Hygge Software

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-founder and CEO of a unique B2C SaaS app that helps students and lifelong learners remember what they learn. The product is a spaced-repetition flashcard app that enables learners to upload all of their learning material and create flashcards linked to every fact, concept and formula that they want to remember.

When they practice memory retrieval with their flashcards, if they struggle with an answer, they can click a link that will open the source material at the exact location where they learned it so that they can quickly refresh their memory.

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

Our app is very complex and needs to be fully-functional and performant across all major browsers and devices. There are critical integrations with some third-party APIs that are not in every case optimized for the kind of tricks we are pulling off. The app is also developed as a native desktop app for Mac, Windows, and Linux.

Hygge also built our website using WebFlow. Besides frontend and backend application development, there is stringent test coverage, devops services, and 24/7/365 on-call coverage to promptly respond to any issues.

The goals were for Hygge to build our website, the web application and native desktop apps according to demanding and detailed specs and then continue as indefinitely as my outsourced in-house team to evolve the app and provide on-call coverage to maintain the app and deal with issues around the clock.

How did you select Hygge Software and what were the deciding factors?

I interviewed many Ukrainian application development firms. I was pleased that with Hygge, I could interview the actual engineers who would build my project. With a lot of these firms, you are interviewing a salesperson or the CEO. I have extensive experience working with Eastern European engineers.

I was very impressed with Hygge’s acumen and expertise. Their hourly rate was reasonable. The choice was easy.

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

We have our own designer so we didn’t depend on Hygge for design although they make a lot of fantastic suggestions along the way that we opted for. They provided all of the engineering including JavaScript, HTML, CSS, React, Angular, MongoDB (and other DB technologies including Firebase), Electron, CloudFlare, Sentry, GitLab, various test suites, WebFlow, and many other technologies.

Hygge worked in sprints and we communicated every day via Slack. The project was managed on Trello. The key deliverables were the website, the web app and the native desktop apps.

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

Approximately 10 members of the Hygge team have been working on our project including frontend, backend, and QA engineers.

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

Hygge has exceeded all of my expectations. They are stellar engineers and do everything like they are owners. They are thoroughly a pleasure to deal with. We have formed a unique relationship in the world of dev agencies. They truly are my outsourced in-house team. They handle all after-hours emergencies and keep everything running smoothly 24/7/365.

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

They practice agile development with sprints. We communicate via Slack and they give regular demos via Slack.

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

Besides being brilliant engineers, they always behave with a true sense of ownership. They want perfection and always go the extra mile to optimize the user experience. They always make me feel like they are true partners and never act like mere service providers. I have developed a real sense of trust in them. They are very good at meeting deadlines.

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

None significant.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Krivi Associates LLC, a consultancy firm.

What challenge were you trying to address with Hygge Software?

I’m also an entrepreneur interested in developing an app. I was searching for a company that could provide support.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed my hybrid mobile app for iOS and Android. The app is for those interested in traveling or families staying across the continents. If they want to stay connected or share their memories, it’s easy to share the photos once you develop a private network. Unless you’re in the network, people can’t share any private information. It’s 100% privacy. The server is located with AWS. We have followed the encrypted technology as well. We wanted to give that privacy also.

I love traveling and taking pictures. I have a network. As soon as I take the picture with the app, it automatically maps where I’ve been and what kind of pictures I’ve been taking. It automatically gets shared to the network as I keep tagging them. They get the messages. The next time, one of my connected people in the network, if they reach the same place, they get a notification that their friend was there and if they want to take a selfie. Our goal was to establish it, but not just for the current generation. I have no idea where my grandparents were, how they were living, what kind of pictures they took. With this app, the moment I establish my network, my kids and grandkids can always see where and when I was there, and what kind of moments I enjoyed.

We went live on October 19th. Right now, they are doing post-go-live support. As we see there’s a possibility of improvement, I give them feedback. By the end of November, they will be doing the final touchups. I potentially want to continue taking up the second phase. Right now, it’s a paid version as well as a non-paid version (with ads and ad-free). There are certain improvements we have in mind and I’ve been talking to the project manager about them.

What is the team composition?

