Cubix

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a nonprofit organization that operates as a traditional B2B entity. We produce curriculum and other skill-building materials that family service nonprofits can purchase and use.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cubix?

We were seeking a company to develop an app that could be used for free by dads. We initially wanted an Android version, but later wanted to add an iPhone version and make enhancements.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built a simple app that allows dads to create time sensitive checklists of things they want to accomplish with their children. It allows users to list daily, weekly, or monthly items, and check them off as they complete them. There is a history section where dads can go back and reflect on the different activities or engagements. Most recently, we added a 24/7 Dad Pledge that can be shared on social media through the app. Finally, there’s a compiled list of resources, webpages and ebooks.

The original version was built by one of our board members, but when we parted ways, we couldn’t access the developer section. Cubix reconstructed it with similar functionality in Android, then in iOS. They updated it, creating wireframes for us to review, and using UI best practices.

What is the team composition?

Our project manager Harris [App & Game Consultant, Cubix] was my main point of contact throughout the various engagements. At different times, there were different developers involved in the deliverables, though I only had direct contact with a few of them.

How did you come to work with Cubix?

I found them on Clutch.co. We contacted three different vendors, and chose Cubix because their previous work examples were much more robust, and they were willing to work with us on pricing. Our funding came from a foundation, and we had a specified budget we needed to work within, and they were willing to accommodate that.

How much have you invested with them?

For all their involvement, we spent close to $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together over a two-year period. The initial app build took three or four months. When we returned to create the iPhone version, we used the Android version as a template, so that only took a couple of months. Then the most recent enhancements and the 24/7 pledge I mentioned took about two months. Those updates are now done, and we’ve gone live.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had over 500 downloads of the Android app that we know of. The individuals who use our programs and products are usually employees of nonprofit organizations that serve fathers and families across the nation. They like the app, and encourage fathers to download it. It meets the needs of dads with a variety of educational backgrounds and different challenges. If a caseworker needs to track a father’s progress, they can use the app’s history to add to his casefile. We’ve had someone ask who helped us develop it. It sounded like they had a project in mind and were considering Cubix as a potential vendor.

How did Cubix perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very communicative, easy to reach, and responsive. Most of our communication was through phone or email. I always knew what was going on, and I liked that Harris was copied on many of our email exchanges. If there were any misunderstandings, or if I ever needed clarification, he could step in and explain or act as a guide.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They worked very hard to keep the project on timeline and within the quoted budget. They followed up on things they needed from us, and were constantly checking in. Other projects have required a lot of proactivity on our end, but Cubix is very proactive themselves to keep things on track and on schedule.

Are there any areas they could improve?

My only recommendation would be to have a spokesperson for the development team. There was a bit of a language barrier with some of the developers I spoke with. We could always bring Harris into the conversation if we needed to, but having a development lead would help reduce any confusion or misunderstandings.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the sole proprietor of a company intended to launch an app for mobile phones called Pee Spots.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cubix?

We wanted to develop an application to assist travelers in need of a place to pee.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app functions on Android phones. At some point, I hope to also make it available on iOS. It's a pretty new app. I'm just getting my arms around the app in actual usage, fine-tuning how the app works and things like that. We had a live launch in late July.

The user downloads the app from Google Play for free and creates an account. At that point, they are able to look for locations. A Google map opens up, centered on the user’s location, and they can see pee spots nearby. They can click on them to see details about that pee spot.

It could be a restaurant, a rest area, a pub or a bar. It could, be a bathroom in a park or a government location. The user has the ability to filter their results by their user preferences. For example, a user may only want 5-star rating pee spots.

This is a crowdsourced environment, so we try to encourage users to add pee spots. There are certain terms and conditions for doing so, but the user simply needs to touch the screen in the location that they want to create the pee spot. They can then add up to three photographs, a headline, and a paragraph description. The pee spot is published to the rest of the users.

It's not just a straight database. Since it's growing in a crowdsource environment, this adds some complexity. In the case of people adding pee spots and potential for people adding undesirable things, potentially offensive photographs, Cubix thought through the process and created a mechanism for automatically deleting inappropriate posts. For example, if three users find a pee spot offensive, it's automatically deleted.

