Fulcrum

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a software development studio, and we build custom software for different industries. I’m the Product VP, and I work with customers on how they want their products to look and feel.

What challenge were you trying to address with Fulcrum?

We hired Fulcrum to help us build our vision and create a financial marketplace.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fulcrum developed a financial marketplace. They began by walking us through a discovery phase where we told them about what we wanted our product to do. They then helped us visualize our intended users and identified their motivations for using the marketplace. Once we figured that out, they helped us design our platform’s technology architecture and design what the full stack would be from a technical point of view — which involved the front- and backend development, APIs, and more.

Additionally, they helped us gather competitive analysis to see what other companies were doing that were similar to us. By doing that, we were able to see what we really wanted to be and what we wanted to avoid on our platform. Subsequently, they provided us with initial designs of all our pages, which involved creating our buttons, screen views, forms, user stories, and logic. In doing so, we were able to see how our users would register and how they could customize our platform — basically establishing the full process from end to end for both front- and backend interactions. The team now continues to add more features to the platform.

What is the team composition?

We typically work with 6–10 people.

How did you come to work with Fulcrum?

We found Fulcrum through a widget that they posted on Product Hunt — that widget helped users estimate what it costs to build a product. We really liked how well it was made and how they used the same technology stack as us. After that, we scheduled a call with them and explained our project. They were also really friendly on the phone.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $80,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing collaboration started in May 2021, and we expect to finish the project in November 2021.

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

Fulcrum delivered our product ahead of schedule. Our customer really liked what they created, so they extended the original contract. As a result, the team continues to integrate more features into the platform. However, we don’t have any metrics about their work yet — hopefully, in a few months, we’ll have that.

How did Fulcrum perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been performing great from a project management standpoint. They’re good communicators, and they have a good process in place so it’s easy to follow exactly what they’re doing and understand their progress. We communicate on Slack and Google Meet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Fulcrum is always available, and they create good documentation. As a result, it’s easy to go back and track their progress.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’re doing a pretty good job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Get your users involved early on and collect their feedback. If you do that, you can iterate successfully.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of an E-Commerce Jewelry startup - an online store that offers exquisitely crafted diamond rings for engagements, weddings, and special occasions. 

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

We approached Fulcrum in the very realy stages of the conspet and initial scheme of the site we wanted. We wanted to build a site as good as the top players in our field in terms of technology and site features, Mobile adaption and flexible to changes and additions as we go. a main consideration was a very short time for delivery. we wanted to be live in 2 month.

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

Fulcrum was the first company we partnered with based on the recommendations from one of our colleagues that have already built products with them. Before we settled with Fulcrum, we considered 6 other companies which we had found on Google.

There were several deciding factors why we chose Fulcrum. The first and the biggest one was a personal recommendation. We knew that Fulcrum has managed to build things before & already delivered projects. Next was the price – it suited us well. Also, timelines were really crucial for us and we needed someone who would meet them.

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

The team started by preparing a PRD for a website. After it was created, we actually proceeded to its development. Fulcrum did a great job here: the development was amazing, the team met all the timelines, provided high quality, and demonstrated a flexible approach. After the development was finished, the website went live.

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

There were 5 people on the team: 2 developers, QA, PM, and Account Manager. My main points of contact were Sergey, a PM, and Alex, an Account Manager.

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

The website is active now & working well. We already have the first purchases. So, the concept proved to be working and we are right now at the stage of raising another funding in order to grow and move to the next step. Our plans in the near future are to proceed with website development & add more functionality.

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

During the development, project management was on a high level. Communication went pretty well. We mainly communicated via Slack and also sometimes had meetings in Zoom. The team’s English skills were great, too.

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

First and foremost, we were impressed by Fulcrum’s flexibility, which is especially suitable for a startup like us. Their approach worked very well for us and it was totally pro-client. Overall, the website development was professional, proactive, and on schedule. It was more than we expected. For us – a startup that faces lots of unknown issues and problems – Fulcrum was a stable point in this project in terms of the development & following the timelines.

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

They did their job with great professionalism and made us happy with the website they built. So far, I don’t see any considerable areas of improvement for Fulcrum.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a Marketing Director at Mercedes-Benz dealership in Kyiv, Ukraine, the biggest Mercedes-Benz dealership in Eastern Europe.

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

We had an outdated company’s website which didn’t provide all the info about our products, didn’t satisfy our current business goals, lacked efficiency & usability. That’s why we needed to develop a new one – more innovative, user-friendly & functional to provide our customers with maximum details, options & services. The main goal was to develop a new user-friendly & efficient website that would perform all the functions we envisioned. Yet, at first, we wanted Fulcrum to compose just a PRD for a new website. We really liked the PRD & designs Fulcrum provided, so we decided to hop on further development.