Tanya (HR Manager) is the one I interact with on a regular basis. There’s someone for iOS, one for Android, another person for the backend, and someone for designing. I do believe they have a larger team but my interaction was limited to very few people. It’s essentially one specialist by platform or technology.

How did you come to work with Hygge Software?

I reached out to Hygge Software via LinkedIn. The project manager presented the proposal, I liked it. Tanya who is the Project manager was the key to why I went with this company.

How much have you invested with them?

I've spent $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the Project in February 2020, and development of the app was completed in May 2020, as per the initial scope. After reviews and testing, I further added a few scope changes, and we went live in October 2020.

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

Everything was fantastic. I give them an idea that’s in my mind and they’d come up with a couple of options. Options were really helpful for me because I’m not a technical person. When I got a few options, it opened up some new ideas. I love that.

How did Hygge Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Tanya has amazing project management skills. They provided excellent project management which is what I wanted. I’m not technical in mobile app development. The project manager came with all the required skillsets. Everything was delivered on time. Since we’re in a different time zone, we pick a time early morning and it’s either a Zoom or Google Meet call. They usually send me a test version. I complete my test version and provide them the feedback the next week. Once the project manager and the developer take notes, they come back with the fix. The project manager used Excel where she outlined all the tasks underneath along with what was going to be completed in what duration and any comments. She’d provide me with all those comments.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The project management and planning is most impressive. The quality itself is amazing. I wouldn’t trade the team for anything. They go into details and they care about the requirements. They always provided solutions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Absolutely not. I wouldn’t be going back to them if I had any concerns or issues. Once I have a plan, they’re the first people I’d be reaching out to.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do your due diligence on what you need. Give them an opportunity to think through and provide their feedback. Don’t just push things because they do have quality feedback. Take a look at what they suggest that might give a better product. The project manager and the technical people always give feedback. They don’t just deliver a product but note how it should be and what is trending in the market. Hear them out.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Founder and CEO of a sports media startup. The company is in early startup stage requiring web development for a social web platform for sports enthusiasts.

For what projects/services did your company hire Hygge Software?

The company required a social web platform that could enable video sharing, commentary, and subscribing between users, as well a streamlined management system for company employees.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was for the Hygge team to continue the development started by a previous team. Hygge needed to learn the architecture of the website and develop new features to enhance the performance of the site

How did you select this vendor?

I had worked with Alena, the project manager, while she was working for another company. We had a strong working relationship and I trusted her recommendation to move the development to Hygge.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The project required the team to work on features of a website that was already live and had a small amount of users. The team was asked to quickly develop and test these features and upload it to the production site every 1-2 weeks. Since the team was working with code that was originally developed by another they had to learn the code and architecture of the site quickly and effectively to make the correct development while ensuring to fix bugs that arose.

What was the team composition?

The team included a project manager who oversaw the development and communication between me and the development team, as well as 1 to 2 developers to work on both front and backend development. The project also required testing from a QA team.

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

The website is up and running with features that make user experience much more streamlined. While there are no metrics to quantify this experience yet, the site is clearly easier to use.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We used LinkedIn for most of our communication and Upwork for contract and payment. 

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team was able to learn the code quickly and through the process they identified bugs from the previous development that I had not noticed. They have not only a strong understanding of the code but an understanding of the business goals of my company.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There was one instance when a deadline was not likely to be met. I would've liked the team to communicate this to me earlier, but to their credit they did communicate it to me and we were able to find a solution. The team made sure to work extra hours to meet the deadline which I am very thankful for.

Please describe your company and your position there.

ContainerGrid works on cloud software modules for the recycling industry. I am the CTO of Containergrid.

For what projects/services did your company hire Hygge Software?

We hired Hygge Software to develop a React Native mobile app.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to have a final MVP mobile App.

How did you select Hygge Software?

I was contacted via LinkedIn

Describe the project in detail.

The mobile App is used by drivers of waste logistic firms. The functionality included:

• Authentication
• Taking photos
• Scanning documents
• Adding a signature pad
• Displaying Order details
• Handle bad internet connections

What was the team composition?

We were supported by a full-time React-Native developer

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

We were able to test and launch our MVP after 8 weeks of development

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had daily standup calls and used Slack as communication tool. The workflow was very effective

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their clear communication and good quality of work was impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No