Fourmeta

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Project Manager of Mobilfox

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

eCommerce

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Custom App for Shopify

SOLUTION

How did you find Fourmeta?

Online Search

Why did you select Fourmeta over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Fast replies

How many teammates from Fourmeta were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Our first project with Fourmeta involved developing a Shopify application. The main goal of this project was to enhance user engagement and personalisation options, providing a seamless customisation experience for customers across various webstores. This was achieved by developing a Shopify application integrated with multiple Shopify webstores. App structure and functionalities were built from the ground up and deployment setups were configured for smooth operation. 

Following rigorous quality assurance testing, Fourmeta proceeded with a soft launch for one store, promptly addressing any encountered issues. After thorough user acceptance testing, the application was formally launched. Furthermore, they diligently managed post-launch matters and remained readily available for ongoing app support. The Shopify App exceeded expectations, providing a user-friendly and efficient platform for online sales.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app's comprehensive transformation resulted in a modern design, enhanced user experience, and improved functionality. We've seen a positive impact on sales and conversion rates.

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

The collaboration between our team and Fourmeta Agency was exceptionally efficient. Communication flowed seamlessly through Slack Messenger, and they consistently attended to our needs promptly. 

Yevhenii, as the Development Manager, exhibited true professionalism throughout the project. Anastasiya, our Project Manager, maintained constant communication, providing regular updates and budget reports, and arranging catch-ups as necessary. Their commitment was evident as they made themselves available even outside of regular business hours to align with our developers.

What was your primary form of communication with Fourmeta?

Email or Messaging App

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

Fourmeta left a lasting impression on us with their adept handling of intricate challenges. Their innovative strategies and steadfast dedication to discovering streamlined solutions resonated perfectly with our requirements. Furthermore, their flexibility, collaboration, and readiness to surpass expectations distinguished them.

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

-

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Manager of Ultralight

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Sells Lighting

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• For eCommerce Website Development

SOLUTION

How did you find Fourmeta?

Upwork

Why did you select Fourmeta over others?

High ratings

How many teammates from Fourmeta were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

• Our first project with Fourmeta involved a complete revamp of our light store. Their focus was on improving the user journey through the store and incorporating eye-catching motion design elements. The final result surpassed our expectations, leading us to confidently choose Fourmeta for our next project.
• Next, Fourmeta partnered with us to bring the Ultra Light web store into life.
• Fourmeta conducted workshops to understand our needs and target audience. A thorough discovery phase identified features, functionalities, and technical requirements.
• Store structure and functionalities were built from the ground up and deployment setups were configured for smooth operation. They migrated products from the old WordPress platform to Shopify.
• Then, ongoing quality assurance testing ensured a bug-free experience. Fourmeta conducted a soft launch and addressed any issues that arose during the soft launch. After comprehensive user acceptance testing, the store was officially launched.
• The Ultra Light web store exceeded expectations, providing a user-friendly and efficient platform for online sales.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site's comprehensive transformation resulted in a modern design, enhanced user experience, and improved functionality. This translates to a visually appealing website that's easy for customers to navigate and for our team to manage. We've seen a positive impact on increased sales, site speed, and conversion rate.

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

The workflow between our team and Fourmeta Agency was highly effective. Communication was seamless, and they consistently addressed our requirements promptly. Ivan (Shopify expert) was available in text messages 24/7. Anastasiya (PM) provided daily updates and budget reports, and we had weekly catch-ups on a need basis.

What was your primary form of communication with Fourmeta?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

We were thoroughly impressed by Fourmeta Agency’s ability to tackle complex challenges head-on. Their innovative approach and unwavering commitment to finding efficient solutions aligned seamlessly with our needs. Moreover, their adaptability, collaborative team spirit, and willingness to go above and beyond, truly set them apart.

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

While both projects were executed successfully, there is always room for improvement in the project timeline.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a startup that is involved in software and financial services. We specifically help insurance companies with securitizing insurance risk. I am a co-founder of the company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fourmeta?

We’ve hired them for design, app development, and video production. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Everything we work on with Fourmeta has to do with marketing, design, or development that ensures everything looks good from a design standpoint. One of the projects we have collaborated with Fourmeta on is application development. We started with discussions surrounding our goals and requirements for the app, and Fourmeta took over from there. 

They scoped the app from the ground up and used Figma for the design elements. Fourmeta was also responsible for all of the development, including building out a database structure. The application helps us track the data that our clients send.

Fourmeta has produced marketing videos that are posted to YouTube. These videos are fairly advanced regarding graphics and include AI voiceover. So far, we have completed three videos with Fourmeta; these videos are about three minutes long. We’re continuing to work with them on video projects. 

What is the team composition?

We work with 4–5 individuals from their team. 

How did you come to work with Fourmeta?

