively.

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

Since the app launch in September 2021 we have >50k downloads. Chili Labs integrated Firebase for the tracking, and are reviewing the Crashlitics on daily basis.

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

The whole team is very helpful and knowledgeable, and support you with any request or idea. It is easy to soundboard new items - Chili Labs have a vast experience in mobile development, and can either advise or make a research on any topic. We have changed scope several task (re-prioritized and added new items, based on the customer feedback / our vision) and they always supported us on the changes.

They have adopted the tools we are using for the communication and ticket tracking (Asana, Slack), and processes (Scrum/Kanban mix).

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

Chili Labs are highly recommended for the partnership. Experienced, collaborative, agile and flexible. We have also recently started building a mobile application for another project with them, and this means something, right?

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

We had some miscommunication on the designs implementation between Chili developers and our designers in the initial stage of the project - took a bit of time to resolve. A learning for future - involve your Chili PO in all implementation discussions and you won't run into the same issues. Nothing else to add, we are very happy with our cooperation!

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of development for The Sun Finance group, a fintech company involved in online lending. I am responsible for launching products and business entities in Southeast Asia.

What challenge were you trying to address with Chili Labs?

We needed to develop a mobile app for one of our products in Vietnam.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Chili Labs developed our Android app according to our existing customer journey on the web. However, they completely redesigned the platform and added some features here and there.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Vyacheslav (CPO). He discussed everything with us and relayed it to his internal team. We also had some direct communication with the developers.

How did you come to work with Chili Labs?

We announced a competition between some suppliers we knew or found, and Chili Labs was one of them. We did some research, and went back and forth with the contenders, and they all presented to us. We chose Chili Labs because of their price and the attention they could give to the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Chili Labs in November 2019 and finished in early February 2020.

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

We’ve just launched the app on Google Play, and customers have started using it. We’ve seen an increase of just 2% so far, but we haven’t done any marketing. At this rate, we predict sales to increase by at least 10–20%.

Chili Labs gave us a tracking tool for app crashes. The percentages are so low that we can’t even measure them. We’ve had 10 crashes from a few thousand users and we’ve only had to fix 2–3 minor bugs. I’m very grateful for the work they delivered. The app is excellent.

How did Chili Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

We had zero experience with mobile apps, so Chili Labs led us through the project. They were very constructive.

They set up delivery dates and broke everything into steps. They had a sprint-based approach, and they delivered a clickable outcome at least every two weeks. Once we approved or changed the work, they moved forward.

Chili Labs connected directly with our internal IT team, using tools like Jira and Slack. They created a Jira board with tickets for all the tasks and distributed those to their team. We had full access to it, so we could always see what was being done.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They don’t overcharge the customer. They charge for the actual work they do, and there are no unknown or unclear charges. This was super important to us because they were remote and were working at an hourly rate.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They tend to focus on making the technical solution work, rather than looking at the bigger picture. Chili Labs could have improved the partnership by investigating our particular industry and suggesting some solutions. However, they still did a great job, and I wouldn’t say that there are any significant improvements needed.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

It’s important to define the project. With mobile apps, it can development could go on forever. In our case, we were super determined and knew what we needed. Chili Labs gave us a cost ballpark, and they matched it almost one hundred percent.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the IT business solutions manager for Dynatech. There are three businesses within the larger company: travel, financial, and entertainment.

What challenge were you trying to address with Chili Labs?

We needed to outsource mobile app development for the entertainment department of the company.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Chili Labs developed our mobile app from scratch for iOS and Android. It was our third version. They used Objective C for iOS and React for Android, as well as Flutter.

The app allows casting directors to list parts and talent to apply to casting calls. They can connect with one another to negotiate.

What is the team composition?

We work with six people, including Tairs (Lead Developer), a QA specialist, Maria (Chief Designer), and several software developers.

How did you come to work with Chili Labs?

They were recommended to us by the travel department of the company.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between €30,000 - €40,000 (approximately $37,000 - $49,000).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together around August 2020, and it’s ongoing. The Android app was completed in November 2020.

