InnomizeTech

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder Tutelage-You, an online tutoring company. It’s a marketplace that matches students that are seeking tutoring with licensed teachers in different subject areas from grades 6–12.

What challenge were you trying to address with InnomizeTech?

I wanted to build a platform that offers an easy user interface that could connect students and tutors across the country. It was not only limited to geographic regions and it gave an opportunity for good teachers to work outside of the classroom. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

At first, I shared my idea of having an online web-based application with InnomizeTech and what I needed to do. They designed and developed it from scratch. I requested features such as the payment system and video conferencing that supported tutoring and different subjects. I also told them to create a place where we could store information, including the criteria and background of our end users.   

We worked together over the course of few months to put it all together. They took my feedback and critiques and made changes based on what I felt was necessary and worked with some other teachers to make sure there weren’t any blind spots. 

What is the team composition?

There were about seven people on the project, which included developers and project managers. The team’s project managers were the ones I interacted with the most. 

How did you come to work with InnomizeTech?

Since I’m an American working in Asia, I was looking at different development companies. I used Clutch to find a list of top developers in Vietnam and I came across InnomizeTech. At that time, I identified about 5–7 companies. Then, I set up the interviews and based on conversations we had, and in terms of understanding what I was trying to do — the Innomize Tech team was the best one. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership ran from May–October 2020.

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

Partnering with InnomizeTech turned out to be a good decision. The functionality of our web app was really key because it was what I was really looking for. They were able to develop something seamless and user-friendly. Most importantly, the team delivered our solution in a timely manner. 

In addition, they were able to design the interface for our tutors and students from scratch and made it their own. It was really a vital piece of the website. 

Currently, we’re still testing out the site, but they were really supportive in making changes based on the feedback we received since it went live. However, we’re not totally promoting our platform yet because we still have some in-house stuff that we need to change. 

How did InnomizeTech perform from a project management standpoint?

In terms of communication, it was really beneficial because they were very attentive. Sometimes, we used Google, Zoom, WhatsApp, email, and other different communication methods. Trello was our main way to handle the project, but then there were certain instances when we required more in-person face to face discussion. We also used Trello in order for us to meet deadlines. If anything, I was a little slower than they were. They definitely had a sense of urgency.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciated InnomizeTech’s honesty when it comes to telling me that not everything that I wanted was possible. They also told me if things would be challenging instead of just saying yes to everything. Their ability and engineering expertise to understand what was possible impressed us. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We experienced some slight issues with communication, but I think that’s just inherent when doing work remotely and it was a process that needs to be improved. I think it wasn’t really their fault and if I was working with another remote team, I would still face the same issues. Basically, there’s just more room for some misunderstandings when using different apps.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Depending on what level you’re coming from, you could either hire a technical expert or designer. If you’re someone who understands coding and has the technical expertise, hire a designer that knows what you’re looking for, and vice versa.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a technical consulting company based here in the US, and we provide enterprise application development, product development, and consulting services to our clients. I’m the co-founder and CEO.

What challenge were you trying to address with InnomizeTech?

We were finding that, in the market we serve, the majority of the consulting companies are the larger consulting firms and they all have offshore development teams. To compete with them cost-wise, we needed to also develop an offshore development team. We’ve tried in Argentina and India, and both times did not receive the kind of results we wanted for our client. So, we connected with one of the co-founders of Innomize, started working with them, and were incredibly pleased with the results.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provide development services, engineering architecture services. Predominately they worked around AWS and open-source technologies. Essentially, they’re our exclusive development team.

Mostly, they’re working on enterprise-level systems and solutions. There are some web applications, but they’ve helped us build an in-store retail point of sale solution, web applications with backend integration into enterprise systems. They work end-to-end on these solutions. We have a hybrid model with our on-shore resources doing the bulk of the requirement gathering, high-level architecture overview, and all the on-site interaction with the customer.

Our US-based resources work with their analysts, senior engineers, and architects to further define the requirements at the solution level, as well as help us determine timelines and estimates as far as the effort needed to develop the solution. Then, they do the full development, QA, and testing. Also, they work with delivery and go-live. Based on the project, they may also do continuous maintenance and support.

What is the team composition?

On a regular basis, we have direct interaction with four team members consistently, but our team is larger than that. We work with the main architect, as well as two of the team leads (senior-level engineers) as well as a business analyst.

How did you come to work with InnomizeTech?

We had an engagement with them through a mutual client and interacted with their CEO. Later, when we found ourselves in a position needing developers to step in, he’d started Innomize. We reached out to him on a whim because we knew he did quality work, and he had availability.

They’ve been able to deliver the project quality we needed in the timeframe we needed. At that point, we slowly gave him more work because they were the right fit for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent just over $400,000 so far, over many projects.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since May 2017.

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

90% of the time, the projects are delivered on time. Generally, the other 10% is because some of the business requirements maybe weren’t as clearly defined as they should have been. I wouldn’t put that on them, necessarily. The projects are always within budget.

