K7 Tech

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder and CEO of a start-up in the virtual at-home fitness space. We’re essentially a marketplace where fitness instructors can monetize their live and on-demand fitness content.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with K7 Tech?

I was looking for a tech team that could help us build out an MVP.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

K7 Tech built a native iOS application, handling everything from requirements gathering and choosing the best API options to identifying the best trading solution for us.

We had a rough layout for the UI and UX design to start, but as we were building out the MVP, they helped us fine-tune it. K7 Tech truly functioned as an in-house tech team, filling the role of a CTO.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people, including a backend developer, a frontend developer, and their CEO, who functioned as a CTO.

How did you come to work with K7 Tech?

I found them through Clutch and chose them because I have some family background in Serbia, so I felt very comfortable with the culture and the language. There was no language barrier with them. We also chose K7 Tech because they seemed to be young and agile, and they have a start-up mindset, which we identified with.

At the end of the day, we felt very comfortable with them, and they seemed very trustworthy. We were proved right in this.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent around $30,000 with K7 Tech.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from September–December 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everything works the way that it’s supposed to, and general user feedback has been extremely positive. We also had another tech team review the code afterward as well.

K7 Tech met the collection of requirements and objectives we put together while understanding that our project was very budget sensitive. As a startup, we were fully bootstrapped, and all that money essentially came out of our own pockets. They made sure that we stayed within budget and within the timeline.

How did K7 Tech perform from a project management standpoint?

Overall, communication was amazing. We had daily stand-up calls in the mornings and knew what they were working on at any given time. We also used Jira as a project management tool, which gave us insight into all the specific tasks.

K7 Tech was extremely responsive. We used Zoom for all the meetings and Slack as a communication tool for daily interaction.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were hard on them at the beginning because they were a third-party, we were investing a lot of money, and we wanted to make sure that they delivered what we expected. They really, really delivered.

K7 was very upfront about everything, and they didn’t promise us anything that they couldn’t deliver. They were very trustworthy, hardworking, and easy to work with. It didn’t feel like we were working with a third party at all.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their experience level will improve with time, as they are quite young.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open and transparent. Lay out exactly what you’re looking for and be a team player.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Solo product manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire K7 Tech, and what were your goals?

Develop responsive map-based web app to aggregate London street food sellers.

SOLUTION

How did you select K7 Tech and what were the deciding factors?

The collaboration and work they did on my blog were great so it was not hard to pick them for further projects like this one.

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

Map-based interactive UI using mapbox. Search using Algolia. Search queries happen accross location, time, vendor name and tag which is a rather high degree of complexity. Street food vendors organised by street food market.

Listings with params such as food tags, description, hero image, logo image, gallery, dietary restrictions etc Admin dashboard integration in Airtable. Full signup and sign in flows. Dashboards for 4 different types of users.

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

FE Engineer and BE Engineer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project is still to be launched but we are 1-2months away from launch which is a rather big achievement given the amount of features.

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

We are collaborating using Slack, Notion and Zoom. Has always felt super frictionless and smooth. We have a few sync calls and the rest is communicated via slack with the use of video and images as well. All very prompts and crisp. The two engineers can also coordinate between them without the need of a separate project manager inbetween.

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

Very reliable, the updates are consistent, they also read between the lines and can fill in the details of requirements. They often took initiative to add something even if it was not in the spec but it was always spot on.

It is great cos it means that i dont need to do all the hard thinking, I can rely on them to add some exprtise and judgement to the development part.

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

Not from their end. All good.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Owner at international niche based law firm

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire K7 Tech, and what were your goals?

Disruption of traditional online marketing strategies in the legal industry by the implementation of a niche-based market penetration model. A challenge in collaboration between the legal and tech industry is always to translate a vision that lacks technological background into a workable format, whilst considering the ignorance of the client in a friendly, yet professional way to ultimately limit gaps between theory and implementation.

SOLUTION

How did you select K7 Tech and what were the deciding factors?

Personal recommendation of a very satisfied customer.

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

• Building 15 isolated niche based websites with its own design and look and feel
• Creation of different and unique logo's to match the websites 
• WordPress installation on the websites
• Content implementation
• Limited coding

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

2

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Tangible result:

1. First prospect reached out in the first week after the launch of the second website.

• Indirect results:

1. Overall high SERP results
2. Improved online visibility of our brand
3. Web strategy is ready for the launch of new product
4. Positive PR from joint-venture partners

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

They are very easy and fast to communicate with. K7 Tech don't waste time on side issues. Even where the client disagrees with a format or has other (even when these are nonsensical) ideas, K7 looks into the feasibility and improves before the implementation.

