Dot H Digital Inc.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I run an insurance brokerage with a team of over 300 advisors spread across several provinces in Canada. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dot H Digital Inc.?

We needed a new CRM, website, and workflows to help us manage the different insurance carriers and policies we work with. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Dot H Digital Inc. designed a CRM, advisor-specific websites, and several payment workflows for our company. First, they developed source code that could be utilized across all our insurance platforms. Then, Dot H Digital Inc. created our CRM, which allowed us to track the policies our advisors are selling. We were also able to see the beneficiaries of each policy and when insurance conversions occurred through the CRM. 

Then, they developed an insurance code management workflow to handle all the insurance codes that our company is linked to. Dot H Digital Inc. also developed about 50 websites for each of our insurance advisors and payment workflows — they implemented a system where advisors were automatically paid their sales commission, and then the rest of a customer’s payment was forwarded to my company. 

Now, Dot H Digital Inc. is working on our digital marketing and lead generation. They’re leading our SEO efforts and managing all of our social media marketing. Additionally, whenever there is a change to the insurance codes, Dot H Digital Inc. updates our websites and CRM. 

What is the team composition?

I’ve been working with Manish (CEO), who has a larger team working with him. 

How did you come to work with Dot H Digital Inc.?

We worked with other companies before starting with Dot H Digital Inc., but those engagements didn’t work out. A colleague then recommended Dot H Digital Inc. to us, and we hired them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested $45,000–$50,000 CAD (approximately $35,200–39,000 USD) with Dot H Digital Inc. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with Dot H Digital Inc. in June 2017, and our engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The CRM and workflows that Dot H Digital Inc. has developed have improved our day-to-day workflow — a lot of our work can now be done with a click of a button. 

We have gotten about 400 leads from the marketing and SEO work Dot H Digital Inc. has done, but have only converted about 15 customers. That can be attributed to my low investment in our marketing efforts. However, despite the low investment, my company has risen to the second page of Google results because of Dot H Digital Inc.’s work. 

How did Dot H Digital Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

Manish manages the project and sends me the results of their work via email. Their team also sends me a flow chart of what they’ll complete within the next month, including their social media posting schedule.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Dot H Digital Inc.’s patience sets them apart; they’re dealing with over 45 insurance advisors, and they manage the differing project timelines very well. Also, unlike other companies we’ve worked with, I like that Dot H Digital Inc. doesn’t charge us for every change we make to our SEO strategy. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything for Dot H Digital Inc. to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clients need to know that Dot H Digital Inc. will always puts in the effort to achieve the client’s goals. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive vice president of operations at MATC Group. We provide clients with business documentation, process documentation, user manuals, user guides, product manuals, developer documentation, and other technical writing materials. We do any kind of business-related writing, but mostly focus on describing specific processes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with dot H Inc.?

We wanted an updated website that was SEO friendly. Also, we wanted to link our blogs and articles across our different social media platforms.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They build the site on WordPress and structured our content to accommodate SEO strategies. Because we were trying to attract new talent and writers, they integrated a plugin that linked a section of the sight with our recruiting platform. Now, resumes submitted through the sire will from into our recruitment CRM that is connected to our larger human resource solution platform.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager and two or three developers. I spoke with a project account manager for anything related to our contract.

How did you come to work with dot H Inc.?

I was referred to them through a trusted networking contact. After talking to their team, I felt they were a good fit for the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from June–August 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After a few revisions, which they willingly corrected, they provided a high-quality website. We just launched the site this month.

How did dot H Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team’s responsiveness was phenomenal. We met regularly to discuss the agenda and they consistently delivered on time. They shared documentation that detailed each task, their methods, and our feedback. Their management processed were very organized.

What did you find most impressive about them?

With their management style, they were able to complete the project by the estimated deadline and within our budget.

Any advice for potential customers?

Clients should be forthcoming with their team and allow to open an open collaboration. This will help them reach the end goal.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner and director of a physiotherapy clinic. We provide physiotherapy, chiropractic services, massage therapy, and registered dietician services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DOTh?

We previously had paper charts, and storing files for 4,000 patients was becoming a problem.

We needed help developing custom software development for our clinic.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have online billing with insurance companies as well as an online portal for appointment setting and scheduling. DOTh is working on a mobile app for scheduling appointments.

They developed the in-house software to add patient charts and the schedule and integrated that with the online portal for patients to be able to schedule themselves.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact is Manish Jetly (CEO and founder, DOTh). He has staff located in India, but I wasn’t in contact with them. I negotiated the price and oversaw the project, and Manish coordinated the day to day work with my staff.

How did you come to work with DOTh?

