Dualboot Partners

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of product at a SaaS company that helps businesses sell their online goods and subscriptions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dualboot Partners?

Dualboot provided us with custom software development services. A good portion of our employees did custom development, but we brought the team in to help us scale up. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’re working on existing products, and Dualboot helps us build new functionality for them. On the software side, the two primary languages we use are React and Node.js. Moreover, their resources help us with UX design, development, and QA testing. They mainly use Figma.

What is the team composition?

We work with seven engineers, one QA, one UX designer, and one product manager. 

How did you come to work with Dualboot Partners?

Dualboot was recommended to us. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spend somewhere in the ballpark of $75,000–$100,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement started in May 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

To measure success, we determine our business objectives and see whether or not Dualboot can accomplish them. Their resources do an incredible job of understanding our business and products. I see that in the type of questions they’re asking. 

On top of that, I’ve been blown away by their design work and ability to understand our users and workflows. They provide high-fidelity designs on Figma that our engineering team can work on easily. 

How did Dualboot Partners perform from a project management standpoint?

Dualboot’s project management has been fantastic. The product manager thinks about the relationship between our teams and what we’re trying to accomplish. That contact person has been incredible to work with, and the team has been highly responsive. 

In terms of tools, Dualboot uses all the tools that we’ve been using, given the staff augmentation nature of our relationship. To communicate, we use Zoom, Slack, and phone calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their expertise in their functions — including design, engineering, and others — has been impressive. They’re excellent communicators, and we’ve built a high-trust relationship with them. I’ve been truly impressed with every person I’ve met from Dualboot. As a result, we trust their work, ability to deliver, and ability to be there for us in other ways in the future. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Treat Dualboot as a true partner. They have specific skill sets and strengths. You can bring your expertise, but you should work with them as partners, so communicate closely with them. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the COO of EntityKeeper, which is a cloud-based software solution that helps track, manage, and organize legal entities. I am in charge of the product road map and operations in general.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

in 2018 we hired DualBoot to dust off some old software that was put on the shelf from 2014 and work to help revitalize the product. They have worked on building out the product and growing with us over the past 4 years.

SOLUTION

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

Our CTO was the individual who found them, but I know that their expertise, cost, and work ethic were the main deciding factors.

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

The scope of our work was to dust off an Ruby software that was started in 2013/14 and continue to grow the roadmap by adding key functionality and features. This is an ongoing project that we are working on with the team.

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

Since we have been customers for over 4 years we have had a few different team leads, and developers work on the software, but each has come with a wealth of expertise and were all professional. We also have engaged with the partners and have a great working relationship with the whole team!

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

DBP has given us a variety of ways to measure our deliverables and we have recently started to use more project based spreadsheets to keep us on target with our release schedule.

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

Our team communicates well with DBP through Slack and weekly meetings. They are very flexible and provide us with plenty of updates/feedback if there is an issue that has arisen.

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

The team is very much interested in working together as a partner and not just as a consultant. They take a deep interest in the product and offer great solutions. They are affordable and will work with the customer if something seems amiss.

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

I would say the only improvement would be a little more prep work on the DBP team side during a project manager transition, otherwise they have been fantastic to work with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CIO for Payzer, a SaaS platform in the Field Service Management space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Dualboot Partners?

We needed to make a quantum leap in our UI test code coverage. Dualboot was hired to augment our Test Automation staff to significantly add to our code coverage.

SOLUTION

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

We evaluated a few different companies to help provide these services and selected Dualboot based on reputation, familiarity, and expertise in this development area.

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

They provided 3-4 developers who were assigned different scopes of work. Over time, they became part of our team and were successful in getting a lot of work completed. The communication was easy, and Dualboot Partners quickly worked through a solution for any issues we encountered.

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

We initially worked with one of their principles to understand the project objectives. Dualboot then assigned a project manager, a tech lead, and a few developers to the team. We had weekly check-in meetings to evaluate work, assign new work, and discuss issues.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The staff they were able to help us augment our staff made it possible to complete the project many months ahead of our original plan.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow and interaction with their team was pretty good. We had a local project manager who would help us communicate with the remote team and ensure the project stayed on track.

