CitrusBits

Please describe your company and your position there.

Zuswork is a Recruitment Agency, focused on hiring premium talent across the globe. I am working as a Recruitment Specialist with Zuswork.

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

We are a startup company that recently started its operations. As we do not have in-house developers, we hired CitrusBits to help us build our website. Our goal was to make a great online presence on the internet which could clearly represent our values, our culture, and our vision.

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

We searched online for web developers in our area and shortlisted 5. After interviewing them, we chose this vendor because of their past projects, design skills, and cost estimate.

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

We had a kick-off meeting to discuss our goals and objectives. From there, the team delivered a couple of great design ideas, themes, and sample websites. After a few alterations, their team designed and developed an informational WordPress site. They uploaded the content to reflect our company's services and created a landing page.

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

A project manager was our main point of contact throughout the process. There were 2 full stack developers, a designer, and a content writer working behind the scenes.

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

After launching our site, we saw a 70% increase in traffic and our incoming leads doubled. Clients and candidates love the design of our website.

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

We had daily stand-ups with their project manager who informed us of all the updates and status of development. If there were any delays, they informed us ahead of time so that we could prepare. We used Slack, Email, and Jira for all communication and it went really well.

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

They gave us a professional website that was easy to update. My team had never worked with WordPress before, so they took the time to teach us how to update the content ourselves.

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

When we first launched, there were some minor bugs on the contact form. We let them know and they were quick to fix the issue.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO of a news/media & political video chat platform based in Los Angeles.

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

We wanted to develop a mobile app for our users to access daily news video updates & livestreamed debates on their phones. Our goal was to have a user-friendly platform where users could instantly tune-in & interact.

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

We searched online for app developers in our area and shortlisted four. After interviewing them. we chose CitrusBits based on their past projects relating directly to ours, design skills, and cost estimate.

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

We had a series of discovery meetings to discuss our goals and objectives. Their Project Mgr was a key voice and critical thinker, as we shaped the app’s features & integrations. It was a joy to collaborate & build the app further.

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

A project manager helped guide the project & work with the engineering & design team.

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

We received many app downloads & engaged users. Our app won Davey Awards (an App competition) for:

• Diversity
• Streaming
• Mobile
• Social-Good

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

The project manger was available & helpful, and also brought good solutions to the table. The communication was clear.

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

I was impressed with the project managers' professionalism and dedication, as well as the engineering team's skills. who worked cohesively together.

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

Citrusbits shifted well with us as we made changes.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Zichy Intelligent Solutions, a real estate company.

What challenge were you trying to address with CitrusBits?

I needed a company to help us build our apps and website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

CitrusBits developed our website and our iOS and Android apps, and they were in charge of the design work as well. I just explained what I wanted, and they did it all.

What is the team composition?

I have one main point of contact who coordinates everything with the rest of the team.

How did you come to work with CitrusBits?

I researched for good developers, and they came on top of the list.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2019, and our engagement is ongoing, but we’re close to finishing up the project.

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

We haven’t launched our site and apps yet, but CitrusBits’ work is outstanding.

How did CitrusBits perform from a project management standpoint?

CitrusBits’ project management is excellent. They’ve delivered in a timely manner, and working with them has been very easy. They use Basecamp and several other platforms to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Whatever they do, they do it well, and their team works in a cohesive manner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I can think of for them to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I definitely recommend hiring them. They have an excellent team; their project managers, programmers, and their CEO are very good.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing and innovation for a science and technology company. I run our global marketing programs for a cosmetic ingredient division. We supply the world with sustainable ingredients and launch sustainable beauty and personal care brands. 

What challenge were you trying to address with CitrusBits?

We’ve hosted several major events around the world. We've created opportunities for leaders in our industry to come together and learn more about sustainability. For one of our major events, we wanted an interactive exhibit where people could have an AR experience and learn about sustainable ingredients, and how to make a sustainable reality faster. We reached out to them for their AR development services. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

We first worked with CitrusBits to develop some animations that we had put together. We designed an iPad experience that allowed people to walk up to a backlit tower and experience an animation. The previously mentioned events were canceled because of COVID-19, and we had to pivot to an iPhone and Android platform. We’ve worked with them to launch those two applications. 

We gave them the project brief and a basic script of what the UX was going to be. The team has worked on building the AR platform using the ARKit. 

