Entrision

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the CTO of a mid-sized health insurance intermediary.

What challenge were you trying to address with Entrision?

Our company had a platform that was built by 4–5 developers over the years. As a result, it was poorly architected and had quite a few bugs. As our business processes change, we needed a team to update the app to work with our changing requirements. 

To elaborate, we previously hired a different team, and our teams were trying to migrate the software to the Salesforce platform. It was a mess: we weren’t utilizing many technologies well, and only one person out of 100 people knew what the platform did. Even that person only knew the platform from a business perspective; she was frequently wrong about its functionality. Given that, we hired Entrision to serve as both our architect and developer with a high level of competency. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Entrision updated our platform using Ruby on Rails. They worked with minimal documentation, and the code was an absolute wreck at that time — I didn’t envy the job they had to do. 

In terms of functionality, the platform could help insurers fill out the right paperwork for them to get licensed and become our ready-to-sell agents. The platform would also check whether the insurer had the right licenses. It automated these processes, and our team simply needed to ask insurers to provide their national provider number. The system would automatically determine whether or not the insurer qualified for our program. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with Derek (Founder) and a project manager. Derek served as our main point of contact. 

How did you come to work with Entrision?

I had a list of companies that might fit the bill in terms of the code we needed, and I contacted each of them. When I contacted Entrision, the experience was so seamless. Their website had a chatbot that instantly brought me to a sales representative, who took my call right then and there. 

That representative also talked with a high level of confidence around the problems we had, what it might take to resolve them, and what our next steps would be. Within 15 minutes, we determined exactly what we’d do. That experience spoke to me. The efficiency configured within their business processes ultimately sold me to the partnership; it proved to me that they knew what they were doing, so I hired them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested over $10,000–$20,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in March 2021, and I left the company in September 2021. As far as I know, their engagement with my previous company is ongoing. 

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

The developer from Entrision was highly competent. He sat down with me, and we spent a good chunk of time talking through the code and discussing its functionality. In the end, he was able to correct the platform’s features and fix bugs. 

How did Entrision perform from a project management standpoint?

For project management, I asked Entrision to operate in a unique way and I was thankful they accommodated it. We spent 15 hours a week sitting and discussing our time constraints, the bugs we needed to fix, and what we could do to fix them. Their project manager worked closely with me to ensure the project kept going and that the developer was doing a solid job. 

Moreover, the project manager ensured that we stayed on budget, determining whether or not we needed more resources to accomplish our goals. From that perspective, the Entrision team was phenomenal. To communicate, we used Google Hangouts, emails, phone calls, and texts. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their competence and communication were the best part of working with Entrision. I had to explain myself to other developers and architects 2–3 times on average. By contrast, I only had to explain myself once to Entrision. Once they understood our needs, they flew with it — that impressed me the most. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There might have been a billing error at one point. However, to be fair, I couldn’t even remember what it was about. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Let Entrision lead a little bit. They’re a team that can lead the conversations and designs to better alternatives. In other words, they’re good from a true consulting perspective; they’re not just developers, and that’s why I recommend them.  

ntroduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president & CEO of a software development company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Entrision?

We were trying to develop a faster, more reliable solution for customers to communicate with law enforcement sources.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve built a communication software solution from scratch. We brought in Entrision to develop the messaging, onboarding, and billing systems. They’ve used Angular, Firebase, Node.js, Lookback, SerialTree,  MQTT, and .NET.

We do our hosting with AWS.

What is the team composition?

I believe five people are involved: a web developer, a project manager, two app developers, and an architect.

How did you come to work with Entrision?

We had a significant bug that we couldn’t fix. Someone referred them, and they came in and took care of it.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent close to $400,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2017, and our relationship is ongoing.

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

We took it to market last May 2021, and we’re very close to closing two major deals. Moreover, the response towards the software has been great. Since we’re a safety and security system, we don’t usually hear much until a tragedy happens, and we haven’t been involved in any yet.

