CrustLab

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co-Founder and CEO of Parlady Sports, Inc.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Parlady Sports is a startup focused on redefining the sports betting experience to match women's needs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Ensure alignment of our mobile sportsbook vision with industry standards.
• Harmonize project requirements with the constrained budgetary framework.
• Construct an elementary yet operationally sound application, serving as a Proof of Concept, to facilitate fundraising efforts.

SOLUTION

How did you find CrustLab?

Online Search

Why did you select CrustLab over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from CrustLab were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Our project unfolded in two key phases – design and development. In the initial design phase, the objective was to lay a solid foundation for the application's visual side. Setting specific criteria and crafting mockups were integral steps in this process. During development, CrustLab's specialists took charge of implementing the essential features. 

Outside of regular sportsbook functionalities, these included betting mechanisms, essential tabs and educational sections, a set of various sports to choose from, and chat for users. The result was a user-friendly iOS app MVP, effectively presenting the idea behind our concept. Key deliverables: 

• Creation of the application design based on the established criteria. 
• Development of an iOS application aligning with the established design and project vision. 
• Implementation of the determined functionalities on the Firebase side.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app not only captures our vision flawlessly but takes it a step further. With CrustLab's expertise in sports betting development, we were able to refine the initial concept to better meet market requirements. We're hopeful the app will attract a considerable number of investors.

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

Their project management was truly commendable from start to finish. They stuck to the agreed-upon timeline, consistently delivering crucial milestones on time. What set them apart was their outstanding responsiveness to our needs and concerns. They maintained effective communication channels and promptly addressed any questions that cropped up during the process.

What was your primary form of communication with CrustLab?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

CrustLab was top-notch in their professionalism, both in their interactions and the quality of their work. They acted as valuable consultants for us throughout the entire development, and we truly valued their insights. Outside of that, the whole team brought a creative flair to overcoming challenges and offered unique solutions that boosted the appeal of the application without exceeding the budget.

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

We're very satisfied with CrustLab's work, and I don't believe there's anything significant they could've done differently that would have had a notable impact on the final outcome.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO and sole owner of a company that created a social sports betting platform. Our service lets people bet with their friends without risking any money on the wagers.
 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CrustLab?

We were looking for a development partner for the backend of our mobile application. Previously, we had been working with a different developer, so we needed someone who could come in and update the platform with new features and versions. 
 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CrustLab took over the development of our mobile app from a previous developer and continued to improve the platform. They primarily worked using Node.js, React Native, and a host of AWS services, and their teams developed for both Android and iOS.

One of the most important functionalities that they implemented was our live sportsbook. For this feature, they integrated our whole data flow in near-real time, which was a big challenge for us to overcome. They also did some design adjustments and testing for our platform.

What is the team composition?

I worked with 6–7 people from CrustLab’s team. To start, Adam (CEO) did our project estimation and kicked everything off, then he handed it over to Marcin (Co-Founder) who served as our project lead.

How did you come to work with CrustLab?

We did some research online for companies who matched our needs, and we ended up with three options. We asked two of these companies for offerings, going through two rounds of offerings with each one. In the end, we selected CrustLab because we thought that their impressive experience working with sports data justified a bit higher of an investment. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around €30,000 (approximately $35,000 USD) with CrustLab in this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with CrustLab from December 2020 – June 2021.
 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s difficult to share measurable results, since a lot of their work involved optimizing our backend — I can say that their development has been very helpful to us. The biggest success of the project was the integration of our live sportsbook, since rapid data processing can be so difficult. 

How did CrustLab perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team handled project management as part of the engagement. For everyday communication, we relied on Slack and we also had weekly meetings via Google Meets. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The best part of working with CrustLabs was their attention to detail in every step of the development process. They were great about taking the initiative to suggest new enhancements and features that our product owners hadn’t thought of. Their team also had a lot of optimizations and best practices that they shared with us, which was helpful. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would have liked to have received more regular, unrequested updates. However, we shared this feedback with them during the development, too, and they were able to adapt to better meet what we were looking for. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear idea of what you want, but stay open to their recommendations and expertise. CrustLabs has a lot of experience, and that can be really helpful for any development project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The PFR Foundation conducts social activities through the implementation of projects in the field of education and science, including equalizing educational opportunities, equalizing opportunities on the labor market for various social groups through educational programs based on new technologies, counteracting digital exclusion, and strengthening the competences of the future of children and adults.

