Enappd

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO and founder of a startup company in the 3D printing field. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Enappd?

We hired Enappd for website development and management. Their services also included online database management for our clients and orders.

What were your goals for this project?

Enappd developed one of the earlier versions of our website while our company was just entering the market. At the time, we needed to both reach out to clients and ensure they could navigate our site for their specific requirements. Our primary objective was to quickly to convert web views from users into customers who placed orders.
 

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had been on the lookout for a vendor via several online platforms and came across Enappd via Upwork. They were one of the very few options we found who quickly understood our requirements, and they synced well with our team. Being able to understand our project was very important to us. Since this was a development from scratch, we didn’t have an earlier version they could build upon.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Our main requirement for Enappd was to develop a web application with a backend built to accept requests from clients. The interface is largely promotional, but it also offers visitors a basic UI and records their queries that relate to our products. 

The team developed our web application in Angular.js and attached a Firebase backend.  First, we developed a static version. Once we were satisfied with the initial iteration, they produced a dynamic second version.

What was the team composition?

At least three people from Enappd that I’m aware of worked on our project. The team manager served as our single point of contact. He managed all our communications with their team, which included a frontend and a backend specialist. 
 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since Enappd delivered our web application, we have been clocking noticeably more visitors on our webpage. Within a short time, we received several inquiries. We also advertised our company via LinkedIn. The new website’s user-friendly interface has played a big role in helping us easily convert web traffic into customers.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They were definitely committed. Enappd’s project management and communication were always spot on. They never had problems with internal communication, and our correspondence always ran smoothly. 

Our point of contact from the company always made sure we were updated regularly on the progress. Even when he was away on vacation, he made a point to redirect our queries to colleagues who could answer them.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I appreciated Enappd’s timely communication and updates. They had great turnaround times for implementing our feedback during the development phase.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The project started off a bit slowly, but they were working quite quickly after a while.  In fact, Enappd’s turn-around time on our feedback was one of the strengths that really impressed me.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m currently an organization of one and the founder of a new app for visualizing data metrics, particularly regarding website analytics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Youstart Technologies?

I needed developers capable of bringing my app idea to life.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app is a full Cloud, subscription-based web service and Youstart is building it from the ground up. They designed a custom API and we’re currently in the MVP stage of development as I prepare to show potential investors.

While I provide the primary design work, Youstart frequently offers helpful feedback, ensuring that we work collaboratively on all aspects of development.

What is the team dynamic?

I speak directly with three developers, including Abhishek and Abhijeet Rathore [Co-Founders, Youstart], but they have a team of 12–15.

How did you come to work with Youstart Technologies?

I found them through Upwork and made contact with Abhishek.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, between $11,000–12,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in April, 2017 and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Not many people have seen the app since we’re still in the early stages of development, but I’ve been pleased with their work.

How did Youstart Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

These guys are great. I've worked with teams internationally in the past and recognize there are inevitable challenges with time zones and communication barriers, but Youstart has done an excellent job navigating those hurdles. We use Skype to conduct video conferencing calls, and communicate directly through Slack and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

As brothers, Abhishek and Abhijeet have a productive working relationship. They're spirited, knowledgeable, and willing to work with you however you need. They're also willing to reach out to other developers to fill any knowledge or resource gaps and have a sizeable business network that allows them to do so in a timely fashion.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There's room for all businesses to grow, but nothing specific stands out.

Advice for potential customers?

Come prepared with your design specifications and functionality requirements, and Youstart will take care of the rest.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Dogspotting, which is an app for a 700,000-member Facebook group that focuses on taking and posting pictures of dogs that people see in their daily lives. The mobile app has some features that the Facebook group can’t quite accomplish, including an actual game through which users can keep track of their score.

The app allows users to keep track of all their spots (places where they’ve seen a dog) in a central location and easily find spots from around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Youstart Technologies?

I had a general idea of the features we wanted but didn’t have a firm grasp on how to develop a mobile app end-to-end. Our team was looking to bring in experienced developers for a reasonable price that had done similar projects in the past.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I started the discussion with Abhishek, one of the co-founders, however, we now work with Abhijeet, his brother and other co-founder, who has been running the project for the last four or five months.

We used the Ionic 1 framework for the web and mobile apps, which allows us to push the same code to Android and iOS, along with HTML, CSS, and AngularJS. The web application code is slightly different, but it takes almost everything from the mobile code. The backend storage is done through Amazon Web Services S3 and EC2 containers, which ensures that photos are delivered.

Abhishek worked on the backend development first, using Node.js for the Ionic framework. He got the databases set up, did some frontend work, and once all that was in a solid place, Abhijeet was brought on board. They both worked on the frontend and backend for a month and a half, after which Abhijeet took over with feature implementation and touching up the UI/UX [user interface/user experience] of both the mobile app and website.

We wanted to implement a sort of reward and points system for users uploading photos or performing some sort of task. On the backend, after a certain amount of points are accumulated (which we call bones), the user can redeem them for product discounts on our Shopify store.

What is the team dynamic?

I provided the majority of the frontend design, and Youstart made suggestions on how we could improve things and making them more intuitive. I could go to Abhijeet with an issue or an idea for a certain page, and have him either approve it or circle back and provide a recommendation. He has a lot of experience with UI/UX, so he’s been a big help in making sure everything looks good and works well.

There’s been another person working on our project off-and-on for testing, but I’ve primarily worked with the two founders. I talk to Abhijeet on WhatsApp, but we also have Skype calls once a week and exchange emails if I need to send over any scripts.

How did you come to work with Youstart Technologies?

I found them on Upwork through a tedious process of selecting developers that fit the criteria I was looking for. I interviewed a dozen development companies, looking at affordability, experience developing similar projects, and the trustworthiness and reliability of the team. There was a slew of candidates from different companies, but Youstart was significantly above the rest with their expertise, cost, and ability to understand the problem.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested between $8,000–$10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2016. The collaboration is ongoing and we’re planning to stick with them for the foreseeable future. I also plan to use Youstart on a new Ionic 2 project that’s completely separate from Dogspotting.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve had a couple of problems, which are to be expected in any sort of mobile app development. Sometimes, people’s Android phones weren’t compatible with the app, especially since there are hundreds of different models using the operating system and we can’t possibly make our product work with all of them. Overall though, the feedback has been positive, which is reflected in our reviews.

We once had a small issue with users signing in as admin accounts. Youstart did a great job of getting to the bottom of the problem, and it’s been the only significant hiccup we’ve had. They responded promptly to any bugs.

How did Youstart Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve been handling most of the project management, drawing out what needs to be accomplished and having Youstart implement it. They’ve done a good job of managing their internal team and I have no complaints about them being on the same page with our goals.

Abhijeet is my primary contact at the moment, and he has been responsive to any questions or requests I had.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m impressed with their ability to take any problem and solve it in a timely manner. They did a good job of making sure that everything worked across all platforms. Their team is versatile and was able to accomplish what we’re looking for in terms of building Android, iOS, and web applications quickly. They’re also up-to-speed with the most recent technologies.

The points system was something that Youstart had never done before in terms of linking store discounts with performed actions within a mobile app, but they did a nice job sketching out what everything would look like. The rewards system is one of our most heavily-used features right now and it has brought more revenue to our shop.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The admin bug was something that Youstart could’ve potentially solved through testing, but it was an obscure issue that only affected a small percentage of users. The developers themselves couldn’t actually replicate it, so there was nothing they could do besides keep testing and working on it. Once they could replicate it, it was fixed quickly.