EB Pearls

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Caroo, an application for the listing of cars for sale.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EB Pearls?

We needed to develop an app for private and dealer car listings.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

EB Pearls has developed the app for iOS and Android. They’ve also worked on UX/UI design and a basic website to assist with introducing our business and the app's navigation. We initially provided them with a detailed PowerPoint to show what we envisioned for the app. We also provided basic designs, and they worked on the wireframes and storyboarding to form the basis of the activities.

What is the team composition?

We work with Akash (Director), Tiffany (UI Designer), and a project manager on the coding side.

How did you come to work with EB Pearls?

I selected them based on research and reviews online. I also compared them to previous experiences with app developers.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in January 2020, and it’s ongoing. We’ve completed the MVP, but we’re developing further modules. We’ll launch in 2023.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve delivered an MVP that exceeded expectations. Moreover, we’ve been able to secure funding thanks to their work.

How did EB Pearls perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re professional and easy to work with, and we’re happy with our project manager. Our communication is always clear and open; we mainly use email, physical meetings, and Zoom calls. Additionally, we prefer working with detailed Excel schedules.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their biggest strength is their ability to solve any technical challenge. Sometimes it takes a couple of iterations, but they always solve it and deliver it in the end. Overall, EB Pearls provides a professional service.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could consider different internal processes to ensure the iOS and Android development timelines are consistent.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You can be confident that EB Pearls will deliver on technically challenging projects.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of Sauced It; we deal with HR and safety management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EB Pearls?

We needed help with UI/UX design services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

EB Pearls are doing mobile app development and UI/UX design for us. I already had a web-based platform, but I wanted more functionalities for the app. The product is for iOS and Android, using Figma and Flutter as the main technologies.

How did you come to work with EB Pearls?

I did a Google search, came across them, and decided to call them. I went to meet Akash (Director), who I liked. I also downloaded and signed up for a few apps they had already built, and I felt they did well and decided to choose them for this project.

How much have you invested in them?

We've spent about $120,000 AUD (approximately $83,556 USD) with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

I think it was around August 2021, and it is an ongoing engagement. We have just finished the main build, but there are other modules that I'm creating to move forward.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I measure the success on how they've been sticking to the delivery dates we agree upon and how good and communicative they've been. Overall, I find them very professional, and even when we had disagreements, we always rationalized them fairly.

How did EB Pearls perform from a project management standpoint?

Regarding communication tools, if I'm dealing with the account manager, we use email or text, and if I'm talking with the development team, we use Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I'm impressed with their good service, and I'm confident that they'll continue doing that for me in the future.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We're constantly learning; they know what they need to do to protect themselves when we build a platform and that they clearly articulate the bill. Overall, I can't describe an improvement for them — I think they do a really good job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Articulate what you want, understand the scope of what you nned, and ensure that you read all the documents they give back to you. They did nothing wrong, and rather, they did everything right.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Head of Product at Baxta Global pty ltd

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We engaged with EB Pearls to help develop our Halo charity mobile apps including iOS, Android apps, and web portals for admin and partner operations.

SOLUTION

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

EB Pearls already helped our Founder work on the mobile apps and web applications for his other business, which is a pet social app used by pet owners and lovers. EB Pearls provided outstanding services to the pet apps development and support post-go-live, hence the business decided to continue the collaboration journey for the Halo project.

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

EB Pearls helped develop the Halo charity mobile apps across iOS, Android platforms, along with the web applications for Admin managing the contents (CMS) and in-app users for internal operations, as well as the web portal for partner to manage their found events and payments. Technologies used from native iOS, and Android for the frontend, to nodejs and MongoDB for the backend. AWS infrastructure setup was also done by EB Pearls for DEV/TEST/Production.

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

We have access to a senior project manager, a delivery/release manager, a technical manager, and developers from tech lead to individuals for iOS, Android, and web API/backend engineers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have saved at least 200k-400k for the development with EB Pearls compared to hiring an in-house team for iOS, Android, and full stack engineers. Also, their project management support model gave us Quality assurance and helped resolve issues/bugs in a timely manner. The leasing model also gave us the flexibility to hire developers as our in-house team, which made the scrum development really smooth during the build and releases.

