Geniusee

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I actually represent two companies that work with Geniusee. I’m the president of a company that assists marketers with machine learning modeling. We also have a sister company, a direct mail intelligence platform for direct mail marketers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Geniusee?

We wanted access to skilled talent for an immediate need. For one company, we actually wanted to develop an online system for marketers. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Geniusee assisted with the development of one company’s website. They led the UI/UX discovery phase and helped to define the concepts of our intelligence platform. Their team then actually developed the site.

They also managed the R&D work for autoML tools. Their team identified and tested the products. We then had content writers summarize Geniusee's findings, which allowed us to advise on the tools' usability.

As we brought on client engagements, Geniusee worked as an extension of our team. For one engagement, they designed and developed a diversity and inclusion legal platform.

For our other company, their team managed the R&D work for the visual processing of images. Their team developed a web platform and enabled the OCR (optical character recognition) of images going into the platform.

What is the team composition?

Our team ranges from 3–18 team members depending on the project. We’ve had interactions and engagements with most of the team.

How did you come to work with Geniusee?

Our investor, who previously worked with them, referred us to Geniusee.

How much have you invested with them?

To date, we’ve invested about $160,000 in their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Geniusee in September 2018, and we’re still working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We actually have a website, so that’s one success metric. Their team was also responsible for all of the R&D work that went behind everything listed on the tools section of our site. They reviewed all of the open-source platforms in the various categories. Their research tangibly presents itself as industry expertise to our clients.

How did Geniusee perform from a project management standpoint?

Geniusee acts as a member of our team. They act on client feedback relatively immediately. We basically ask them for a quote and a timeline, and then they tightly manage those projections. Their team doesn’t disappoint.

When they work on client projects, we always have dates for deliverables. They always meet deadlines. Their team’s extremely responsive, which is what keeps us coming back. They work tirelessly to ensure that we’re on time and on budget.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They evolve our thinking. After we come to them with rough ideas, they ideate and research. By the next meeting, their team has evolved our thinking to show us all of the possibilities.  They’re always putting down breadcrumbs and paving a path forward for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We continue to work with them as partners because they’re a good fit for us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come with a good idea for what you want to accomplish. Give them solid parameters because developers love to develop. It’s helpful to talk in terms of an MVP’s requirements for them to deliver against.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m CTO for Wolfson Brands. We’re an e-commerce company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Geniusee?

We needed to increase our DevOps resources to move our system infrastructure.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Geniusee expanded our current team. They assigned members of their team to work fulltime to meet our DevOps needs.

After looking at our system, they provided advice on how best to build and migrate to a new one. All of their work was done on AWS. They support the new system and deal with changes.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with four different resources from Geniusee. However, that number fluctuates based on our needs. I mostly communicate with their CTO.

How did you come to work with Geniusee?

I found them through a recommendation from a resourcing agency that we previously engaged. Geniusee happened to have available resources. We had a quick interview and then met with their founder and CTO.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent somewhere in the realm of $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in February 2020, and they completed the bulk of their work around June. Now, we have a support contract with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their team helped to de-risk the movement from one system architecture to another. We didn’t experience any issues as a result of our collaboration with them.

From a support side, we have SLAs for how quickly they help us recover from incidents or attacks. That happens quickly. Their team achieves 24/7 support, which is great. We’ve seen a marked increase in uptime and availability.

How did Geniusee perform from a project management standpoint?

We haven’t specifically used them for project management. However, their team’s quick to react when we need assistance. If there’s an urgent need, they’re available 24/7. Their team’s on call for us.

We almost exclusively use Slack to communicate. There are occasions when we use email too.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their deep technical understanding sets them apart from their competition. We can turn to members of their management team and access the knowledge necessary to make key decisions. They have experienced team members all throughout management roles. We’re not passed from high-level managers to engineers to understand something.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m satisfied. If there are areas for improvement, it’s mutual.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Keep an open mind to solutions because that allows you to explore alternatives. Don’t bring a solution to Geniusee because they have a lot of experience finding solutions. Understand why you want to solve certain problems too.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a customer insight platform, and I hired them for a previous business I began.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Geniusee?

I hired them to build a customer insight tool.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

It is a piece of technology that would ingest data and then automatically send it out to match against a massive database, then it pulls information back in order to produce real-time customer and site reports.

Their first deliverable was UX design. The last component they built enabled users to upload data on their own.

