Kodo Labs

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm Founder of Hubble Financial. An information technology company that business intelligence to the financial services and insurance industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our goal was to complete a data refresh by auditing the newest data and pushing to production. Since we don't have an in-house Rails development team, we needed someone who could jump in quickly and help us execute over a 2 week period.

SOLUTION

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

I searched online for different Rails developers who specialize in working with startup companies. Kodolabs was a top 5 listed company. After our interview and researching his company, I moved forward and Yura stepped up to the plate immediately.

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

We had an initial meeting to establish our goals and timeline. Then I provided Kodo Labs access to our backend and Slack channels in order to collaborate with our developers and push to production on our cloud application. Kodo Labs set up a staging environment, completed an audit and pushed our data to production successfully.

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

We worked work Yura, who is Founder at Kodo Labs.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Yura was collaborative when working with our team. He was very responsive and worked quickly under pressure. He also provided additional help and consultation with our staging environment and email plug-in.

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

We used Slack, GitHub, and Zoom for coordinating and meetings. Yura was always on time and focused on results-driven outcomes. He provided a great deal of value in a very short time frame within our budget.

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

He took the time to review the backend with me and show our team where errors were occurring in the scripts.

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

Receiving confirmation before deployment.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We cover PC and console games in their various aspects, since 2001.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Kodo Labs?

We hired Kodo Labs roughly 15 years ago for web development of a PC games web site called StrategyInformer that then morphed into GameWatcher, both of which were developed and worked on actively during 15 years. Kodo Labs developed 98% of all our systems.

What were your goals for this project?

Developing our web sites from scratch as custom built solutions.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found Kodo Labs via Freelancer.com web site around 2005. and haven't stopped working with them since.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They developed and covered all our web development needs. They are still responsible for maintaining and developing our web sites.

What was the team composition?

Since we are working with them for 15 years, this has seen expected changes over the years. Kodo Labs always had the needed manpower and knowledge to complete projects at premium quality and decent price.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've been in online business for 20 years and they covered most of our web development in that time.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

I would normally talk to their CEO Yuriy Omelchuk with project requirements and he would handle the rest.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Reliability; I know that they will complete the project regardless of complexity.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I always wish things to be done faster :)

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’ve owned and operated multiple successful internet businesses since the mid-1990s. I’m currently working on a FinTech solution that will let users outperform the market by quickly and easily find the world’s top-performing assets.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Kodo Labs?

I’ve worked with Yura (Founder, Kodo Labs) on numerous projects since 2003. With our current project, we’re hoping to build a product that will upload, filter, and sort 500 million financial records from 60 different financial exchanges every night.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal is to keep the product simple, intuitive, and high-performing so that customers will be able to easily identify the most profitable investment opportunities.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I found Yura on a freelancer site in 2003 and hired him to work on some of our e-commerce properties. We chose him because he was significantly less expensive and much more skilled than many of the other developers on the platform. We’ve continued to partner with him because of his excellent work.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Yura and his team have completed a variety of projects for me. At one point in time, my company owned and operated over 100 e-commerce properties with over 1 million total active users. We were struggling to maintain our servers and databases due to the high volume of traffic, and Yura developed an innovative solution that allowed us to keep the sites up and running while using fewer server resources. He wrote a program that dynamically and rapidly rolled out all of our web properties as static HTML pages with a limited number of dynamic elements.

What was the team composition?

The team size varies depending on the project. Yura typically manages a team of developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m always very happy with the results that Yura and his team at Kodo Labs provide.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Yura manages each project and keeps us informed at all times. He also listens to our feedback and makes changes as necessary.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Yura can take a short list of requirements and turn it into a product that exceeds initial expectations. We only have to come up with part of an idea, and Yura and his team will fill in the rest. Due to their intuition and years of experience, they’re always able to understand what we really want. I have a strong understanding of technology and high expectations of vendors, and Kodo Labs continues to meet my standards of quality.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I don’t think there are any. I’ve used dozens of different IT companies throughout my career and will keep coming back to Kodo Labs for my personal projects. I’m very willing to recommend them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder of WP Speed Fix, a company that specializes in speed optimization for WordPress sites.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Kodo Labs?

We hired them to build us a website speed test tool.

What were your goals for this project?

