Connect33

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Sr. Manager of Technical Talent Acquisition of Braze

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are an omni-channel customer engagement platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Connect33 to accomplish?

• Hiring software engineers in São Paulo, Brazil
• Hiring local technical recruiter in São Paulo, Brazil
• Increasing sourcing to 150 candidates per week.
• Introduction to local software engineering community leaders.

SOLUTION

How did you find Connect33?

Online Search

Why did you select Connect33 over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget

How many teammates from Connect33 were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

• Provide market insights and educate internal Engineering stakeholders and Talent Acquisition on the Sao Paulo software engineering market
• Increase pipeline volume
• Hire localized recruiting resource
• Hire 2 Senior Software Engineers to work out of our Sao Paulo office

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Hired one contracted Technical Recruiter - we then converted this contractor to Full Time Employment
• Hired one Senior Software Engineer
• Become familiar with the local Networking community and sponsored multiple events

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

I think Connect33 was limited in what they could accomplish due to limitations by our company and within the market but accomplished a good deal within these constraints. 

Throughout the engagement, they were very communicative, available, and collaborative

What was your primary form of communication with Connect33?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

I was incredibly impressed with how fully they integrated within our company. They leaned in and worked diligently to understand our idiosynchrosies and needs

Are there any areas for improvement or something Connect33 could have done differently?

It took a bit of time to find a truly local resource in the market. We had a non-local sourcing resource that produced less than ideal results for a portion of the contract.

The expertise you receive from someone who understands the local market by being in it is invaluable. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Atrium, a software consulting firm. We focus on AI in the Salesforce and Snowflake consulting markets.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Connect33?

We were evaluating setting up operations in Latin America.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We tasked Connect33 to assess the Latin American market and help us think through where and how we might want to establish our presence there. To do so, they evaluated different countries to find the benefits and disadvantages of each. During this research, they did a lot of in-depth analysis of each country, considering aspects such as developer capacity, retention rates, business costs, and business establishment ease. Then, they came back with a recommendation on where we should think about setting up operations, as well as with the sequencing to do that.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people from Connect33, including Juan Pablo (Co-Founder), who directed the week-to-week activities.

How did you come to work with Connect33?

Connect33 was a referral from a professional contact I had in the investment community. When we met them, they made a great first impression, thoroughly following through with our initial questions. Their focus seemed to match very closely with what we were looking for, so we hired them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked on this project from November 2021–February 2022. However, we intend to keep the relationship in an advisory status.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Although it is early to see any impact, Connect33’s work has helped us validate our approach towards Latin America, giving us a clear line of decision-making for where we want to exert our energy.

Overall, we were delighted with their work. They provided us with high-quality deliverables and helped make a confusing process clear around certain decisions. Thus, their partnership was of tremendous value in that regard.

How did Connect33 perform from a project management standpoint?

Connect33’s project management was exceptional; we were very happy. They kept a very disciplined communication frequency with us, so we always knew where we stood in the project. We usually met over Zoom calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Connect33’s responsiveness was impressive, as were their background and credentials. They were great listeners and knew the market really well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any constructive feedback. We were very happy with their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a very clear understanding of what you want out of the project. The more ambiguous your goals are, the bigger the risk of not getting a quality product.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

CMO of a business that helps companies build, grow and manage their software engineering teams in Latin America with remote engineers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Connect33?

Our company was interested in understanding ways to optimize our service offerings, cost structures, internal operations and go-to-market strategies.

SOLUTION

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

It came about organically, through mutual acquaintances. We talked several times about ways we could work together and after we analyzed the benefits and deliverables we decided to move forward.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The project consisted in four sessions, without taking into account the previous ones we had to understand our business and structure the project. The sessions each took a different route depending on the session focus and some previously defined questions. We covered the topics mentioned and then drew conclusions on our side.

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

The two founders of Connect33.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We modified our service offerings and go-to-market strategies. Also identifying some areas of opportunity for growth in operations.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Sessions were prompt and to the point. They were flexible in having extra sessions - the fourth session was not initially planned - and provided insights after the fact. Initially the sessions took different routes and the conversation might've not been as structured as I would've liked at the beginning, given the breadth of the topics we wanted to cover, but towards the end we pretty much had a cadence figured out. Communication was simple and asynchronous outside of the sessions.

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

Their high knowledge of the market was impressive.

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

A final report with overall findings would've been greatly appreciated. Also, some operational questions were answered with information from the internet, but were meant for more in-depth knowledge.