We worked with them to map out what it would look like and how information would be reported. They used AWS and built their own algorithm to create the matching component. They utilized some machine learning and AI to deliver what we needed.

What is the team composition?

I believe we worked with three people; the CEO was one of them.

How did you come to work with Geniusee?

They were referred to us through an investor. He had worked with them in the past on some prior projects.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent less than $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working on it in October 2018 and we wrapped up in February 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We launched the platform, and the feedback was great. We ended up utilizing it as a sales tool because clients can go into meetings and pull up live data. It provided a lot of insight on the spot for those users.

How did Geniusee perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very strong. They used Miro to map out the UX experience, and that made it easy for us to go in, and see the notes and take a looking at what was going on. Their management skills were strong and they always followed up quickly.

The timeline was great.  They completed everything in just four months and delivered on time and on budget.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their service is one. They were always available.  On top of that, they were very skilled. They were very helpful and knowledgeable, which was a great combination.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they did a great job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The more information you can provide upfront, the more they’ll be able to run with it. Even without that, they were very good. Even when we didn’t have all the pieces, they were proactively sending us matches and ideas. I guess my biggest piece of advice would be just to work with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Trust Offshore Talent Sourcing. We are an HR company that does offshore staffing in the high-tech industry. We have more than 20 employees.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Geniusee?

I needed a company to do website development for a printing client of mine. They required a team with experience in front- and backend development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed the website for our client. The website has a huge database, requiring high speed for users. They had a team focused on backend, a team focused on the frontend, and their QA engineer did testing. They’re currently developing software remotely for another client. 

What is the team composition?

There were two people we worked with at first, but the team has scaled up to six at different times. Usually, there are four people working, including Nazariy (CTO), the project manager.

How did you come to work with Geniusee?

We were considering 13 companies, trying to narrow it down. We chose this company for their honesty and professionalism.

How much have you invested with them?

The first project cost $40,000. We pay $15,000–$20,000/mo. for the current project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in December 2018, and it is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I have 25 years in the software industry, and in my opinion, Nazariy is the best software developer I’ve worked with. We have had very positive feedback; our clients have been very satisfied.

How did Geniusee perform from a project management standpoint?

Nazariy is a strong project manager, handling the entire project very well. They use Excel spreadsheets, shared via Google Drive. They give daily progress reports.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are an excellent team. They are very honest, able to be trusted with your investment, and they provide quality software development. Their professionalism is also outstanding.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are a few areas they could improve in; using project management tools, having a less open workspace in their office, and hiring an account manager to delegate some of the workload.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be patient; they won’t start the project until they fully understand it. This will help save money and improve quality in the long run. They are adaptable to the client’s needs, and listen to feedback. Be honest if there’s any problem; they’ll address and resolve it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Gowinon.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Geniusee?

I needed to develop a mobile app. I’d worked with a couple of developers previously, and it didn’t really go anywhere, which is why I approached Geniusee.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Geniusee developed a social networking app for Android and iOS. The app connects users to local people around them through a group chat. An example would be someone needing to get opinions on food places in New York; they’d post a question, and the app would send notifications to local people. The user would get invited to a group chat, where they’d get their answer.

The additional challenges that Geniusee faced were in terms of legacy development that’d been done by other developers. It was a matter of understanding that and bringing it up to speed. Previously, it just wasn’t good enough to cope with.

There’s a Firestore backend, and I believe they used React or Node.js on the development side.

What is the team composition?

Initially, there was one key developer that I liaised with for updates and clarifying key requirements. They pulled in resources as needed. For instance, we needed a UX designer at one point to refresh the designs made by the previous team.

How did you come to work with Geniusee?

I found them through a website called YouTeam, which advertises developers from different countries. I knew what kinds of skills and development I’d need, and of the three candidates I looked at, Geniusee came out on top. I got a better vibe from them, and it just felt right, from what I saw.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent £15,000–£20,000 (approximately $16,300–21,700 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Geniusee in August 2018, and it’s ongoing. I launched the app in September 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The fact that I’m continuing to work with them is a testament to how good the collaboration has been. The biggest KPI for me was actually getting my app launched from where it was. It took me 3–4 years to get to Geniusee, and they expedited the process from there. I was able to build some traction with universities after launching the app and start building out a community of users.

