Itexus

Please describe your company and your position there.

CTO and Co-founder of a venture backed software company.

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

We partnered with Itexus to build the first version of our startup's initial web application. The goal was to move to the next level of testing with a higher fidelity app deployed to a broad audience. It is anticipated that this MVP will enable us to raise our next round of funding.

We wanted a partner who could be flexible and agile and allow us to hit this important milestone as leanly as possible without sacrificing basic quality.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We interviewed a number of different partners and solicited referrals from within our network. We ultimately ended up selecting Itexus based on the depth of the team across multiple disciplines, their professionalism and attention throughout the estimation process, and the strength of their reputation.

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

Developed a real estate technology platform integrating multiple data sources and collaborated on redesigning a modern UX/UI. Technologies: Python, React, GCP.

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

Itexus made it easy to flexibly scale the team based on what we needed, allowing us to leverage different roles at different stages of the development process. This included a technical architect, 3 software developers, a designer, a devops engineer, and a QA specialist.

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

Team completed numerous data integrations, implemented a dynamic UX, deployed it on the latest cloud infrastructure, and successfully launched the first version of the app with our users. The venture is expected to raise another round of funding off of this initial release.

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

The management team at Itexus is top notch and very proficient. Itexus project management also places a lot of emphasis on following a formal development process based on best practices which really helped improve stability and reliability.

The Itexus team leverages a modern technical product management stack including Jira, Confluence, Slack, and Github.

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

The people at Itexus are delightful to work with. I have been incredibly impressed by the team's willingness to adapt their process based on the needs of the project. We were a very particular client in terms of our technology, process, and communication preferences.

The team was always helpful and readily adapted. I also appreciated their focus on process improvement. If ever issues came up, Itexus treated us fairly.

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

For intensive consumer-facing applications, the team's process for generating technical requirements could have benefitted from a collaborative UX-first approach.

Working together to nail the UX and allowing the design to drive core requirements would have resulted in a mutual increase in efficiency during development. The team adapted as we learned.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Goose Gaming, LLC, a gaming company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Itexus?

We needed someone to develop software for us.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Itexus developed our custom billing software.

What is the team composition?

We worked with their CEO, project manager, and technical director. I don’t remember how many people were there, but I think they have 50% more than a typical entity.

How did you come to work with Itexus?

They had really good technical expertise and could deliver in a short amount of time.

How much have you invested with them?

My company spent $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2018—January 2019.

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

Before Itexus developed this software, we weren’t able to confirm right away whether our customers really bought products; the customer had to take a photo of his deal and send it to us, and then we’d have to check it on our side. It was very difficult for customers and for us. It’s now more comfortable for customers.

How did Itexus perform from a project management standpoint?

We had some problems with checkpoints on 1–2 days, but the final results were received on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They try to give results in a noncommon way. They think outside the box. They know a lot of technologies and how they can implement them to solve problems.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No; they’re adaptable to new technical solutions.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them freedom and believe in them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a comedy festival.

What challenge were you trying to address with Itexus?

I hired Itexus to program my smartphone application.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I have videos of stand-up comedians performing at the festival when it ran from 2002–2004. The app, which is built for iOS and Android, showcases those videos. Their team implemented capabilities that allow me to upload the videos myself.

What is the team composition?

There were about four people on the team. I exclusively dealt with a project manager.

How much have you invested with them?

I’d say roughly $70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Itexus from January–August 2019.

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

Overall, I was satisfied with the application Itexus delivered.

How did Itexus perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management style was great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team at Itexus works pretty well.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

In the beginning, they said that they could do the project. In the middle, their team had trouble figuring out a specific feature. It felt like they gave me a false positive in the beginning. Their team also said that they could finish within two months, and it ended up taking longer. Because of that, we ended up going over budget.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Try to nail them down to a set fee as opposed to hourly.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a former strategy consulting company that evolved into a tech company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Itexus?

We wanted to build and launch an app. We sent out an RFP, and Itexus was one of the agencies we heard back from.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a clear arc wireframe for the RFP showing app functionality and they helped us fine-tune it. We knew what we wanted the app to do, so they helped optimize certain components and created designs and layouts before coding the app itself. They built a Python backend with a web-responsive frontend. The frontend displays content that we manage through our internal database.

We’re still working with them. They continue to help us enhance the platform, making fixes and addressing customer concerns.

What is the team composition?

We worked with seven or eight people in total, including developers, designers, and QA resources. Our key point of contact was Nikita (Project Manager, Itexus), who coordinated with different resources within the organization.

