Crowdbotics

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a partner at Bee Partners, a San Francisco-based early-stage preseeding venture capital firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Crowdbotics?

I’m a multisite founder — I’ve started around eight different companies involving pretty sophisticated development and design work. I’m very familiar with outsourced web internal team and outsourced development, so the partners’ team is rather small and there are only four of us on the core team. However, we have over 40 active companies in the portfolio, approximately $100 million dollars.

As a result, we’re stretched very thin as a core team. The thesis of our initial engagement and ongoing work with Crowdbotics was to extend the core key team as dramatically as we could functionally with all the complexity of the data that we manage over time, through data and software. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve been working with Crowdbotics for a couple of years now. The work that I have been doing as the partner that’s leading the charge on this is to design tools that to date we’ve been using internally for the core team to enhance our visibility into the functionality of the core companies and a broad list of what we can bench resources such as third-party service providers, individuals, angel investors, and more. Those around 600 entities out there are firms we need to track over time — it’s very complex. 

As a result, we decided to do an internal portal and we’re working on it for a few years now. The effort now has shifted just in the past few months to a very aggressive that Crowdbotics has been actively working on opening up our portal to third parties, both limited partnerships (LPs), investors in our various funds, the founders across our portfolio companies themselves, as well as our extended bench network. The tiered authenticated portal that we’re building enables authenticated third-parties that we’ve reviewed to come into our portal and self-select to assist us with various requests or needs across these portfolio companies. 

Basically, it’s automating that work that I’ve been doing as a portfolio operations partner for years. It’s very unusual for a firm to do this, to allow our broad range of external providers to have that kind of ability.  The team is using Django as the framework and PostgreSQL as a database. We’re also going to use React Native for the frontend, and we’re currently sitting on Heroku servers just for ease of use right now — it’s extremely robust. We’ve been on a 1–2 week sprint cycle with Crowdbotics. 

AdobeXD is our primary tool for design specification work and that involves getting all interested parties to looking at prototypes and approving prototypes. We release to them rather specific details on how it should be implemented, but this is unfortunately what they don’t get. They often just get one sheet of paper, for example, I want to build a mobile app and sell my jewelry. If that’s the spec you’re going to give the company, it’s going to fail. As a result, we have a new territory to navigate where we really have to educate people on the outcome that is going to be predicated.

The portal has launched already and we’ve been using it internally for many months now, but the first instantiation of the portal was launched from the very first sprint they did just after two weeks when we first engaged with them. The next evolution of the portal we’re building has hundreds of endpoints right now across resources and portfolio companies and requests — it’s a pretty complex product. In effect, we are going to have other venture capitalists (VCs) indicate a desire to look under the hood and see if it’s something they could use, so it’s a proprietary competitive advantage. 

What is the team composition?

We work with everybody, from Anand (Founder & CEO) who I talked to on a bi-weekly basis all the way down to the line. They had managers and producers. We also had run through on a number of lead developers.  We’re currently working with Jeffrey (Senior Unity Developer & Game Developer). 

How did you come to work with Crowdbotics?

Anand is actually a second-time founder in our portfolio. He was a co-founder of a company called Lead Genius, which we invested in quite a while back. As a result, we placed a pretty high priority on returning founders. We’re lucky enough to have multiple second-time founders return back to us as a funding source - that’s how we met. When Anand came to us with a new business plan for a new service, we leaned in hard. The bottom line is we trust him and know him. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent probably in the range of $30,000–$80,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The ongoing work began around December 2018, and they’ve been actively sprinting, doing design work, and executing other tasks. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The portal has been absolutely key to how we make decisions and respond to our portfolio company. We use it constantly throughout the day and as we pivot now in the first quarter of 2021 in opening up the resource to our trusted third parties, that’s going to be another big step for us. Overall, the work they do for us is mission-critical work. 

