Fooz

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of BTSI. We specialize in integration services and enterprise solutions delivery. We specifically focus on bespoke systems and solutions.

What challenge were you trying to address with Fooz?

We needed WordPress development for our client. They work as a systems integrator.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fooz specializes in WordPress solution delivery. We delivered solutions for a well-known digital photo company. They helped us to deliver a set of different WordPress portals which were part of a larger enterprise solution. These portals were fully integrated into Microservices and AWS. Thus far, we've already had three sets of deliverables that Fooz has been involved with.

In terms of the initial scope, they analyzed and identified what the customer needed. Initially, the client had a concept and some ideas which required refinement. Fooz took that responsibility; they also worked onsite with the client. Their team worked through a number of workshops that attempted to fully identify what the client was looking for. They were trying to determine long-term benefits and learn more about the client, which was necessary for such a niche industry. When it came to the design, they worked directly with the client’s team in New York and in London to ensure that the set of proposals and technology went as expected.

The first part of the project was to deliver a completely bespoke learning platform. When that finished, we started work on a creative site that is focused on bespoke project delivery for the end client of our client. They’re now creating a completely new shop for the client. After this phase, they will process a whole overhaul of the client’s frontend stack. Overall, they created a completely bespoke interface in WordPress.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Michal (CEO, Fooz) initially for all the business conversation. We were also in touch with Milosz (Project Manager, Fooz) who coordinated all of the tasks. In terms of solution architecture and lead development, we worked with Wojciech (Full Stack Developer, Fooz) who was the main person responsible on the technical side. Their team also provided a frontend designer.

How did you come to work with Fooz?

They were found via personal recommendations. I already have a development partner who is delivering another part of the solution for this particular client, and they recommended Fooz as a reliable WordPress partner.  

How much have you invested in them?

We have spent around £50,000–£60,000 pounds (approximately $64,522–$77,430 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The initial engagement started in September 2018, and we are still working with them.

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

There was a complex set of requirements, yet the execution was very, very good. I have had a very positive experience. They took on the responsibility for the complete set of their deliverables and cooperated fully with the larger part of our team.

In terms of the end client’s satisfaction, what I have collected has been very positive. They were very surprised at the quality of the designs and delivery. They’re certainly looking forward to working on another project with Fooz and are already entering another phase of development.

How did Fooz perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very responsive and are probably the best team that has been involved in the entire project. I feel very positive about the cooperation I had with them. From my perspective, it’s important that I can rely on people that estimate and advice in terms of technology implementation. I never had a problem where an estimate was underrepresented, or they weren’t able to solve it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive thing about their work is how responsible they are for their team’s success. They are a very dedicated team, work long hours, and are fully passionate about the work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would really like for them to expand to other technologies because I would love to work with them in other areas as well. They focus on WordPress and I believe that is the only thing they want to focus on in the long-term.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The best thing to do would be to speak to them in person. It would show how understanding they are of the customer’s position, and I think it would definitely help a lot.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are one of the most innovative European fintechs. We create advanced solutions, mainly in the areas of mobile banking and mobile payments. I am the marketing manager of the company.

For what projects/services did your company hire Fooz?

We were going through a thorough rebranding process and we selected Fooz as the main technological partner / web development company to build our new corporate website.

What were your goals for this project?

We were looking for a long-term relationship with a stable partner who will develop the website based on Wordpress CMS and in line with the UX and graphics prepared by our internal team. The website was meant to be pretty advanced in terms of animations and overall graphical touch but at the same time achieve high pagespeed.

How did you select this vendor?

I was looking for the appropriate vendor on Google, LinkedIn, and Clutch. I reached out to about 20 companies to gather their thoughts on the project, references, and of course offers.

I was looking for a reliable partner with a proven track record of successfully delivered projects within the set time and budget. Finally, after about 2-3 months of searching and a lot of conversations and negotiations I (i.e. marketing manager) made the decision to launch the cooperation with Fooz.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Fooz developed our new website based on the graphical project and UX prepared internally by our marketing team. They were fully in charge of the front-end development and adjusting the Wordpress CMS to our specific needs.

Fooz was also in charge of the website implementation on our server and overall optimization in terms of speed and general SEO requirements.

What was the team composition?

The team consisted of the project manager who was our main point of contact throughout the whole project and the web developer. In terms of some urgent issues, we also contacted a couple of times the CEO and owner of the company.

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

The launch of our new corporate website was one of the milestones of our rebranding process and we are very happy that the overall development and implementation process went so well.