Everyone has loved the idea and liked the app. People find it very useful and easy to use. As part of the user-acceptance testing phase, I got some friends and family to use it before it went live. We got some feedback in terms of bugs, features that weren’t working too quickly, things that were out of place, or typos. Those were rectified pretty much immediately by Geniusee; there was no stonewalling. I found the whole process very collaborative and just easy.

How did Geniusee perform from a project management standpoint?

I have no complaints. I’m a project manager and business analyst by trade, and I found the communication to be top-notch, with no problems. I got constant updates throughout the engagement. It wasn’t the kind of collaboration where I’d have to liaise communication through somebody; if the developer wanted to clarify something with me, he could just do it. That made it easier and quicker to work with them, and I prefer that approach.

We used Skype, WhatsApp, email, phone calls, and video calls to communicate. During key development, we had updates every week. The development was done in sprints in the agile methodology, so we had a sort of show-and-tell every so often, which allowed me to track the progress.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Nothing is too big a problem for them. They never seem overwhelmed, and they have a can-do attitude. I also like the fact that they don’t just say yes to everything; I go to groups like Geniusee for their expertise, and I get that from them. They challenge back, and they do that because they have better options to meet my objectives. I really like that from people I’m working with. Also, their technical skills and the quality at which they get things done are absolutely spot on.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so. The communication was spot on, and, even though they’re based in Ukraine, they came out to London to meet me and see how things were going. Development-wise, everything got done quickly, and there were no problems. When I needed advice from them, I got it. The only thing I would’ve liked is to have visited them at their office, but that’s not a fault; it’s probably just me wanting a holiday. I’ve absolutely loved working with Geniusee.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

They should have an open mind and be prepared to be challenged in terms of their thinking. I’d recommend going there with an idea, and not with a way of getting it done. Geniusee knows the technology and the solutions, and they can turn the client’s idea into a product.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a shelter management platform

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Geniusee?

We needed a software development team to help us build out our MVP.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their team developed the frontend of our product using ReactJS. We managed the design work ourselves, so they focused on development.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager and a frontend developer from Geniusee.

How did you come to work with Geniusee?

We found them through a website that helped us interview different candidates. We figured out that Geniusee was the best team for the job.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent close to $70,000 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in January 2018 and finished in March 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Geniusee provided great developers who pushed a lot of code. The quality of their development and their project management were high. It was easy to work with their team.

How did Geniusee perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Slack and JIRA throughout the project. Geniusee dedicated a fantastic project manager who stayed on top of the assignments. Their team was also great about having meetings. They were great communicators who made sure to be clear on our requirements and scope.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team communicated clearly, which is important when hiring an offshore team. They communicated their understanding of my explanations of user stories or edge cases for the product well. Also, their team was excited about the project. They came up with ways to go above and beyond and be really helpful to our company.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was a little confusion at the beginning of the engagement about signing the contract and which developer would support us. We started with one developer and then switched a month or so into the project, which was a bit confusing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s important to use the project management tools that their team provides, which allows you to keep up with their work. They can write code so quickly that you can fall behind with testing. It was helpful to keep everything up to date in one spot.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an ag-tech company, and I’m a marketing and communications manager here.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Geniusee?

We wanted to create hardware and software that works together to give people a better view of their entire operation. So, we essentially wanted to bring IoT into agriculture.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have an application that showcases our data and several hardware devices. They’ve been focusing on upgrading our device management and installation flow. I’m having their designers determine easier ways for our users to install our products. 

We’re also having them create products from scratch, asking them to actively come up with solutions to problems. For instance, we’re undertaking an asset management application. They’re problem-solving on that front to meet our needs. At this point, we’re handling everything through Figma. My experience with them has been strictly with design, but they also provide us with development services.  

What is the team composition?

I mainly communicate with two people, but there is a third resource that we occasionally call upon. 

How did you come to work with Geniusee?

Our development team lead had worked with them before, in a development capacity. They’ve historically come across as a quality team that does work quickly and cost-effectively. It was easy to justify starting a relationship with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $25,000–$50,000 on the project. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started collaborating around November 2019, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We use Asana to track projects, but we aren’t tracking specific metrics. Anecdotally, I’m impressed with their work.   

How did Geniusee perform from a project management standpoint?