How did Entrision perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very responsive, and the team works hard. Overall, they do a pretty good job. We use Slack and their basic architecture as tools. For communication, we typically use phone and emails.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re excellent at personal communication. We get to speak with the developers; it’s not like they’re passing the message between people. Also, we work directly with the principal of the company, the project manager, and the developers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re always willing to improve, but that’s something that we have to work on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be prepared with what you want them to do, and they’ll get it there.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are primarily a fuel wholesaler, which was what the app was for. We also sell petroleum products, and we own retail gas stations. I am the software architect here, and I primarily focus on our website development and general IT work.

What challenge were you trying to address with Entrision?

We wanted to develop an easy-to-use app for our customers to be able to place orders.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Entrision built us an app for Android and iOS. They started with a blank slate and completed the whole process. To give them an idea of our vision, we first presented the team with some screens and templates to show them how we wanted it to look. They then set up the wireframes. Eventually, they were ready to jump into the actual development process. 

We initially ran into some hurdles because we were using an IBM database, which wasn’t the most common. The team had to find a workaround to get our database connected, but they managed to set it all up for us. They also built an API along with the mobile app. 

Once they finished the app, Entrision handed over all the code and ownership to us. The project is complete, but we still reach out to the team for support. The internal testing process isn’t finished yet, so we haven’t pushed it out to our customers yet. The main functionality of the app is the ordering process. After ordering, our customers can also view invoices and track their order status. 

What is the team composition?

Initially, we only worked with Joan (Software Developer), and then we started working with two developers. Throughout the rest of the process, we only interacted with the developers. 

How did you come to work with Entrision?

We put out a job notice on a website, and they responded to it. There were four other development firms who we talked to, but Entrision stood out. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $54,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from December 2019–May 2021.

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

The app was great. Entrision was highly knowledgeable about app development. Whenever we had any questions, they gave their expert suggestions without being pushy. They always left it up to us to decide what direction we wanted to go in, so the app was how we wanted it.

How did Entrision perform from a project management standpoint?

Entrision was a very flexible team, especially in terms of timelines. We had to put things on hold because of issues on our side, and they never pushed us to continue. Instead, they remained patient and understanding, keeping themselves readily available. They were also easy to communicate with and were quick to respond. Our communication was mainly through Slack, but we also had regular meetings on Google Meets for updates and issues we needed to with through. We shared screens a lot because they had to walk us through some things. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their expertise was invaluable. The team always gave us genuine feedback and was transparent throughout. We appreciated how easy and convenient it was to work with Entrision.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they could’ve done differently.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend Entrision; they were great to work with.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive of State Affairs, which is a media outlet that does journalism covering the state houses of each state.

What challenge were you trying to address with Entrision?

We needed to build a frontend site so that consumers could log in, subscribe, and read content that they found interesting; it would be a newsfeed format. Then, we also needed to build a backend CMS for journalists to create, edit, and publish content.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Entrision built everything from the ground up. On the consumer version of the site, they built the backend architecture and then the actual UX. They helped build out the algorithm for what populates the newsfeed. The team put all of that into a data architecture that we can run analytics on and update as time goes by. They built in a testing component where we can A/B test different site features and functionalities to understand what consumers like the most.

On the backend of the site, they developed a content creation system. Beyond that, they created functionality that enables us to manage an editorial process with a fully remote newsroom. For instance, we can take an article in draft form, do multiple versions of edits from different user levels (a journalist and multiple editors at multiple different locations and with different permissions), get the piece approved, and then live on the site.

They built the data architecture that we can create analytics off of. This allows us to see what type of content works and understand different correlations between the type of content and links, how consumers are engaging with content and the likelihood of them finishing the article, and so on. 

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with the two co-owners of Entrision.

How did you come to work with Entrision?

Our head brand designer had worked with them before and spoke highly of their ability to scope things out and deliver on time and budget. That’s very difficult to find in the engineering space.

How much have you invested with them?

We scoped it out at $90,000, but they ended up doing it for $72,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in July 2020, and they fully delivered the work by November 2020. The goal was to get the project done in less than four months, which they did. We have built out additional scopes with them since then.

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

Our satisfaction was based on whether they could build what we wanted to spec, on budget, and on time, and the answer was yes to all of those. Ultimately, that’s why we decided to move forward with additional scopes.