In 2019, the Foundation of the Polish Development Fund initiated the project: Central House of Technology - CDT, located in the center of Warsaw, with a modernly equipped space offering interdisciplinary educational activities in the STEAM methodology for children, adolescents, adults and the elderly. As the Managong Director of CDT I am responsible for overall activity of the institution.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

The main challenge of this project was the Content Management System development along with adding it to the current version of the web portal based on the java Magnolia framework.

The global situation related to the Covid-19 pandemic turned out to be an additional challenge. The real need to introduce distance learning forced the Central House of Technology to accelerate the project implementation.

The knowledge base aims to support education and to promote remote learning, therefore another challenge was fast publication of materials for teachers about remote lessons and additional complementary activities for students.

As with every content-related project, SEO optimization was a separate challenge. To make it easier for teachers and students to find the content of the knowledge base, we conducted on-site optimization.

SOLUTION

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

We were looking for a subcontractor who would be able to work in the Magnolia framework, had good opinions and had a large enough organization to ensure efficient implementation of the project.

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

As part of this project they provided services such as design, front-end development, back-end development and Responsible Web Development. At the first stage of the project a web application was designed - it contained some knowledge and specific lectures for both students and teachers.

The content was divided into four categories: webinars for teachers, daily dose of technology, digital debutants, and a database of lessons for students. Bearing in mind the creation of positive user experiences when using the knowledge base, the important element to design was a search engine.

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

Five specialists were working on the project, they were UX / UI designer, front-end developer, back-end developer, DevOps and Project Manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The most important result of the cooperation is the timely implementation of the project. In addition, the cooperation ran smoothly, and the developers' great commitment was visible.

The most important test for the system was the period of "maturity exams" (polish high school graduation exams) and increased interest in training materials posted on the portal. Despite the several times increased traffic, we did not notice any problems with the performance of the portal.

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

Project management was very well organized. We met during regular sprints. In addition, I could keep in touch with the Project Manager by phone or email. The implementation of the project was fully transparent thanks to the access to Jira, where I could follow the progress of work on an ongoing basis.

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

CrustLab is not only a specialist in the field of development. I really liked the fact that I could count on their advice at the product design stage. Thanks to their experience and ability to predict problems, we found solutions and built the project on time.

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

I have no objections, the cooperation was as it should have been.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of a startup called SoyDigi. We help digital workers, self-employed workers, and freelancers manage their projects through a business administration platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CrustLab?

We were part of an incubation program and needed a company that could do two things for us: first, to help us validate the feasibility of our idea, and second, to help us build an MVP around that idea. We decided to work with CrustLab to address our consulting and development needs.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

After our initial meetings and CrustLab’s confirmation that they would be willing to collaborate with us, they scheduled a workshop session where we could reveal our different ideas. We told them what functionalities and workflows we wanted to achieve for our audience. 

The team helped us organize our ideas into chapters and groupings to see what aspects can be developed together or what should be separated based on simplicity and complexity. They did this to understand where in the development path the whole product, and each of its components, fits in. 

As part of their consulting service, CrustLab advised us how to structure the functionalities and product roadmap. They evaluated the technical feasibility of what we wanted to build and estimate the effort and budget required for the development.

When we progressed in the incubation program and demonstrated that our feasibility was confirmed by a partner, we moved into the actual development. CrustLab created an MVP — a web application with a client interface and an administration funnel — in three weeks using Django. The MVP made it possible for us to test with real users and at the same time manage different goals while providing our intended services.

What is the team composition?

There were five people involved at the beginning. We thought we only needed a backend developer and a frontend developer, but Marcin (Co-Founder) and Adam (CEO) decided to join to ensure the project quality.

How did you come to work with CrustLab?

We started an incubation program with an accelerator here in Poland in October last year. The incubator was going to pay for the development and launched a public tender. 