How did you come to work with Itexus?

We considered the relationship to very important. When we issued the RFP, we considered the way organizations responded, and we selected Itexus in part because they were very responsive and we had a constructive conversation. Other organizations did not respond in an optimal way.

I was clear from the beginning that I wanted to ensure the quality of our communication processes since we're based in North America and they're based in Europe. I wanted to make sure that language was not an issue and the whole team fully comprehended our needs. Their understanding was great, and that made us truly believe that we could understand each other and actually do something great together.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May 2018–January 2019.

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

They’ve delivered what we needed and allowed us to proceed with our business. A lot of the changes and enhancements to our app are driven by our users and Itexus has optimized the app’s functionality to improve UI/UX.

For example, we improved the mobile interface, and now users tell us that the app is super intuitive. We’ve further optimized the overall functionality and how intuitive the whole platform is for users. We rarely have to share the user guide with people because they’re figuring things out very easily.

How did Itexus perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very responsive. Just recently, we had an issue on a weekend and I contacted Itexus, not knowing whether I would get a response. They responded on a Saturday, and by Sunday, everything was up and running with zero impact on our clients.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're a great group of developers who really understand the reality of a business. They bring creative ideas and remain flexible throughout the engagement. They serve us as best they can.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s some room for improvement with regard to the QA process. Maybe our expectations were too high, expecting that 100% of everything would be functional. Sometimes it is highly functional, but the process still needs to be optimized to minimize glitches and other errors. That's really the only thing.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're a startup that’s creating a platform for rewards that matter. We help businesses of any size set up and manage loyalty programs while helping consumers earn cashback, which they can then redeem to the accounts that matter most. I am the founder and CEO of the company.

For what projects/services did your company hire Itexus?

We came to Itexus with a pretty clear core idea, value proposition, and end product experience in mind. We needed a mobile app on both iOS and Android for consumers, a web app for merchants, and a robust scalable backend that could effectively take in data from multiple sources to output actionable insights. Itexus helped us with full-service support, from the process flow mapping and UI design to the code.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed a product that could demonstrate our core value proposition and serve as a proof of concept, while still being able to scale and change as we learned more about customer behaviors and habits. Our goal was to end up with a fully functional version 1.0 MVP of our platform, with a clear product road map for future improvements.

How did you select this vendor?

We had several calls and emails with the Itexus team before making our selection. In this stage, we narrowed our choices to three firms. The time that Itexus put in to truly understanding our goals and vision was an order of magnitude greater than that we received from other firms. Their project proposal was also the most comprehensive and transparent of any firm we engaged; they projected each feature item by item in terms of cost and time to complete. All of this was before we paid Itexus a penny. It made choosing them the obvious choice.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We started the project together by understanding the core process flows and determining which external enabling technologies we would need to integrate. After that, we moved into wireframing the mobile and web app screens and flows. We then designed the visual prototypes to understand the design principles we'd embrace.

From there, we proceeded to a tactical and precise requirement listing process. This involved writing the description for every aspect of the platform to decide on concrete milestones for each development sprint.

During the coding process, they sent us demos after each milestone to review so that we could make sure that we were happy with the current direction. It was a crucial step because we frequently had to make alterations, refinements, additions, and subtractions as our vision shifted. We're now in the final stages of development/testing and intend to continue working with Itexus.

What was the team composition?

Our two point men are Nikita (Project Manager, Itexus) and Oleg (Business Analyst, Itexus) who’ve been extraordinary. They’re quick to communicate, transparent, honest, and just all around good people. 

Additionally, about half a dozen specialists have worked on our project at one point or another. This has included a designer, backend developers, iOS frontend developers, Android frontend developers, web developers, and more. 
 

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

We’re still in the final stages of development, so we don’t have any hard metrics to report yet. However, we've been extremely pleased with the quality of their people and the work that they do. Our business wouldn’t exist without Itexus. They’ve had an immense impact and have positioned us extremely well to deploy our services and scale.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The process has been extremely easy for us. Nikita and Oleg manage everything behind the scenes, which means there’s no need to micromanage or keep tabs on individuals. They handle all task assignment, coordinating when a specialist needs to switch in and out. The work is efficient and on time, and we review everything using Confluence. In terms of communication, we interface through WhatsApp.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I’m most impressed by the value they provide. Each team member has a high level of ability and talent, which is obvious in their work. Considering their strong technical and English-speaking skills, it feels like we’re working with a fully domestic firm without the extreme price tag.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The hardest part of our project to manage has been feature creep and wanting to build for every bit of customer feedback we receive. Of course, since we’re the ultimate decision makers, Itexus will make any changes if we choose to modify our plan. This isn’t their fault but rather something that we’re working on internally.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