We haven't actually gone live with the site yet; we're still hiring a bunch of journalists to populate it, and they're creating content. We’ve been able to recruit multi-decade experienced journalists largely because of the site — they have seen that it functions, and they’re excited to put their product on it. The site will go live in the next two months.

How did Entrision perform from a project management standpoint?

They did terrific on project management. To communicate, we used email and also had a standing weekly meeting. I believe they used project management tools internally. They also used a Gantt chart format, which we loved. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The thing I liked about the collaboration with Entrision was their organization. We spent about 4–6 weeks building out a very detailed scope between our design and UX team and their development team — and that was worth it. We didn’t pay for that, but it gave us a very clear understanding of what was going to be built by the time we began putting time and money into actually developing it.

Over the years, I’ve found that developers often just jump into the project, and then things take much longer and go over budget because nobody had a full understanding of what was going to get built. They did a terrific job of working with us to get everything scoped to a very specific level. That’s how they got everything done on time and under budget.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can't really think of anything. The scoping could have possibly gone a little bit faster, but we came out on time and under budget because we did that. Scoping was tedious, but it was the right thing to do.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be patient while scoping is happening, and believe in that process.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of production of a video production platform. Our product is a web application with iOS software pairing. The entire purpose of our application is to create a video production and then be able to send briefs to people in the field who have an iOS device. After that, enable them to capture video footage that is then moderated and downloaded to the web platform.

What challenge were you trying to address with Entrision?

We needed an iOS developer, specifically with AVI foundation in the iOS camera.

What was the scope of their involvement?

There were several scopes throughout the project. At first, we wanted them to work on camera updates for the iOS camera app that we have, and the main goals were getting that app as next-gen as possible, working on a couple of things that we worked on with previous developers, and getting rid of some bugs in the app. Entrision’s team mainly added a zoom wheel, the ability to record with different zoom frames, and a couple of onboarding and sign-up screens. They provided those efforts using technology like Swift, AVFoundation, and a few other iOS libraries. They essentially enhanced some features and built some screens from scratch.

What is the team composition?

Derrick (Founder) was our main point of contact, but we also worked with Brian (Lead iOS developer).

How did you come to work with Entrision?

We used Clutch and a couple of different sourcing platforms to try and figure out who could be the best fit for us. We narrowed down the options, and we went with Entrision because they had the most experience and foundation.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $50,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July 2020–May 2021. We went with another partner because we needed to keep the velocity of the project going. We wanted someone who could do a lot more work with an almost full-time engagement rather than a part-time partnership.

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

In the QA stage, it’s easy to find edge cases or issues that get in the way of having a solid product before releasing it. With that being said, we measured the success with how well the app was built, how much extra work was required in the QA stage, and how long it took the app to release.

How did Entrision perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great; we used a project planning software called Jira for everything regarding technological progress and lines of codes. What we did was that we scoped out the sprint that we were about to do and break those down into individual Jira tickets. After it, we pushed that through the development cycle once we got done with the design and all of our requirements.

In terms of day-to-day communication, we used Slack, emails, and Zoom meetings with Brian and Derrick. They were very responsive whenever we had an issue, even on things they didn’t primarily work on.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Entrision handled an amicable relationship and they were easy to work with. There was an occasion where we had a bug with our deep linking system, and they were able to go in and help us out on a day off, even when they didn’t even touch our deep linking system before — that was the main benefit of the working relationship we had with them, which was very nice.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Entrision can improve on defining the scope of the timeline. Stating when something’s getting done with the turnaround time for it would be helpful for sure.

Any advice for potential customers?

Define the timelines, make frequent check-ins, and provide detailed tickets to them as you’d do with any other working relationship with a developer.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a project manager for a music and fitness app. With our product, customers are able to access thousands of DJ-curated mixes that operate side-by-side with our personal trainer sessions and workouts.

What challenge were you trying to address with Entrision?

They’ve played a large role in the development of our iOS app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

After providing them with a high-level overview of the project, they took over the development of our iOS and Apple Watch mobile application. At this point, they’ve built our app and handle any technical upgrades to it.