Another person within our company found them and was very satisfied with their work, so we brought them in to work on new projects. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent more than $500,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2022, and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve received positive internal feedback on their work and regard the projects they’ve collaborated on as successful. We look forward to continuing our work with them. 

How did Fourmeta perform from a project management standpoint?

They don’t always meet deadlines, but they are extremely flexible, which we find very valuable. Our requirements also change consistently, which can be difficult. We communicate via Slack. 

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

We’d like to shout out Anton (Chief Design Officer) and Igor (Software Engineer); they are both extremely talented. We’d also like to shout out Anastasiya (Project Manager); she is very organized and thorough in her approach as our project manager. She listens to what we need and takes the problem on from a holistic perspective. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve been impressed with Fourmeta's creativity and ability to develop innovative designs. They use the latest technology and are always looking to improve. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We think that at the beginning of the engagement, Fourmeta could have narrowed the scope slightly. Their estimates were not always accurate, and we think that could have been helped if they had narrowed the scope a bit more instead of saying yes to everything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ensure you’re communicating with them. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Manager of a retail company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Men's clothing company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• We engaged Fourmeta Agency to enhance and modernize our online sales strategy. Although a significant portion of our sales occurs online through Shopify, we recognized the need to revamp our online presence. Our aim was to create a digital experience that reflects our brand's commitment to innovation and craftsmanship. We wanted our website to evolve alongside the digital landscape.

SOLUTION

How did you find Fourmeta?

Referral

Why did you select Fourmeta over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Fourmeta were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The project commenced with a ground-up redesign of our website. Each product received its spotlight page to showcase them beautifully. Customized product lists were implemented to simplify the shopping experience. Fourmeta embraced Shopify's Hydrogen and Oxygen technologies, allowing us to realize our creative ideas seamlessly.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The outcomes of this project have been outstanding. Our website now mirrors the ambiance of our Italian boutiques in the digital world. The entire shopping experience, from browsing to completing an order, feels authentic. We've achieved remarkable speed, even with the addition of various features and videos.

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

The workflow between our teams was highly effective. Fourmeta Agency understood our vision and executed it flawlessly. They were receptive to our ideas and ensured they were brought to life on the website. The delivery is usually on time, and if it is not, there is always great communication about it

What was your primary form of communication with Fourmeta?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What impresses us most about Fourmeta is their innovative approach to technology. They were among the pioneers in using Shopify's Hydrogen, aligning with our goal of delivering a unique and cutting-edge digital experience.

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

While the project was a great success, there is always room for improvement in terms of new features for future maintenance.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CTO of Trendful, a company building apps to empower merchants to acquire pre-owned inventory directly from their customers. Products we are currently working on include our merchant admin, a Shopify app, and a price discovery database. Trendful is also building innovative ways to automate shipping, offers, inventory, and payouts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Fourmeta, and what were your goals?

The engineering problems we face are diverse and range from UX design to domain-specific supply chain management and financial solutions. We worked on several projects with Fourmeta:

• design and build a homepage with analytics about shipments, customers, transactions
• improve existing features (filtering, canceling shipment, sending and tracking emails, etc) from our merchant admin
• design build our storefront app (integrated onto merchant's website and used by their customers to sell pre-owned items to the merchant) from scratch
• design and build our inventory management system

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We searched online for online developers, and Fourmeta stood out for their experience in developing E-commerce apps and especially their knowledge of Shopify. Their skill range was wide going since they can develop web and mobile apps, create Shopify themes and develop custom software or integrations. They were very proficient and direct, and that worked great with us!

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Our tech stack: (Language, runtime, and frameworks)

• TypeScript
• Node.js
• React
• Express.js
• Next.js
• Tailwind 

Cloud servers and database:

• Firebase
• Algolia -EasyPost
• Postmark
• Stripe

For 6 months, we had a task schedule for Fourmeta to work on. We started with smaller tasks (i.e. homepage analytics, filtering, etc) to give Fourmeta a deeper understanding of our company, products, and clients. We eventually ended up giving them larger tasks (i.e. rebuilding our storefront app from scratch).

Before each task, we would write instructions on a Notions page, and discuss them over our weekly meeting or on Slack. At the end of each task, we would review the code, test it, and deploy it.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with 1 project manager, and 1 to 2 full-stack developers (based on our needs).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We had an important backlog of features to release, we needed to catch up. Fourmeta got on board very quickly we released their first task (i.e. homepage with analytics) in less than 2 weeks. They worked on multiple tasks that helped us increase the app utilization and our clients' satisfaction.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

All were really responsive, reactive, and autonomous. Tasks were understood and executed quickly. They also have great recommendations and know where they can efficiently make small improvements with a big impact. They are also flexible. Our needs changed down the road and they instantly adjusted their workflow.