For future customers, I’d recommend getting way more initial feedback from potential customers than you think you need during the initial planning stages. Once you get a final round of feedback for your project plan, stick to it. This will help prevent scope creep and allow you to focus on additional add-ons in the second iteration of your product.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was a product manager at a tech startup. My job function was to manage a team of developers and manage the product. The product’s roadmap was to create user stories, set priority, assess client value, and deliver those products to clients. The product was an artificial intelligence, fintech product. It used natural language processing to answer financial questions and queries, sort of an intuitive format.

What challenge were you trying to address with Itexus?

At the beginning, they were the primary development team, but then some more specialized developers were added in the US, a separate team that focused on other stuff. The bulk of the development work was owned by the Itexus team.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were developing everything from natural language and search functionality, to frontend UI elements, to some database management and operational stuff. Itexus created and managed 90% of the product. We were just web-based at the time, but it was a responsive site. I think we were primarily using Java, Ruby, Python, and R.

We usually had five developers from Itexus on the team, with additional resources added for short timeframes. If we needed a web designer or extra QA, or user acceptance testing resources, those were added from time to time. We were also looking for additional artificial intelligence expertise, and they were able to add a resource in that area. That was a big help to our development process. As soon as that need came up for us, they were able to fulfill that.

They also did some web design and quality assurance (QA) on top of the development. I came up with a general idea of how I wanted the website to look. I mapped it out through PowerPoint, kind of wireframed it. I supplied them with some images, and they also came up with some images. They did a bunch of styling work to ensure the text was consistent and the images all worked with the different colors on the website, sizing, and formatting. I gave them a general guideline, and they ran with it.

How did you come to work with Itexus?

When I joined the company, they were already contracted. I know that the management team had worked with them in a previous venture, so I think it came through a previous successful experience with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

The company first started working with them in the summer of 2015, and I think it’s still ongoing.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

There was a two-pronged approach to the work we did with them. There was a lot of UI, frontend, and database work, but there was also this artificial intelligence work we were doing with them. That was a bit more experimental and more difficult to track by just metrics. It was pretty innovative stuff that we were figuring out as we went along.

On the frontend UI side, it was primarily measured against specific sprint goals. If the team estimated they would be able to do a certain amount of work in a given timeframe, we’d measure if they were able to hit it. For the most part, we usually hit our goals. We had good success on that front. Everything was very reliable. The web design and frontend work look really strong. The work was always solid; we never had any complaints.

How did Itexus perform from a project management standpoint?

They were good. My primary contact for the team was Ilya, who I believe is one of Itexus’ founders. Because our project was so complicated, with the AI element and some surrounding things, he took over the project management role and he was great. We worked together extremely closely, and I got to meet him a couple times in person, which was cool. He was great about communication to us and back to the dev team, working through issues with me as a product manager.

When there was a gap in the requirements, he worked through those issues with us, prioritizing things differently because of the level of effort or overhead cost to get something up and running, compared to client value and being honest about deadlines and capacity. He was very good at all the normal project management stuff. We primarily used JIRA to track the project, and we used InVision and Balsamiq for mockups and to approve designs. I think he may have used some other tools to create Gantt charts and stuff like that, but I don’t know exactly.

What did you find most impressive about Itexus?

Although it was a contracted development team based in Europe and we weren’t always in the room with them, they were extremely responsive. It sort of felt like they were founders or early employees just like us. It never felt like they were some kind of auxiliary team. I’ve heard of other startups who have gone the same route of hiring an outside development team and felt pretty disconnected from the work they’re doing. Itexus was extremely responsive. They visited us a few times, and some of us went to visit them. They were extremely open and easy to work with, very collaborative, and supportive of us. It was definitely a strong relationship. It wasn’t at all like they were just some contracted team.

Are there any areas Itexus could improve?

No, I don’t think so.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Listly makes social lists on the web. You can embed a Listly anywhere including your own blog. You can ask for contributions from your readers, you can ask them to rank items in your list, and you can create conversations around your lists. I am a co-founder and CEO of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Itexus?

Listly has been a popular site for a few years. Our users have been asking us for a mobile app that will help them create lists on the go with the same functionalities they had on browsers. Our challenge was to create an equally compelling experience on mobile.

