Houlak

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of Clever Credit. We create credit cards for direct to consumer brands.

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

We hired Houlak to develop our company's website based on the guidelines created by our designer. They also helped us with wireframes for the onboarding flow of our app.

How did you select Houlak and what were the deciding factors?

We were referred to them by an old colleague who had used them for a fintech mobile app. We wanted to hire an agency that had experience in fintech, wasnt too expensive and could be flexible and understanding that our needs could change based on the feedback we received from potential customers.

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

We had a kick off meeting to explain our company and what we were hoping to accomlpish, who were our target users, etc... From there we held weekly meetings to share updates along with a slack channel where we had almost daily chats.

The key deliverables was the first few pages of our website live and available for anyone to visit. Houlak's team also guided me in setting up the infrastructure for our website (https certification, AWS setup, etc.). We also added a third party tool that allowed us to collect emails on a waitlist.

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

I worked with 4 people from their team including their CEO, COO and 2 designers/developers who were the key point of contact for our project.

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

We were able to launch our website with our referral program up and running. The website performed the way it expected and Houlak's team even added a few touches on design, like making some icons float based on the location of the mouse.

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

We had a slack channel where we were in touch almost daily. Additionally, I exchanged many messages with Houlak's CEO via Slack. They were very responsive, even on weekends or holidays.

Once I shared info about what I wanted accomplished, they shared a timeframe on when I could expect to have the project completed. That allowed us to stay on track and for me to align our business tasks with the progress of our website.

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

They were very attentive and were legitimately curious about our project. The team proposed new ideas that I believe made our website even better than I expected.

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

None. They were great.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of an HR payroll fintech company. We offer a suite of financial solutions for employees of large companies. Our mission is to build and help employers offer their employees a complete solution for financial health. In my role, I lead product and technology while hiring and growing the team.

What challenge were you trying to address with Houlak?

We brought them on to build a web app that allows employees to interact with us to get free earned wages and speak to a personal financial advisor. Their team helped us build the customer-facing app as well as the back office solution we utilize for administrative purposes.

What was the scope of their involvement?

In the first phase, we focused on design and requirements. During the second phase, we shifted to the UI/UX designs of the solution. Then, we went through the development phase. After that, we’ve continued to work on new features.

Now, we have a permanent partnership with Houlak centered on time and materials. There are always developers bringing in new features or fixes. We’re about to start a new project that’ll be a mobile version of our web app.

What is the team composition?

We work with approximately five team members but it varies depending on the phase of the project.

How did you come to work with Houlak?

My co-founder is from Uruguay, and we knew there’s great development talent there. We searched for firms and compared five Uruguayan firms with three US-based firms and one Chilean firm. Out of these nine firms we ultimately selected Houlak.

They weren’t the cheapest, in fact, they were on the higher end of prices in South America. However, they were the best one because of their portfolio, expertise, and attitude. From our very first interview with them, they had a proactive, energetic, and thoughtful attitude with transparent packages.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $25,000 at this point.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in June 2020.

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

Our customers ran an NPS when we launched our service and it was the single highest NPS they ever had for an employee-related service. It was 71 which means our clients loved it and it was very impactful. We received feedback from users expressing the web app changed their life as well as made everything faster and simpler. This attests to Houlak’s hard work.

Our customers want to enroll in all the batches at the same time. They’re very happy about the product. They pressure us to enroll and grow the number of users but we can’t because of commercial reasons.

The web app works really well and runs very fast. If there are any bugs, Houlak fixes them the next day. They’ve even worked on weekends to help us solve immediate issues.

How did Houlak perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve consistently met deadlines. In some cases, they’ve delivered a bit more than what we expected so we’re very happy. We use Slack, Zoom, Google Docs, and ClickUp, the tool they utilize for sprints. ClickUp made a big difference and made all our processes faster.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Houlak is very specialized. Their portfolio is fintech, and they really know what they’re doing. They have a lot of experience and have worked with many companies from startups to enterprises. They work with some of the most important digital financial services in the region; that’s very important.

As a team, they’re extremely practical, transparent, and trustworthy. I feel completely at ease with them. They take our project and do the best possible job they can. They’re absolutely transparent in every step of the process. I know exactly what’s happening at all times and that’s an extraordinary level of transparency.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In the last few months, we often wish that they had more availability. In terms of resources, I’d like to have one of their developers work inside my team for a while. they haven’t been able to do that because they don’t have enough available resources. Other than that, we don’t want to ever let them go; we want to work with them forever.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of SORT Consulting, a consulting company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Houlak?

We needed to make an iOS app quickly to share in an IT forum.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team at Houlak designed and developed our iOS application. We worked with them on the design, but they did everything else. They provided an architect and a team to develop the app and backend.

They also incorporated components that we provide for biometric companies that we represent. We needed the backend to show the results that we produce in the app. The app is for digital onboarding.

We cover all the process and do the ID verification. The app captures the ID document, and they take a selfie. It then validates the identity of that person by doing a facial matching between the picture on the ID card and the selfie.

What is the team composition?

We’re in contact with at least four or five people.

How did you come to work with Houlak?

We had a lot of references for their work. We were working with a client that we have in common, and I also had a reference from an IT professional that worked with me.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Houlak started in June 2019.

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

I’m very satisfied with their work. They might be a little expensive, but they deliver quality work in a timely manner.

How did Houlak perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re responsive. We communicate through email and Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Houlak adds their knowledge and experience to our service. They resolve things in the design stage that we didn’t have clear. The communication is very good. Their team is committed, which we appreciate.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re a little expensive, but they deliver value according to the price.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Try to make a relationship with them. Explain your needs very well. They’re very clear and honest people that will tell you if they have the expertise or not.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Donate is a mobile app for blood donors. I’m the founder of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Houlak?