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

Fulcrum was recommended to me among other tech agencies. While selecting the team to work with, my tech advisers admitted that Fulcrum had offered the best, and most importantly – scalable, tech solution to fulfil our business needs. We also checked the company's tech stack, approaches, portfolio & clients’ reviews. All these factors combined convinced us to choose Fulcrum over others.

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

We started with a Discovery phase during which the PRD for a future website & its designs were prepared. The PRD included all the functionality we lacked in our previous website & some new innovative features. Next step was the website's design creation. Fulcrum did a great job here & demonstrated great UX/UI expertise. After designs have been approved, we jumped into the development. Overall, this stage was based on the roadmap, prepared by Fulcrum in advance, and was split into sprints. During each sprint, planned functionality was delivered. The new website was released in June. Right now, we’re working on its second iteration which presupposes the development of additional functionality.

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

The team included Project Manager, Business Analyst, Designer, Front & Back Developers, and QA. My main point of contact was the PM, Dmytro.

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

The first iteration was released in June, so it’s quite early to provide any numbers. Yet, we see how users' response has increased already. Now, the website has lots of useful features – auto loan calculator, spare parts catalog, test drive section, car comparison tool & much more – that help us to provide better service for existing customers & engage new ones. Also, we are continuing development & are adding new features to the website.

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

The communication went smoothly, as well as our processes. Mostly, I communicated with the PM, Dmytro. He managed to address all my requests & questions in time and to full extent.

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

First of all, it’s their approach – they not only deliver what has been promised but quite often exceed our expectations. Working with Fulcrum, I could be minimally involved in the project & still everything would go perfectly. Also, their design processes & expertise are on a very high level. They've analyzed what we need and provided us with a design of an innovative, functional & user-friendly website. Today, looking at the website we’ve created, I could see the tremendous work they have done.

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

Right now, I’m satisfied with how the project is going: its deliverables, the team, workflow & communication. The fact that we went to the second iteration with Fulcrum speaks for itself.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the managing partner at a Machine Learning company specialised in the accounting sector. Our clients are medium size to big 4 accounting firms, relying daily on our web based platform for their accounting processes.

For what projects/services did your company hire Fulcrum?

As we are expanding our services and platform, our web platform needed a critical UX audit and design rework of our existing web pages. We also had some new features that we wanted to add without overloading existing functionality.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed the user experience to be more fluent, with clearer information and easier to navigate. The pages had to be more modern and consistent.

How did you select Fulcrum?

online search and one on one conversation with a customer in the same country for reference.

Describe the project in detail.

There was a thorough pre-sales meeting, a good offering and detailed explanation of project approach with a dedicated account manager. We had several meetings with the designer and ux specialist to go over the use case, our objectives and goals.

The UX audit was very well received with actionable outcomes. The design had several iterations, each one refining further on ideas and feedback until a well received final result.

What was the team composition?

A project/account manager, a UX expert and designer.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The feedback from our team was very positive as well as initial feedback from clients.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was effective, the language barrier was present but minimal, we were always able to understand their thinking and give our feedback. Everyone from our side was happy with the way of working and the results.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Very good follow up, quick iterations, strong UX knowledge. Most impressed with openness in time spent and progress follow up. This was the first time we work with supplier outside of EU and we were impressed with their work.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Information on invoicing was not so clear initially, but turned out well in the end.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am working as an E-commerce Executive at a global tobacco company British American Tobacco (BAT) in Ukraine. Our products there include cigarettes, tobacco, and other nicotine brands such as the tobacco heating device glo

For what projects/services did your company hire Fulcrum?

Overall, we wanted to develop a mobile app for one of our products – the tobacco heating device glo. That’s why we were looking for a company to conduct a Discovery Stage for the potential application.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to validate the hypotheses about the potential application to actually decide whether we need to develop a mobile app at all. As a next stage, we planned to create technical requirements for the application keeping needs of all stakeholders in mind.

How did you select Fulcrum?

Fulcrum was recommended to us by a partner while we were looking for a vendor. So, we started with an introductory call with the Fulcrum team where they presented their service to us. We liked the Discovery Stage they offered, so we went on working together.

Describe the project in detail.

The project was divided into stages. In the beginning, the following stages were planned: analysis & preparation, prototype creation & testing, writing requirements & architecture development. Later on, the project flow was updated.