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

1. Price-Quality ratio
2. Personal relationship
3. Willingness to listen to out of the box ideas, even where they make no sense to find a workable solution that contributes to the end result.
4. The end result of tech work is a cost-benefit calculation. Even though a web strategy takes time to gain altitude, I am highly confident the synergy between K7 and my firm will deliver on its promise.

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

After initial offerings, changes and improvements were already done. Lawyers are not always omniscient - even though they claim to be. Therefore, for this project the voice of technology and its possibilities could have overruled the ideas of the project owner.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

TrainedIn is the brain-child of Sorcha Finucane and began it's journey, on the 8th of June 2019, when our first team meeting was held. After months of feasibility research, planning and fundraising TrainedIn went into development on the 2nd of January 2020. Four months later on the 8th of April 2020 TrainedIn was brought to life and switched. TrainedIn is an online marketplace designated to trainers, tutors and consultants across the spectrum. From executive business development at Board level, professional development, technical skills and health and safety for business, right through to personal training, health and wellness, and private tutoring, You will be able to search and locate experts through the TrainedIn marketplace. TrainedIn is free for providers to sign up and showcase their business and services. However, if TrainedIn generates business for you, a commission is charged.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire K7 Tech?

K7 was engaged, to create and bring to life the vision for TrainedIn. Building a complex marketplace from scratch that had, customer usability as a key outcome.

What were your goals for this project?

On-time. In budget. Useability. Professional. Visually attractive. Solution to a problem.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

K7 was sourced via another colleague of ours who sources and works with the top tech development teams in the world.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

A detailed brief was provided to K7 as well and numerous video calls with the team to ensure there was understanding between all parties of the vision and values TrainedIn wanted to portray. From there the team created detailed and complex workflows, putting a structure on the detail contained in the documents with open communication throughout all steps of the project. Once the wireframes were approved the team went into development mode. Again there was ongoing, open communication throught with calls at the end of each sprint to ensure things were on track and to review backlog. Copy and policies were provided and testing commenced. Launch on the 8th of April 2020.

What was the team composition?

Project Manager, Cheif Technical Officer, Scrum Master, a team of six on Sprints.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

TrainedIn is now live and looks absolutely fantastic. As with all MVP projects we are going through agile development and will have multiple new feature releases over the coming months and years. TrainedIn, especially at this time, will put small, medium, large and freelance businesses all on the same level playing field with equal access to the marketplace and is going to be a valuable tool for so many people and businesses.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project Management was very effective in using an online app called Jira. At the touch of a button, we could view what stage the project was at and if there were any questions, we used Slack for internal communication.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

This team has worked so hard and has been so dedicated to this project. They were committed to every deadline and committed to ensuring their client (Sorcha Finucane) was happy with the progress. They seemed to be always online, there to answer any questions and put in a lot of out of hours work, to get things done. Speaking personally, I (Sorcha) am not a technically-minded person, but I have learned so much form the team and the project and found it a most enjoyable. On the other hand, they made everything make sense, and when it didn't they were able to offer a simple explanation. They were always on hand, communication so easy, and I could not speak more highly of them all.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can't fault the team in any way. I would say from a client perspective, make sure you articulate exactly what you want and don't hold back on feedback as it makes the process so much easier and fluid.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner of Put Reikija. We offer a holistic health program and I am the teacher here.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with K7 Tech?

I didn’t know anything about websites, and I needed some help with designing a website.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

K7 Tech provided me with a lot of advice and told me what to do based on what I needed. They let me know what would be the best in terms of being able to attract future students.

I didn’t have any knowledge of web development or design, so I asked them many questions throughout the process. They have taken care of everything from the beginning, coming up with a lot of ideas for my logo and how to promote the site.

What is the team composition?

I worked with 3–4 people and had one main point of contact. 

How did you come to work with K7 Tech?

I found out about their agency online and decided to contact them. They are all very young and have wonderful ideas, and that was enough for me. When I spoke with other people who have had agencies for 20 to 30 years, they often didn’t have ideas that got me excited, whereas K7 Tech was interested in the work and was always there to give me good ideas and propositions.

How much have you invested in them?

I spent €800 Euros (approximately $880 USD) in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

I worked with them from October 2019–January 2020. We are making some small changes now, but generally, the work is complete.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I am really satisfied with their work. All my friends and colleagues who have seen the site have given me good feedback about it, especially noting that everything on the site is well integrated and presented. For me, it is very important what people have to say about the site, so that was one of my biggest metrics for them. 

How did K7 Tech perform from a project management standpoint?

I wanted to have meetings often because I always had questions. They were always there for me and answered any questions that I had. We ended up having weekly meetings, and during those meetings, they showed me what was completed. I would also let them know about any changes I wanted to make and about any ideas I had, to which they were very open and flexible.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They kept me in the loop about their progress at all times, and they asked me about a variety of colors and other details so that I would know what the final product would look like.