In addition, Jeffrey (Senior Unity Developer & Game Developer ) is one of the best I’ve worked with. I’ve worked with hundreds of developers over the years, but even though he’s a third-party leader, the work that he’s been doing for the past six months is frankly extraordinary. The value we’re getting for the amount of money we’re paying is remarkable — I’ve not been able to replicate that across any of the third-party services we receive.

We have pretty clearly defined objectives and what we would consider results that would instantiate us in meeting those objectives. Our portal has dashboard elements that monitor literally the use of the portal itself and the effectiveness of the portal — that’s always been key. Crowdbotics has always met its targets. The work that you’re going to get from Crowdbotics is very much dependent on the specificity of the design you’re after and how stable you are as a customer with regard to design changes, and you’re not just going to flowing around with the wind with every delivery — it’s a tough problem, but Crowdbotics does a really good job of controlling this. 

How did Crowdbotics perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate carefully and the vast majority of the work passes through Slack, so we have a dedicated Slack channel. We do daily standups when necessary, I’m on a daily standup call with Crowdbotics with the current sprints and in-between sprints. When I’m doing the design of spec work, we don’t do daily standups. We have really gotten the documents that we share to a really clear and transparent process with regard to internal reviews. Most importantly, we’ve never had overreach, not once in two years with dozen of sprints. They’re also clear and they provide feedback rapidly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

One of the key differentiators of Crowdbotics is that they have inventoried a vast array of hundreds of thousands of open-source libraries. I’m not sure who else has done that, but I’m sure that efforts cost them a lot. The legitimate open-source libraries out there are literally building blocks for apps. It’s partly part of our investment thesis and they’re currently able to build robust and extremely rapidly deployed stacks of data science for customers like us, literally just pulling from open-source reposts. It’s platform development, app development, and DevOps on stereos where you’re effectively leasing your stack versus buying - an extremely attractive business model. 

I’ve worked with every shop you can think of, but Crowdbotics is very pragmatic, offers cost-effective services, and their business model is unique. It allows even customers like IBM to realize that they can spin up, for example, data science facts more quickly than they could internally. Above all, the code work they do is transparent and you can build virtually anything you want with their stack. They also do a lot of other stuff such as AR, VR, data science, and more — they got it all, but the majority of what they do is using proven repositories that we’re not building from scratch.

You’re not getting stuff you can’t read and you’re not just getting binary files back and not know what they did internally. This team just offers a new paradigm for rapid application development that’s really trusted and has really fast sprints. You get what you designed and we’re addicted. I can see us using no other resource and we recommend Crowdbotics across our portfolio. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think this is more of a challenge for other companies who want to build their own app and Crowdbotics’ can help educate these people, especially those without detailed design specification work and who have uncertain deliverables to slow down. The team should make sure that their prospective customers can understand what they need to provide in order to prevent any unexpected outcomes. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of an IT company. We make software, apps, and websites.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Crowdbotics?

We saw an enormous gap in the market in terms of a possible piece of tech. Since I'm a frontend developer by trade, I can handle parts of development, and we needed a team to help take us to the finish line. That’s how we landed on Crowdbotics.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve built four apps with Crowdbotics. We typically send them our original design, mockups, and concepts, and then they create fully-functioning iOS and Android apps from scratch. Then, they help upload the apps to the respective app stores.

One of the apps features a geofencing system; if someone walks by a particular address while using the app, a push notification pops up. They’ve also helped us create technology for a PIN code login, which circumnavigates the traditional password and email combination. We’re very happy with that technology; it has a fantastic UX. Those are just two highpoints amongst several others.

They’ve constantly been there to make sure that everything is current, such as OS update or when new hardware comes out. They essentially take care of anything you can think of related to administering and maintaining an app; we’ve never had to worry about it.

What is the team composition? 

I consistently work with two people from Crowdbotics. AJ (Senior Account Manager) got in touch with me when I first reached out. I bring the new projects to him, and he connects me to a project manager. I then work with the PM, and they work with a developer.