One of my physiotherapists knew someone that had a clinic and had used them previously.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent between $18,000–$23,000 on the portal.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June of 2016 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We run the operation on the software they developed. As everything became digital, we had fewer problems. Our clients are happy booking online through the portal as they can see the provider’s availability and they have the freedom to book the time they want. It has helped the providers as well as they can enter the notes into the portal in real time. One or two people had issues because they preferred to write notes on paper but we are able to scan them and put them into the portal. It has definitely increased the efficiency and has been helpful.

How did DOTh perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated mostly by phone, emails and text messages, and he is also local to me. He developed a startup electronic medical records system which is not a simple thing. He customized things for me because you can’t find mobile apps for scheduling in the market. The project was complex.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It was easy for me to explain things to him. I believe he has done similar projects in the past, so he understood what he wanted to do.

Communication was the most important matter. I could call him when I needed to and things were done in a timely manner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

My employees were dealing with his team, so it is difficult to say whether it was the fault of our side or theirs, but they could have saved me a couple of months by expediting things as the project took a couple months longer than anticipated. However, my business wasn’t affected because of the timeline.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder and managing director of MICHARITY. We’re a one-stop solution for charity fundraising including collecting donations, managing donor profiles, and data analytics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DOTh?

I had come up with the concept of the platform that we wanted to build. We needed to develop an MVP that we could show to potential investors and users to get seed funding and customer traction. I knew what I wanted the tool to accomplish but needed someone who had the technical skills to make that a reality.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

DOTh was able to take our ideas for an online platform and translate them into an MVP. They started with the desktop version using JavaScript, HTML, and CCS Plus. Then they built it into a mobile app.

Over several meetings, we gave them an overview of our concept. We gave them all the features that we wanted to create. Their team took that and came back to us a week later with a full-scale build out of what the product was going to look like. We went through a few iterations of changes based on our objectives. They integrated all of our feedback into the final version.

The bulk of our customers are B2B, including lots of nonprofits and charities. They’re able to collect donations online, manage donor records, and issue tax receipts automatically using our platform. Individual donors can also use it to see a historical record of transactions with tax receipts and find other charities they want to donate to. The tool provides a full-scale, 360-view of each charity, including compliance and standings, in order to make those decisions.

What is the team composition?

The CEO/Founder was our main point of contact. He had a project manager that we worked with as well as a developer.

How did you come to work with DOTh?

We had a referral. We met briefly with them to talk about our requirements and what we needed to be delivered within a short time span. We laid out something that was realistic and doable. They were upfront with us in terms of execution.

How much have you invested with them?

It was about $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We completed the MVP in six months or so between October 2015 and March 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to secure $1.5 million in seed funding based on what they built for us. It was ready to be displayed to investors as well as potential clients. The day the product launched we had 36 clients that had tested the product. They all became clients within the first month after launch. From that we started to scale: now we have over 1,200 clients using our system. DOTh was an intricate part of what we accomplished at the early stage.

What they developed in such a short time period is impressive. Our original timeline was 12 months but we wanted to speed up the process. They brought in people with lots of experience to be able to accomplish what we needed within that timeframe.

How did DOTh perform from a project management standpoint?

We worked on 2–3-week sprints. Once a sprint was finished, we’d put things into production, test it, and take it live. They tested and ensured the QA, then brought it to us for final tests, feedback, and approvals. We used a project management tool to track and manage approvals, testing, and QA.

Every time something came up, it was addressed automatically. They made sure we kept on-budget which was really important to us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Most software developers don’t have the business discipline to understand how things are interconnected. The value they brought was the ability to translate what we wanted to do from a business perspective and to understand the “why”. They didn’t just take a short-term outlook, they considered future goals and what made sense in the longer term. They have the business acumen that goes beyond the software aspects of their work.

Because they’re not just developers, they sat with us and gave us input. Their long-term perspective steered us away from shortcuts to create something we could build on. It cost a little bit more but we didn’t have to scrap our MVP. It was good enough for us to start with. They gave us a foundation to build on. I’d recommend them—and have—to anyone starting a business and looking for someone to build them an MVP.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we didn't have any challenges with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come prepared with what you’re trying to accomplish. Come with a fully-formed idea of what you’re trying to accomplish. But you need to go a bit beyond the idea. It’s important to know where your business is going, what you envision for the next year or two. If you come with that, they’ll be able to build a product for whatever you want to accomplish.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior project manager of a leading market research company that provides online, telephonic, and social media research. We work with government entities as well as large financial, retail, and pharma companies performing almost any kind of research. I’m the head of the digital service department and am in charge of all app-based, social media, or general online research.

We work with all other departments to design their questionnaires, sampling plans, and metrologies. My department’s responsibility is to do the actual data collection, data analysis, and dashboard visualizations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DOTh?

We were looking for a company that could build a custom app for programming online surveys. We had an existing solution that had a huge amount of limitations and only addressed standard uses.