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

Each sprint was successful, with the exception of a few issues on our side. The iOS app is still in development because our APIs weren’t ready. Chili Labs has done a great job, and we are quite satisfied with their work.

How did Chili Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

We have daily standups. We use Trello and Slack for collaboration and communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Tairs showed his experience, asking the right questions to gather necessary information from us upfront. He was prepared.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Chili Labs should probably hire more people to better handle all their projects. They had to rotate some of the people working with us in order to allocate them to other projects.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would definitely recommend working with them for mobile development.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a software contracting company. We bring in certain clients and build out whatever technical items that they need, such as websites, apps, and platforms. I recently became product operations manager.

What challenge were you trying to address with Chili Labs?

The overall project was to design and develop a mobile app for an architecture firm.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Chili Labs developed the app for iOS, and there’s a possibility of doing an Android version in the future. They coded in Swift. My team built out designs on Sketch and InVision, and Chili Labs implemented those designs into the app. Once development was completed, they helped us with the deployment to the App Store. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with three people.

How did you come to work with Chili Labs?

They were brought in by my boss before I joined the company, so I’m not sure how we came across them. I do know that we’ve worked with other iOS teams on other projects, and for something that was of this scale, Chili Labs was the best route to take based on their experience, team size, and capabilities in general.

How much have you invested with them?

It’s a big project for a sizeable client. We’ve spent between $50,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked on the project in 2018 for a bit, and then it was put on pause for a while. We started working on it again in late summer 2019.

The project is ongoing; the majority of it is completed, but Chili Labs is still doing maintenance. If anything comes up, we reach out to them, and they resolve it pretty quickly.

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

We’re extremely happy with everything that they’ve done. We were supposed to release the app to the App Store at the end of April; however, with everything going on with COVID, our client really wanted to expedite the process so that people working from home could have access to this app. That moved our deadline up by a month-and-a-half, and Chili Labs absolutely crushed it. They were great about being flexible and understanding of the situation. They worked with us on a daily basis to ensure that the earlier deadline was met.

How did Chili Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

We had daily standup calls. Chili Labs coordinated with us to make sure that everything was implemented with the most detail possible. They understood everything as best they could and were extremely fluid. Some teams need everything spelled out, but Chili Labs was flexible. For instance, if we wanted to move a button, they would just know what we meant, and we wouldn’t have to redo all of the designs. They even did some designs on their side. With the App Store submission, they knew what designs would help us get approved, so they were extremely helpful there.

Their communication is great, as is their ability to meet deadlines. There are times when outside factors affect deadlines, whether it’s on our side, Chili’s side, or the client’s side. They’re great at the work that they do. They use Jira and Confluence very well. When we gave them designs, they were great with InVision and understood how to use the markups. They’re also great with App Store Connect and TestFlight for iOS testing.

What did you find most impressive about them?

There are a couple of parts. When we first started out, it was a smaller project and wasn’t super time-consuming, but as soon as the deadline changed, they brought in a few more people to make sure that we could make that deadline. Their team size is definitely one thing that helps them stand out, as well as their technical abilities. When we ask them to do something different or out of the norm, they do their research and figure out the best way they can do it to save cost and time.

Overall, their understanding of the Swift platform as well as what it takes to get an iOS app through the App Store is great. Since they’re mainly a mobile studio, they have a lot of experience with uploading apps to the App Store, so they’re extremely helpful with knowing exactly what the Apple team is looking for as far as approving and denying apps. Chili Labs truly goes that extra mile to ensure the app will be accepted by the App Store. They let us know what we needed to change before we went through the whole process of submitting the app. They’re not in it to just build the app and be done with it; they’re in it to make sure that we fully cross the finish line, and they get us there as one big team. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I can think of. They’ve been great across the board.

Any advice for potential customers?

They were great, so my advice to somebody looking to use them would be to trust them. You can put a lot of work and responsibility on their shoulders, and they always take care of it and figure out how to get things done.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and chief strategy officer at Searchie. We use video and machine intelligence to help understand people’s behaviors and then how they’re going to behave in their organization.

What challenge were you trying to address with Chili Labs?