I generally just work with two people, but there could be 6–7 people in the totality of the project, from start to finish.

How did you come to work with Crowdbotics?

I found them on Google, which was quite fortunate. I knew it was risky to work with any development firm, and I didn’t know how good they were. However, having a conversation with AJ and the CEO was enough to instill trust. I just took their word that they could deliver on the product.

How much have you invested with them?

The latest app is going to be $5,000. It’s a very simple app, but the price is phenomenal. We spent $3,000, $4,000, and $2,600 on the other apps that we’ve created. So far, the range per project has been $2,500–$7,500.

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership started in March 2019, and it's ongoing. We work with them on all of our new technologies. I actually have a meeting with a project manager today to finalize the latest app and get it on the app stores.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The biggest thing that we measure against is timeline, so how quickly they can get the project done and meet the milestones. Then, we present well built-out sketch files, so the second measurement is how closely they can replicate those. On both counts, they’ve exceeded all expectations, every single time.

The work is renowned. Our users and investors love the apps, as do other individuals that commingle with our enterprise. The tech is our biggest claim to fame; it’s what makes us effective as a firm. The vast majority of that credit should be awarded to Crowdbotics. They build amazing and incredible products.

How did Crowdbotics perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re fantastic. Their PMs are really well-vetted. I’m not entirely sure what their process looks like, but it doesn’t matter who we’re working with — I’m confident that they can get things done. The team has checks and balances for other individuals to intervene, should anything happen. 

It’s fun to kick off new projects with them because we know we’re just setting a clock until the project can be completed. We mostly use Slack to communicate, and I believe we also have a Trello board.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have the trifecta of being cost-effective, good, and fast. The biggest thing is that we can dream up anything that we want on our end in terms of a feature or design, and they can get it done without too many questions. Their technical efficacy is the most impressive thing and would compensate if they were slow to deliver, but lo and behold, they're also ridiculously fast.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve been lucky to have a relationship with them for more than a year and a half. There were initial challenges with the cost structure and pricing, but all of that has since been fully resolved. There’s really nothing they can do to improve. They’re truly a one-in-a-million company.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Work with them. They do what they say they can do. If you’re considering working with them, you shouldn’t worry about whether they can deliver, because they will get the job done.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of an astrology-themed dating app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Crowdbotics?

We wanted to take our website to the next level by making an app out of it, and Crowdbotics was able to help with that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Crowbotics developed a mobile app using React Native. They delivered a functional iOS app, but the Android version isn’t entirely functional yet. 

The team was able to incorporate an astrology API pretty well. The chat feature works to minimal effect — users can send and receive messages. The swiping feature also works, so it loads people that users can swipe left or right on.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 4–5 people, including PMs and developers.

How did you come to work with Crowdbotics?

I found them through Startup School. They were offering a discount, and we went with them because it was more cost-friendly.

How much have you invested with them?

It cost about $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in September 2019, and the first beta version launched in January 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Metrics are tough for a product like this. The Android version doesn’t work. Several users have reported that they can’t get the Android app to work. 

To be honest, I wasn't very satisfied with the engagement. I felt like I needed to do a lot of stuff myself. There were several things that I thought were part of the package that ultimately weren’t. We either had to pay more money for them to implement, or we had to figure it out ourselves. Their pace was also pretty slow.

How did Crowdbotics perform from a project management standpoint?

They underestimated the time it would take to deliver everything — I don’t think there was a single deliverable that they completed within their timeframe. Everything was delayed, which became frustrating. I would’ve been okay with them giving us a longer estimate, but they tried to please us by giving shorter estimates that they then couldn’t deliver within.