The new website is really beautiful, useful and functional. All of the feedback from our employees, current and prospective business partners, and other visitors is really 100% positive.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project management on Fooz side was really great. All the pre-agreed deadlines were met as well as our quality expectations. Daily communication with the project manager was conducted on Slack and we always got the answer very fast, in a few hours at the latest.

We kept track of bugs and change requests in the special Google Sheet provided by Fooz and the cooperation on this document was also pretty straightforward and seamless.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I believe that what impressed me the most is their enthusiasm for the project. It seemed to me that they are really happy that they can support us in our website's development and this is not "just another project" for them. Apart from that, they suggested to include some really cool features on the website without and push or inspiration from our side.

Are there any areas for improvement?

If I could suggest any area for improvement, it would be the attention to detail. I believe that sometimes they could spot some bugs or suggest some useful changes on their level before sending something to us. But again, this is just a very minor suggestion that shouldn't impact my overall very positive feeling in terms of our cooperation.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are software developers, but we specialize in creating dedicated software for bigger companies. We are not frontend developers; that's why we chose Fooz for our website. I'm the CEO.

What challenge were you trying to address with Fooz?

We needed a new website. We didn't have time to focus on the website, so we chose them to help us.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created a good website from scratch using WordPress CMS. They were responsible for the UX design and the deployment of the site. It wasn't a big project. It was a frontend website for our company to show our services. They were also responsible for creating copyrights for our website.

What is the team composition?

Three members and maybe more were involved. I spoke mostly with the project manager. At the end of development when the site was deployed, we also spoke with the developers because we needed integration with our HR system.

How did you come to work with Fooz?

We found them on the Internet. I looked at 10 or more companies, but we liked their website a lot, which was why we chose them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent €6,000–€7,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from June 2017 to November 2017.

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

Their quality is very good. We are happy with what they did for us. The first deployment had a lot of bugs, but we had our own testing so we had a chance to test the site thoroughly. After that, they fixed all the bugs, and the site worked very well. Everything was delivered within the defined scope and met our expectations.

How did Fooz perform from a project management standpoint?

We mostly communicated via email and conference calls. We had a fixed budget. They did what they were expected to do. They showed us their progress, and we told them if it was okay or not.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have really good graphic designers. This is what they do best and their main advantage.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They should work on meeting deadlines. We had some problems because of this. We made some changes during the project so they are not fully responsible for the delays though. We are really happy working with them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-owner of an advertising agency that provides graphic design, web design, and online marketing.

What challenge were you trying to address with Fooz?

We lacked the in-house capacity to do larger projects, so we needed a partner experienced in online shops to provide website development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve worked together on a number of WordPress projects. Our first collaboration involved creating a startup’s website with an easily manageable CMS. We started by handing them a mockup that included the client’s priorities and then they build the site, incorporating WooCommerce.

After successfully completing this first project, we’ve continued to rely on Fooz.

What is the team composition?

Michal [Kaźmiercza, CEO, Fooz] and Anna [Project Manager, Fooz] serve as our reference points on each project.

How did you come to work with Fooz?

We’re both part of an international network for entrepreneurs. We met Fooz online and started talking about doing projects together.

How much have you invested with them?

About €8,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

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

Most of our projects are still ongoing. The completed websites are functioning properly and haven’t experienced any crashes.

In terms of cost, they stick to their estimates and allow me to focus on the marketing aspects.

How did Fooz perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate daily through Skype to coordinate milestones. Careful planning allows them to anticipate any difficulties that may arise. They’re always there when we need them and are willing to work after hours if the client makes any sudden change requests.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Michal is very dedicated. He provides input on each project and handles each one with care. Once we complete a project, he calls to ask for feedback and we discuss ways to improve in the future. He’s more than a service provider for me; we’re a working team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Perfection is impossible, and any project has occasional snags. Fooz’s effective communication means I know who to contact in the event of a scheduling delay, and I can trust them to solve the problem. This is really what counts.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You’ll get better results if you have a clear goal in mind. They’ll ask for clarifications if need be, but projects run more smoothly if you provide precise instructions.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner of Lemon Rockets, which is dedicated to usability and graphic design. In addition, we also code programming sites.

What challenge were you trying to address with Fooz?

I was looking for a fast and trustworthy partner that would be able to develop a WordPress site.

What was the scope of their involvement?

It was a very demanding project. We had done the detailed design on our side of things and it included graphics that were hard to code. They were very specific to the robotic and automatic area. There was also a very complicated subpage with technical drawings that had a lot of text labels. I didn’t have an internal developer that would’ve have been able to code a subpage like this in a WordPress platform.

Since then, we’ve collaborated on more projects with them. I do the mockups within my company, but specific Fooz designers who are very experienced ocassionally do WordPress design.