I did a Google search and landed in Clutch, where I saw the many warehouses in Poland. The site helped me rank which one to choose, and I contacted around 5–7 companies. CrustLab participated in a public tender and won the contract over the other submitted proposal, so they secured the contract for developing our MVP.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $3,000 for the consulting services and $10,000 for the full development.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working in October 2020. During those first few months, we were focused on consulting, feasibility analysis, and documentation. They developed within the last week of December to the first two weeks of January. The project is currently on pause because we are waiting for government funding.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We shared with CrustLab the mockups of how we wanted the product to look like and they did it exactly by the pixel. Even better, they added much more style and professionalism. It didn’t look like an MVP; it looked like a full-blown web application already.

What made our engagement a great experience was that their team informed us of what would happen in each week of the development. It’s great when a development agency we’re working with tells us what they’re going to do and actually completes it by the time they said they would.

They also gave me access to a board in Jira where they were creating all the cases and documenting all the comments. The team had very few questions and managed every single user story, doing everything as we had planned.

Overall, CrustLab was like our partner and not just someone that was called in for us. I was only looking for someone to make the code happen, but their team went beyond that. They helped me understand the infrastructure required and the kind of challenges that we were going to encounter in the database, deployment, and maintenance. The team not only gave strong technical advice about the development but also guided us about how it can fit into our business model. 

How did CrustLab perform from a project management standpoint?

Initially, we had a video conference and exchanged a couple of emails to introduce them to the project. Later on, whenever I had any questions or just had a thought bouncing around in my head, they would give me a super professional response and feedback. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were able to deliver big results because they had high-quality consulting, advising, and development services. I’ve worked in technology consulting for ten years, so I know it’s hard to get a developer that actually commits to what is going to be delivered by a certain date. They exceeded our expectations with the MVP and the feasibility analysis.

Are there any areas they could improve?

When we were working on the development of the MVP, I saw that they got a little bit stuck in some places. Though this didn’t cause any delays, they could’ve just asked me questions or talked directly to me. Everything was coming through the project manager and the rest of the team seemed a little shy, which I guess is normal. 

It didn’t impact the project, but I would have liked to have had more open communication, besides being so formal with the project manager. This may be something good to work on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My biggest advice is to have fully open communication with the guys at CrustLab. In the beginning, we were also kind of scared, signing NDAs and not sharing enough about the project. When we had built enough trust to talk about it, I realized it was a waste of time not being transparent with their team. They were so open to everything we were thinking and caught everything we said. 

Share your ideas, fears, and constraints openly because they will better understand what you are looking for. They will always be professional, unjudging, and will surely make something great out of any idea — even if you think it’s crazy or if you don’t know how to incorporate it into the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the Co-Founder of a start-up company aiming to support professional soccer clubs in training the best future soccer players thanks to the latest technologies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

The primary motivation was to digitize the training experience of young soccer adepts. We hired CrustLab to create a cross-platform mobile app powered by AI and a complete back office for professional soccer coaches and administrators.

SOLUTION

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

In general, we were looking for a software development agency to help us polish our product vision and deliver a complete solution on time and within budget. One of the critical factors was the fact that from the very beginning, they were really professional and prepared, showing us they really care and can be responsible for our apps. We have chosen them as their advisory about technology, the design approach was extremely valuable.

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

We started with product design workshops, then smoothly proceeded to the UX/UI design Phase, where we started with the design of the Flutter mobile app. Design of the back office was started at that phase but continued and developed in parallel to the mobile app development works. Now CrustLab’s responsible for the maintenance of the app.

During the workshops, CrustLab provided complete technical advisory, prepared a preliminary product architecture, defined the core scope of the project, prioritized milestones, and selected significant features. One of the key outcomes of the workshops was a complete change in the vision of how the Coach persona would interact with the system, which resulted in a significant reduction of the development costs.

The next stage included UX/UI designing of the app. CrustLab suggested starting the UX/UI design process from the flutter mobile app. We met regularly to discuss changes, as the final idea was evolving during the process. We were progressing quite efficiently under the full supervision of the CrustLab designer. We have followed the same process when designing web application design for soccer coaches and admins. It was a pleasure to see how CrustLab's team handles app development. All work was completed two months sooner than expected.