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

EB Pearls has offered us, project managers, separate capabilities and responsibilities. We have one technical pm, along with a release/business pm. Overall, we have another snr pm helping on oversees the project status and for urgent issues escalation.

Worth mentioning that the director EB Pearls also got involved from time to time if when we have trouble connecting with the offshore team members (mostly due to timezone differences or out of business hours for urgent fixes or changes in production). Response to requests is very good in general from EB Pearls.

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

EB Pearls has got the required technical capabilities for web and mobile development. More importantly, their staff leasing model provided us flexibility having a hybrid development model of onshore and offshore, with the dedicated project managers looking after the project progress as well as the changes request.

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

Would be greater if EB Pearls can provide onshore resources on-demand, provided that finding local resources are more challenges in Sydney now, especially after the covid pandemic.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

SWIMIT is a revolutionary software that will change the swimming industry and will help coaches and swimmers approach the sport with more confidence and support. I'm the founder of the business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire EB Pearls?

We are currently at the end of the Design stage, where EB Pearls' designers have been instrumental in creating the prototype of the software I have ideated.

What were your goals for this project?

SWIMIT will help swimmers have a personal coach on pool deck at all times cutting down costs and removing all logistics issues. Plus, they will get access to world-leading coaches without leaving their favourite venue. Furthermore, all the benefits listed for the swimmers will apply for the coaches too. Swimming Coaches will finally be able to have clubs and squads at a glance. SWIMIT will help them manage their training sessions with a revolutionary algorithm which will provide analytics on all the workouts planned and swam.

SOLUTION

How did you select EB Pearls?

I found EB Pearls on google and from the first contact, Akash has been extremely professional, flexible and responsive. I contacted other providers, but EB Pearls was by far the most responsive and professional and also cost-effective.

Describe the project in detail.

The concept of the app is quite complex. EB Pearl did quite a lot of work in understanding the industry first, and the project. we did quite a few workshop where I illustrated my idea in detail. I appreciated the way they wanted to hear first and then act on it later. The designers were extremely keen to understand, and they also came to an off-site meeting out of work ours to understand more about the problems the app wants to solve. The app is full of different functionalities and very peculiar need of interaction with the user. Plus, it integrates a revolutionary algorithm.

They've managed to grasp the whole project in-depth and predict the needs of the users well without my prompting. Furthermore, the branding created is very nice and it took Mike no time to make it. The app has been designed for mobile.

What was the team composition?

I initially had Akash as a point of contact. He then assigned Michael Signal and Dannie Duong to the project. In the last 6/8 weeks Tiffany Palmer joined the team!

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The concept receive an amazing feedback by the community, and all those involved are very excited to start testing the app.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Their workflow was very good because they managed to understand the project quite well, anticipating some of the requirement the users could have. They have always been open to feedback. I really care about the project, and I always politely showed what didn't convince me and they have always showed a rational behind their decision, which I really appreciate, but where I needed some change, they always understood and got the feedback on board proactively.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Very professional, friendly and responsive. I really liked the final product and the price was very competitive. I haven't worked with any other providers but the communication after the initial contact was by far the best.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The only thing that was a bit frustrating was using Asana. I personally found it very confusing and hard to use I work a lot with platforms like Asana, but I've never seen anything like it. To name a few issues: The messages are a very confusing - they are not chats and you need to add the users every time, otherwise they won't get notified. There's no way to share media in a organised way. To send media you need to create a message and it's very easy to lose content. The tasks can't be personalised that much and it doesn't make you want to use that functionality.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a business that’s creating a tutor-booking app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EB Pearls?

We needed a technical partner that could help us create our product. It’s a booking and payment app that makes it easier for students and parents to find tutors. Likewise, tutors can book times that are convenient for them and ensure that they’re paid fairly and in a timely manner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

We’ve relied on EB Pearls to build out the iOS version of our tutor booking app. They’ve been very helpful in the design and backend of the app as well as creating a website to match. 