What is the team composition?

I work with the same project manager for each collaboration. I also work with five or more WordPress experts, some of whom I know. For more complicated WordPress projects, I also communicate with their designers. It all depends on my customer’s decision.

How did you come to work with Fooz?

I spent almost two months searching for a reliable WordPress developer, and by accident, I came across Fooz. I asked them to take a look at our details and the design, and they agreed to make a proof concept. It was very well done. After this first trial, we started to work together.

How much have you invested in them?

I have spent approximately between $15,000–$20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in June of this year, and the work is ongoing with other projects.

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

My customers have been very satisfied and have told their friends about their work as well. This is the first group of projects we’ve considered very low risk because of how trustworthy the programmers are that are working on them. My income is bigger because of these projects.

There haven’t been any bugs. Anytime we do something together, I am confident in their experience. They can estimate, in a very precise way, how long and complicated the task will be. They come up with solutions for coding in WordPress as well as a lot of additional plugins. They have a very experienced developer, Wojtek, who is really good and solves problems internally.

They are very good, and I am very satisfied. Because these are projects for clients of my company, I need our partner to have an additional level of reliability and ability to execute in a timely manner. At this point, we haven’t had any problems time-wise in any of our collaborations together. I’ve cooperated with several other companies and freelancers who code in WordPress, but Fooz is the only trustworthy one I’ve met.

How did Fooz perform from a project management standpoint?

They are the only company I have worked with that is predictable. They are always on time, and are able to meet tight deadlines. They connect well with people and are very responsive. They reply within the same day, and even within the same hour for urgent requests.

From the very first email I sent, I found that they were very trustworthy. We have a lot of detailed communication through telephone calls and emails. I cooperate with the developers using a common Google document, where I can explain or describe specifications. This is the only company I know of that will precisely describe what is going on in the project.

The project manager, Anna, is very reliable. This is the first time that I have had less work to do because of an external partner. She is very well-prepared, the processes are clear for me, and I know what the deliverables will be in the next steps.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The work is very high quality.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Respondent 1:  The Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas is a research and development unit that offers services to public administration and cooperates with other research institutes. We also do consulting and research projects for industries. I am in charge of the office of projects coordination marketing and research commercialization.

Respondent 2:  I work in the same office. Izabela [Respondent 1] is my boss.

What challenge were you trying to address with Fooz?

Respondent 1:  We needed to provide some more visibility to the institute to highlight the type of services we offer. The rationale behind the need was that the institute has been restructuring its operations. We also wanted a list of our websites so that what we actually do is better communicated to our stakeholders. The website was outdated and nobody liked it.

Respondent 2: We wanted the website to be more accessible through mobile phones and tablet. The previous website was more challenging in that matter.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Respondent 1:  The key issue to finding the right agency to provide the services was to define the scope of service, because we had to follow the public procurement rules. Once we agreed that Fooz would be doing the work for us, there were further negotiations with them on how to proceed. Fooz was extremely helpful in helping us to scope the actual layout, functionalities, and architecture since they have an extensive knowledge of how these types of websites should work. They’re attentive to our concerns and our wishes. They gave good suggestions based on our expectations, which was much appreciated. There were three people we communicated with but how the work was divided within the company, we don’t know.

Respondent 2: We were offered several designs, of which we chose one and gave our final authorization. They were able to provide this very fast. Then we proceeded from there. The boss, project manager, and one IT specialist were who we communicated with.

How did you come to work with Fooz?

Respondent 1:  We had to find an agency that would provide high-quality service for a reasonable price. We got some recommendations of some agencies to whom we should address our request for a specific service; Fooz was within these agencies. We decided what we wanted to develop and went into a lot of detail. We also wanted someone who wasn’t too far away geographically: It was important for us to have face-to-face communications with them at times. One of my colleagues recommended them because Fooz built their website as well. We looked at their website and saw what they offer, and we liked it. We asked for a portfolio and Fooz provided a good one that we liked. It met our expectations. We had a limited budget, and what they offered us was what we wanted. Another positive thing, we wanted the website to be done in an uncomfortable period, shortly before the end of the year, but Fooz was available.

How much have you invested with Fooz?

Respondent 1:  We spent $8,000 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

Respondent 1:  We started working with them in October 2016 and they agreed to provide support for six months. There are still some minor issues being corrected.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Respondent 1:  I can tell you that before we launched the new website, it underwent some internal changes. The general impression was very, very positive and the functionalities were also positively evaluated. Everybody’s surprised that there is something different right now on our website and something that is very pleasing to the eye.

