Horizon Labs

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO of a software development company.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We build software for fitness studios to run their whole business in one place.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Horizon Labs to accomplish?

• Continuous Deployment Pipeline
• Google Cloud Build

SOLUTION

How did you find Horizon Labs?

Referral

Why did you select Horizon Labs over others?

• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Horizon Labs were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

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

The project entailed creating a deployment pipeline for Cloud Run with a focus on DevOps. The pipeline addresses concerns about URL dynamism, with a static URL for main branch deployments and temporary URLs for PRs. There's a combination of hard-coded environments in Terraform files and dynamic artifact names injected as environment variables. 

The development covers enhancing the developer experience, ensuring system reliability and monitoring through alerts, logs, and scaling. Furthermore, the project includes infrastructure-as-code practices, decisions on infrastructure tools, and the creation of Terraform files for various assets.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to get a deployment pipeline up and running in less than 2 weeks and then continue to improve along the way.

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

They absolutely nailed it, getting everything done on time and without busting the budget. Seriously, their game was on point! They kept things smooth throughout. Major props to them and can't wait to work on more stuff together. 

What was your primary form of communication with Horizon Labs?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

I was impressed that I got to work directly with one of the founders!

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

NA

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of an e-commerce company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Horizon Labs?

We were looking for a software development team to help launch our e-commerce platform. We also wanted help maintaining the integrity of the platform after the launch.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Horizon Labs developed a dual-functionality, mobile-friendly website, hosted on Sharetribe, serving both buyers and sellers. Before the project started, we shared our vision in meetings with Sinan (Founder). We showed him examples of websites operating in a similar space and explained our needs.

Then, Horizon Labs designed the site’s UX/UI using Figma. Each month, they’ve incorporated 3–4 requested features from the client, tested them, and fixed any bugs. They’ve also executed SEO and Google indexing.

The website has dual functionality, serving both buyers and sellers. Buyers browse products or search by product name and add desired items to their cart. They create an account to purchase products or save them to their wishlist — this is a quick, 60-second process. Three payment processing methods are available: PayPal, Stripe, or direct debit.

Sellers create an account using the quick process and log on. They can upload a photo of the item they’re selling or take a photo through the website. Then, sellers complete fields to describe the item, list the price, and note whether it is available for shipping or pickup. Finally, they post the item. A messaging feature allows users to negotiate prices or discuss shipping and packaging. 

What is the team composition?

We primarily work with three people: a project manager, a developer, and a UX developer.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost will be approximately $130,000. We spend about $8,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership began in April 2022. I expect to be working with them for another 5–6 months.

How did you come to work with Horizon Labs?

I found them on Google and initiated a conversation with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t utilize any particular KPIs; we use goal-based metrics. We’ve acquired customers organically through Google as a result of their SEO and Google indexing. We are now the first result on a Google search of our name. 

They have a strong skill set and can always complete the work. Sometimes requested features are incorporated within a week or two; sometimes — for complex tasks — it’s a longer process. Their team is proactive about resolving any issues; they are quick to fix bugs and reach out to Sharetribe to troubleshoot if needed. 

We will probably work with them to develop a mobile app later in 2023.

How did the company perform from a project management standpoint?

They are consistent from a project management perspective. They’ve never had any budget issues. We’ve occasionally run into roadblocks meeting deadlines on more complex tasks. Those roadblocks haven’t been Horizon Labs’ fault; Sharetribe has platform restrictions we need to work around.

They send us daily updates. They use Notion and Trello to communicate and post the status of completed, in progress, and upcoming tasks. There is also a group chat with both our teams, where we can easily contact Horizon Labs for quick tasks.

What did you find most impressive about them?

As a CEO, there’s nothing worse than working with a team you don’t hear from or hear excuses from. However, Horizon Labs is extremely communicative, talented, and reliable. Horizon Labs feels like part of our company, even though they’re outsourced.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I wish there were more developers on the Horizon Labs team so that we could quickly execute additional tasks. However, I understand and appreciate that they’re also a new and growing company.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I’d be super clear about your expectations, requirements, and timeline, and they will execute and guide you along the way. Doing this will give you a great experience with Horizon Labs.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CTO of TrueChoice Solutions. We're a predictive analytics company for Fortune 500 companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Horizon Labs?

We hired Horizon Labs as a solution architect to help us upgrade our backend infrastructure.

SOLUTION

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

Horizon is exceptional in knowledge and experience. they are expert technologists that can quickly assess and understand complex problems. In addition, they have serious coding chops to execute on time, within budget. They're a joy to work with.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Horizon became an extended member of the team. At first they conducted discovery meetings with key stakeholders to understand the current state of technology and the balance of internal and external resources. Then they provided high level design solutions which we evaluated. They work with us in an ongoing capacity, weighing in on key decisions from operations, resource allocation, technical consulting, and implementation.

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

We worked with a solutions architect and a senior developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Software - product development improvements were very impactful. Design and architecture process was very efficient. We are really happy with the outcome. All of the aspects of the process were thought through carefully.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They vastly increased our visibility into technical workflows and capacity to achieve projected outcomes.

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

Extremely efficient communication. They have exceptional integrity and commitment to doing a good job.

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

No complaints

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of an AI agents company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

AI agents for realtors

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Horizon Labs to accomplish?

• Software development
• AI application development

SOLUTION

How did you find Horizon Labs?

• Online Search
• YCombinator Recommended

Why did you select Horizon Labs over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Horizon Labs were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

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

Horizon Labs helped us speed up our development process with great quality for Voice AI applications we are building. Their engineering support helped us deliver production-ready application we could roll out to customers, including support with:

• Api development
• Hosting on Google Cloud Run

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Development and deployment of Voice AI application with customized functionality including integrations with client software
• Google cloud run deployment

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

• Horizon Labs provided a strong communication and project management through standup meetings every day or every other day and updates through Slack.
• Very strong engineering velocity with strong communication helped us to deliver our projects on time.

What was your primary form of communication with Horizon Labs?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Horizon Labs has strong skills and experience with OpenAI, LLMs, API development, Kubernetes, and cloud deployment.

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

None!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of Optima

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Optima was designed to streamline the management of company events while efficiently handling attendee trip details and expenses. The primary goals are to enhance transparency, automate data gathering, and deliver accurate trip estimates for budget purposes. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Horizon Labs to accomplish?

• To conceptualize and create an MVP for a B2B travel coordination mobile app in less than 3 months.

SOLUTION

How did you find Horizon Labs?

Referral

Why did you select Horizon Labs over others?

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

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

• Custom software
• mobile and web development with automation (e.g. API) and simple visuals. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Alignment with SOW, functioning tool. 

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

On-time delivery and excellent communication to keep me informed on each step of the project. 

What was your primary form of communication with Horizon Labs?

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

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

They were collaborative and had excellent communication and technical expertise.

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

None!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Co-founder of a healthcare company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Healthcare navigation and price transparency

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Horizon Labs to accomplish?

• Develop MVP

SOLUTION

How did you find Horizon Labs?

Referral

Why did you select Horizon Labs over others?

Referred to me

How many teammates from Horizon Labs were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

MVP

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

MVP public beta

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

Great communication and fast turnaround on sprints.

What was your primary form of communication with Horizon Labs?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They are a high-quality, responsive team.

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

N/A