They’ve helped us think about the potential of certain animations and how they can make that come to life. We are now working on a set of animations based on images, so the app can make the animation happen depending on the image your phone is looking at. 

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact has been Doug (Product Manager), and he manages his team. I also worked with Harry (CEO) on some of the early scopes of work. 

How did you come to work with CitrusBits?

I was looking for San Francisco Bay Area developers that had AR experience. I had worked with another team, but they weren’t able to put a project proposal together and had several delays. We ended up searching online and found CitrusBits, which had great reviews. We went through a brief interview process and decided to work with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement started in January 2020, and it’s ongoing. 

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

We haven’t launched the app yet, but it has performed as expected. Animations are functioning correctly, and the feedback from our team has been very positive. We are excited about the launch. 

How did CitrusBits perform from a project management standpoint?

Overall, it’s been good. We have a weekly meeting to address any key issues. We communicate through email and use Basecamp as a project management tool. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve been diligent about documenting updates, and they always make sure we have an ongoing file. It’s been nice to continually talk to them about documentation. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I understand the team has multiple projects and timelines, but I’d appreciate it if they could have more flexibility regarding getting feedback from our part. I think delays are to be expected when you have to get user feedback from an organization with several people reviewing the app. 

It would also be helpful if they could be more proactive and offer creative solutions when issues come up.  

Any advice for potential customers?

I’d advise having absolute clarity on what you want. Every detail is helpful to the team and the project’s execution. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Silicon Valley Innovation Center leader at DuPont Technology Center. We’re a material science company.

What challenge were you trying to address with CitrusBits?

We hired them because we were looking to create an AR experience and overlay of the site. We wanted to have an interactive experience for guests to be able to see the entire site and get an idea of the different capabilities we have. We also wanted to be able to use it as a marketing tool.

What was the scope of their involvement?

CitrusBits built the experience from scratch. The team used Unity, as well as a bit of ARKit. We also had them create an iOS app for us. They relied on TestFlight for testing.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people, including Harry (CEO), Doug (AR/VR Manager), and James (VP of Growth & Strategy).

How did you come to work with CitrusBits?

I’d known about them for awhile, from my previous organization. I was a fan of their work, so I reached out to them for this project. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent roughly $80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March 2019–September 2020. We’ll probably be revisiting them sometime next year for some updates.

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

The team is great. They were extraordinarily attentive and really kept us honest. We actually took a trip to CitrusBits’ office and found them to be very hospitable, friendly, and knowledgeable. 

How did CitrusBits perform from a project management standpoint?

We set up most of our conversations through BaseCamp, but we also have typical phone calls and emails. They’re extraordinarily committed. CitrusBits is also excellent at meeting deadlines — as a matter of fact, they’re even early at times. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m impressed with their patience and their speed. CitrusBits was willing to go the extra mile for us. They worked with us when we had questions and put a lot of effort into the project. They were just great people to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing that sticks out.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have an idea of what you want your final product to look like, so they can give you a better end product.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of accounting, finance and IT for Urban Plates, a restaurant.

What challenge were you trying to address with CitrusBits?

We hired CitrusBits to develop an app. We were looking to create a more elevated experience for people who want to order delivery, take out, or even order from a table. The online system we were using were clunky, so we wanted a seamless experience that was designed with our customers in mind.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We knew what we wanted the design and flow to be overall, but didn’t have the experience to bring it all together. CitrusBits put together all of the design documents, brought our vision to life, and then executed the technical aspects of the build.

They integrated that with a NovaDine backend which already supported online ordering, menu management, order processing, and credit card processing.

What is the team composition?

We worked with one project manager, one designer, and their development team, which was overseas.

How did you come to work with CitrusBits?

We did an RFP and they submitted a proposal. We selected them because we have a unique position in the market and they were able to build a custom solution for us from scratch.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent just under $400,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2020 and our engagement is ongoing.

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

The quality of their service is super high. We’ve finished phase A and the app was launched to the public. In the first week and a half, we had 2,000 app users. We’re now working through feature add-ons and enhancements. Overall, we’re really happy with their work.

How did CitrusBits perform from a project management standpoint?

We had weekly and bi-weekly conference calls and email conversations. We also used Basecamp to communicate over the design documents and Jira for support tickets.

