Implex

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was a former product owner at SmartLane, which was an online auction platform for vehicles. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Implex?

We needed software where car dealership shops could sign up with SmartLane and list their inventory of vehicles. The application would let them create an inspection report to go along with the inventory. The idea was that an end-user could view the vehicle, look at the inspection report, and then join an online auction. They could bid in real-time and eventually win a vehicle. 

SmartLane would then arrange for the actual transaction behind the scenes for payment and delivery of the vehicle. To create the mobile and web application, we hired Implex. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Slava (CEO & Co-Founder) and his team worked with us as a development and design shop. We provided our product requirements and design mockups, and they built the web and mobile applications. The Implex team created a custom engine for the auction, which was at the core of this project. 

The mobile app was the primary platform we were focused on. We didn't use any pre-existing auction software — they put together their own version of such software. As a result, a lot of the work revolved around perfecting that auction experience. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with Slava, and he was the representative of the team. There were a few other people that we had interactions with, but any communication we needed went through Slava. 

How did you come to work with Implex?

Slava was already working with SmartLane when I became involved, so I wasn’t part of the decision to bring them on. 

How much have you invested with them?

I believe we invested over $50,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from February 2018–March 2019. The first functional MVP was finished three and a half months after we started, and we continued working with them on other things. We built more of our inspection app and the web app version of the software later in that timeframe.

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

All of the boxes were checked in terms of what the software was doing and how it was performing on the devices and platforms that we were targeting. We felt confident that it was ready for use by consumers, but due to business decisions around direction and focus, that portion of the software that we built wasn't utilized at the level we wanted it to be.

The way we measured success was by running our own internal auctions. We involved some customers for early feedback and had real auctions with real vehicles. We also did load tests on the app, so we know that it could’ve supported the number of users we were targeting. 

We didn’t track so much of the commercial consumer response. SmartLane had some initial funding that kept it going through the time that it was around. Eventually, the investors moved away from the online auction platform before we had a chance to engage with the customers. 

How did Implex perform from a project management standpoint?

We were able to hit our major deadlines. The Implex team worked in a different time zone, but they managed to match our hours here. They were very available — much more so than other offshore teams I've worked with.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I found them to be very professional. At that time, Implex was a relatively small shop, and they were well organized. Slava did a good job of communicating clearly, and the team had a lot of structure and process in place. As a result, it was very easy to understand where things were at any given moment. That was really helpful for us to be more agile in our decision making. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t. I don't have any critical feedback for them. We were pleased in general with their effort. As they grow, they'll be able to support more and more projects. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Customers should be very upfront about their needs. Slava can help translate that and fully understand exactly what they’re trying to get to, helping them make good decisions. They shouldn’t come with everything set in terms of what they want.

They can hand over their priority list, and Slava will help refine it. They’ll receive good suggestions on what they could go without and a faster way of getting to what they need. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of Admissions. We’re an online platform for college admissions.

What challenge were you trying to address with Implex?

Our objective was to build a solution from scratch. We had the idea but didn’t have any technical development expertise.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We brought Implex on to help us with the architecture, development, and technology stack of our web portal.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 5–6 people.

How did you come to work with Implex?

We had a technical advisor who had worked with them in the past, so they came recommended. Ultimately, I interviewed many vendors but I felt that Implex had the best handle on the technology. They were able to relate to me as a business owner.

What is the status of this engagement?

The ongoing engagement started in August 2014.

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

We’ve had thousands of users utilize the platform.

How did Implex perform from a project management standpoint?

We use a project management tool, and they’ve adapted Slack to work with us as well. I really appreciate that they work closer to our time zone’s hours.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a cost advantage as one of the best international companies; however, they also seem as if they’re US-based. In other words, they’ve brought the best of US-based outsourcing companies with the cost and efficiencies of an international developer.

Implex effectively took my business requirements and translated them into technology and advice. They weren’t just building to build; they gave me ideas and helped me understand the full business impact of things I asked them to do. Their team has acted as our technical advisors, which is quite unique.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Early on, I started with them and then paused the engagement because I didn’t have the budget for a couple of quarters. When I came back, I didn’t have the same developer. That’s a challenge with outsourced developers, if we don’t keep them, they may not be available later. Frankly, this is a challenge in the market in general.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They will lead you down the right path. Implex is great at managing their process to make for the best outcome.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and former owner of an application that deals with loyalty cards and payments, among other services.

What challenge were you trying to address with Implex?

We’ve been working with retailers, restaurants, and other businesses that have loyalty cards. After various failed engagements with several other vendors, Implex helped us develop a solution that digitizes these cards.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their team worked to produce a solution that digitizes different businesses’ loyalty cards. Integrated with a Mastercard payment system, the solution — predating Apple Pay or Google Pay — allowed users to scan their loyalty cards for instant mobile payment.

What is the team composition?

We had 7 fulltime teammates, which included a team leader, architect, iOS and Android developers, and designers.

How did you come to work with Implex?

We had several failed engagements with other partners who didn’t understand what we were looking for. Implex was a referral by a friend of mine who’s in the development business. Upon meeting them, we decided to go forward with them.

How much have you invested in them?

It was a total investment of about $1.5 million, which includes the production of the scanner that’s sourced in China.

What is the status of this engagement?

I believe the engagement lasted between December 2014 until January 2017, when the solution was released.

I think it was the end of December 2014 until January 2017 when it was released. It worked great in retail, and I sold the project in 2017 to someone who wanted to have it as a white label.

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

Implex proved to be an excellent provider who could deliver, unlike our previous partners. The solution took off and was enjoyed by many retailers and stores. The product was acquired by a larger company later in 2017, but I’ve recommended Implex to many associates for their ability to deliver.

How did Implex perform from a project management standpoint?

Implex was always on time with their delivery.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were able to grasp my vision and execute upon the product, a feat that many other providers weren’t capable of.

They were also very patient in explaining unfamiliar processes. They didn't show any frustration and used language that I, as a non-IT person, could understand.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there isn’t anything I can really fault them for. I do think that we were ahead of our time when we developed the application. The functionalities we developed received increased traction years later, and now it’s an industry standard. If I was creating the solution now, I would execute the project differently.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the editor-in-chief of Wikiart.org. It's an online visual art encyclopedia.

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

Our site was created a while ago and we needed a new approach to UX/UI issues.

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

This vendor was recommended to us. We've checked previous projects and were impressed by creative problem-solving skills.

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

We had meetings once a week where we've discussed ideas and solutions. In the process, we've changed the architecture and migrated to the NoSQL database, re-designed the UX/UI, added the video section, optimised SEO, added tags using Google AI

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

A project manager, two developers, a tester, and (from time to time) a designer

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

Increased monthly visits from 1.1 to 2.3 million (added Chinese localization; optimized SEO and advanced tagging put WikiArt on the first page of Google search for art-related queries); engine performance growth by 30%

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

We had once-a-week meetings with the team, used skype, pivotal tracker, and then slack in between the meetings.

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

Where we saw problems, this team saw possibilities. They have an impressive creative approach throughout the workflow.

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

I am completely satisfied with my working experience with this team.