Communication was tough with the time zone differences — the PM, the developer, and myself were all based in different locations. This always caused multi-day delays, as I had to get messages to the PM, and then they had to get the message to the developer. The system did not work effectively because, by the time I got my message across, it was already the weekend. We communicated through Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Crowdbotics was able to find good outsourced tools, such as a cool template and the astrology API. The team was usually there to answer the questions I had, but it took a while to hear back. They made sure my questions were answered, and I know many others wouldn’t go to that length.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve their internal control and make sure that they have the right developers on specific projects. I don’t think they did enough to prevent faulty developers from working on specific projects.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be more assertive on deadlines to ensure things get delivered. Have a strong understanding of what you want, but I understand that’s tough with an outsourced model.

Company Responses

The vendor responded on March 8, 2021.

We’re sorry (and surprised) to hear this about your experience back in 2019. We do wish you’d elected to share your opinion directly with us at any point during the software development process, when your feedback was all positive, and when you worked with us to put together a terrific, detailed, and glowing review.

If something changed in your view of your experience after you completed your app, we’re still available to help set it right; ultimately, we want to see our customers succeed. You may reach out to your account team at any time to discuss.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My organization is in health and fitness. We work within the sports rehabilitation field. I’m the owner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Crowdbotics?

We developed an app to help people working through injuries and to develop training programs. We wanted to do something for a while, so we came to Crowdbotics to help with the development aspect.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Crowdbotics delivered a React Native app for iOS and Android. They gave us a design spec, and then we moved on to the full-scale development.

We take an individualized approach to health and fitness, so people can go into the app and choose from a range of options for exercise programs. Over time, the programs adapt to the user. Through the app, we set up specific assessments and chains of logic to build adaptable programs.

What is the team composition?

I have a project manager.

How did you come to work with Crowdbotics?

I knew what I wanted with the app, but I didn’t have any development experience. After researching different developers, I came across their website.

Crowdbotics seemed to be a good fit for what I was looking for. I sent in an inquiry, and they got back to me. During our initial phone call, we went over their process and how they work. It seemed like they would be able to work within my budget, which was a huge part for me.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $45,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Crowdbotics started in January 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It was a great experience developing the app. It isn’t released into the market yet. I’ve tested it multiple times, and it is very well-functioning. Their team is responsive to my feedback. They’ve been able to cover any issues and create any features I could dream up.

How did Crowdbotics perform from a project management standpoint?

My project manager has been wonderful to work with. She takes all of my feedback and messaging to the team. Communication has been great. We have our own Slack thread.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I haven’t worked with any app developers, so it’s hard for me to say there. The main thing that I appreciate about Crowdbotics is how well they communicate.

They were always able to tell me exactly what they’re doing. They also always give me the budget of how much a feature will cost before they go and do it to receive my approval. There have been no surprises during the engagement, which I’ve dealt with in the past.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, it’s been a great experience.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go in with a very good idea of what you want. If you have more of an extensive idea for an app, I’d recommend coming in with your own designs. That’s one thing I did. They can handle the development, but come in with your own designs on how you want it to look and feel.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a mobile IV medspa.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Crowdbotics?

I have to use about four separate applications to run my business. I contacted Crowdbotics because I wanted to integrate them to streamline my workflow.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I was using one app for scheduling, one for payment processing, and one for forms. They told me that they could streamline my apps and put them all online for me in a web app and an iOS app. I had multiple phone calls to discuss how I want the app to look and what specific functionalities I needed. 

What is the team dynamic?

I was working with Austin (project manager) who hired several frontend and backend engineers through Upwork. I’ve also worked with Whitney (Director of Operations). 

How did you come to work with Crowdbotics?

I found them through a Google search. I spoke to their sales representative AJ (Client Success) several times before I decided to work with them. They promised that they would be able to do the project in six weeks. 

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent $60,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

I first reached out to them in June 2019, but we didn’t start working together until January 2020. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with the vendor evolve?

In January 2020, they weren’t even done hiring a development team, even though we’d already signed a contract. The app was supposed to launch at the beginning of October 2020, but that hasn’t happened because there are still so many issues with the product including bugs and misspellings.