Right after we started, COVID-19 hit, so everything has been remote and we communicate entirely electronically.

They managed the timeline really well. NovaDine is a fairly new online ordering product, so not many companies have worked with it before, including CitruBits. Every week we were on the phone with NovaDine to work through different issues. They had to give us access to different things and rework some of the data. All of the deadlines that CitrusBits 100% controlled, they were able to achieve. Still, they were flexible as we worked with third parties.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They really understood our experience because they were customers of ours. It really helped that they understood our company and were a true partner. As a result, we’re really excited to bring the app to life.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We didn’t face any challenges with CitrusBits.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We spent a lot of time on the design phase and screen flows. I would recommend that new partners take the time to nail down as much as they can regarding the design. It will save you a ton of time on the backend.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Marketing and Sales Manager for my company. We deal solely with providing merchant cash advances to small businesses throughout the US.

For what projects/services did your company hire CitrusBits?

Our company wanted to launch a mobile app - one that could replace our outdated online portal, and give our customers an easy and accessible way to always check the status of their account. We needed something that was clean, easy to use, and informative.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted the creation of a mobile app for iOS and Android. While we do have plans to release new features in phases, we had a set number of specifications and features that we wanted, such as being able to check balances, dates, and keep track of how the customer's advance was coming along.

Sending push notifications to specific people with customizable messages was a big part of what we were looking for as well.

How did you select this vendor?

I actually found CitrusBits through Clutch.co while searching for mobile app developers in my area. We really wanted a company that was close by and able to come to our office for a face to face meeting to start, with weekly check-ins (remotely) as the app development progressed.

CitrusBits was able to do that! Furthermore, upon looking at some of their other creations, I fell in love; everything was very well-made, and they were organized, communicative, and patient from the very beginning. It was a pretty easy pick.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we decided to work with CitrusBits, they were very quick to set up a meeting with us to discuss the scope of the project, as well as key features that we wanted for our app. We discussed color schemes and the main demographic of our customers, which allowed CB to develop and design an app that was tailored for our users.

CitrusBits provided detailed notes after every weekly meeting, did check-in calls to discuss our feedback on every part of the design and functionality of the app, and very frequently accommodated us for technical calls to straighten out any and all issues that arose.

Everything was clear, easy to understand, organized, and transparent; CitrusBits always remained in touch for everything, and that's allowed us to receive an app that's exactly what we were looking for.

What was the team composition?

We had the main point of contact and the project lead, Breann, who is an absolute pleasure to work with. Chandler spearheaded the designs (which turned out beautifully). As for the IT/technical side, we communicated mostly with Umair. All three people were extremely communicative and accommodating, and kept in touch with us through Basecamp and weekly calls.

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

We're all extremely excited to launch our mobile app! Previously, we used a very outdated online portal that would sometimes break down, lag, or not be updated to show the most recent information. Some of our customers are older, so they didn't like having to go to a webpage, log in, and go through the entire process just to get some simple information.

The app makes all of that very easy and accessible with just one press of the finger on their home screen! We've always promised our customers hassle-free and quick service. The app created by CitrusBits delivers on that promise and more.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Everyone was exceptionally easy to work with. They were patient in explaining not only the process and the workflow, but also any and all errors that came up as well. As this was our very first mobile app, no one on our team had any experience for how to make things work, but the team over at CitrusBits held our hands and guided us through the steps one at a time.

CitrusBits' project lead was very organized, and it helped that she always took such detailed notes for every weekly meeting. It helped us organize what we needed to do and what was being done. The CitrusBits team as a whole was communicative as well, so any time we asked a question or provided anything requested, we received an answer no later than a day.

We had some stumbles and delays on our end due to the COVID-19 situation, but CitrusBits was patient and willing to work with us throughout the whole mess!

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was blown away by pretty much everything. CitrusBits was knowledgeable and willing to pull thrice their own weight. When we needed advice, they had it ready immediately. Even before we expressed concerns about unfamiliarity with our industry type,

CitrusBits did their research and looked up our competitors, common designs and features in our industry, and more. Furthermore, CitrusBits really went above and beyond the expected! Accommodating, patient, and fast - CB had all of that and more to the point where I really can't pinpoint just one aspect that was impressive. Their professionalism and quality of work really speaks for themselves!

Are there any areas for improvement?

