Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or impact of the engagement?
By using Icemint, I haven’t had to find an in-house developer. I’m actually able to put resources into hiring an account manager and operations resources. I didn’t think that would happen before meeting Icemint. I felt in control of the process in the sense of telling them what I wanted. I QA-tested everything before we went live, and I gave the authority to launch.
We launched with no bugs, and the platform has never gone offline. I have all the core competencies that I need on my end. Because they’re in Ukraine and I’m in New York City, it’s really important for the basic things to work, especially at 6:00 PM. I’m getting to a point where I have certain clients who actually take up to 40% of my revenue, so if I lose that client, it’s like I’m back at square 1. Icemint did a really great job of making sure that everything is sound, even when starting with code that they didn’t make from scratch. They did a great job of putting me at ease, especially on the small business side. Right now, the company is made up of myself and another person, so every penny counts. I really appreciate the way that Icemint handles things.
In terms of monthly growth, we’ve been live for 5 months and had 65% growth every month so far. A lot of that is due to the product quality. The space I work in is somewhat competitive, but the clients like the features and the technology behind the platform. We haven’t really gotten any complaints about anything not working. Our team is doing a lot of work on the backend to start automating things.
I’ve funded the whole company. Icemint has built something that we can sell. Now that we actually have enough recurring revenue, we can bring Icemint on board almost full-time. Right now, they’re working 30 hours a week.
How did Icemint perform from a project management standpoint?
They’re very communicative. I have a project manager that I solely work with, and she’s amazing. We message multiple times every day. Nobody’s dropped the ball, and everybody knows exactly what’s going on. At the end of the day, we get an update, even if they’ve only worked for a couple of hours. They tell us when things are moving and when things are stuck. They saved us time through their suggestions and the workflows that they put in place.
What did you find most impressive about Icemint?
I liked that they’re an agency of full-time employees. Even when we weren’t working together, we built the MVP on a flat rate. I think I paid them a little bit more after that, and then I didn’t have any money left. I told them I was going to try to sell it and then come back to them. Even for small bugs that weren’t even their fault, they would do fixes here and there for free. We didn’t have a contract at the time. They didn’t know if I was going to sell more in the future or if I was even going to be a future client. They probably believed in the product and were generally helpful.
I wasn’t necessarily taking full advantage of their expertise. They know how to do everything. This platform has a lot of integrations, and some of them aren’t APIs. We’re thinking about doing a Zapier integration. I’m somewhat technical, but I don’t know how to code. Once I ask for something, Icemint is really good at providing estimates and explaining the process. They’re very transparent. They’ve never gone over budget.
Are there any areas Icemint could improve?
They’re a core part of my business now. There’s nothing I would change about our partnership. They’ve already adapted to what I needed.
What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Icemint?
Connect with them on the overall scope of where the platform’s going. After a large push, they’ll ask what the next 5 steps are. For example, if I tell them I want to build out these 15 features and I know it’s going to be $100,000, I’ll ask for their ideas on how to skip a step for efficiency. I suggest being upfront with Icemint and making a connection with them instead of just viewing them as an outsourcing firm.
Eltex is currently in the development stage of the process. Stakeholders have found that the partnership with the team is easy and painless. Eltex is able to communicate well and are open and receptive to client requests.