What is the team dynamic?

Cubix’s team is located in Pakistan, Dubai, and London. My contact is based in Washington D.C. I mostly worked with Harris Khan [Senior Product Strategist, Cubix] and one project manager who is located in Pakistan, which has always worked out pretty well because they work during the night and have results in the morning.

How did you come to work with Cubix?

I found them on the internet through a Google search. The main contact I had, Harris Khan, was very knowledgeable about app creation, particularly in the area of interfacing with the owner, such as myself, as well as highly technical people that do the code writing. He got the concept right away, and so we reviewed the contract and I moved forward.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent in the range of $10,000-$50,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from April-July 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

People are curious about the app; they like the concept. Men say they don’t need a pee spot because they can pee on a tree, but women understand and want the app. In terms of feedback about the functionality or flaws, I haven't received any feedback about shortcomings. Right now, we have 54 users and 100 pee spots, mostly concentrated in the tri-state area on the East Coast.

I haven't started really advertising yet; I'm still trying to tweak it. We launched shortly before I went on a vacation for 2-and-a-half months. I'm just now getting back into the concentrated effort to attract users.

How did Cubix perform from a project management standpoint?

Overall, I give them very good ratings. I'd done a lot of project management before I retired, and there is technical jargon that changes constantly. It's hard to keep up with that. One of my biggest frustrations with technical people, and this is not specific to Cubix, is that, when they do quality assurance, they look to see if the code works, but they don't look to see if the app is best suiting the customer's needs. That's a constant across technical projects.

They normally use Basecamp for communication, but I just liked email and phone communication. It worked best for me, so they accommodated my preferences.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They've done pretty well at breathing life into an application that I think is kind of unique. I didn't know how development partners might’ve viewed the project, as it may be potentially offensive, or at least curious, to some people. But, once they saw the potential for what this app actually does, I think they embraced it and took it to heart. They really wanted this thing to succeed for their reasons and mine.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve at documentation.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Nomidate, a dating startup that lets users play matchmaker for their Facebook friends. It started as a website where users can log in with their Facebook account to set up their friends. Our target audience is Facebook users ages 18–45. I founded Nomidate in 2012. The company is based in Washington, DC.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cubix?

Nomidate relies on users who log in through Facebook, which means we’re at the mercy of Facebook's privacy settings. When Facebook changed those settings a few years ago, the application was no longer functioning optimally. In order to make Nomidate function as it was intended to, the site had to be rebuilt with Facebook's updated settings in mind. I also wanted to create a mobile app to attract more users, as it became clear that dating sites had to be mobile in order to be marketable. For these reasons, I sought out Cubix.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Nomidate’s website was built by another developer, but Cubix rebuilt it on Facebook's Canvas. They took Facebook's updated privacy settings into account. Since they did such a good job with the website, I contacted them again to turn Nomidate into an app. Cubix built the elements of the app for iPhone and iPad based on my specifications.

How did you come to work with Cubix?

I made a Google search looking for local web developers. I was looking for a team who could work swiftly and produce a stellar final product. I had worked with some fantastic groups in the past, but they were far away. I wanted to at least have the possibility to go in for a meeting or reach the team within the same time zone. Cubix was the perfect choice because they have a local office in Washington, DC, although the actual team building the website was in Pakistan.

Their website was a great example of their skills in web development. They also had an impressive client list with positive testimonials. I researched Cubix online and read through what I found on other sites. It was a good sign that I didn’t see any bad reviews. Cubix had worked with some big names, and those companies would expect a certain level of quality and responsiveness. I also wanted to find a good fit. Had Cubix only worked with these huge names, it wouldn’t make sense for them to engage with a tiny startup. Fortunately, Cubix did help small firms in addition to bigger clients.

Finally, I wanted a vendor who placed an emphasis on good communication. They should be responsive to my questions and listen to my feedback. As a non-technical founder, it is especially important for me to find developers who respect my vision. They should also have the patience to explain the technical aspects of the project.