Within the first stage, Fulcrum conducted marketing research, stakeholders & users’ interviews, UX analysis of existing functionalities & our current website. After they created the prototype & tested it with the potential users, Fulcrum presented the findings which prompted us to rethink the project’s goals overall.

During the UX audit, the Fulcrum team found lots of critical UX problems in our workflow & current website, so we decided to switch from the idea of developing a mobile app to raising conversion on our current website.

What was the team composition?

The project team included a Project Manager, Julia (she is our main point of contact), a Marketing Specialist, a Business Analyst, and a UX designer.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Overall, we are really satisfied with Fulcrum’s work on the project and how it’s all going. Their Discovery was a big mind-changer and eye-opener for us. The stage is now finished.

It was really insightful, detected critical issues in our CJM, and helped to prioritize what we need to do next – focus on the current website flow instead of developing a mobile app. Right now, we are working on improving the conversion & optimizing user interaction on our website along with Fulcrum as a regular part of our team.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Everything went really smoothly. We had no problems communicating with Fulcrum during all project stages. Even with lots of stakeholders from our side, Fulcrum’s weekly & biweekly demos worked out pretty well for us. We also had 2 offline workshops with the team.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Most of all, we were impressed with Fulcrum’s flexibility. They were ready to change project flow, goals, meetings, etc according to our needs & requests without any hesitation.

Another thing is how organized they were with preparing all the documentation for us. As an enterprise company, we need to present all project materials to our global headquarters.

So, it was a big relief that Fulcrum was aligned with us and managed to understand how we need to have all the docs done. Finally, we liked their reasoning behind all recommendations.

Every point they presented to us was based on deep user research and supported with strong arguments. It created an additional value and helped us understand that we need to move in another direction - work on our current website.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing big comes to mind. Maybe just some minor things like, for example, agreeing on the language of project documentation beforehand. Another thing – planning more time for approving stages/deliverables/steps with such a big corporation as we are.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO of Launch.Career which is a Belgian startup that focuses on connecting new graduates (and young professionals) with their dream employer. We offer students the possibility to create a profile and get spotted and approached by potential employers.

For what projects/services did your company hire Fulcrum?

In order to be attractive to students and young professionals we needed a professional web and mobile application. As we are a startup we don't have in-house developers and reached out to Fulcrum for development assistance.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to have a very user friendly and intuitive web and mobile application. Students should be able to create a profile fast and easily follow up on incoming leads. We needed an admin portal to manage our clients and a landing page which could convince potential students and employers to onboard on our platform in a few seconds.

How did you select Fulcrum?

We had interviews with multiple different development agencies, which we found by posting our job on few online job boards. We choose to work with Fulcrum as their vision and motivation for the project matched with our mentality.

They were also able to present few good reference cases and we had a match in terms of technology stack to be used. Furthermore they already had the necessary experience of working with startups and were also not too big to introduce too much overhead in the project.

Describe the project in detail.

After choosing to work with Fulcrum, we started immediately with an intake phase in which we explained the concept of the application and presented the designs that were made by another party. After we have drafted a roadmap and started the development of the MVP in an agile manner.

What was the team composition?

The team was composed of experienced profiles: 2 frontend developers, a mobile developer, a backend developer, 2 quality assurance engineers, a business analyst and a PM.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

While the application is only live in a beta stage at this moment, we have already received a lot of positive feedback from the test users. They confirm the application works fine, is performant and adheres to their standards.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

As the company is not too big, we were able to accomplish an efficient way of working together. We most communicate with the PM or the BA, who then conveys the message to the team of developers. Over the last few months we have also seen that the direct communication with the developers increases, which is good for efficiency reasons.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We really like the fact the business analyst dares to question our input, proposes his own ideas and presents us with clear options from which we have to choose. The developments are also of the high quality we were looking for.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The company was rather optimistic regarding the timeline and required budget for this project. We realise we have changed our minds few times regarding certain elements, but the deadlines we agreed upon upfront were not fully met.

This has unfortunately lead to a situation in which we had to postpone the launch of our MVP, but in the end we managed to work everything out and we ended up with a really nice end result.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a co-founder & Head of Business Development at Kifreez, an innovative international IT company. We specialize in developing AR mobile applications, web AR projects, games and website development.

For what projects/services did your company hire Fulcrum?

Request to develop an MVP for a mobile web.

What were your goals for this project?

Fulcrum started with a brief 2-week Discovery. Their BA mapped out all the features that should be in the first iteration. Then they proceeded with design & development stages. In the end we received a scalable MVP that’s ready to be tested with users.

How did you select Fulcrum?