Honestly? I can't think of any. CitrusBits was fast in delivering what we wanted, and the end product is still blowing me away with how beautiful it is. It's exactly what we envisioned for the first phase of our mobile app!

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are the leader in the animal health industry. I'm the Sr. Creative Designer for the US Diagnostics Marketing team.

For what projects/services did your company hire CitrusBits?

We needed an AR solution for our product demonstrations. Instead of physically bringing our instruments into veterinary clinics, we needed a solution to perform demonstrations on our mobile tablets.

What were your goals for this project?

To create solid leads by performing product demonstrations through our AR app.

How did you select this vendor?

We researched several companies and along with a recommendation from our creative agency, we agreed on CitrusBits.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The project was to create 3D renditions of 3 of our products. They were then to create an AR app which linked from our companies sales enablement app. Through storyboards and many visits and conversations, CitrusBits created several hot spots, or animations, within each product to give the user a sense of what it would be like to demonstrate the product.

What was the team composition?

All of our communication went through Doug Liang, Director of AR, who was great. I'm not sure how many designers were allocated to our project and if that number changed throughout the project, but Doug made sure all of our needs were met in a timely fashion.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Everything to report so far has been word of mouth. The app was debuted at our largest tradeshow of the year in January, in which we got very positive feedback from our sales reps at the show, as well as executives and tradeshow participants (veterinarians, vet techs).

It's currently being deployed to all of our sales reps at our National Sales Meeting this week. Once it's being used by all of our reps, it will be nice if we can track the usage and if it was used to assist in any direct sales with clients.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project was managed within BaseCamp for the most part. Communication was good throughout the project. We had weekly calls throughout so that we could stay on top of deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Aside from the solid work they completed, it was their willingness to go above and beyond, whether with scheduling or finding payment solutions. CitrusBits was always willing to find a solution that worked for us. They were very accommodating.

Are there any areas for improvement?

If anything, communication could always be improved. At times, revisions were either misunderstood or missed, but these were minor things that were always cleared up in the end.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Chief Commercial Officer of a small biotech company based in Menlo Park. I'm responsible for our digital app development and engagement that surrounds our novel medical device.

For what projects/services did your company hire CitrusBits?

We were interested in pairing a mobile application to our novel medical device. We hired CitrusBits to help us develop, test and launch a mobile application best fit for patient use.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to develop a sleek, smooth and user friendly mobile application for use with our device. The project was tricky as it involved not only the app development but also linking the hardware in a seamless way.

How did you select this vendor?

CitrusBits was highly recommended to us by a similar company in our space who had done mobile development with this team before. Additionally, we screened multiple companies for the project, but the team at CitrusBits was clearly knowledgeable and engaging throughout the whole process, and continued to be so during and even after the work was completed.

Describe the project in detail.

The scope of the project was to complete a mobile application for our patients and link it seamlessly to our novel medical device. We worked hand in hand with CitrusBits to develop a look and feel that we felt would be attractive, and easy to use for our patient population. The project involved weekly (or more often) meetings to get all of the details finely tuned. We were under a tight timeline to deliver and CitrusBits did everything they could to ensure we hit our goals (which we did!).

What was the team composition?

Our team involved myself and an engineer who worked closely with CitrusBits to integrate the hardware. The CitrusBits team involved a project manager (very responsive, on top of all details), a designer (very creative and receptive to feedback) and a development team (ex-US who were very good at collaborating with us when we hit bumps in the road). The team flexed in and out as necessary but transitions were never difficult.

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

Our project with CitrusBits has "wow'd" many of the key stakeholders that we have engaged in. The professionalism and thoughtfulness of the application has significantly added value to our company and we're extremely grateful to the work that the CitrusBits team has done.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project management aspect of the project was fantastic. We were very happy with the engagement, organization and overall professionalism of how the project flowed. Timelines, deadlines and expectations were extremely clear on both sides of the aisle.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The final product was the most impressive thing about the work we did with CitrusBits. The project management, creative process and everything else was really well done. It all came together to give us a product that we're excited about and has more than exceeded expectations.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Although timelines weren't impacted, the transition of hardware overseas to the ex-US team took longer than expected and it felt like that process could have been expedited or done in a more seamless way. That being said - all was delivered on time. Also, we had a digital kickoff and it would have been nice to meet in person at least to begin the project.