I tried to reach out to the CEO of the company directly, but I haven’t gotten a response. I also talked to AJ, and he told me that he was disappointed in how the team was handling the project. I recently got my lawyer involved to see if we can get this straightened out. 

How did Crowdbotics address the challenges that arose?

I initially brought my concerns to them in April 2020 because we weren’t making progress towards our deadline, and they were overcharging me. Whitney got involved, and she was able to credit me back for the charges. However, they’ve since continued to charge my card. They’ve charged me over $15,000 in the last month, and I actually had to shut down my credit card account to avoid additional charges.

I tried to look into their business, and I found that the address listed on their website is actually for a strip mall in California. I looked up their business through California’s Secretary of State and found that Crowdbotics is listed as a legal company that was registered in Delaware. The team is working from all around the world. I’m not even sure if it’s a legitimate app development company. 

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

This has been extremely difficult for me financially, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic crisis. I haven’t been able to work, so I’ve had to take out loans to try to pay for the project. This has been very taxing for my mental health. 

Is there anything that the vendor did well or that you would consider a strength?

There hasn’t been anything they’ve been able to do well. I even have to tell them to make the smallest corrections and point out typos. 

In what specific areas can they improve?

They’re always passing the buck to the next person, so it has been extremely difficult to get straight forward answers out of anyone on the team. They don’t take my concerns seriously or make a real effort to remedy the situation. 

Company Responses

The vendor responded on March 8, 2021.

We’re sorry to hear this about your experience. We will note that we have worked hard with this customer to resolve their concerns at multiple points throughout the relationship, but unfortunately, they chose not to accept our offers to remedy the situation (including refunded payments and financial assistance with migrating to another development team).

In October 2020, we worked together to prepare a new contract of service that would have delivered this app on a mutually agreed-upon timeline. As we were nearing a resolution, the customer’s legal team requested an extra payment that exceeded the entire cost of the app to date. Ultimately, the customer chose not to proceed with the remainder of the app. At that time, we proceeded to hand over the work completed to date to the customer.

We’re completely transparent about the fact that our team is distributed (see this blog post about it: https://blog.crowdbotics.com/guide-to-successful-remote-first-company/). We’re proud to offer the option to work remotely to our employees in the U.S. and abroad; in fact, it has given us an operational advantage in the past year. A growing number of technology companies are going remote-first or fully remote, and the choice to build a remote team has no bearing on a company’s legitimacy.

If you're willing to revisit this project with us, we are happy to review the contract that we drafted in collaboration with you to reach a satisfactory outcome. You may reach out to your account team to discuss.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Executive of M Performance

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Manifucaturing

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• We hired them to finish our app.

SOLUTION

How did you find Crowdbotics?

Online Search

Why did you select Crowdbotics over others?

Other

How many teammates from Crowdbotics were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We concluded that they would not be able to complete it, and we agreed that the issue had been resolved.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with your partner evolve? 

We decided to resolve the issues we had. We agreed that satisfy us.

In what ways can they improve? 

Easier to edit review.

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours? 

Be careful.

What was your primary form of communication with Crowdbotics?

Email or Messaging App

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was published on 04/03/2023
Executive, M PerformanceManufacturing

La Porte, Indiana

1-10 Employees

Jan 2021 - Jan 2022

Less than $10,000

Not verified

Project summary
Crowdbotics was hired to develop a three-page application for a manufacturing company. 

Feedback summary
Crowdbotics did not complete the application on time and ignored the client's requirements and feedback. The client was extremely dissatisfied and felt that they wasted their money. The vendor did not communicate well or regularly via email and extended the project deadline multiple times.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an exectutive of M Performance

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Manifucaturing

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Write review

SOLUTION

How did you find Crowdbotics?

Online Search

Why did you select Crowdbotics over others?