I appreciate that they assigned a project manager to our account because projects can move forward pretty quickly. They consistently finish tasks faster than expected, always keeping to their estimated timeframes. Their team is honest about what tasks will take them a long time and what we may want to consider scaling back on. They’ve been very flexible with our team. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their development speed, quality, and price points have truly impressed us. Those three things make us continue wanting to work with them.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything. They’re in a different time zone, so there are some challenges with feedback. But, that’s outside of their control.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate clearly and share information with them. They’re great at hearing a problem and developing solutions for you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of R&D for a software solution company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Geniusee?

We needed backend support. We also wanted to modernize our SaaS platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their team provides DevOps services for us, creating individual channels. They help with ongoing selection problems and assist with migration for other services. We have MySQL databases with duplications and without duplications. We also have Varnish cache load. Their team used services provided by Amazon, putting the details into Grafana.

What is the team composition?

I work with three people.

How did you come to work with Geniusee?

I’m not sure how we found Geniusee.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Geniusee started in May 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m very satisfied with Geniusee. We’ve integrated into new systems, and maintenance has also improved. We work in sprints, deciding what we need to do. There are yearly plans that we want to achieve, and that changed up a little.

We judge the plans by what we’re trying to do and what they’re doing. Now, we can also see how often we had a crisis in production before and how often we have them now. It’s gotten much better since working with Geniusee.

How did Geniusee perform from a project management standpoint?

We manage the project from our end, using Slack and Skype. They use Jira. One of our points of contact is always available to solve problems. We can reach him at night if needed. If he’s not available, there’s someone else who is.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed with how knowledgeable their team is. Whenever we have a problem, they have a solution using different technologies. Their team has experience working with these technologies and other areas. While we used a lot of their DevOps expertise, we also used their other resources. I like their dedication and trustworthiness.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I can think of for them to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Get organized from the start. Prepare the information that you’ll need to share with Geniusee. Start working with definite plans of what needs to be done.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Validify, a technology company. We provide a platform for large B2C businesses to access and discover SaaS technologies and connect with those solution providers about their technical innovation requirements.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Geniusee?

We needed someone to develop our platform from the ground up.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They have been our outsourced developers. After our CTO and project manager defined the initial requirements for them, they started working in an agile approach. We work in a sprint process, and the requirements are constantly evolving. We’re very driven by what our customers are saying and what the priorities are. They work on front- and backend development.

What is the team composition?

There are 2–3 people. Our plan is to increase the resources once we get fundraising. We’ve worked with the same developers from the very beginning. They’re extremely familiar with the project.

How did you come to work with Geniusee?

We found them through our CTO, who had done previous work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $100,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2018, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They allow us to dial-up resources much quicker than if we were trying to hire developers here. It’s much more cost-effective too.

How did Geniusee perform from a project management standpoint?

Our CTO and project manager have daily standups with them. They use Slack and Jira, with the latter being for providing wireframes and tasks. They’re flexible with our ongoing changes.

I communicate with the CEO every four nights for a quick catchup. They’re very positive and have been very proactive. They’re based in Ukraine and we’re in London, and they’ve traveled over to see what we’re doing and get to know the project more personally. They feel like a part of our team even though they’re external contractors.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a lot of different skill sets that we can tap into if our requirements change. Our platform is web-based but we’re looking to potentially develop a native app soon. They have those skill sets, which gives us a lot of flexibility.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The initial part of getting to know us and the project was a little bit bumpy, but that’s to be expected. They got familiar with the project quickly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CTO of Pawlytics, a software for animal shelters and rescues that helps them manage pets, people, and other data. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Geniusee?

We wanted to create a platform for our customers, and I reached out to Geniusee for assistance with frontend development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Geniusee developed the frontend of our website, using technologies like Next.js and GraphQL. They also integrated a few APIs, including Stripe. Another partner provided the UX design, but Geniusee took the site from a prototype to a full-scale platform. 

What is the team composition? 

I worked with a project manager and a couple developers.

How did you come to work with Geniusee?

I found them online and then our CEO had a great meeting with one of their lead developers. They seemed very capable of the task, and they definitely turned out to be a good partner. 

How much have you invested with them?

We probably invested about $50,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from October 2018–May 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work was critical in building the platform we envisioned. We wouldn't be where we are now without their help. 

How did Geniusee perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication, documentation, organization, and overall project management skills were top-notch. We used Slack and Jira, but also held daily standups throughout the engagement. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were very flexible when it came to working around time zones, especially considering their distant location. Communicating tends to be a challenge when working with an offshore developer, but they excelled in that area. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Approach them with a small task to ensure they're a good fit before diving into a large project together.