How did Fooz perform from a project management standpoint?

Respondent 2:  Our communication was good. Any requests to correct some minor issues in layout or in functionalities was done quickly. We are very happy that we decided to cooperate with them.

Respondent 1:  They are quick in reacting, which is quite important: it’s a project for them, but it’s also a project for us. Since one of the objectives for us was to do the project quickly, they really responded very, very quickly, but at the same time, they were quite focused on the materials they needed and the requests they had. Overall, I think that contact is smooth. If there were delays, there more delays on our side rather than theirs because we didn’t respond on time because we were too busy to process things. They were ready whenever the material was provided.

What did you find most impressive about Fooz?

Respondent 1:  Their creativity, openness and their capacity to adapt to the client’s need is impressive. They have the ability to recognize those needs properly - this is a critical skill when you do the work and this is a very specific kind of a work. You really have to have the capacity first to understand what the client really wants. Get the information from the client and support the client if he or she has a problem to express what they actually want. These are quite unique features. They are not imposing things; they are proposing based on what they heard from the client.

Are there any areas Fooz could improve?

Respondent 1: The cooperation was very good and there were no problems with communication. The layouts were nicely presented. The intermediary status of the development of the website was nicely communicated. They have good tools for that.  

Respondent 2:  The training on the website was good, but it might not have been enough to help non-IT people upload content.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a Dutch Internet company. We develop the backend of web applications.

What challenge were you trying to address with Fooz?

Sometimes we need extra help for frontend design, and that is where Fooz helps us out. We didn’t have the capacity ourselves to develop the frontend. I met Michał [Kaźmierczak], the CEO of Fooz, and we created all of the designs, wireframes, and graphical impressions, but we didn't have the frontend developers to work on the project at that time. They offered their help, and they did a great job.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fooz tried to work with the things we use normally. We use Bootstrap in our projects for frontend developing, so they used Bootstrap. We also used some Agile software to keep track of the progress, bugs, and feedback that we have, and Fooz adjusted really well and fine to what we would like. The second project they did for us was not a big project, and it only took them about eight working days to develop the frontend. 

The product Fooz helped us with is for an app a sports agency uses for their ERP system. They use UNIT4, which is quite a well-known resource management system in The Netherlands. What they do is sell shirts and whole equipment for teams. When an order is placed, a lot of things have to come together — financial data and all of the requirements of printing and adjusting to clothes, etc. Right now they don't have a system where they can work together with the customer, and what we are developing is a web application that allows the employees of the company and the customers to work together on the order. They share the design of the shirts, approve it, and fill in all of the printing options. That creates an estimate for the price of the whole order, which is validated by someone else. They then send their delivery address and their invoice address and everything like that to eventually get the order right to implement in the resource system. What Fooz did was create all of the design that allows the customers and employees of the company we work for to work together and make that happen. 

How did you come to work with Fooz?

Michał and I are connected in the same business group but in our own countries, Poland and The Netherlands, respectively. He sent me an email that said, “Does it also suck when you don't have enough frontend developing power to develop projects?” That message was spot-on and exactly the position I was in: at the time, I didn't have a frontend developer that could develop this project, but I had backend developers ready to work on it. I thought that was funny, so I contacted Michał, and he was traveling through Europe, so he came to our office. I thought, “Yeah. This seems like a really nice guy with good ideas for design.” So we gave the design to Fooz, and it was nice working with them.

How much have you invested with Fooz?

We’ve done two projects now, and I think we’ve spent €2,500 ($2,700).

What is the status of this engagement?

I think we started working together on the first project in February 2017. It was a template that we wanted to change, and they did the design work for that. The second project was the one that I'm talking about right now, and that was in March 2017. They’ve completed everything, and we do have three frontend developers ourselves. If we don't have enough capacity in our own company, I will gladly use Fooz again.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

It’s hard to share any statistics, but I was really pleased with their work. They understood our project and were quickly up to speed. I also liked that they tested the project really well in different browsers and on different devices, so there were only a few bugs. They were also quick to resolve those issues, and they were quite ahead on everything, so if there was something that wasn’t completely worked out, they mentioned it, they saw it, and they talked about it. 

How did Fooz perform from a project management standpoint?

Michał was basically a project manager, because we spoke about the functionality within the screens and about how it should work and be intuitive for the user. I think only one frontend developer worked on it. Basically, the team was one project manager and one developer, so two in total.

We had a fixed-price deal for this project, but I think they worked a little bit more on the project than estimated upfront, and the delivery was on time. We didn't have a really sharp deadline, but they delivered the project when they said they would, and our feedback was implemented quickly too. Only a few days later they already had worked on the feedback as well. That was really nice.