Our product is a pretty straightforward solution with three user categories: a parent, a student, or a tutor. For parents and students, they can sign up with their personal details and payment information to gain access to our list of registered tutors. They can then select the tutor whom they’d like to book, choose a time from that tutor’s calendar, and confirm the booking. Once the lesson is complete, they’re billed.

For tutors to join our site, we require them to supply an Australian business number (IBM) along with a Working With Children Certificate. We’ll confirm those details to approve their profile. Tutors can then list their areas of expertise and qualifications and set their availability on their calendar.

One of the key points that we emphasize is the various communication channels that we have. Students have the option of booking an in-person appointment, but we also offer video conferencing to ensure that we maximize the tutor’s time. That way, there’s no time lost in transit, and students have access to tutors across a wider geographic range.

What is the team composition? 

The main person we work with is Akash (Director), though we’ve also interacted with their designer and project coordinator. Once we went into the backend development, we had email correspondence with three other developers overseas.

How did you come to work with EB Pearls?

I canvassed a few app developers through internet searches, narrowing down the list to two companies: one in Melbourne and EB Pearls in Sydney. Initially, I looked at their current success in their markets, the media coverage they’d received, and their awards. It was basically a way to see their standing in the industry.

Then, I considered their locations. The developer in Melbourne presented difficulties in meeting, and they just weren’t quite the right match for us. On the other hand, EB Pearls was close enough for us to have face-to-face meetings, which was important to explain our requirements. The team was patient and thorough, and we felt that they were a good fit.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $120,000 AUD (approximately $92,000 USD) so far, but the total project cost will be closer to $180,000 AUD (approximately $138,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Our first meeting was back in 2017 to work out the basic scope of work. The actual development lasted from December 2020–January 2021. We’ll be returning to them to do the Android version.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s still too early to determine how successful the app is, but EB Pearls has done all that they can to date. Obviously, there are a couple of add-ons that we’d like to do because we learn as we go, but that’s part of the process.

How did EB Pearls perform from a project management standpoint?

It was difficult to get meetings with the project manager at first. Rather than weekly meetings, we could only meet every month, so small things like baby changes to the copy took much longer to do. That made the process very slow in the beginning. Eventually, Akash took over and put our weekly meetings back in place, which improved our speed enormously. Once the boss got involved, everything was done within 24 hours.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s impressive how they continue to support us as their clients, informing and educating us so that we can make our project as commercially successful as possible. They didn’t just walk away once the product was complete. Instead, they’ve stayed on to assist with the marketing components, Facebook advertising, and even our website.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The development process was much slower than we thought it’d be. I expected to launch the iOS version by October 2020, but it took an extra three months to go live. Part of that was due to our meeting cadence, which made it hard to get our copy changes in place. Having more frequent work-in-progress meetings at the beginning of the engagement would’ve been helpful.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Schedule weekly work-in-progress meetings. Otherwise, they’re very professional, and the team is good to deal with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and sole member of White Bow Gift Registry. I’m an accountant by trade, and I’ve come up with the concept for a gift registry app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EB Pearls?

I don’t have an IT background, so I contacted different developers to build my app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I gave EB Pearls a specifications document, which they translated into tech terms. I had limited funds, so they recommended developing it as a web and iOS app first, leaving out Android. They also developed a marketing website for the app.

There are a lot of gift registry apps, but they’re limited to one store, and none of them are geared toward birthday parties. Users can put in the wishlist of a child through the app, along with the party details.

When someone purchases an item from the registry, it’ll be marked as purchased to eliminate duplication. EB Pearls will also be helping me with marketing. I’ve only done some blogging and social media posting so far.

What is the team composition?

I worked with a developer and a digital advisor on the app. There was also someone guiding me on the marketing website.

How did you come to work with EB Pearls?