We are developing a blood donation mobile app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Houlak is developing an iOS and Android native app. Users who want to donate blood can use the app to complete a form and find out whether they’re a good candidate. Afterward, they can schedule an appointment to donate. Once the process is done, they’ll receive a code that gives them discounts at different shops, as a reward for their action.

How did you come to work with Houlak?

I came across them two years ago. I was developing another project, and a friend recommended Houlak to me. That project never actually started, but I got in touch with them when I had the idea to start Donate.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve invested $6,000 so far, but we’re planning to invest about $20,000 more in the future in order to keep improving the app.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Houlak around April 2020, and it’s ongoing. We’re finishing the first version of the app now, and we’re already working on the second one. We’re launching the app in the coming weeks.

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

I really like working with them. They’re a young team, and they have a lot of good ideas. They work quickly, and they’re flexible with schedules. We have a very good working dynamic.

Even though we haven’t launched, I haven’t identified any bugs or errors on the app. So far, so good.

How did Houlak perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication is really easy and fluent. We talk through different channels, including Slack. They’re available for us all the time — we’re in contact at least four times a day. We work in sprints, and we share a lot of feedback. We’re creating a strategy together.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I got in touch with Houlak before I’d fundraised, and I told them that. I asked if they’d be willing to start the project without any guarantees, just knowing that we were going to help a lot of people and that I’d start paying them after I got funds. They put their trust in me, and I put my trust in them. They’re really good people, and they’re really professional. I’ve had a great time working with them.

Houlak is a young team with a fresh approach. I’m not a very technical person, but I find their designs to be very cool and novel.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not so far. I think we’re going to achieve our launch goal, and I’ll be able to say more after that. The only thing I have in mind is that they could be a bit cheaper.

Introduce your business and what you do there

I am the CEO of a benefits platform.

What challenges were you trying to address with Houlak?

They developed our platform, it is a benefit’ platforms that is completely sustained in an app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

After designing our initial website, the team provided full-stack app development services. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with about 10 members of their team

How did you come to work with Houlak?

We knew their CEO, he was actually our client, so we knew them personally and knew that they are a trustworthy company and everything proved to be true, they actually exceeded our expectations.

How much have you invested in them?

We have invested between $10,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We had our first project with them in 2017, it was a website project and the app was in 2018, we continue working with them.

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

We have an app that we are 100% sure that will always work well, is being used by 3,500 people and we haven’t received almost any comments about its usage, and whenever we’ve had any issue they immediately respond. All of that means quality for me, we are just calm with our app.

How did Houlak perform from a project management standpoint?

We also had a great human experience with them and we formed a very nice and friendly team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their human quality. They are always close and have great energy, plus the quality of their work is outstanding. Having a product that works perfectly is everything.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They are a bit expensive.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and co-founder of a corporate fitness business. We have an app that allows users to attend activities in more than 300 sports centers around the country. They pay a monthly fee to use the app.

What challenges were you trying to address Houlak?

We hired Houlak to work on the frontend of our app. Because we developed the backend ourselves, we needed them to handle everything related to the frontend.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built the app for iOS and Android, using Native development.

What is the team composition?

There were about six people involved.

How did you come to work with Houlak?

We conducted some research to find companies that specialized in frontend development. During this search, we received great references from individuals who had worked with Houlak in the past. Our team met multiple companies, but Houlak was the one that made us feel the most confident.

How much have you invested in them?

So far, we’ve spent around $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement started in May 2019 and is ongoing.

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

As each day goes by, we’re more and more convinced that we made the right choice to work with Houlak. We gave them a very tight agenda, and their team had to work overtime to meet the deadlines. Not only did they manage to do this, but they did a great job throughout the process. Houlak got really involved in the project in a way that doesn’t often happen.

How did Houlak perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Microsoft Teams, Trello, and Slack to communicate, and it worked great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They understood the project’s requirements very clearly and committed to our tight deadlines.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There weren’t any setbacks, so I can’t think of anything.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the chief of innovation and analytics at a leading financial institution.

What challenge were you trying to address with Houlak?

We were looking to replace our services provider for mobile development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Houlak provides us with native mobile development services for Android and iOS. They have also developed our website and all associated web solutions to consolidate our presence. They’ve built some in React and others in some other frameworks.

What is the team composition?

We work with about 7–9 people.

How did you come to work with Houlak?

I am not completely sure about how I found them at first, but I did evaluate several service providers while researching the market. I found Houlak to be a lighter studio with a faster response time than other agencies. The involvement of the company’s CEO was also important for us. I heard great feedback from their former clients as well.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $60,000–$80,000 per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in May 2018 and continue working with them.

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

We've worked very closely as technology partners; Houlak has been very involved with the company’s needs. Every challenge we’ve had, they have been able to accomplish successfully.

They’ve provided a great deal of know-how and expertise on mobile development, which has allowed us to have many new solutions for our digital channels.

How did Houlak perform from a project management standpoint?

We worked remotely so we’ve used Slack and Trello extensively since day one. These channels allow us to be very connected and have great communication. We’ve used an agile development methodology, and they have been very professional and responsible about deadlines. They’ve always had a great response when we’ve requested new things, even out of schedule.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Something I would highlight is how involved they are on a day-to-day basis. That is very important when working with a technology partner. They are always responsible. Every member of their team — from the CEO to all the developers — has a strong sense of customer support.

Their expertise in mobile technologies is also great: we have been able to accomplish all of our goals and in a short time. They are a fresh agency that’s always very close to the latest mobile technology trends.