We have known Fulcrum before, and noticed their MVP Assembly offering. It looked pretty interesting so we decided to work with Fulcrum for this particular project.

Describe the project in detail.

Our long-term customer came to us with a request to develop an MVP for a mobile web. We have already worked on a number of projects with this client, but we decided to engage Fulcrum for this project, since they had a pretty nice offering for their MVP development service.

What was the team composition?

The team consisted of a PM, a BA, two developers and a QA. On a regular basis I communicated with a PM.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The main thing for us is that the client is happy with the design and the development work. Fulcrum created a scalable MVP, that’s just enough to be tested by the users

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Project management is top-notch. The PM always kept us updated on the progress, they sent us regular reports and presented weekly demos.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I find it pretty cool how they were able to develop a scalable, usable MVP under tight timelines, sacrificing none of the quality.

Are there any areas for improvement?

During our collaboration, they asked me this question several times, which I really appreciated. Fulcrum provided us with high-quality development and great project communication. I don’t see any particular areas for them to improve.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am CEO at SOFTUUP, a software development company. Our company covers all stages of software development – analysis, architecture, design, development, testing, deployment and ongoing support.

For what projects/services did your company hire Fulcrum?

We hired Fulcrum to develop UI/UX for some of our projects.

What were your goals for this project?

At the time, we had several ongoing projects which required doing UI/UX part as well. We decided to give projects’ UI/UX to Fulcrum since they have great design expertise.

How did you select Fulcrum?

I knew Ihor (Fulcrum’s CEO & co-founder) before, so I just contacted him when we needed a good design team.

Describe the project in detail.

Over the course of a few projects, Fulcrum’s helped us to develop UI/UX for mobile apps. For each project, Fulcrum started with the product's discovery performed by their BA. When the Discovery was finished, we moved to the design stage.

Based on the deliverables we’ve got after discovery, they developed mockups, wireframes and UI&UX for the apps.

What was the team composition?

The team composition varied from project to project, usually, we worked with a UI designer, UX designer and a BA. My main point of contact was a PM, but I could chat easily with anyone on the project.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We’ve received lots of positive feedback regarding UI/UX for the projects Fulcrum designed. One of the projects is now in its beta testing phase. According to the feedback we have so far, users really seem to like the app.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

My contact point is the PM who is always available & answers any of my requests promptly. Usually, we communicate via Slack channel where I can write directly to any member of the project if necessary.

Everything connected to the app's design we discuss in Figma, a special tool for web design. The workflow between our teams is really effective since we haven’t had any delays, or failed expectations so far.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I really like how they work on the design. Their ideas are fresh and always reasonable. Fulcrum always considers clients’ needs & desires: there was no negative feedback from the clients of the projects we worked together.

It is really important for us that our clients are satisfied in the end. I was also impressed when their designers always showed several variants of the product's mockups (each with different colours & visuals).

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing I can mention. The projects we’re still working at are going really smoothly.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of Kör. We built a digital platform for both students and driving instructors, as well as the student’s companions such as their partners. We give them the option to book driving lessons and follow their progression from the first driving lesson or theory class, to the driving test. We essentially digitized the whole customer journey for a driving student.

What challenge were you trying to address with Fulcrum?

We did not have any technology when we started — we didn’t have an MVP or a website; we pretty much had nothing. We reached out to Fulcrum to provide that support for us

What was the scope of their involvement?

We decided to engage Fulcrum on a pre-project to map out all of our needs and essentially start the full specification of what we needed to start operating and start building. We had a four-day workshop with them where we agreed on what they should start building. 

We worked in Figma, so they prepared the mock-ups and wireframes and we approved them and made any changes together. We have worked together for nine months now so they have quite a good idea of our long-term product vision. It is quite simple for us to communicate on new features and improvements.

In terms of development, Fulcrum built React Native apps for iOS and Android for the driving students, and they also built an iOS app for the driving instructors. With the student app, the student can arrange all the different driving lessons. They don’t choose the instructor, but they choose the timeslot, and then the system will assign them an instructor.

They select the pickup address, so they use both a calendar for booking as well as a Google Maps API for selecting the pickup address. Then the booking is forwarded and added to the instructor’s calendar.

They connected all the APIs. It is hosted on AWS, and they used SendGrid for the email confirmations before and after the lesson, as well as the Twilio API to send SMS and texts. They also integrated a European payment provider to charge payments and built our admin dashboard. We also have a simple but not constantly evolving analytics dashboard so we can see how the users interact with our app.

What is the team composition?