Other

What was the size of Crowdbotics’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

Paid 2800$ Upfront to complete the app. They said It will complete in 3 months. Which is 600$ Ended up spending 6000$+ and app has not been completed and looks the same way it was started.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There is no progress on the app over a year.

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

Scammers be aware!!! You will not be able to call or contact the supervisor. There is no number to call. When I asked Jovana for her supervisor's phone number she just said no. This is an insane company. I paid 2800$ upfront to complete the app. They said they will complete it in 3 months so I should sign up for a premium subscription and I Will receive weekly updates.

Well a year later 6500$ was Spent on their subscription, and with no weekly updates was very hard to contact them. They keep working on the wrong app that looks like 10 year old made it. They kept stretching the time so I could not call the bank and cancel. I keep telling them they are working on the wrong app, and they just tell me they will work on my app but they keep sending me after 3 months same app that is not functional nothing works. It is just 3 page simple app.

Each time they convince me that they will work on the correct app so I don't cancel the subscription and when I ask for weekly updates they just come up with an excuse. Not worth the risk and programmers are from other countries that have very minimal skills or education in programming.

Also, programmers are from high-risk scamming countries, this is a big security problem!! You can get a better job done from youtube tutorials. The company is clearly run by scammer criminals. Do not recommend risking getting scammed. Looks like I'm not the only one.

What was your primary form of communication with Crowdbotics?

Email or Messaging App

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

Yes, refund my money!
STAR RATINGS
Overall rating: 0 DONT RECOMEND. SCAMMERS !

Quality: 0 NO weekly updates, app never delivered.

Cost: 0 Double the price estimate.

Schedule: 0 Miss the deadline by a year !

Willing to refer: 0 I do not recommend. You will not be able to contact them other than email that they just ignore.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of DateSafe

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Dating app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Develop a dating app

SOLUTION

How did you find Crowdbotics?

Online Search

Why did you select Crowdbotics over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost

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

Splash Screen
Login screen
Password reset
Token input
Update password screen
Onboarding screens
Signup screen
Profile setup screens
Homepage - matches screen
Other user’s profile screen
Discover screen
Likes screen
Inbox screen
Direct message screen
Arrange a meeting screen
Confirming meeting screen
Confirming attendance screen
Meetings screen
Subscribe screen
Subscription/checkout screen
Notifications screen
Profile screen
Settings screens
Upload photo pop up 
Rate the date screen

Admin dashboard
Admin clients screen
Admin reports screen
Admin help center 
Admin Subscriptions
Admin tickets screen

Sendgrid Integration 
Stripe Integration
ApplePay Integration
Google Maps Integration
PubNub Integration
Holding money in escrow 
Matching algorithm
Publishing app 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There were milestones that when each item in the milestone was completed with my approval, the next milestone began.

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

I started working with Crowdbotics in October 2021. They estimated that the project would be completed in Spring of 2022. We are now putting the very last finishig touches on my app-- it is October 2024.
Despite being well beyond the original projected delivery, Crowdbotics still did their best to ease my frustration and respond to my needs.

What was your primary form of communication with Crowdbotics?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

I’ve been working with Crowdbotics for a few years now to develop my dating app, DateSafe, and I can confidently say that I’m quite pleased with the overall experience.

When I first began my search for a development partner, I reached out to about ten different companies. Crowdbotics was the first to respond, and right from our initial meeting, their sales representative impressed me with his professionalism and understanding of my vision. I appreciated the way he took the time to answer all my questions and provided insights that showed he genuinely cared about my project. Although I interviewed several other companies, I ultimately decided to go with Crowdbotics because they offered a great balance of support, quality, and pricing that fit my budget.

We kicked off the project in October 2021, with an expected completion date in the spring of 2022. While the timeline did extend longer than initially anticipated, I want to emphasize that the final product is worth the wait. There were definitely some growing pains along the way for both me and Crowdbotics, including changes in project managers and shifts in timelines. However, the team at Crowdbotics remained committed to delivering a robust app that met my expectations.