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

They were able to help us augment our staff with minimal effort from us in a cost-effective way.

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

With our java service project there were a few issues with the developers' understanding and interpretation of the requirements. We were able to work through and resolve but it did cost some time and effort.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the VP of Business Information Services for a financial services firm with one location in Grand Rapids, MI.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

DualBoot has was hired to design a custom software solution and develop a prototype for a mobile app to enhance and replace our current software used for company board meetings and materials for sub-committees.

SOLUTION

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

We were referred to use this vendor by a key stakeholder and decided to move forward because of their experience in the banking and finance industry.

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

DualBoot facilitated our design sessions, quickly turned around an interactive mobile app prototype and then refined the prototype to include relevant images and personalization for demonstration to the key users.

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

There were 4 core team members; project manager, UI/UX designers and a technical architect.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The prototypes were great tools for conversations with key users on the features and user interface for the mobile app we are planning to develop.

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

DualBoot's project manager and design team were engaging and professional. They always had a friendly and understanding tone. I appreciated the communication and commitment to weekly working sessions on Zoom.

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

The DualBoot team was very easy to work with and received our feedback and new ideas with ease and remained humble and committed to creating the best possible design.

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

A weekly status report on budget, accomplishment and upcoming milestones would be nice in the future.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a partner at a startup that supports career transitions from early career to the C-Suite for Fortune 200 organizations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We wanted to build an online platform that helped college students and early career professionals figure out what they wanted to do and build the necessary skills to get there.

SOLUTION

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

We were referred to them because our senior partner was connected with Todd Buelow. They demonstrated a clear understanding of what we wanted to do and had a clear plan to help us get there. They were able to assure us that they could deliver an incredible product despite the fact none of us had any technical experience.

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

They started off with a design phase to map the UX/UI of the platform and understand the key features that we wanted to implement. They were then able to formulate a clickable prototype of the platform that we could socialize with potential clients.

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

We had one project manager and 3-4 designers at any given time. Senior leadership from Dualboot also got involved from time to time to help advise us on business strategy.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to get feedback on the prototype from 25 different colleges and universities.

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

The project management was world-class. They were great communicators and worked as true partners-- always having our best interests in mind. They communicated great via email/slack/phone

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

How much they care. They helped us understand the build and design process in a way that clearly communicated expectations. They cut costs where they could and helped advise us on everything from gathering customer feedback to how we could develop a pricing strategy.

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

None at all.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and co-founder of a startup with a software platform for healthcare clients. We help them manage a flexible contract workforce. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dualboot Partners? 

Dualboot helps us with everything from UX design to the development of our MVP, which we’ll test with our clients along the way.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Dualboot helped us build our platform from scratch. I initially provided them with about 70 slides with pictures and ideas about the business; they contained high-level concepts that let them know what we wanted to do in the market.

The team then took those slides and started creating mock-ups for design sections using Figma. From there, we spent 2–3 months going through all the designs of the app. Once the overall design was approved, we started the development process. 

We’re still working on the platform, and we need their development team to bring everything full circle in terms of product delivery. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with a project manager and Anton (UX Designer). Our team also collaborates with a development lead and other developers. 

How did you come to work with Dualboot Partners?

I came to know Dualboot through local events with other startup founders. For context, our organization originally had a CTO, with whom I planned to build an internal development team. However, our investors decided that it would be best to work with an outside development team that had backend engineers, frontend developers, and a CTO with expertise to deliver the product to market.

Then, we heard some good things about Dualboot and how they handled challenges in their relationships with clients. They were also a reputable company, plus the team was growing. As a result, we felt confident in hiring them; we also liked that they were local. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent north of $250,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July 2021, and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our success metrics are focused on the timeline and budget with which we want to complete our MVP. So far, the Dualboot team is hitting our targets. We’re a couple of weeks behind, but that’s because of key features that we want to add to the MVP. Our team is also isn’t in a hurry to deliver right away. 

Once we move past the MVP, we’ll put more metrics in place to define how the relationship will continue into the future as our outsourced development partner. We’re also hitting our financial expectations. 