Additionally, they constructed two white-label apps from the ground up, implementing functionality changes along the way. We’re building Apple Watch components for the white-label apps as well.   

What is the team composition?

We started out working solely with Brian (Lead iOS Developer), another team member works with us now as well. 

How did you come to work with Entrision?

Our team connected with them on Upwork initially. We talked to them on the phone to evaluate what they could bring to the project. Based on a strong conversation, we hired them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $158,000 so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in May 2018, and our collaboration is ongoing.

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

We’re a pretty small company, so they’ve been super helpful in answering any questions we have along the way. They’ve been able to get everything done in a timely manner. Outside of testing, there have been very few bugs. When issues with the app pop up, they get right on it.  

How did Entrision perform from a project management standpoint?

I speak with their team almost daily through Skype, which has been helpful in our remote partnership. They’re both very responsive to tasks. If they’re unsure of something, they ask good questions. I always know that they’re making progress. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re great at communication. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re working together to be more accurate with timeline estimates. As the project manager, I’ll be able to help reel that in.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a medical real estate firm.

What challenge were you trying to address with Entrision?

We hired them to create a mobile app for us.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The key deliverable was to create a mobile app where users could create agreements with other users in a social network environment. I believe they used Ruby on Rails to create the iOS app.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two people.

How did you come to work with Entrision?

I believe they came recommended to me.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership began in 2017. They still provide support on some minor ongoing web projects.

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

They did a good job on the projects. They’ve provided high-quality work. The platform was user-friendly, and none of the code was broken. They delivered everything we asked for.

How did Entrision perform from a project management standpoint?

They were on time, accountable, and transparent. It was one of the better working experiences I’d had with a developer. I’ve had some challenges with offshore developers, and they’ve been definitively more reliable. We talked on the phone and they also used project management software.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re distinguished by their ability to take my vision and advise for or against that idea, based on whether it’s the most efficient way to do something. They don’t just do what I ask, but they’re able to evolve ideas into something that’s best for my company.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really. They’re a small shop so their resources are sometimes limited. I don’t hold them at fault for that.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Think through the project from beginning to end as best you can. Make it clear that you’re open to their ideas since their input will help you.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Smart Scale Co.

What challenge were you trying to address with Entrision?

We needed someone to develop an integrated iOS app for our first-to-market product—a digital scale and smart container called “Stashaweigh.” The device allows medical cannabis patients to properly dose their medical cannabis flower. We were looking for a partner to build a connected app for our IoT scale since our device doesn't have a display or any buttons.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team developed a fully integrated iOS app for our IoT product. It’s not a standalone app, making it a lot harder to create, but Entrision was up to the task.

From the rough examples I provided, the team designed the app to include all the necessary control, fully integrating the platform with the device’s firmware. The app can turn the scale on, display container weight, and track consumption through a history feature. They're currently working on an Android version.

What is the team composition?

Brian (Lead iOS Developer, Entrision) and Derek (Founder & Development Lead, Entrision) are my main points of contact, but seven developers have worked on this project as well as a graphic designer.

How did you come to work with Entrision?

I met Derek years ago. We've worked together on and off so when I got this idea and started this company, Entrision was my first choice.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in June 2017, and it’s ongoing.

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

We’ve done a lot of testing with our team and some outside users—the app works great. I don’t have any problems with it at all; it does everything that I need it to.

How did Entrision perform from a project management standpoint?

It's easy to work with Entrision. They’re communicative and easy to contact. If there's ever a delay, the team lets me know beforehand; they never surprise me. When they give me a deadline, I know they’re going to complete it. I don’t need to constantly follow up. It’s been a joy to work with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their technological abilities are their biggest assets. The team is always looking to improve. Unlike some of their competitors, they’re not afraid to dive into new technologies and projects.

Also, they’re transparent—I know they’re going to call or email us back. They’re great to work with because of their communication.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’d be great if they added a salesperson to their team so that developers could completely focus on engineering. I think that would take their team to another level.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Nail down your idea. Knowing your project will help to build a better product.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We provide online training in sexual abuse awareness for churches and non-profits with childcare programs. We maintain an online database with screening forms and documents. As the technical manager, I coordinate development and system fixes.

