KindGeek

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

Not really. The guys designed the landing page for us to get sign-ups, and we've gotten 3,000 people signed up on that. That's pretty large. People want to use it before we've even released it. We had 250 people on the website with closed data, and we got that feedback. They said the design looked great.

How did KindGeek perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a close relationship with Oleg. We have regular calls to check in to make sure everything's okay. Oleg is the stack developer in the Ukraine. He's a hard worker, always working late when stuff has to get done. He has no problem coming in on the weekend to give us a dig out. There's a very good work ethic among them. Anton and Oleg [principals of KindGeek] have been very hands-on, but they did leave it to the project managers. Oleg is always checking in to make sure the project is all right. He's always prepping for the additional needs we have for outside web development.

What did you find most impressive about KindGeek?

It was the first web development experience that I've had here in Ireland. It was a less hands-on approach. I think KindGeek has up-scaled and educated me in some aspects of the website that we need to understand a bit more, like the ins and outs of how we're going to scale it, and why we're choosing the frameworks we're using. KindGeek has educated me in the journey and the forward-looking aspects of what we need to do with the website. They’ve also constantly stayed in touch with me. If certain things are delayed, they've always been good about getting in touch to relay the reasons why that’s happened.

Are there any areas KindGeek could improve?

The design at the start had something missing, and I think that was probably on our end. We didn't fully know what we wanted. As it progressed and went on, as any project progresses, you always want to change or move things around.

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Our business model is built around these automated controls, so without having automated controls, it knocks the legs out from under our business model. They provided that for us so it allowed us to continue advertising and doing the value add. [What it amounts to is we] would not have the capacity to grow at all. With their help, we have the capacity to be 10 times what we are.

How did KindGeek perform from a project management standpoint?

They have multiple people, all with different talents, which is fantastic. That's one of the reasons I chose KindGeek. I think that they have a good basic structure going through an analysis of what the project needed, to get the talent for the project that you need. I'm really pleased with the way KindGeek was able to source and provide the right people with the right skills that we needed.

What distinguishes KindGeek from other providers?

I've enjoyed working with them and I can't quantify that. If you're going to have a partner that you're working with long term, I think it helps to have personalities aligned and visions aligned. They're polite and they're knowledgeable – just a good group of people and nice to work with.

Is there anything KindGeek could have improved or done differently?

The only thing I would say is in hindsight, having better access to the online project management, like a tracking tool. They did provide some [analysis] and, whenever I asked for breakdowns, they did provide it. It would be nice just to have continuous online access to tracking.

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

The app is the product of our company. Even if I got feedback on the app, I think it's got nothing to do with the work that KindGeek did because they did exactly what I asked them to do. At first, they did the design with the designer, and we designed how the app is going to work and did the flow, and then they just executed it. Let's say that there was a problem with the fact that on the first page when the app is offline, then you don't see any example how the app looks like when it's online. Can you relate it directly to KindGeek? I don't know.

How did KindGeek perform from a project management standpoint?

With other agencies, the idea is that you have a project manager who is your point of contact and then he's talking to the developers. Since I'm coming from a technological background, I was talking directly to the developer, Christina. We simply had an Excel sheet where we were both updating each other. She was always on time, even faster than what I was expecting or what we estimated together, and always with full communication, which was one of the most important things for me. If there was a problem, she knew when to raise it and how to raise it and ask the questions and, if not, she was just running through the tasks. From that point of view, that was 10 out of 10.

What distinguishes KindGeek from other providers?

That's hard for me to say. I was working with Christina. For me, KindGeek is Christina. She was thinking about further problems and further issues that I might have that I missed, and that was pretty good. Most programmers in Eastern Europe – they don't care. They will do what you ask, and that's it. KindGeek were straightforward, fast and open to my ideas. They went the extra mile.

Is there anything KindGeek could have improved or done differently?

No. I have no complaints. It was a relatively short and small project, so nothing to improve on my side.

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Everything is working great. We had results after two weeks working with KindGeek. Our first version of the website went out after two weeks.

How did KindGeek perform from a project management standpoint?

We don't need them as project managers because we use KindGeek as a dedicated team. We have our team leaders here who are in charge to schedule and control everything. We have dealt only with developers who are controlled by team leaders. It is part of the job of team leaders to control and give them tasks internally.

When you plan it correctly, then you can expect the team will meet the deadline. Sometimes, they do it successfully and sometimes not. However, what I can say is that they did try to get results in the shortest time possible. For example, two days ago [July 2016], we were working until 2 a.m. because we had deadlines, and we just finished. When something has to be done, it's doable. KindGeek always does everything they can to get it done.

What distinguishes KindGeek from other providers?

There's always struggles and there's always problems. However, you can always figure out how to work it. This is a major part of our partnership with KindGeek. We have great communication with KindGeek. We trust KindGeek, and when they say something, they mean it. The trust in our partnership is the more that I can expect from the company that I'm working with them. I trust them – that's it.

Is there anything KindGeek could have improved or done differently?

I'm not sure if they can do it, but the problem is that I think they are using a very specific stack of technology – PHP. They're working with tools on the back-end, on the databases, and on the front-end. Sometimes, when I want to implement a different stack, it's hard because they're mostly oriented on PHP stack. Maybe they have a few Java developers, but usually just one. Sometimes, for not real big issues, I have to ask them to find someone who can develop some algorithms in a different language. It's hard for them to find relevant programmers to do it, but we work it out.