We also enjoyed working with the same developer all along, since we know other companies can rotate developers every few weeks. It allowed us to build trust and give them more autonomy in return - a win-win situation. Another big takeaway is that Fourmeta respected the way we worked and our development style. This helped us review the code but will also help us in the future when we want to update or add features.

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

Overall, Fourmeta is very professional and knows how to deliver quality projects. We really appreciated their work. They are very competent in design, front-end, and back-end which is all we needed. Their capacity to adapt and learn/integrate new tech stacks is great.

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

As we worked together, the communication improved with Fourmeta: - we had more visibility on the billable and distribution of hours between PM, development, design - the pm organized weekly meetings, and communication was channeled to a few people ETAs could be more accurate.

However, the responsibility is on both sides. For the large tasks we gave Fourmeta, we changed the project scope and restricted weekly hours mid-way so the project ended up taking longer. Overall we are very satisfied and want to work with them again!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the lead Product Owner for the Liquidity Risk team's technology portfolio which includes various reporting, dashboard/portal, and alerting tools. These products are used in both day-to-day and quarterly work. I guide the team through setting and maintaining priorities for new builds throughout the year. I guide developers and test engineers through the agile process as we build new software features.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Fourmeta, and what were your goals?

We needed a dedicated development team to build the product. We needed a contractor who could provide us with a dedicated, unified team of people who were willing to challenge and ask tough questions and explore the best options on their own rather than doing tasks.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We ended up building a large array of microservices, as well as implementing graph databases.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Because it was an embedded team, which changed a bit over time, the scope of work was also dynamic to build out their business opportunities.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We started with a super strong team of one senior frontend and senior backend developer. We then expanded the team into, when we were the most people were about 20 people.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

After the cooperation with Fourmeta, we have provided complex, online tools for our customers.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We used a hybrid between SCRUM and Agile, using stand-up meetings as well as continuous resisting of priorities.

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

I am impressed with their commitment to learning about our business, asking critical questions, and suggesting honest, good improvements for both the product and the business model.

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

All/any areas of problems that we encountered were handled and solved. When working for a long time with a team, there will always be some issues, but they will also always be solved.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the Project manager of a marketing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Fourmeta, and what were your goals?

We purchased a company and a product and their software development team was not up to quality and delivery standards. We needed a partner who could help us change the web application, and we decided to outsource development to The Fourmeta.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

They've been our partner since before I joined the company, so I don’t know how we found them.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Fourmeta is our staff growth partner; we get all the roles for our development team from them, including developers, architects, and testers. They helped us completely refactor the web application we purchased, bringing it up to modern standards. We have transferred the existing documentation to Fourmeta.

However, because the previous command did not run smoothly, there was little documentation, and the application had many problems, including poor code quality. The software developers worked hard to bring the product to maturity and take the documentation to the next level. They did front and back-end development.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

The team composition has changed with each phase. In total, we’ve worked with 20 people, including developers, testers, and architects. Our main contact points are the project manager, a lead developer, and an architect.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Prior to this project, the product was unstable. We also had a lot of problems with new releases. Thanks to the work of Fourmeta, the application has become much more stable. They helped us increase uptime, reduce issues. In addition, they really become part of our organization - they are our development team.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Their communication and compliance with deadlines have improved over time. In the last big project we did, I was very happy with the amount of communication and forecast from the project lead and their on-time delivery. We have daily standups with our main points of contact, and they work with our product owner daily, who assigns them tasks. We use Jira for project management.

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

We’re an important customer to them; they always understand our position and work with us to find good solutions together.

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

From a company perspective, there’s nothing they need to improve; I’m quite satisfied with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Product Owner of a luxury real estate company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Fourmeta, and what were your goals?

Fourmeta team developed a new version of our website. We wanted to develop an information portal for selling luxury apartments where we could place all the information about our company’s expertise.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

I contacted various software development companies and negotiated with their representatives. In the end, we chose to work with Fourmeta because they have hands-on experience and are well set up.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

The developed product is a new website of our company, which partially performs the functions of a CRM system and a corporate portal. Within the framework of the project, we managed to create a very good basis and structure of the system, which now includes the experience of other versions of the site, which is crucial for our further development.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

The team that worked on our project consisted of 3 full-stack developers and business analyst.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The website became more efficient. We continue to develop it actively - we are working on search engine optimization and porting our old CRM system to the browser.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Project manager, managed projects and followed the goals we wanted to achieve. When we started the project, the project manager made a plan to make sure everything was in order. In the process, the project manager oversaw every step of the project to ensure success. There were several releases, and because of this, we had the opportunity to adjust in the process.

The project manager broke our project into smaller ones, thanks to this, our project was worked on simultaneously, and reduced the time required to complete the project. This management style is well suited to projects that require frequent innovation, collaboration, and modifications. That's why it's so popular in the software development industry, where technology and customer needs are constantly changing.