How did Dualboot Partners perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is great. It’s a new experience for me, but since it’s not ideal to have no internal product owner or manager, we’ve played that role. Dualboot has also filled that role nicely. Moreover, the client feedback we’re getting has served as a solid foundation for us to start asking people to pay for the platform in early 2022. Overall, the management has been good. 

To communicate, we have a Slack channel. Early on, we’ve done design session calls twice a week. We’ve also done  2–3 development calls per week. We also have one-off conversations with Dualboot in terms of business strategy. Generally speaking, they do a lot of conversations on their end, but we keep up with what’s going on through Slack and GitLab.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Having not done something like this with another organization, it’s hard for me to say how Dualboot compares with other teams. Moreover, the competition is tough, and I get emails about people who can help us do what we’re trying to do. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve their understanding of what our MVP encompasses a little bit better — the pricing and timeline have been a stab in the dark. I’ve been in the consulting industry for years, and presenting a price without truly understanding what we’re trying to accomplish feels a bit weird for me. 

To be fair, we also expect to exceed the timeline and budget we estimate. Still, I don’t know if they truly understand our business model and how well-thought-out the MVP should be. This might just be a factor of how things are done today — either you succeed quickly or fail fast — and we’re pretty close to what they’ve estimated. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Set clear expectations on your goals, and quote a budget accordingly. On top of that, have good back-and-forth conversations based on both what you can spend and what the Dualboot team is going to do. Moreover, know that whatever type of company you use, software development never ends. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Kevin Nadeau, founder & CEO of True Load Time, Inc. TLT's patent-pending web and mobile based platform for the transportation & logistics sector addresses the decades old billion-dollar truckload detention issue. We've built the industries first independent database of aggregated facility wait times at shipping and receiving locations nationwide. Truckload detention is one of the largest concerns facing drivers and fleets today. Industry research revealed that 63 percent of drivers spend, on average, more than three hours waiting for their trucks to be loaded or unloaded, often leading to missed subsequent loads as a result.

The FMCSA Office of the Inspector General estimates that truckload detention reduces driver income by over $1 billion dollars annually. As the adage goes, if the wheels aren’t turning, drivers aren’t making money. TLT customers experience enhanced efficiency, improved driver morale, and increased revenue on day one regardless of whether they're a single truck owner-operator, mega-fleet operation or freight brokerage company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We had a MVP built, but needed to add/upgrade features and functionality for our 2.0 launch.

SOLUTION

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

I met the team on several occasions across the SE and found value in their previous experience within the supply chain / logistics vertical. They were also able to provide industry contacts to help accelerate our growth.

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

Migrate existing AWS front end to Microsoft Azure Update rev structure to reflect updated methodology Landing page improvements Modify and improve search functionality Update UI Update algorithms Improve filtering Develop customer KPI’s & analytics feedback for the data supplied Improve TLT admin

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

10-12 UI/UX Designers, Front End Developers, Back End Developers, Quality Assurance

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to successfully launch our 2.0 product. The new interface improved new customer acquisition and enhanced our existing customer retention.

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

The Project Manager was very helpful. We met at varying intervals dependent upon the project milestones (daily/semi-weekly). We used Slack, Github, and weekly Zoom calls to manage our roadmap.

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

As a non-technical founder I appreciated their ability to communicate complex developmental objectives in an ordinary speak. They were also able to deploy specialized talent as needed. In addition to the dev work, the DualBoot team was also able to facilitate introductions to influential members of the supply chain / logistics community as well as investors...always valuable for a startup!

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

In hindsight their really weren't any areas of improvement to mention. We developed a solid plan in the beginning and executed the plan on time and budget. They did what they told me they would and I was happy with their service.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of a digital content platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dualboot Partners?

We needed their support in building and managing our mobile applications.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve initially engaged Dualboot Partners to build our Android app since we have an in-house team handling our iOS development and maintenance efforts. They’ve developed the platform based on our requirements, making it desktop- and tablet-friendly to accommodate multiple devices. Their team has also regularly conducted maintenance services to ensure the efficacy of our Android app through bug fixes and updates.