How much have you invested with Cubix?

The initial website rebuild cost around $10,000. The apps cost $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Cubix rebuilt the site in 2015, and the process took approximately 8 weeks. They started creating the mobile app for the iPhone and iPad in December 2016. It took Cubix approximately 6 weeks to finish the apps.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

I was very pleased with the final products built by Cubix. Everything turned out even better than I'd hoped. I thought that it would take much longer, so my original plan was to build the iOS phone app first. Since they had already built the iPhone app, Cubix proposed building the iPad version at no additional charge. It was definitely something I hadn’t budgeted for, so I appreciated Cubix’ willingness to do that for me.

I haven’t done a lot of marketing for the app. Based on the conversations I’d had with marketers about the site, I felt that it didn’t stand a chance initially. I couldn’t make a difference in this industry without a mobile app, so I’m grateful to Cubix for creating it.

The whole process was challenging for me, given that I didn’t know much about the technology. Fortunately, Cubix was willing to answer my questions about technical aspects of the development. They were great at explaining issues in a non-technical manner. For example, they would send screenshots. They were patient and never made me feel stupid for asking a question. They always asked my opinion to make sure they followed my vision for the final product. Based on my feedback, they quickly made the necessary changes.

Cubix treats small clients with the same respect and attention as their larger, well-known clients. I always felt like the project was a priority and that they were working hard to perfect the app. They were committed to keeping me informed of their progress.

After the project was finished, they continued to provide support for the apps. I rely on Facebook log-ins for the app to function, so any changes in the API could break it. I have peace of mind because Cubix is there to handle these things. They checked in to make sure I was completely happy with the final product. They were also prompt about checking the functionality of the app and resolving any issues.

How did Cubix perform from a project management standpoint?

The team prepared a detailed timeline with project milestones. They also gave me the name and contact information of the project manager. I worked with their project manager exclusively. When I had a question, he would ask the team, so I never had to go on a fact-finding mission. I’ve had experiences dealing with multiple people, where I didn’t know who did what and had to send mass emails, hoping one of them would respond. Cubix’s contact was always responsive.

Cubix adhered to the budget and the timeline they proposed. If there was going to be a delay in completing a task, they contacted me immediately and explained things. I always felt informed about what aspect of the project they were working on. I’ve never had to visit their [local] location, but it was nice to know that I could. Everything was done online, through Skype calls, email, and Teambase.

What did you find most impressive about Cubix?

Cubix has been there for me—their responsiveness was and is impressive. While I’ve worked with other fantastic people, they were not in a rush to get back to me if I had a follow-up question or something stopped working.

I always felt like they were working hard to create the best possible product for me. I'm lucky to have worked with Cubix, and I would recommend them to any company or individual looking to build a website or app.

Are there any areas Cubix could improve?

Not really. They did a great job.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and co-founder of Glimmer Industries LLC. We have a social and dating application designed to be the first disability-inclusive application on the market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cubix?

The first challenge was the coding of the application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app was built for both iOS and Android. Cubix worked on the development, but not so much the design. They also built us a landing page that directs people to download the application.

How did you come to work with Cubix?

I went through different companies that had experience creating applications in the social space. After speaking with Harris at Cubix several times, I realized we were on the same page. We had a shared vision and a mutual understanding of what we wanted to achieve with the application, so I decided to go with them.

How much have you invested with Cubix?

It cost $25,000 to complete the project from start to finish. We were given a 10% discount.

What is the status of this engagement?

The initial conversations began in October of 2015, and work started at the end of that year. The project was completed by the end of 2016. I’m not currently working with them, but we’re not ruling it out for the future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Feedback from users of the app has been positive. There hasn’t been any criticism of the functionality of the application, and it works the way it’s supposed to work. Some users don’t want to log in with a Facebook account, which we require, but that’s not a reflection of Cubix’s work. They really wanted to produce quality work. They were supportive throughout the process and very encouraging afterward. Everyone I dealt with at Cubix was very nice and attentive.