It should be noted that "Agile" is a general term for a set of guidelines, not a single step-by-step method. Agile project management can be divided into two schools: Scrum and Kanban.

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

The speed of work, compliance with deadlines and, of course, the result corresponded.

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

I think no.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a director at a company that sells home hair color products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fourmeta?

We hired them for web development services. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fourmeta provides us with web development services. They built our e-commerce platform using Shopify, working in conjunction with an in-house consultant. Although they used some templates, the team also used custom fields to deliver specific and bespoke features that we needed. The team developed a custom frontend web app using React. They also built a headless API-based Shopify stack. We migrated from a Shopify template solution into the web app Fourmeta developed in order to increase our platform's speed. 

They've also helped us with design and user research at points when we've needed custom development. The purpose of our site is to inform customers about our products and their benefits. Users can select hair colors available in four categories of products, including permanent, semi-permanent, and temporary hair color, so we have collections pages. Customers can buy our products as a one-off or purchase a subscription. Currently, Fourmeta maintains the site and responds to incidents and issues. 

What is the team composition?

We've worked with the owner and a tech lead. 

How did you come to work with Fourmeta?

They were already our provider when I joined the company.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent around $200,000–$300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around Summer 2020, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before migrating to the web app, our page load times averaged 5–8 seconds. Since we've migrated, we've had a 100% improvement in page speeds. Our Lighthouse report is much improved as well, increasing 2–3 times. 

How did Fourmeta perform from a project management standpoint?

They didn't have a dedicated project manager at first. The development team is offshore, and I wasn't able to have a direct relationship with the people actually doing the work. They were also working on a project management tool I didn't have access to. This all created a bottleneck and a lot of overhead for the tech lead and founder, who weren't able to meet their entire demand. We arrived at a situation of overspending, lack of communication, and poor expectation management. We had to resolve that between us, and the situation has improved since. 

When I joined the company, I organized the work into weekly sprints and created a board to document the work in Trello. Then, I realized they were duplicating the information on Monday.com. They've also shown signs of improvement in this regard. Meanwhile, on-time delivery is an area where they excel; they pull out all the stops to meet deadlines and deliver what we need every time. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They should improve their project management. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to be clear about working methods, frequency of communication, and transparency of your workflow and work in progress. Ensure that there's a project manager assigned and build in time for QA.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO & Co-founder of Smarthost

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Smarthost is a property management company that specializes in short and mid-term rentals, assisting homeowners in maximizing their earnings from their properties.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• High quality web design
• To position Smarthost as one of industry leaders
• To enhance our digital presence

SOLUTION

How did you find Fourmeta?

Online Search

Why did you select Fourmeta over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Fourmeta were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We initially enlisted the services of Fourmeta to transform our website, https://www.smarthost.co.uk. Our primary objective was to revamp specific web pages and features in accordance with our provided brand identity guidelines, ultimately positioning Smarthost as leaders in the industry. Meeting strict deadlines and delivering high-quality results was of utmost importance.

The initial scope of work was executed with precision, leading to an extension of our collaboration to encompass the redesign and Webflow development of additional sections on the website. Our partnership continues, with ongoing projects aimed at enhancing our digital presence.

Furthermore, we introduced an innovative project: the Smarthost Interactive Map Platform. This platform is designed to showcase real estate properties from various developers, with Smarthost serving as a vital intermediary between developers and potential buyers. We also plan to offer post-purchase property management services to buyers, providing a comprehensive solution.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our partnership with Fourmeta has proven to be highly successful, productive and promising. The revamped sections of our website now closely align with our brand identity guidelines, effectively elevating our online presence and solidifying Smarthost's position as industry leaders.

The continuous projects have been meticulously executed, resulting in top-notch outcomes that improve our website's functionality and user experience. The Smarthost Interactive Map Platform project, currently in its planning phase, signifies a promising stride toward our objective of connecting buyers with developers. It also underscores Fourmeta's dedication to discovering innovative solutions for our business.

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

The workflow between our internal team and the experts at Fourmeta proved to be exceptionally effective. Their team upheld open and efficient lines of communication, ensuring that project objectives were not only met but were also achieved within the designated timelines. This collaborative and transparent approach has played a pivotal role in fostering our successful partnership.

What was your primary form of communication with Fourmeta?

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

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

What struck us most about Fourmeta was their unwavering commitment to meeting challenging deadlines and seamlessly aligning with our brand identity guidelines. They demonstrated a unique combination of creativity and technical expertise, which translated into exceptional web development and design solutions. Their dedication to innovative projects, like the Smarthost Interactive Map Platform, highlights their forward-thinking approach.

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

Our collaboration with Fourmeta has been overwhelmingly positive. Enhancing documentation for future maintenance could further streamline our processes.