I looked online and contacted around three developers. The thing that impressed me about EB Pearls is that they forced me to come up with a business plan. They asked me who I was targeting and what the concept of the app was. Everything was just in my head, so having that discussion helped.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $50,000–$100,000 AUD (approximately $38,500–$77,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

I first contacted them around May 2019. I had to take care of documentation and trademarking, and COVID-19 also slowed me down. EB Pearls was available when I picked things up again, and I’m thankful to them for that. I launched the iOS version in December 2020, but I haven’t done marketing for it yet.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I had a concept, and EB Pearls delivered according to what I asked for.

How did EB Pearls perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Trello for project management and Google Docs for documentation. They gave me a dashboard to check the downloads, and I also have control over the website.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m a solo entrepreneur, and I’m not very good with tech. EB Pearls guided me and helped me a lot in this collaboration. 

There were a lot of things I didn’t understand, and their help was really important. They’ve had to explain some things to me a few times, and they were really patient. I was the one leading the process, and EB Pearls was flexible to my needs. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are one of Australia's biggest aged care agency. I manage one of these aged care facilities. I was tasked to work with EB Pearls to work on our website.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire EB Pearls?

We hired EB Pearls to design and develop our website. It involved reviewing our old website, reviewing our competitor website and analysing the current aged care landscape to determine a strategy for our website.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal of the website was to improve our corporate identity and enhance our value proposition among our customer base. By doing this, we were hoping to raise the number of leads we receive.

SOLUTION

How did you select EB Pearls?

EB Pearls did a great job for other players in our industry. When we review their past experience and also spoke to their past customer, they seem to have in-depth knowledge of our industry. We liked their approach of collaboration and agility.

Describe the project in detail.

EB Pearls worked through the Value proposition canvas determined the pains and gains of our customers and reviewed the competitor. By doing this, they came up to us with a strategy and the messaging that we need to present on our website. They collaboratively involved us during this process and presented us with a wireframe to outline all our requirements.

Then they presented us with the home page which,it was excellent and we worked through the internal pages where we also received feedback from some of our customers. This was then developed in WordPress and they inserted all the content provided by my team. They also set up all the analytics and made sure all the SEO issues were fixed going live. This means, our website is performing well in SEO and the speed is better than ever before

What was the team composition?

We worked with Dannie at the start of the project who was our account manager. EB Pearls had multiple staffs involved in the project among them there we were below that I can remember:

• Mike - Creative director
• Akash - sales
• Tiffany - WEb design
• Dannie - Wireframe and account management
• Sudeep - Technical lead
• Rupika - QA There were also 3 developers in the project but I can't remember their name

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One of the biggest progress was that we were successfully able to record the number of lead we receive and it integrates directly to our CRM. Making it really easy. We have received far more number of leads from the new website in the last few years. EB Pearls was also able to ensure our keywords ranked better (they showed us before and after data) and our speed was really good compared to what it was. Overall we have received a really good feedback.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I think the team at EB Pearls was really really helpful. They were very understanding of the fact that we were not technical and they took time to understand our pains and gains. I would say hats off to the design team for making our website look the best in the industry and we are really happy with the collaboration we have with EB Pearls. As a matter of fact, we are working on 3 other projects for our sister agency with EB Pearls.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

EB Pearls have been really flexible and easy to work with. They gave us enough direction and support to make sure our website was industry-leading. They had a good eye for design and we were really impressed with their performance. But the biggest game-changer was their knowledge of technology. I am now able to manage my website easily to create effective marketing campaigns

Are there any areas for improvement?

I have been really happy with EB Pearls so far. I hope they will keep up the good work with the next 3 websites.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Achieved Music, a music platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EB Pearls?

I wanted to build a mobile app for up and coming musicians to display their music, progress, events, and gigs.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed my mobile app, as well as helped me with capital raising. They built up a prototype and I moved the whole step of the design. I gave them an idea of what I wanted and they showed me similarities, which helped me build the design more. There were different mentors to talk to, and that definitely helped in guiding me.

I need funding before we start building the full app, and we’ve moved onto building a website to bring in revenue. We’re a quarter of the way through the build of the website now, and they’re using WordPress. The website will launch in February 202, which will start making us money to put towards the app.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Akash (Director) directly and I was pointed to Mitchell, (UX Designer) who did the wireframe with me. Then, I worked with another person who was part of the design team.