With a mobile app, Listly can reach out to more users that have transitioned to mobile computing completely. It also allows Listly users to start creating content on the desktop or mobile and continue to enhance the content on the go.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Itexus completely developed our native iOS app using XCode and Objective-C. Itexus assigned two developers to our project. They took the design, asked relevant questions, and were responsive throughout the development process as our designs and thinking evolved.

How did you come to work with Itexus?

I was recommended to Itexus by a friend who had used them on another project. They seemed capable and responsive based on my friend's feedback, so I went with Itexus.

How much have you invested with Itexus?

The cost of Itexus' work was between $10,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project is complete, but I am looking to have Itexus work on another round of features, enhancing the app over the next few months.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The app has been recently launched on the App Store, so I can't provide a lot of customer feedback. In terms of developing it within our timeline, I was very happy with Itexus. I've tracked data on the app using Crashlytics. So far, the performance has been very good.

The team we worked with at Itexus was very responsive. They were knowledgeable in iOS development and were flexible and responsive. This was the first app we have ever developed and there was a lot to learn. Itexus was patient as we went through changes to the feature set and had beta users using it for 3–6 months.

The toughest part of the development process was implementing recurring subscription pricing for the App Store and Apple's rules around community features that prevented the app from being approved. There was a lot of learning on how to implement subscription features, and the coordination with the platform features required to make it happen. Since Listly had many community features, we had to go through multiple development cycles to get the app approved with the right controls for them.

How did Itexus perform from a project management standpoint?

I provided the project management and communication tools I was using internally, including GitHub and Slack. Itexus integrated into them and were responsive in getting back to me in terms of communication and code.

What did you find most impressive about Itexus?

The developers who worked on my project were truly concerned about how the product turned out and gave me feedback based on what had worked for them on other projects. They seemed to be involved with what I was trying to build and were very responsive. I never sensed that I was losing them, or that I wasn't able to communicate at any point in the project.

Are there any areas Itexus could improve?

One thing which Itexus could do better, especially for mobile development, is keeping track of App Store rules and regulations for getting an app approved, and providing this info upfront during the development. I would have wanted more guidance in terms of what the latest rules and regulations were, and build those into the product early on.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

MW2 Consulting is an IT services company. I am the vice president of IT services and e-commerce for the company. We have our own development office in Minsk, where we do work within the e-commerce Magento space.

What challenge were you trying to address with Itexus?

We needed to develop an e-commerce system for one of our customers.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Itexus developed our Ruby on Rails backend e-commerce system. Over the last year, we've worked with two developers from Itexus' team.

How did you come to work with Itexus?

When one of our customers wanted to build an e-commerce site not using the Magento platform, we started looking around for a partner in the area. We found Itexus, and things have worked out well since that time.

How much have you invested with Itexus?

The cost of Itexus' services has been between $50,000 and $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Itexus around one year ago. The collaboration is ongoing.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The feedback has been very good. Itexus has reliable and accountable resources who are able to work well with our teams.

How did Itexus perform from a project management standpoint?

Itexus performed well in this regard. We have been using our own instances of JIRA and Confluence. Itexus has been good with communication and adherence to deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about Itexus?

Itexus can write high-quality code. The results were always good and we've never had any issues.

Are there any areas Itexus could improve?

None. We're very happy with Itexus.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

MANGO is an early stage startup located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our product is a web-based interactive tool that coaches millennials step-by-step through common professional networking processes.

I am founder and CEO of MANGO.

What challenge were you trying to address with Itexus?

We developed our initial prototype and beta product over a period of 9 months with a team of development interns. When we officially launched our product, it was clear that we needed to increase the capacity and skills of the development team. The code base was not structured, we didn't adhere to development standards, and we weren't able to complete a critical upgrade to the product. It was time to bring in professionals.

We serve students, recent graduates, and those in the early stages of their careers. It was critical that we release the product upgrade within 8-weeks to coincide with the job search season. Without that upgrade, our startup was unable to market the product to new users.

We did a broad search of full-stack development (Rails) firms both locally and using several internet-based platforms. Itexus impressed me from their very first response. Unlike firms and individual contractors who offered generic software development capabilities, Itexus tailored their offer to our specific needs as a tech startup. They had what we were looking for and much, much more.

Itexus now manages all aspects of product development for MANGO. They provide a dedicated team of experienced full-stack developers with the support of managers and a CTO. They are easy to work with and produce high-quality code. They managed to upgrade our technical architecture while developing the new release. As a result of the Itexus team's skills and flexibility, the product release was completed on time, within an 8-week time frame. Itexus now is our ongoing development team.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Itexus has worked on our software, upgrading it to a fully functional version. It is using Ruby on Rails, MongoDB, CSS, and so on. Itexus assigned 2 developers and a senior person who was in charge of addressing our technology and strategy questions.