We’ve had several customers who need things done in a pinch and Innomize has always worked extra time or on weekends to make sure our customers are happy. Our clients are their clients, and our clients are always happy with their work. Several clients rave about their quality of work and how they go above and beyond.

When we told them that we needed the resources we were using to be AWS certified, that was done. They put the effort in and got the resources trained and tested and provided all the documentation we needed to ensure the resources were up to our standard.

How did InnomizeTech perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s been a collaborative effort, especially last year in an effort to ensure the way we were communicating was clear and open. We utilize Jira and Confluence for management, and they’re great about updating tickets. We also use it to track their time against different sprints and projects.

Our main point of contact is Hoang Le, their co-founder and CEO. He’s excellent at keeping in communication with us. We use Slack as our main, back-and-forth tool to have conversations with them. Keeping things in writing is easier than trying to do phone calls. They’re always great about being online during the agreed-upon hours.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive thing is that generally speaking when you’re dealing with off-shore development teams, they tend to do exactly what the requirements tell them to do, no question. The problem with not questioning is that we as the client can get things wrong, conveying something in a way that makes sense to us but not to them, depending on the way they’re viewing it. If they don’t question and just move ahead, something may be developed incorrectly. That was consistently a problem with the other off-shore teams we tried to work with.

I would say that their willingness and comfort to question us to ensure they fully understand something before developing it saves me time and money and keeps my customers happy because they’re getting what’s expected. They’ll frequently engage in a back-and-forth with our on-shore architects to make sure that the solution being developed is clearly thought out and planned using best-practices. We can always rely on them to be a sounding board and to have that dialogue. It’s taken years and effort on both parts to get to this point in our partnership.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’ve continued to work with us to improve the way that we communicated with each other. Being on a12-hour time difference can be difficult, as can having a language translation, but they put forth the effort to fix issues, no matter whose side they’re on. It’s just a matter of continuing to prioritize communication.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be upfront and clear about exactly what you’re looking for. Be open to their feedback as well on what it’ll take to get the project done. They’re intelligent and have a complete understanding of the space and the product development life cycle from beginning to end. If they’re recommending another resource or a different type of resource, listen to them. At their price point and work ethic, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone better.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m Ray Antonino, Co-Founder and CEO of Permits.com. We are a small team.

What challenge were you trying to address with InnomizeTech?

We were looking to get more development work done faster. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

They worked on projects we needed done for a Fortune 40. That project won us a pilot. Typically, we give them all the designs. They do the mockups and make sure we are on track. They also offer solutions to problems we haven’t even thought of.

What is the team composition?

Hoang (Co-Founder/CEO, InnomizeTech) is the one who speaks fluent English. There is also Tuan (Full-Stack Developer, InnomizeTech), Hiep (Full-Stack Developer, InnomizeTech), Anh (Full-Stack Developer, Innomize Tech) and Anh (Automation Developer, InnomizeTech).

How did you come to work with InnomizeTech?

Originally, we worked with the team through a 3rd party; they were behind the scenes. (They do work behind the scenes for some very large, multi-national companies.) When we were scoping out a project, a friend of mine who owns a company put me in direct contact with them, cutting out the middleman.

We also looked at the cost associated with hiring American companies. Even with my resources, I couldn’t come up with developers at the same level as the team at InnomizeTech and at a price point where we could make our dollar go a lot further.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with InnomizeTech in 2018. Our engagement is ongoing.

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

As a three-time entrepreneur who has worked with incompetent teams all over the globe, you know when you find the right company—and InnomizeTech is it. When my CTO gives an estimated cost projection to me based on hours a project should take, they consistently come in at or under the budgeted hours every time. This proves we’re not getting charged excessively. 

How did InnomizeTech perform from a project management standpoint?

They are offshore, and so it is a 12-hour time difference. I get online around 9 p.m. to begin answering their questions from the previous day. I make sure they know what needs to be done. By the time I get up the following morning, I have a notice telling me what has been completed and pushed to dev environment for testing that day.

We use Slack for communication, and they also keep a spreadsheet updated with time and costs for projects. I have come to trust them so much that they are encouraged to work through challenges on their own. The team at InnomizeTech is so fast that we must perform daily testing and code validation to keep up with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They know what they’re talking about. My CTO and Product Designer are exceptional, and each have been very impressed by the way the team answers questions and thinks ahead. It is right in line with how the questions are viewed in the industry.

They are like family to me at this point. I trust them so much that once we review the scope with them and they confirm that they understand, I can let them go. I know they’ll come back to ask questions at the right time and places, before they build out something they know, does not make sense. I don’t have to babysit them, and they get it right.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be nice to have that connection during normal business hours. But, we’re getting 4–5 additional resources for the price we’d pay in the United States for one resource. E.g., the tradeoff is well worth it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

This team makes for an excellent extension of a company with an existing CTO or technical know-how. That said, I would have no issue with contracting this team to build a complete application from the ground up and maintain it. They are more than competent and capable.