How did Cubix perform from a project management standpoint?

Overall, I would give them a positive rating. However, we had to change project managers in the middle of the project. That disrupted things a little bit, but it wasn’t anything I could blame on their team. Cubix was always very attentive to requests. The new project manager was actually a lot better, so I was happier with his work in the end.

What did you find most impressive about Cubix?

I would say it’s their attention to detail and their response time. I know that agencies often take on a lot of project at once, and sometimes you can feel like you’re getting lost in the shuffle, or you’re not getting what you’re paying for. Throughout the project with Cubix, when I reached out to them, I heard back quickly. The problem was usually resolved within 24 hours.

Are there any areas Cubix could improve?

They contract with a lot of developers out of the country, so there was a language barrier. It was resolved quickly when it came up, but it was a bit irritating when I found errors that a native English speaker wouldn’t have made.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Swatch Group is the largest watch company in the world. We own 18 brands, including Swatch, Omega, Tissot, Longines, and Harry Winston. These are all different brands, all Swiss-made. We are based out of Switzerland, but we have offices worldwide. I am the head of e-commerce, digital marketing, and social media for the company. I work at the US office based in Miami.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SocialCubix?

We signed a partnership with the NBA. For a millennial audience, we wanted to make a link between the brand and the sport of basketball.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SocialCubix provided everything. They handled the design, development, production, and completion of a video game basketball app for us. This was a web and mobile application for both Android and iOS. It’s a basketball app. You play in the first person, with 2 different ways to play. You can play with a limited number of balls or with limited time. There are 4 different background scenarios. You have a beach background, a court background, a city background, and a backyard background.

How did you come to work with SocialCubix?

SocialCubix was recommended by a co-worker who had heard of them previously. We initiated contact with them. I saw their portfolio and we were very impressed. We contracted them based on that.

How much have you invested with SocialCubix?

More or less, we paid $30,000 for this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

It began mid to end December. We wrapped up at the beginning of June.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The look and the quality of the app were impeccable. The downloads have definitely been more than what we expected. We’ve had a lot of downloads, over 1,600 downloads in a period of 3 months. We also have gotten the feedback that the game is highly addictive, so people just keep playing on and on. That is definitely something you want for a video game that has branding in it. It is for all ages, any level, so we’ve gotten positive feedback with regards to sentiment.

How did SocialCubix perform from a project management standpoint?

We had a project leader from SocialCubix. The entire team was very passionate and super organized. We had a meeting every Thursday morning. They had all the projects on Basecamp, which was updated on a daily basis. The follow-up was great. This was the first video game that we’ve ever launched and we learned a lot through the process. SocialCubix was able to share all the information knowing that we’re not video game developers.  

What did you find most impressive about SocialCubix?

One thing I really liked and appreciated was they always had a solution for every issue. It wasn’t “No, we can’t do that.” It was always “Let’s work around it; let’s regroup.” That was definitely something that we appreciated as a company. If you compare SocialCubix to any provider, they were super professional, a very talented group of people.

Are there any areas SocialCubix could improve?

Actually, no. 

BACKGROUND

Please introduce your business and what you do there.

My company develops software solutions for food technology. I'm the founder and chief executive officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Social Cubix?

I needed both front-end and back-end native development for mobile applications on both iOS and Android.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided project managers, developers, and designers. We gave them the development requirements for both native apps. We had a database that was already created in an analytics system. They helped us develop most of the algorithms that we would be using. Overall, we've been working with a team of about 15 to 20 people.

How did you come to work with Social Cubix?

On their website, they offer free quotes and, as a startup at that time, I was getting quite a number of such quotes. Social Cubix had a very competitive offer and a good portfolio with strong references. Even though we looked at many different developers, we finally chose them.

How much have you invested with Social Cubix?

We've spent about $100,000 working with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in February 2015. The development took about a year, and we launched in April 2016. We're currently in development for another product with Social Cubix.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We've already seen an increase in downloads but, right now, we're working on fixing a few problems based on user feedback. Because we're still in our early stages right now and are looking at a long product roadmap, it's hard to gauge from a user or a monetary standpoint what we have accomplished. Social Cubix, however, has definitely helped us graph our model and our vision.