There are about nine people on the team. We started with one tech lead and also a mobile developer, two on the backend, one on the web, one PM, and one QA, and I think we added one more QA. There are around eight people now.

How did you come to work with Fulcrum?

We decided to reach out to Fulcrum because one of the members of my team had worked with them previously on a web project, so we had some knowledge of them. They are in Ukraine and we are in Norway, so there is quite a geographical distance between us but we had a good reference for them, so it was quite simple for us to reach out.

How much have you invested in them?

We have invested around €200,000 (approximately $237,000 USD) in total so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We had the workshop with them in December 2019, and then they started setting up the project in January 2020. We are still working with them as this is sort of an ever-evolving project.

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

The students really appreciate the app. They have said that they have the driving school in their pocket, and it’s super convenient for them to book lessons when they want to and not just when the instructor is available. 

Traditional driving schools, at least here in Norway, are centered around the instructor. The instructor chooses when the student can book, but we turned it around and gave the power to the student.

We also give them the tools to track the progress with the student, so that whenever they get a new instructor, this instructor can see the student progress and also the feedback from the instructor on the previous lessons. It is quite convenient for the students to book whenever they want and then keep track of their own progress.

How did Fulcrum perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate on Slack multiple times a day, and I have one project and product manager who I’m in contact with on a daily basis. 

I think Fulcrum has a very good understanding of our product now since we have been working together for so long and we have had meetings over video at least once a week. We also have some shorter calls and stand-ups just in case there is something urgent that needs to be done or just a general status update on the project. 

I think they are quite good at communicating, especially if there are any delays or if they suggest any changes in our roadmap to make both ours and their planning easier. They are quite good at rescheduling or replanning in case we need to, although they typically meet our deadlines. 

Fulcrum also challenges us on the product. They don’t just do whatever we say. They have given us quite good feedback on the product itself.

What did you find most impressive about them?

First of all, for us in Norway, it is quite expensive to contract both developers and PMs, so the price is important for us because we are also a new company and we don’t have a lot of money to throw around and especially not to waste. Pricing wise, they are very good. 

They have a very good product vision, and they share our long-term goals. They are a young team, and I think they are hungrier than a lot of other developers that we talked to, especially compared to the local developers that we talked to. Fulcrum is eager to get the job done and they are a lot faster than other development teams.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not really. We haven’t had any situations where we needed to straighten them out so to speak. I don’t have any experience working with other remote teams like Fulcrum, so my comparison bar is not the best. From other people I have talked to who also worked with them, they seem quite happy. I am not sure what could have been done better or differently.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Our relationship started with a workshop where we spent some time in their office just going through the whole product. They work in sprints which is very helpful to us, and any future client should trust them in their sprint set up which is good. 

Also, I think especially when working with remote teams, you need to meet with them first. Not just with Fulcrum, but in general, so I think if someone wants to work with them on a bigger project like this, I would definitely recommend a meeting just to get to know them. I think the money and time we spent going there is well invested, and we probably got that money back just by working with them more effectively since we know them on a personal level as well. 

They are generally good people and I would definitely recommend them as a team but also the human aspect of Fulcrum.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm CEO at Lookinar. We create award-winning projects in Augmented and Virtual reality. I'm in charge of the strategy development of the company.

For what projects/services did your company hire Fulcrum?

We hired Fulcrum to take on part of our project for our client. They helped us create a Backend renderer for a mobile VR app. The app helps to create 3D scenes with custom models and backend side renderer.

What were your goals for this project?

We had a strict timeline so we wanted to involve help from outside. We knew Fulcrum before, so we contacted them. The project isn't released yet, but we are at the final stage now. And our client is satisfied with the progress and with the code quality.

How did you select this vendor?

Our team lead recommended them, since he worked with them before and had positive feedback. We jumped on a call and within a few weeks started to work together.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We are working on the mobile VR app for one of our clients. Fulcrum created Backend renderer and prepared the design. We did the rest from our side.

What was the team composition?

The team included a PM, two developers and a designer.

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

It’s too early to say, since we didn’t release the app yet. But the early users praised the design & functionality. And our client is happy.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Our major point of contact is a PM, but we can reach any team member whenever we want. Sometimes, when we were short for time - the team agreed to work during the weekend to help us finish the project faster. Their work is structured so well that we didn’t experience any delays at all.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We love the quality of their code. They made sure to create a scalable product that works smoothly. We really appreciated their open culture. In fact we visited their office & we were impressed by their friendly, creative environment in the office. Their ideas were great - we implemented them in the project. They suggested a few features and our client liked them.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing comes to mind. They’ve been a great help and we are able to finish the project on time.