They’re one of our leading partners and have worked on all the applications we use for online research.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

DOTh provides all the custom front- and backend programming, tabulation, charting, and data analysis that our department requires.

We were initially looking to build an app that could perform custom web-based work. Once a respondent finished a survey on our platform, the data would automatically pass to DOTh’s custom tool where they would then perform the collection and redirect us to it. They performed this nicely, so we gave them a bigger role. We’re no longer using that app and have implemented all of DOTh’s custom tools for different services.

For example, we will build a completely custom app if a client wants to have a MaxDiff. Once respondents have answered a few normal questions, the platform will transfer them to a MaxDiff exercise where they have to give answers for different scenarios. The backend is focused on segmentation.

We currently do a lot of social media research as well as work on blogs and Twitter. DOTh can perform tweet-based analyses for us to determine the most common word within 100,000 tweets.

We’re in touch on a continuous basis and send them scopes for any new projects. Their team then gives us a document containing screenshots of how the component will look along with descriptions of how it will work and what output we’ll get. Based on those documents, we can determine if the result is what our clients are looking for and whether we need to make any changes. We can then discuss those through a conference call and start development. We can get in touch with DOTh during that process if our clients want additional changes.

They’re using .NET on the backend. We sometimes need JavaScript coding for frontend respondent interfaces, as well as Java and other app-related languages. Our apps are available on Android and iOS.

What is the team composition?

They’ve assigned a dedicated team of five resources, including two project managers and three developers. The project managers also do development work, but their main job is understanding what we’re looking for.

How did you come to work with DOTh?

One of our former colleagues introduced us to them.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost so far has been around $750,000. We’re charged on an hourly basis for maintenance work on ongoing projects. Standalone work is per project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in the last quarter of 2012. The collaboration is ongoing. We undergo at least 100 projects per year with their help.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

DOTh is an innovative company with very good ideas. They’ve continued to come up with ideas to help us maintain a good relationship with major clients (e.g., banks, government agencies, retail brands).

All of our clients have commended us on the user-friendly and innovative apps we’ve made. It has helped us attract new business.

How did DOTh perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very accessible. They’re also not a nine-to-five company, which is good for us. We have clients in various time zones, so DOTh’s flexibility helps us fulfill our own timeline. Our projects are time-sensitive and we can’t have delays in any department. DOTh has done a good job in this respect by giving us a dedicated team. Their normal hours of operation are 6 AM to at least 10 PM.

We use Slack and email for normal communication and Mavenlink for project tracking. DOTh also provides SFTP through which we transfer all our documents.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve implemented any new technology that came up which could help us provide a better and smoother experience for respondents. DOTh is continuously improving their team’s skills. They’re not the only company we’ve used, but other partners strictly ask what we want and how we want it. We need ideas from the developers, project managers, or company’s head so that we can present options to our own clients.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

We have a very good relationship with them that’s continuously improving, so I can’t provide an answer.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clients should definitely try DOTh in order to see how they differ from other companies and how professional, innovative, and customer-service-oriented their team is. This is what we’ve experienced since 2012.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

BillingWhizz is a startup company working in the recruiting space that has developed a SaaS [software-as-a-service] product for small- to medium-sized companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with dot H Inc.?

We needed a partner who could fill a creative direction role around building our web page. We later expanded to mobile application development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

dot H Inc. provided development for our website and SaaS products, including the one we’re currently building that involves PHP, HTML5, JavaScript, and MySQL.

The website is addressed to small- and medium-sized accounting and recruiting firms (i.e., any company needing to track the time of a contingent staff, specifically freelance IT contractors). It helps companies reduce operational costs by providing time tracking and automatic payments. We provide cost-effective payment options on our website.

What is the team composition?

I was assigned a project lead/manager and 1–2 developers depending on their availability. Manish [CEO & Founder, dot H Inc.] has discussed our general business needs—both mine and my partners’—and translated them into requirements for the team.

How did you come to work with dot H Inc.?

We were looking for a cost-effective solution and found them through a referral. Manish came across as a forthcoming and understanding person who could offer us what we needed. He also came up with some good suggestions. We decided to use DOTh’s services after a couple of months of back-and-forth communication.

How much have you invested with them?

Our last project cost between $20,000–$30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in February 2017, and the collaboration is ongoing. The first beta version is already out, and we’re looking to have a 2.0 launch in the March-April 2018 timeframe to allow actual customers to start using it for their work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website has gained some traction, and we’ve received positive responses from our end customers. Hopefully, things will go well and we’ll get more feedback from actual users. We’ll adapt based on those user inputs. Things are on schedule so far.