What challenge were you trying to address with Entrision?

We hired a backend developer to transfer our old system to a Ruby-based database. That developer launched it before it was finished, which led to a huge crash. He then promptly disappeared. We needed someone to backtrack and fix the system.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They really saved us. They immediately stepped in to address all the issues we were left with. The fundamental functionality of our site was broken. We couldn’t send out training modules or add people to the system. Derek [Founder, Entrision] fixed all the bugs and helped us create new functionality. He made the system better than we intended and has contributed a lot to help our customers.

He's developed a paperless document transfer option and has integrated three key applications, including Recurly, our billing system; TazWorks, a background check management system; and DocuSign.

What is the team dynamic?

Derek is our primary contact. In total, there were three or four people involved with security circuits, domains, or other aspects, but Derek was our point of contact. He managed his team and their priorities directly and reported back to us.

How did you come to work with Entrision?

Our frontend developer worked with Derek previously and recommended him.

How much have you invested with them?

The initial cost was close to $100,000, plus the cost of our monthly contract.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked together since April 2016. The core project is done, but he works with us on a weekly basis.

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

We’ve tripled our onboarding rate since the new launch. We lost a lot of people when the system crashed, but we’ve gotten a lot of them back thanks to their intervention.

Everybody loves the new features, and the functionality is very user-friendly. Our users span from tech-challenged to tech-savvy, and we’ve made the system work for everyone on that spectrum.

How did Entrision perform from a project management standpoint?

They are fantastic. They rise to every challenge and go out of their way to meet quotas.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Derek is an honorable businessman and takes ownership of his work. He feels as responsible for our clients’ experience as we do. The estimates he gives are almost always right, and if a project goes over the quoted hours, he usually honors the estimate. He doesn’t inflate the numbers and is honest.

Advice for potential customers?

Tell them your expectations as clearly as possible, and trust that they will do what you ask. They don’t need constant supervision to get the job done well.

Please describe your organization.

Our company provides a subscription service for HVAC [heating, ventilation, and air conditioning] and furnace filters. We deliver the exact quality, quantity, and size of filters that a specific location needs on the day they need to be changed, essentially acting as a physical reminder to change the filters on time and removing that logistical hurdle to do it regularly.

What is your position?

I'm the co-founder and CEO.

What business challenge were you trying to address with Entrision?

We wanted to provide our customers with a website where they could sign up, create their subscriptions, and manage their accounts. We needed a development partner to develop the full back-end and front end of that site and create a customized subscription platform for our customers to sign up on and manage their accounts. That's why we partnered with Entrision.

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

When we worked with Entrision, we started with a blank canvas. Everything they built was from scratch. They built out a full customer occurring platform. They also built out a connector for our fulfillment that held all of our skews and allowed people to create custom size. On the website, they built an order flow where customers could go through, build the subscription, check out, and manage their account from there.

How did you come to work with Entrision?

At the time we started working with them, it was very early on in our company. We actually had an accelerator, and one of the people in the accelerator had worked with Entrision for another project and said [they were] very responsive, worked fast, and did a good job. We connected with them to discuss the scope of the project. We started working with them immediately after that.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

We've spent more than $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Most of the work is completed, but we are still in contact with them.

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Where we are today definitely he had a huge impact in getting us something that we could use to start growing our business and getting that foundation set.

How did Entrision perform from a project management standpoint?

Overall, we were extremely satisfied with our partnership with Entrision. We got exactly what we wanted built and more in a lot of cases. It was on scope and on schedule. They are very responsive, and we've developed quite a good relationship. It was a very good experience working with them.

What distinguishes Entrision from other providers?

They treat the project as if it's their own. They're definitely very proud of their work. We would suggest things, and Entrision would take it beyond or help us put together something better than we originally wanted. They also worked very quickly.

Is there anything Entrision could have improved or done differently?

I wouldn't say there's anything specific. There's always hiccups in everything you do, but there wasn't any specific reoccurring issue that I think they could solve. As far as working with a third party to do development, I thought it was a fantastic experience.