At present, Dualboot Partners is helping us build a custom React platform, which allows our users to customize their hard-copy book purchases prior to their shipment. They’ve devised an end-to-end solution for this product, with rendered and pre-built templates and upload functionality.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with about eight resources from Dualboot Partners at the peak of our engagement, while 2–3 developers are handling our current project.

How did you come to work with Dualboot Partners?

I worked with Dualboot Partners on several previous projects and referred them to my current company. After a thorough vetting process, we chose their team to handle this project because of their time-tested reputation and skill set.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in November 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our main success metric for Dualboot Partners’ work is their capacity to deliver go-live-ready products according to our quality and timeline standards. Apart from providing robust solutions within our budget, they’ve also helped us deploy a platform that’s being used and paid for by our customers.

How did Dualboot Partners perform from a project management standpoint?

We have dedicated product managers communicating directly with each other to discuss deliverables and time frames. Dualboot Partners works like an extension of our team — they integrate themselves seamlessly into our processes.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with a lot of developers before, and I haven’t encountered a team that’s as meticulous as Dualboot Partners when it comes to producing strong coding and architecture deliverables. Their understanding of our exact needs is mirrored in their capacity to generate high-yielding development solutions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We can benefit from more structured timelines — there are instances wherein Dualboot Partners’ delivery rates are longer than expected.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a strong understanding of the product you want to build before relaying your requirements to their team. Apart from that, you have to be open to spending both time and money to get the quality you need.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of Stacks Data, a company that uses software to help manufacturers and their suppliers to easily source, collect, organize, and share environmental compliance data.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We had an existing Rails application and needed to expand/build upon that foundation.

SOLUTION

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

I was introduced to Dual Boot by a colleague, who had heard good things about them. At the time i was looking for a replacement for our long-term contractor, who was moving on to other projects. I tried at least 10 different providers in one way or another and was never satisfied with the results. That changed in a major way with DB.

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

They developed an entirely new feature set for us that enabled us to land a very large, important customer. They were able to do so despite the fact that they were dealing with a very old and choppy codebase with tons of technical debt.

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

There were 4-5 people on the core team, with a reasonable degree of turnover in the 2+ years i've been working with them. Anytime they did bring on a new developer to help with the project, i was pleasently surprised (and very relieved) that they have invariably come up to speed quickly and have all been great to work with.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As mentioned above, their work made it possible for us to land a key contract with a new client. And the programming work was so solid that we have not experienced any bugs at all for the past 3-4 months, despite having had virtually no contact with dual boot during that time.

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

They are all good communicators and, i would say, very good people. They are fair, they do what they say, they deliver on time, and their pricing is fair and honest.

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

Their availability - i never felt like i had a problem for which i couldn't get immediate feedback.

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

The one thing i might change is communication about the transition to newer developers. I sometimes felt like it happened without warning, However, since the work was still very good, it was not such a bad thing to deal with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CIO/CISO for Cadrillion Capital, parent company of Legacy Data Access. Legacy Data Access is the leading turnkey archival solution for hospitals and health systems.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our website was old and lacked current features, such as Single Sign-On. We had no internal development team that could manage development of this, so we engaged DualBoot to assist us.

SOLUTION

How did you select Dualboot Partners and what were the deciding factors?

We talked to several vendors but selected DualBoot based on reputation, quality of work and pricing. I was familiar with DualBoot as a local resource.

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

There was a kickoff meeting, then we had regular semiweekly calls throughout the project. We setup test ADFS scenario to test code against then rolled out SSO for Okta and ADFS in production.

How many people from the Dualboot Partners team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We had a project manager that worked with us and two developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Having Single Sign-On capabilities were becoming a standard requirement for our customers. This allowed us to not only obtain new business but also upgrade existing customers that had been waiting on it.

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

We had semiweekly calls with the project manager and we would discuss status, issues, etc. We also utilized email and Slack for more immediate updates/communication.

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

They have very knowledgeable developers and worked with our team to gather all the requirements to ensure this was done correctly. Very professional organization. The team was very flexible and easy to work with the project.

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

The main developer went on PTO during project, which slowed things down a little, but with the length of the project things like that are expected.