We haven’t started monetizing the platform yet, but we do have 10 users on it. One company with a staff of 20 people across two offices has agreed to try it on a pilot basis. We’ve had a meeting with them and received some change requests specific for their users that we’re planning to implement by the end of the month.

We’ve heard some user feedback on how to improve the product in general, and the growth prospect looks promising. I expect to start monetizing it by mid-June 2018.

We’ve seen some bugs in the beta version, but there hasn’t been anything serious. We’ve mainly heard suggestions for improving the product, including adding or removing features and changing the functionality flow. The good thing about dot H Inc. is that they test the work properly, so what we have now works fine.

How did dot H Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

We haven’t had too many face-to-face meetings. Most of the communication has been done online. I presume that they’re using Microsoft Project internally, but I’ve only received spreadsheets detailing the project scope and milestones. We have weekly or bi-weekly meetings with Manish and the team. I haven’t had time to become very involved in the collaboration because I’m so busy. dot H Inc. has worked well in terms of productivity.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve found them to be approachable. I can speak freely to the team and deliver all the information I need. They’ve not only done what we’ve told them to do, but have also come up with suggestions or other options when something could be more beneficial to us. This approach is different compared to the people I’ve worked with in the past.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

I wouldn’t mind having more progress updates, so having more frequent meetings—including in-person ones—would be good. There is only so much we can do online. The more we talk, the more they will understand our outlook on different matters.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Manish is a good person to work with for someone developing a custom product. He can bounce ideas around with clients, but especially when the general concept is vague. Even if someone isn’t looking specifically to start a project with dot H Inc., they can provide insight into how an idea can be materialized. They're an especially good partner for startup companies.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a company that does online marketing software and SEO [search engine optimization]. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DOTh Inc.?

We needed another provider to have on hand for our development needs. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve done our web development for various pages and websites. They created software for us and worked on a couple of projects with my other developers with mobile apps. The apps are still in development.

We specified our needs and they helped us with what we already had planned. We just needed the extra work done. There was a lot of WordPress work, some Magento, and various programming tasks for mobile and web apps. We set a plan, but sometimes unforeseen things came up where we had to change the plan and work with the issues. We were billed monthly.

A lot of the websites are affiliate type websites. We have one software platform, which they did quite a bit of work on. It was another brilliant marketing platform that provides all the tools in PHP, news sources, plug-ins, and everything else required for marketing.

What is the team composition? 

I worked with Manish [CEO & Founder, DOTh Inc.] and he worked with the rest of his team. We have our own team as well.  

How did you come to work with DOTh Inc.?

We had an idea for a software about 5 years ago. We were looking for somebody in Canada. We usually work with a team in India. We came across Manish on a website while doing a web search. We flew out to Toronto to meet him. We started to work with him from there. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2016 and the work is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The success would be down to us, not Manish. We do quite a bit ourselves. We have our own in-house team. We use them for other projects that we need extra help with in order to meet deadlines, or one if our programmers have a question that their programmers could help us out with.

How did DOTh Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

We didn’t use any type of management tools. It was offered, but I worked one-on-one with Manish. We Skyped back and forth and everything was always completed on time or ahead of time. He definitely exceeded our expectations.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The prices are applicable. He over delivers.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

XOXO Mate, Inc. is a dating site that has over 20 employees from both inside and outside of Canada

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with dot H Inc.?

I had a lot of issues with another company I worked with and needed a new developer.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a huge website for us. They also built iOS and Android apps. I provided them with documents and a deadline.

The app and website are both for a dating platform. Users are able to use video and phone calls to communicate with each other, and it also does location tracking.

What is the team composition?

I mainly interacted with Manish [CEO & Founder, dot H Inc.]. He handled most of the project.

How did you come to work with dot H Inc.?

I found them online. I requested an interview with 8–10 companies and also met with the top-rated ones in Toronto. None could have surpassed what Manish and dot H Inc. did.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January 2016–May 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s more user-friendly, flexible, and interactive thanks to them. I haven’t had any issues since they became involved. They did a great job.

How did dot H Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They always met deadlines. We used email, phone calls, and Skype video calls for communication. We also met in-person several times.

What did you find most impressive about them?

dot H Inc. made development easy. They gave us a lot of information that helped our organization. They helped us address issues with social media, gave us advice, and showed us avenues to expand our presence.

They had a lot of experience and expertise. What they did was amazing. I didn’t expect them to come in and do so well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work at a company which carries on business in the consignment industry

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire dot H Inc.?

Design and development of an E commerce website

What were your goals for this project?

To keep a prominent presence on the net while increasing our online sales

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Through search and several interviews

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Design and development of E commerce site

What was the team composition?

Manish was the project manager. He was liaison between us and his team of designers and programmers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We now have a presence on the internet

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project was managed well

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They did all they could to deliver the features and services we required.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We had hoped to have the project completed earlier than it did