We brought Chili Labs on to help us with mobile app development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Chili Labs developed two native applications on Android and two native applications on iOS. They used features, including video, chatbots, and some APIs, to pull questions for the video interviews. Our team provided them with all of the designs and APIs. They did both front- and backend development.

What is the team composition?

I think there were five developers plus 1–2 QA people.

How did you come to work with Chili Labs?

We underwent a discovery process and looked at several different vendors. 

How much have you invested with them?

I believe we’ve spent about $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

My company started working with Chili Labs in January 2020. We’ve finished two phases, and we’re reviewing what we want to do next.

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

They hit all of the milestones on time. They have been very, very responsive. Everyone on my team is very positive about the apps.

How did Chili Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

We had bi-weekly catchups with the team, and we used Slack to communicate directly with them in the middle of those periods. We also used Jira. They were really communicative. We had a couple of changes mid-project, and they were very good about accommodating them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re really adaptable. The changes that we had in the middle of the project were quite significant, so they were very good at being agile with that and helping us to deliver on what we needed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Generally, they were really good. In the early stages, there may have been some confusion on communication; we might not have been clear, and they might not have asked some questions that could’ve provided clarity to them, but that was a two-sided thing.

Any advice for potential customers?

The more that you ask of them, the more they will deliver.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a software house that builds software for companies and ourselves.

What challenge were you trying to address with Chili Labs?

We had to develop a mobile application for ourselves.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’re engineers, so we didn’t take a classic outsourcing approach. Instead of actually asking for business analysts or designers, we wrote the specifications. Our team provided unique analysis, designs, and requirements. Their team helped build the application for iOS and Android with the Flutter framework.

What is the team composition?

I was in contact with the person who manages the organization. At first, we worked with one engineer who was accompanied by an analyst. After a couple of weeks, we proceeded with just the engineer because we were comfortable with assigning tasks.

How did you come to work with Chili Labs?

My business partner had previous experience with Chili Labs. I trusted his advice and decided to work with them

How much have you invested with them?

We spent €20,000 (approximately $22,000 USD) on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work started in November 2019 and wrapped up in March 2020.

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

Based on our previous experience with different organizations, we're satisfied with Chili Labs' ability to create software. Their team was quite good. 

How did Chili Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

Chili Labs used JIRA, but we used GitLab to organize ourselves. It was astonishing. Their team was good and exceed expectations in some cases. We worked well together.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Chili Labs delivered quickly. They provided comments with valuable content and advice, which was highly appreciated.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I can think of right away.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re in our position, trust their expertise and go on with them.

Please describe your company and your position there.

One-man-army company with me, myself and I. I brainstorm App ideas, hire developers of it, and do my own marketing.

For what projects/services did your company hire Chili Labs?

Chili Labs built an Android app for me, based on designs I provided.

What were your goals for this project?

I wanted to build a stable, smooth and beautiful app and Chili Labs delivered :)

How did you select this vendor?

After many bad experiences with many freelancers and agencies. Working with Chili Labs to work on an App for me was the best experience I've had so far. They work very quick, communicate clearly and most importantly - deliver amazing quality work on budget and on schedule.

Describe the project in detail.

The App they developed is a dream journaling app, aimed to help people learn Lucid dreaming - which is a skill to realise when you are in a dream. Once aware (lucid) in a dream, you can explore your subconscious mind though the dream environment. Talk to dream characters, fly and do much more. Chili Labs delivered the App very fast. I already had the designs so they based the App on my provided designs.

What was the team composition?

Chili Labs can work independently, or if the client prefers, they can keep client in the loop with ongoing questions and challenges. I like to be in the loop. I was assigned a project manager, but ofter I also chose to talk to the developer directly to discuss more technical aspects. Overall it was a great experience.

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

App was built very fast - definitely within the deadline. There were no "unexpected" expenses - it stayed within the budget which is great. Quality is excellent and App is as stable and as smooth has it can be.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective and friction-less.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Mostly I was impressed with how fast they work and how quickly they can overcome difficulties. And of course quality of the job is also just as impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not really

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CEO of a startup.