How did you come to work with EB Pearls?

I looked online at different articles for the 10 best companies in Sydney. Some companies I contacted didn’t return my calls, but as soon as I sent a query to EB Pearls, they were available right away. They were very engaging and told me what their process was.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost will be $28,000 AUD (approximately $21,600 USD). The prototype was $8,000 AUD (approximately $6,200 USD). The website will be $19,000 AUD ($14,600 USD) total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2020 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They built exactly what I wanted from scratch. The prototype gives me a functional-looking app to show investors. EB Pearls has been nothing but supportive. I give them nothing but praise.

How did EB Pearls perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication is good. We go week by week. We’ll talk about something on a Wednesday and they’ll start working on it right away. If I have any updates or changes, I can put them in comments or send them a text message and they’ll reply right away. They’re always available, even in the evening. We use phone, email, and Figma.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a very tight group. They all sit in the same office. They’re very hardworking and determined, as well as friendly and easy to talk to. They always put you first, listen to you, and make you feel like a superstar.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s not an area I can think of for them to improve.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a product manager with a social media application designed for pet owners and pet businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with EB Pearls?

They’re our software engineering partner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

As product manager, I manage EB Pearls through the agile development of our application. As we’re devising our product roadmap and deciding what new features and functionalities we want implemented in the application, the EB Pearls team is in charge of building whatever’s in our road map. 

We began by building the app for both iOS and Android in native environments. We’ve also started using Flutter, whereby we’re building across iOS, Android, and web at the same time. We’re currently managing both builds simultaneously, iterating slowly. 

What is the team composition?

I liaise with a total of about 11 people. I manage a team of about eight developers, and we also have a team lead, a QA lead, and a project manager. 

How did you come to work with EB Pearls?

EB Pearls was working with our company before I joined the team.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our relationship with EB Pearls goes back about two years, but I started working with them in July 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re really happy with EB Pearls’ work; they’re wonderful. The team works very hard and they’re always open and accommodating to whatever pivots we make within the organization.

As an example, when I took over the product team we moved from waterfall into agile. The team was extremely responsive, and they picked up the new strategy really quickly. Additionally, when we moved from native to hybrid, they handled the shift excellently as well. They’ve gone above and beyond when it comes to self education.

I consider EB Pearls to be agile and flexible, highly collaborative, and overall, very hard working.

How did EB Pearls perform from a project management standpoint?

Despite our time difference, we’ve managed to fit all the rituals into the time we do have. We operate in two-week sprints, and the releases depend on the urgency of whatever it is we’ve built. We average three monthly version releases on iOS, but they also are able to make quick turnaround times happen as needed. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The level of service we get from EB Pearls really stands out. Their high attention to detail and eternally positive attitude are what make working with EB Pearls so good.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think I have anything in that regard. All the challenges we’ve faced have been a result of much larger disruptions, rather than their abilities. They’ve been really supportive.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

What’s really worked for us is to manage the product in tandem with EB Pearls. We’ve been stronger together.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a founder of a start-up based in Sydney.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire EB Pearls?

To assist in the development of a mobile application.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to create a platform to increase access to justice in an innovative and creative way.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I researched and waded through online reviews for various developers and narrowed it down to three that had good reviews, well designed websites and had worked with reputable clients. I then met with the three prospective developers and I chose EB Pearls based on the transparency and understanding of Akash and the team.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we green lit the project, we met with the team to go through our plans in detail. After that we corresponded via email to finalise the designs and wireframes. We also had another couple of meetings for some stickier parts. Following the planning stage, the team utilised Trello to roll out each stage of development and take on feedback.

What was the team composition?

We were assigned a project manager in Australia who helped us with the wireframes and design. Where the project moved to the build phase, we were provided with a new project manager offshore who kept the project moving.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Too early to say yet.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication was easy and things kept moving at a good pace.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They deliver elegant solutions that look good and function as intended.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There were occasional communication breakdowns. However, these were remedied with by follow ups and clarifications.