How did you come to work with Itexus?

I initially made a post on Guru.com and received a few responses which I reviewed and prioritized. I was specifically looking for a company which could support the needs of a startup. I looked at the broad scope of what each candidate could do. Since I come from a corporate background, I know what that looks like. It's more lucrative for developers to work with big companies, rather than startups, so this would become a differentiator.

How much have you invested with Itexus?

The cost of Itexus' work was under $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Itexus in October 2016. They are our ongoing partner.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Itexus is very easy to work with and they are especially strong collaborators and communicators. This was a difficult project to dump on them given the quality of the existing code base and the timing constraints, but they pulled it off. Itexus demonstrates professionalism and trust in everything they do and that's very important to me.

Itexus completed the work on time and within budget. They responded to questions and concerns immediately. It is unusual to find a team so committed to our success as Itexus is. At every turn, they demonstrate flexibility and an understanding of our business needs, not only our technology needs.

How did Itexus perform from a project management standpoint?

I found Itexus' project management to be very good. I have a preference for Trello, Slack, and Dropbox, but Itexus is able to work with a number of tools.

What did you find most impressive about Itexus?

During the onboarding process, Itexus performed a tech review, building a roadmap for our state, from a technology and strategy standpoint. Itexus gave recommendations for fortifying our software and getting its underlying quality up. I've always looked at things from a user standpoint, so we've spent time talking about what made the most sense from this point of view. There was a sense of ownership on Itexus' part, in terms of what the code should be, and what we could do to generally improve it and make it scalable. This was an onboarding process, so Itexus didn't charge us.

They're good communicators and are easy to work with from a business perspective. Itexus' team is 50% female which really shows up: they're relational and communicative.

Are there any areas Itexus could improve?

We're still working on the quality of some elements, and figuring out more thorough testing approaches. This is more from a user perspective. I struggle to say much in this regard, given that Itexus has leveraged new talent into the project and has kept rates down. The quality is excellent for the price we're paying, and we did give Itexus some spaghetti code to begin with.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our startup provides a patient-facing platform with discussion forums, treatment reviews, and health-tracking functionalities.

I was in charge of marketing, coding, and design for the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Itexus?

We needed development services. We needed help building a matching algorithm for our mobile app, as well as site optimization.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Itexus provided Ruby on Rails, AngularJS, and Ionic mobile app development for our company. We didn't use Itexus for design. Developers from Itexus sped up everything on our site that needed to be sped up, from our matching algorithm, background jobs, and content loading speed in Angular.

How did you come to work with Itexus?

I was referred to Itexus while looking for a Ruby on Rails developer. Itexus proved to be a fast developer, so we stuck with them.

How much have you invested with Itexus?

The cost of the project was somewhere between $10,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Itexus in January 2015, and worked together throughout the year, with a 2-month pause.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Our patient matching algorithm was broken before Itexus was brought on. No other developer we approached could fix it. The computing time went down from 8 minutes to 30 seconds, which was incredible. Itexus rewrote our entire platform using AngularJS, including our discussion forum and our review section loading in seconds. Our treatment review section included 7,000 reviews, all tagged based on conditions. There were thousands of tags, as well as live ratings based on each tag, measuring symptom responsiveness to particular treatments. Load times were around 1.5 seconds, instead of the average 6-second time from before.

We didn't scale the platform to the extent to which we wanted and didn't obtain our desired engagement metrics, but in terms of engineering, Itexus was all there.

They delivered everything they said they would deliver within the agreed upon schedule and budget, even when we were billing on an hourly basis.

I was able to work directly with the developers, which created a much more comfortable and efficient partnership than I've had with many other outsourcing firms.

What did you find most impressive about Itexus?

I've worked with around 6 developers, 4 of them being companies I wouldn't use in the future. Itexus provided a high concentration of good developers with whom I could communicate.

Are there any areas Itexus could improve?

Itexus is spread thin in terms of project management, which is something they're trying to fix. Our senior developers were helpful, but they weren't available all the time.

Itexus' mobile project management is lacking, compared to web, which is stronger. They're also not as cutting-edge as other firms and don't have the expertise for React Native or Angular2, for example. Itexus waits for specific projects on which to practically learn new languages, instead of learning on their own time.