For anyone that’s completely new to the world of app development, like I was/am, I would suggest really scrutinizing the PRD (Product Requirement Document) and get every single little detail/desire/function down on that document and understand everything that’s on there. Ask questions and get (and give) clarity—don’t assume anything! Things that might be obvious to you, might not be to the developers and vice versa. The PRD is what they will refer back to and if something isn’t on there you will (obviously) have to pay for it to be implemented if it’s something you really want. There were other things I learned along the way, but I think that is my biggest piece of advice. Oh! And be aware that Apple is very difficult to get apps published on the AppStore, so budgeting for a Progressive Web App from the start of your project might be worth it.

Now that DateSafe is pretty much complete, I can truly appreciate the hard work and dedication that went into the development. I’m so grateful to everyone along the way, especially the few that have been apart of the team from the very beginning until the finished product. The app functions well, and I’m excited to take it to market. Overall, I would recommend Crowdbotics to anyone looking for a reliable, comprehensive development partner, especially if you’re willing to be patient through the process. They have a talented team that will work to bring your vision to life.

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

I think a big reason why my project has taken so long to complete, is because I think that Crowdbotics really underestimated what I was asking them to do and/or over estimated their ability to deliver my app when they said they would. So, hopefully over the last few years they've gotten better at providing more accurate timelines.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of Udderly

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

App for parents

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Create an app

SOLUTION

How did you find Crowdbotics?

Online Search

Why did you select Crowdbotics over others?

Pricing fit our budget

How many teammates from Crowdbotics were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Marketplace app
• Completed app
• Added apple map and in app messaging 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Completed the app 

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

Most were on time. Some were later than they said it would be. They fixed what needed fixed. 

What was your primary form of communication with Crowdbotics?

Virtual Meeting

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

Design

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

Communication. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Owmer of Starter App LLC

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Athletic recruiting services to student athletes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Build my mobile app
• Support my mobile app
• Grow my mobile app

SOLUTION

How did you find Crowdbotics?

Referral

Why did you select Crowdbotics over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

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

Crowdbotics took my mobile app prototype and built it into reality. Crowdbotics now provides my app support and updating services.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app functions perfectly and I always get great customer service.

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

They're very responsive, and they meet all our time demands.

What was your primary form of communication with Crowdbotics?

Email or Messaging App

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

They are a perfect fit my my company.

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

I am 100% satisfied as of now and can't think of anything I woud need improved upon.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Employee of Safety Team Technologies

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Make software to help blue-collar businesses avoid risks related to OSHA safety training compliance.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Create mobile app
• Create admin portal
• User Friendly platform

SOLUTION

How did you find Crowdbotics?

Online Search

Why did you select Crowdbotics over others?

Good value for cost

How many teammates from Crowdbotics were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Crowdbotics made my dream a reality. The process was more difficult than I thought it would be, but in the end, all that mattered was that we got it done. My advice to new clients would be to put every single detail into the product blueprint. Before you sign off on the blueprint, make sure all features and functionalities are spelled out clearly so there are no disagreements down the road. Also, expect to spend a significant investment of time for QA testing and troubleshooting. If you can't dedicate the time, rethink if you're ready to make this investment. There is a substantial amount of time that you need to invest on your end, so be prepared for that. CB engineers are talented but oftentimes there can be a communication gap. I'm pleased with their service and continue to work with them for creation of new features plus maintenance of my platform.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

A functional product

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

There were some delays related to turnover of Project Managers. Some of the project managers had communication barriers (strong accents) etc. 

What was your primary form of communication with Crowdbotics?

Virtual Meeting

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

Highly talented software engineers and management was understanding of my frustrations when they did occur. 

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

Perhaps spend more time vetting project managers. My post-dev team (Care Plan) team has an excellent project manager. However, during the first project, there were some issues.