Are there any areas they could improve?

This was my first time doing a project like this so I am not sure if there are areas they can improve. They did everything I needed them to, so I am very satisfied.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

A lot of people have asked who did the work for me because they think the website is very aesthetic. I think there will be a lot of future work for them because they did such a good job for me.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Co-Founder of a mobile app development and publishing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire K7 Tech?

We had a new iOS mobile app created from scratch using swift technology.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to create an app that would be profitable.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We selected this vendor from hundreds of applicants based on their good communication skills, alignment with our vision and successful completion of our technical interview process.

Describe the project in detail.

The project was done from start to finish within 2 months. The team came up with a concept document which included focussed market research. They broke down the project into sensible milestones. Then they proceeded to execute on the milestones, starting with wireframes, UI, development and finally uploading the app to App Store Connect.

What was the team composition?

The main point of contact was also the developer of the project / project manager. The team also involved a designer and I believe they also had assistance from a third party in terms of backend work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

From start to finish the app was created and submitted to the App Store and approved by Apple in under 3 months time. The app is currently in pre-order.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication was top-notch - definitely one of the best teams we worked with. Even when things did not go well (which can happen in a technical project) they continually kept up communication and worked effectively to solve problems, even bringing in a third party to help when needed in order to get the project done well. We used a combination of slack and trello to manage the project.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

As expressed above, communication was excellent and always prompt. The trello board was kept updated (as well as proactive updates on slack) such that I knew at any point in time exactly where the project was. From a technical and design standpoint, the team is very strong. Ultimately the project was delivered very close to original estimates, which is rare.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There can always be some room for technical improvement. We had a code review done by a third party who was very happy with the level of the work but there were some constructive technical points which were passed on to the team.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the co-founder of Talento Today Football. Our goal is to digitize, structure, and rate scouting data of youth football talents.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire K7 Tech?

We hired K7 Tech to develop our app.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted our platform to enable better youth and amateur coaching by digitizing data necessary for scouting efforts.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We hired K7 Tech on Upwork because of their good rating and their strong portfolio.

Describe the project in detail.

To begin, we had a call to further inform them about our company and set up the terms and conditions for the project. From there, the team developed the app for iOS and Android devices.

What was the team composition?

They provided an iOS developer, Android developer, and a designer for the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to successfully launch the app to the App Store and Google Play Store. It functions perfectly.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They managed the project very well and we had around-the-clock communication. We used a milestone model to track the development of the app. The project was completed faster than we anticipated.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We valued their outstanding communication skills during the collaboration.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There’s no area for improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an app development and mobile technology consulting business. I am the CEO and regularly I am tasked with selecting suitable outsourced partners to supplement our teams when we have multiple live projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire K7 Tech?

We needed to select a partner to add outsourced capacity to our team for a significant development project. We had used K7 in the past and had been impressed by their professionalism and delivery. They were an excellent fit for this project and so we got them on board.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed K7 to deliver on time and on budget. We also needed them to dovetail with our agile work methodologies and exacting project management practices.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had used K7 on a project previously and they had been excellent. They had delivered against a rather fluid brief very quickly which is a difficult thing to do. They engendered a sense of trust, giving us confidence that they could handle larger scale projects.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

This was a web app development project. It presented a number of challenges that required technical expertise and ingenuity.

What was the team composition?

K7 provided us with UI / UX, front-end web development, back-end development, testing and PM capacity.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

K7 delivered on-time and on-budget. They were completely reliable throughout the project and met every sprint objective. The client was delighted with the final product.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We collaborated using shared Jira tools. We also convened a daily stand-up. It worked seamlessly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The most impressive thing about K7 is that they do what they say they will do, regardless of issues. I would have been aware on a number of occasions during the project that they had to work late or through wekends to meet milestones. There were also times when there were late modifications to task lists. Again, milestones got delivered on time.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing in particular.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're a B2B SaaS company helping business owners across the country attract new customers, retain top talent, and opens communication channels up between customers, employees, and business owners which dramatically increases revenue.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire K7 Tech?

We hired K7 to create a website from scratch. They did a great job.

What were your goals for this project?

To design a responsive website that our customers loved.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They had a 100% success rate on all the popular talent websites.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The project they provided was a really great website and they provided consulting services also so we were able to develop technology that allowed us to scale.

What was the team composition?

Team composition consisted of talented developers and a great project manager!

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to onboard 90 customers, starting from about 15!

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

It was arranged by weekly reviews and planning. It was very effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The communication was always great!

Are there any areas for improvement?

If they lived closer, but there's not much I can do about that.