Fooz works quite well from a project management standpoint. Michał was on holiday during the project, so he gave the project lead to a project manager called Anna. At first we didn’t have much communication, but when I contacted Anna about their timetable and schedule the communication was picked up. It was only a small project, so not much communication was needed, but the communication was good when certain screens were done or certain things were checked and we could review it ourselves.

We made all the wireframes for every page. We used a digital tracker for our feedback according to our own Agile scrum program that we use to develop. Mainly, we had wireframes and graphic impressions sent. At the beginning of the project, we had a small project documentation, and next to that we wrote down all of our feedback in the digital tracker, and they used the status to update us when things were ready. 

What did you find most impressive about Fooz?

I think the commitment of Michał as a person is the most impressive thing about Fooz. They are not a very big company right now, but they are really involved with their clients. Even if the project is smaller, they try to adapt and get to know the client well. They’re not too business-like. They’re personal, and I like that because I think that if a company is a little personal with a project, the quality of the product and the communication are a lot better.

Are there any areas Fooz could improve?

I can’t think of any ways Fooz could improve right now. I liked everything. It was really nice.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

INVESTEKO is an environmental company that deals with environmental protection, waste management, and waste to energy. I’m manager of international relations.

What challenge were you trying to address with Fooz?

We needed to update our website so that it has more of a modern look. We had an existing website that another company had built on a different platform. Fooz is also helping to build a website for another company we have.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fooz designed and built the website using WordPress. I had an idea of how I wanted the website to look. We met with them, told them what we wanted, and they were receptive. They also designed some brochures for some projects we were working on. We worked with two people from their team, a designer and also the head of the company. It was very easy to convey our ideas to them. That’s what I liked the most in our relationship. They were open to my feedback about their work. They were very responsive to my emails. That made a good impression on me.

How did you come to work with Fooz?

We screened a few companies in Poland. We hired Fooz because their price was the best and their reviews were positive. We also saw previous work they’d done.

How much have you invested with Fooz?

We spent $5,000 with Fooz over the course of our relationship.

What is the status of this engagement?

For the most recent project, we started working with Fooz in October 2016, and the work is ongoing.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

I’m very happy with the website. It’s very easy to use. I like it in the sense that I was part of the project. It functions perfectly so far. The work has been on time and on budget.

How did Fooz perform from a project management standpoint?

Fooz was good with communication. They’re quick and professional in their responses. We communicate via email and phone.

What did you find most impressive about Fooz?

The team at Fooz is creative and open to criticism. If there’s something you don’t like, they oblige the client. They’re quick in their response. I’m satisfied with our relationship.

Are there any areas Fooz could improve?

I can’t think of anything.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're an interactive agency that specializes in creating websites and campaigns that help our clients boost sales.

For what projects/services did your company hire Fooz?

Since creating websites is the core of our business, we sometimes need to outsource development. That's where Fooz came in handy.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to develop fast, responsive WordPress websites.

How did you select this vendor?

They cold emailed us, and we started with a small test project. Once we were satisfied, we proceeded.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They developed two landing pages and two websites. They also made some changes to existing sites. The process looked precisely the same each time: we provided info about the project, and they gave us an estimate. After we designed the UX/UI, they gave us a more precise quote. Fooz built the websites, tested them, and provided a test version. After giving feedback, we published the sites. It was a regular procedure.

What was the team composition?

We mainly contacted their project managers.

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

Unfortunately, I can't share.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Their project management was swift and proactive. We occasionally had to inquire about updates, but only during time-sensitive projects. They issued updates every few hours.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The quality of their code was very high.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Their troubleshooting could improve. We once had to solve a problem on our own. We also had an issue with pricing. In several cases, the overall cost could have been lower. That's based on our experiences with other contractors.

Please describe your company and your position there.

wattx is a deep tech company builder with a focus on manufacturing, IIoT, and ConTech. I am a Head of UX, responsible for User Research, User Experience Design, and its implementation.

For what projects/services did your company hire Fooz?

Company website implementation.

What were your goals for this project?

- Implement a custom theme design that was designed by another agency - Make the sections and design customizable and easy to modify - Make the content editable, also in parallel

How did you select this vendor?

Fooz was recommended to us by another agency. We had a look at their portfolio, and had a couple of technical discussions about the project.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Fooz was able to implement almost all of the custom features the original design had in a lightning speed.

What was the team composition?

A project manager, and a frontend engineer

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

We received the implemented website in a timely manner.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Milosz was very responsive and had a structured approach.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Structured approach. They had a genuine interest in the project and made good use of their resources.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No