As a result, they have created:

• Flutter mobile app for iOS and Android operating systems
• React.js Web application
• Backend services implemented in Django/Python, integrated with and deployed to AWS cloud.

CrustLab is responsible for keeping the application up-to-date and taking care of ongoing maintenance.

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

We’ve started from a consultancy with Adam - the CEO. Then a single UX/UI designer was involved. Regarding development, we had a dedicated project manager, two backend devs, two fronted devs, two mobile devs, and a QA. Then 10 people in total, but they distributed the team over time, depending on the phase. We cooperated maximally with 6 people at the same time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After seven months of collaboration, we published Flutter mobile application in Apple and Google stores. Sports clubs and young soccer adepts have already used the application. We are delighted with the final effect and already planning the next steps in our collaboration with CrustLab.

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

The entire process, from the workshop to the project launch, ran smoothly under the complete control of experts from CrustLab. I could feel that they knew what they were doing. Their expertise was invaluable and allowed for the development of the product faster and cheaper. We primarily used shared Slack channels, JIRA, Figma, and Confluence for communication. During the regular meetings, they informed us about the progress and challenges for the next week. Depending on the phase, we work in Scrum or more like a Kanban approach. At the end of the day, everything was done according to the timeline; if not, they pushed on having it done.

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

In my view, the most impressive aspects of CrustLab’s work were the level of technical expertise and ability to understand the project from a business perspective. They cared about our goals from the beginning, which helped us plan better and develop faster. In my opinion, this is precisely how software should be developed.

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

I can't think of anything, but I can again recommend CrustLab as a software development partner.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of an app development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

From crustlab, we wanted to develop a mobile device management application to be used in managing Android and iOS phones

SOLUTION

How did you selectCrustLab and what were the deciding factors?

We chose Crustlab because they were on good terms with us and ready to work

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

We started with Crustlab in the discovery stage which is supposed to be the preparatory stage of application development later and I have worked with them on creating the usual application documents such as SRS and Software Design Document on the c4 model and prototype of the application and improving the UI design that I designed earlier

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

4 Persons: Front End Developer iOS Developer Android Developer UI/UX Designer Project Manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It was a really bad experience the development team was not answering my questions and not commenting on my notes in the sharing document and if we went to a video meeting together they don't talk and they give me wrong results all the time and I correct them, I work for them The only person working hard was the project manager They hired the front-end developer to be the software engineer, and this is one of the most amazing things I saw.

The company refused to improve the UI of the application, although we agreed on that with an official legal contract. The company also refused to hand me the Prototype for the application, although we agreed on it officially. They only took a screenshot of the screen.

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

The project manager was very good and I was happy to work with him but the staff was very bad

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

I was shocked that the company violated most aspects of the contract concluded with them and they did not abide by most of the deliverables. The project stopped because of working with them

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

They had to work hard and stick to the contract

Company Responses

The vendor responded on October 10, 2022.

Unfortunately, the above opinion does not describe reality. We were not responsible for mobile app development but only for Product Discovery. Additionally, the front-end developer was not part of the team.

We've delivered over 90% of deliverables without any objections from the client. And yet, UI updates and application prototypes were not accepted. 

We offered to apply updates to the UI mockups within the Product Discovery budget. Still, the client insisted on implementing the audit outcome that indicated a complete rework of provided UI mockups, which we could not afford. We were trying to find a middle ground but for the client, "update" meant "rework" without compromise. 

Regarding the app prototype, there were no such requirements from the customer. One of the critical deliverables of Product Discovery is a Feasibility Study. We needed to create a simple app to review technical possibilities, and we offered to deliver the code created during the discovery with full IP. Still, at the end of the discovery phase, the client insisted that the prototype never met specified functional requirements, refusing to cover any cost of the Product Discovery service.

Saying that we've violated most aspects of the contract, he slanders us in public without even being partially transparent and truthful in his opinion.

We very much regret that the client deliberately challenges our competencies and intentionally crafts an image that is inconsistent with reality.

A plus for this opinion is that our vetting of potential partners has dramatically improved :)