What challenge were you trying to address with Chili Labs?

We hired them to support mobile app development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Working mostly on the frontend, they helped us build an iOS app that’ll be used for growing plants. They’ve also started supporting some of our AR and emerging tech efforts as well. We intend to work with them on Andriod apps in the future. 

What is the team composition?

We have 2–3 of their teammates working on the project.

How did you come to work with Chili Labs?

We found them via referral from another founder.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started this collaboration around August 2018 and are still working together. 

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

They’ve been extraordinary partners who’re incredibly good at estimating timelines. In my experience, it's difficult to count on the accuracy of deadlines. But, they’ve been hitting milestones, which is notable. 

How did Chili Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They were flexible in adopting all of the project management tools used by our internal team: Jira, Slack, and Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They ask great questions. The team is able to manage a more hands-on project or one with more rigid requirements. Super independent, they’re capable and helpful in both situations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I know they’re growing and would’ve liked to collaborate with more of their team members, particularly their backend people. Even so, everything they do, they excel in.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Tecco, a digital product development firm. We do web and mobile development and deliver custom solutions for our customers.

What challenge were you trying to address with Chili Labs?

We have our own development team, but when we don’t have enough resources, we partner with an external team.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Chili Labs is helping us develop an iOS and Android app for a client. My team did the infrastructure and backend, and they were responsible for coding. They used Swift for iOS development and custom technologies for Android development.

Chili Labs also provided some design services. At the beginning, the client provided the designs, but occasionally they needed a prompt screen design, which is what Chili Labs did.

What is the team composition?

There’s a project manager, at least three iOS and three Android developers, 1–2 designers, the CTO, the CEO, and a QA specialist.

How did you come to work with Chili Labs?

We found Chili Labs through a recommendation. They’d helped us with small projects.

How much have you invested with them?

My company has spent more than €100,000 euros (approximately $10,950 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2018, and the work is ongoing.

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

Chili Labs is the perfect team for us. I’d recommend them as one of the most professional companies on the market here. They solve problems very promptly and effectively. We’re happy with the quality of their work.

How did Chili Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

It was a two-scoped project at the beginning with iOS and Android development. Chili Labs also offered a support phase. They did their job very quickly and delivered the projects on time. We worked on 1–2-week sprints. We like that they’re very flexible and agile.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I only have good things to say about the partnership.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I’d have them change.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of an Estonian company working on software solutions development.

What challenge were you trying to address with Chili Labs?

We needed a mobile solution for one of our projects. We first tried looking for partners in Estonia but came back to our usual collaborators.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our iOS app using Swift, with Kotlin and Java for the Android one. We used Twine to raise multilanguage support, as well as other components.

What is the team composition?

I was in touch with their project manager and two team leads, but there were six more people assigned, plus a designer. We had 2–3 working on the project at certain times as well.

How did you come to work with Chili Labs?

I’d known them for many years, and I knew that they’d developed an effective company. They prepared a very good proposal for us, keeping in mind all the things we’d need during the project. They seemed to have very good knowledge of project management and gave us a good deal in terms of money/services.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve worked on three projects with them, and the overall cost has been above $300,000. The current one was over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the prototyping phase around April 2019, and the collaboration is ongoing. We have two active projects.

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

They’ve always helped us find effective solutions. They know much more about mobile apps than we do, so they’ve helped us define tasks, as well as very good programming skills.

How did Chili Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They did need a bit of improvement with management in the beginning, but they’ve become quite effective since then, and everything ran well regardless. It was all done on time, aside from a few small items.

We’re also working with them on a client project, which is done in scrum. Almost all milestones were met on time, every time. If there was a possible delay, we always collaborated on managing it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They always tried to improve, not only their knowledge but also their organizational skills. They’ve implemented systems to minimize the delays, as well as automated testing for each deployment. They’re always moving forward.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The project manager assigned to us wasn’t always online as he was sometimes busy with other projects. However, this is normal and wasn’t a problem for us.

We also had some tasks for which they didn’t have the technical skills yet, but they tried to find a solution.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

No.