Innovify

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

The backend panel has good interactivity. We're able to manage discounts and product categories easily using it. They suggested that we implement a referral system. After implementing it, we were able to grow our user base fivefold over one month. That was amazing. People downloading the app were referring others to it, given that, by doing this, they would receive credits that could be spent on the platform.

How did Innovify perform from a project management standpoint?

The development process was iterative. We were given demos and we received updates on the progress. We performed user acceptance testing every 15 days. The product was launched after 3–4 months.

They were great at maintaining our budget. The cost was good, relative to what they built for us. The business side was my responsibility.

They managed the project well. We used Jira to track the work. Most of the communication was done through email, but I also had a weekly meeting with their business analyst. We were located in the same city, so it was easy to go to their office and have a meeting. We also had calls and demos at the end of each 15-day sprint.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve reviewed their past work and I really like the products they built. I was also happy with their cost.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Anyone looking to work with Innovify should listen to them. The team can come up with amazing ideas. We had a fixed mindset when we went to them—we're businesspeople, while there are technologists. We had limited knowledge, but they showed us tools that were being used by companies outside India, including Intercom, which was helpful for user engagement, Slack, and Jira.

They also made suggestions of features we should build, but we had a limited budget. They have tremendous knowledge about all of these things, which really helped us. Clients going to outsourcing companies should be open to hearing what the teams have to say.

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

When I first approached them, I was doing 30 - 40 orders per day. The system they built has helped me to scale up. We have increased merchant sign ups and the orders have increased to 250 per day. It was a really good experience working with Innovify.

How did Innovify perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed well. Even after the work was completed, they would respond to any problems I had. We used JIRA to keep track of everything. They were good with the budget and timeline. They let you know when they’ll deliver the product, and a couple of days before, they’ll call you for a demo.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very process oriented which I really like. They have a specific process they follow which keeps every team member on their toes and well-informed, including the client. I have worked with a couple of these companies before but they haven’t been as process oriented as Innovify.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They have good processes in place and everything was good for me.

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

The MVP began in September, so there aren’t any real measurable results yet. We’ve shown the product and demoed it in a number of schools, all of which have then wanted to be pilot schools. We’ve had 100% success in terms of presenting our ideas and what the product does. 

When we first started, we had a number of issues and, initially, we made a decision to go with another cloud provider. When their team started to put together what we wanted, they started to realize that AWS was a much better fit for what we wanted, and were able to switch really quickly from one provider to another with minimal disruption for us. 

We also had a couple of situations where there were performance issues, but as soon as we reported it, Innovify started work and promptly fixed it. The mobile development for Android and iOS was good as well — they first developed it on Android and then moved to iOS. They took care of getting our apps certified, and it was a seamless process. We didn’t need to worry about any of those things.

How did Innovify perform from a project management standpoint?

They really stepped up for us and acted as an advisor, taking an active interest in the idea to make it real for us. That role worked for both my wife and I and it got the product ready for us. We didn't have a typical relationship where we told them what to do and they did it. We told them what we wanted, and then they started to question why. It allowed them to put together everything we needed to get the product right.

They deploy an Agile approach to developing and we have a local project manager who takes care of our inbound questions, usually in a very timely manner. We use Slack a lot and communications have been really straightforward. They have a team that’s London based and a team based in India. Everything works well virtually for us, wherever they’re based.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re not just the development house, but an organization that wants to make sure what they’re developing is also right. They want to put their thoughts into the process as well. That’s really good, because sometimes when you’re focused on something, you overlook other important elements. Innovify explained how it things could be different, and that’s what I love about what they’re doing.

They also supported us with our commercial models. We told them that we’re looking to go for funding in the beginning of next year, and they’re very well connected with the Angel investor and the Series A investor community as well. That’s something that really stood out because it’s so valuable when you start to move away from an MVP and into a Phase 1 product. Access to these sorts of people is critical for us, and we’re very pleased they’ve helped us with it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only experiences I’ve had have been really positive and I can’t think of anything they need to improve. They do exactly what they say they’re going to do. They’ve done a good job.