How did Social Cubix perform from a project management standpoint?

They usually use Skype and Basecamp – Basecamp for constant communication and file transfer and Skype for phone calls. They have different offices in the United States and Pakistan. They're always very good at communicating and letting us know about deadlines. They do a good job tracking their current level of effort and use an Excel sheet to explain how many weeks have gone into each process.

If we're looking at UI/UX [user interface/user experience], they break the process down into 10 or 15 separate steps and identify different cables, areas and integrations and how long each of those is going to take. Each week, they usually send us updates on how the product is going and then, from that, they give us a couple days to provide feedback and to review everything on Basecamp. They are very good at implementing any feedback that comes from that review.

As I recall, we were still giving them feedback three or four months after we launched the app, and they're still implementing changes under the old contract.

What did you find most impressive about Social Cubix?

Social Cubix is a great company – very professional – and always takes care of their customers. Anything I ever needed or wanted they took care of. They have very good competitive quotes. When I looked at different American, Ukrainian, and Russian developers, sometimes they were three, four, or more times expensive. Their portfolio clearly shows their expertise and background. They deliver all the things that I'd expect from an expert professional mobile software company.

They also have divisions for marketing, and they provide different kinds of support for different apps. They have several different divisions, so it's an interesting company. We are working on certain aspects of the food app, but I know that they are also well known for games and marketing.

Are there any areas Social Cubix could improve?

No. Although it's based overseas, I understand right now that they are bringing more offices to the United States to help work on client communication – not everybody likes to have Skype calls with their project manager. I definitely think it'd be great for them to have their sales team or possibly even project managers in the country where their projects are taking place, but I realize some people don't care about that kind of localization.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-founder of a two-sided marketplace established in Toronto, Canada

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Project called Glamic inc. A two sided marketplace for beauty service providers in Canada. I reached out to Cubix to create an MVP and they delivered excellance!

SOLUTION

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

Combination of pricing, professionalism, communication and their portfolio of previous work

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

We had a few meetings to iron out the requirements and project expectations. The team jumped in and worked agilely, constantly validating the product with the client.

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

two to three, account manager/project manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Project was deployed and all bugs were ironed out!

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

We mainly used slack to communicate. Team was always available for communication and responded promptly and professionally.

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

Professionalism and technical abilities

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

reduce layers of communication between customer and the end developer

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We do ecommerce for fashion apparel brands

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Needed a flexible staff augmentation model

SOLUTION

How did you select Cubix and what were the deciding factors?

Cubix provided us with a flex team to do programming and testing (qa)

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

have team of 12 people

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

12 across various disciplines including development, testing and project mgmt

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

they delivered on number of projects for us

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

scrums on a recurring basis and weekly deliverables

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

Their attention to detail and willingness to ebb and flow is impressive.

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

n/a

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Working as a Project Manager at a group of companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

To implement an internal business process automation app for the company.

SOLUTION

How did you select Cubix and what were the deciding factors?

Developed an app/web for the requirements

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

Developed the web version on SharePoint and App on reactnative.

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

4

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Although, the project got delayed due to certain reasons, but they remain focused throughout the project.

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

They used slack for communication and jira for tracking of issues

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

Their reliability and support are impressive.

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

Pace of work can be improved.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Head of Research for a financial advisory firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cubix?

We hired Cubix for a custom client app to deliver content and drive engagement.

What were your goals for this project?

Functionality, cost and timeline.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We selected this vendor based on their track record and breadth of their capabilities in development and digital media.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They provided an end to end solution, making some important enhancements along the way.

What was the team composition?

We had a great point of contact for managing the project, and he facilitated correspondence with a team of developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This is a client product and not for public consumption, so the key is that it provides value to them. We have gotten great reviews from users so far.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We had one project lead and communication with him was easy. Our issues and requests were all dealt with expeditiously.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their responsiveness.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Cubix have a very strong process in our place.