Ekohe

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Digital Applications of Protea Japan Co Ltd

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Protea distributes skincare, beauty, health and fitness products and related solutions in order to support its users’ active lifestyles. Our products are globally successful brands backed by scientific evidence and endorsed by medical professionals. Using data-led insights about our customers’ lifestyles and preferences, we present relevant solutions in a customer-centric, omni channel environment.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Development of eCommerce Website

SOLUTION

How did you find Ekohe?

Referral

Why did you select Ekohe over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Ekohe were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

• eCommerce website development including various features such as a bespoke promotion engine, custome messaging tool, SNS notification tool, affiliated marketing tools
• B2B, B2C, B2B2C
• Loyalty program, Subscriptions, Backorder
• Coupons, Treatment vouchers
• Web analytics
• Various checkout features such as payment options (COD, Apple/Google/Rakuten pay/ Credit card), Guest checkout  
• Mobile application development
• Development of several internal tools that help operations, marketing and logistics to configure various elements on the website as well as manage inventory and master data.
• An In-Store application for our B2B distributors to scan products to distribute/redeem loyalty points to in-store customers, various reports providing insights to our B2B customers, and a few other features.
• BI: Development of BI dashboards in Grafana and AWS Quicksight
• DevOps: Manage our cloud infrastructure both in AWS and GCP.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Significant increase in our revenue across all channels (B2B, B2C, B2B2C).
• Ekohe helped us develop several tools that helped acquire new customers and retain existing ones and increase web traffic.
• Overall customer experience was enhanced.
• Developed tools that helped us cross-sell and upsell products.
• Geographic expnasion: In addition to Japan, Ekohe helped us build a "Japan-like" solution for our Taiwan business. 
• Data Driven: The entire solution has helped create a data-driven culture across all layers of the organization.
• DevOps support: The teams helped maintain the weekly scheduled and out-of-cycle deployments, pipelines, and services, ensuring they remain up and running 24x7.
• Marketing & Operational Support: Ekohe teams supported the BAU operations, campaign/promotion support, support to internal Protea business users.
• Ekohe teams did an exceptional job during the transition phase in terms of documenting the entire solution, running knowledge transition sessions, and ensuring a smooth transition from Ekohe delopment team to Protea internal development team.
• Project management: Ekohe provided great project management services.
• Backend Development is definitely core strenght of Ekohe development team.

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

As cited earlier, Ekohe provided great project management services that helped us deliver solutions on time and within budget.

What was your primary form of communication with Ekohe?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

• Backend Development
• DevOps Services
• Project Management

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

We contracted Ekohe between 2019-2024, for the most part, we were forced to collaborate online due to Covid-related restrictions. I think we could have added more value together if we had worked in person/face-to-face. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder / CEO of Podknife

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Podknife is a curated podcast discovery platform designed to facilitate connections between podcasts and episodes based on their subject matter.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Taking the site from wireframes to launch
• Considering how advances in technology could enhance the project
• Making continuous improvements and performing maintenance over time

SOLUTION

How did you find Ekohe?

Referral

Why did you select Ekohe over others?

• High ratings
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Ekohe were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The scope was focused on several key objectives:

• Business Consulting: Conducted research and executed an agile product roadmap, addressing user and business needs.
• UX/UI Design: Designed intuitive interfaces and developed prototypes to test new features.
• Full Stack Development: Utilized React JS and Ruby on Rails (ROR) for comprehensive front-end and back-end solutions, hosted on AWS.
• AI/ML Implementation: Implemented NLP algorithms for dynamic search and personalized content curation.
• Data Science: Extracted insights and patterns from podcast data using advanced techniques.

Ongoing Support: Provided continuous maintenance and updates to optimize platform performance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Improved user engagement metrics: prolonged platform sessions, increased search activity, and higher content consumption rates.
• Expansion of the active user base and frequent return visits.
• Positive qualitative feedback from users on the platform's intuitive interface and personalized recommendations.
• Growth in the number of podcasts available and increased collaborations with content creators.
• Growing interest from advertisers and sponsors, indicating potential revenue opportunities.

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

Ekohe impressed me with their skill in using advanced NLP and ML for personalized recommendations and their dedication to creating a smooth user experience. Their expertise in data science and full-stack development was key to the project's success.

What was your primary form of communication with Ekohe?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Ekohe’s ability to integrate advanced NLP and ML for personalized recommendations and their dedication to creating a seamless user experience is particularly impressive. Their expertise in data science and full-stack development was crucial to the success of the project.

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

While working together in person would have been nice, the remote collaboration worked well and didn't hurt the project's success. Our work together has been very productive and eye-opening.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Kosmogo

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Kosmogo creates custom web-based systems that efficiently coordinate personnel and technical resources for international sporting events. Simultaneously, our solutions improve relationships with broadcasters, ensuring seamless event coverage.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Provide skilled developpers
• Provide advanced software development organization and methods
• deliver in the context of higly flexible and time constrained environment

SOLUTION

How did you find Ekohe?

developers meetup

Why did you select Ekohe over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Ekohe were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

The scope is straightforward: 

• Anything that secures an operational system regardless of unexpected late requirements. 
• The deadline cannot change because it's the opening ceremony.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

With over a decade of consistent success in delivering international sports events year after year, our track record speaks volumes. We consistently meet deadlines, maintain operational excellence, and have never experienced system failures. Our system operates 100% online with zero downtime.

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

Their approach to project management has two essential facets. On one side, it's about having a robust and organized system with tools, well-documented processes, and automation to handle the substantial amount of information related to requirements, priorities, and progress. 

On the other side, it's about fostering a genuinely human connection—an atmosphere of openness, positivity, and very easy accessibility. This human touch is characterized by a fear-free environment in relationships, driven by a shared awareness of excellence and a mutual desire to maximize benefits for all parties involved.

What was your primary form of communication with Ekohe?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Ekohe distinguishes themselves with a unique ability to uphold an open and positive attitude while demonstrating an unwavering commitment to operational deliveries, regardless of the inherent chaos and pressure often associated with international sporting events. This consistent commitment to quality has remained steadfast for over a decade, never once faltering.

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

Although having them closer to Paris would have been convenient, we're thrilled with our relationship. On the bright side, our partnership has allowed us to explore the vibrant city of Shanghai!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of AMYNA Systems Inc.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Hi-tech company developing security solutions for xIoT.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• GUI Interface

SOLUTION

How did you find Ekohe?

Other

Why did you select Ekohe over others?

Referred to me

How many teammates from Ekohe were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Key designs for GUI interface.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Ekohe team has always been prompt and agile.

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

The PM lead is communicative and constantly checking in to deliver the items.

What was your primary form of communication with Ekohe?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They are personable and looking for ways to be helpful to startups and businesses.

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

Time management