To build an MVP that our internal team could use, as well as our customers. It was based on our consulting process and we wanted to be able to automatically provide recommendations. These would be 80–90% of what one of our developers could provide manually.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We chose them because they understood our brief and asked the right questions from the beginning, suggesting alternative faster APIs to us. They also handled everything from start to finish, including server builds, and communicated well throughout the process.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They helped us scope and refine our initial MVP brief and then built it for us. It’s already a lot more functional than we expected and they’re doing bug fixes and minor feature requests for us. We're currently in the process of working on the cosmetic layout and design. Once we're ready for the second version, we'll be working with them again.

What was the team composition?

The project was relatively small, so we worked with a team lead and a single developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don't have tangible numbers, but our team uses the tool extensively. We're in the process of integrating it into our marketing.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

It was a great experience—a simple project, but it ran seamlessly. We used Github and had a shared document as the main source of communication, with a handful of monthly calls to discuss features, problems, and functionality in more detail. We worked through several sprints to tweak the functionality, basic design, and layout.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They took initiative and communicated well throughout the project, finding solutions to problems without having to involve us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a product owner at Trippli Marketplaces. We’re a startup marketplace and community for travel and leisure. I'm responsible for communication between customers, management, and our development team, as well as our design and graphic elements.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Kodo Labs?

We had a half-developed service and needed help to finish it. We had product and design knowledge but didn’t possess coding expertise.

What were your goals for this project?

The project was frozen and we needed development expertise to get it moving.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We met Yura (Owner, Kodo Labs), and he was nice and collaborative in our opening discussions. They seemed to be flexible and could provide strong support within our modest starting budget.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Kodo first helped us determine our scope. We had half a product and good documentation, with some GitHub tasks and processes, though they weren’t very thorough. They reviewed our code, tests, and project management process and set up a smooth development plan, one that allowed multiple coders to work simultaneously.

The platform is built upon Ruby on Rails and has integrated booking and communication services, as well as a third-party payment service. It supports several user types and has an admin interface for maintenance and analysis. There’s also a search and filter system with custom tags and geographic settings.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our initial goal was to jump-start and continue development. Kodo Labs has succeeded in providing a smooth development process and improved product. We couldn’t have done this on our own.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We mainly work via Slack and GitHub. There’s no language barrier between us, and their project management is excellent.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their flexibility, positive attitude, and ability to deliver solutions before we ask are outstanding. The process they established provides stability and allows us to function as a professional web services company.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There were a few initial problems regarding the time allotted for specific tasks (project leadership, meetings, estimations), but Kodo Labs sorted everything out.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CTO of Plexa.ai, a social media platform that uses algorithms to aggregate relevant news, media, and research for sharing among medical professionals’ unique user profiles.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kodo Labs?

Right from Plexa.ai’s founding, we sought a development company who could visualize our ideas and execute effective development and design that would meet the needs of a social platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In just one month, Kodo Labs transformed initial designs and goals into a working prototype. They did full-stack development, including HTML mock-ups and database restructuring, and designed the platform. After initial user feedback, Kodo Labs helped us scale up Plexa.ai to allow for unique user profile categorization, external payments, diversified information collection, personalized user feeds and content sharing within or outside (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin) the platform.

What is the team composition?

I got to work directly with the business manager, a project manager, a QA specialist, and multiple front- and backend developers.

How did you come to work with Kodo Labs?

I had previous positive experiences with other Ukrainian developers and found Kodo Labs on a freelancer website. We talked via Skype and phone and I was immediately impressed. They communicated well; were able to understand the project scope quickly; offered a large, flexible, and talented team to work with; and because of their previous experiences, understood the space very well.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began our engagement in October 2015. We launched the platform in March 2018; the project is ongoing. After this project, we hope to continue our working relationship with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In just a few months, Kodo Labs fully developed and designed a professional, iTunes-hosted app. In only two weeks, they seamlessly integrated quite complex system specifications into our platform. In one instance, with little direction on our part, they creatively developed over 100 user categories to create unique profiles.

How did Kodo Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

Kodo Labs' project management stands out and their organization is second to none. We completed tasks using an effective two-week sprint method and shared two phone conversations a week to keep everything on track. They used Pivotal Tracker and Github to consistently update me and provide necessary feedback. The team has not only been responding quickly to my own questions, but also to user requests, updates, modifications, and bug fixes.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their development skills and friendly attitude go hand in hand. They are a relatively small startup that works flexibly and remains open to discussing new ideas at length. Their ability to sustain comfortable and productive one-on-one conversations catalyzes successful efforts to fix every complex development issue and bug concerning every aspect of the entire platform.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I normally find that working with offshore developers results in some communication time-lags; however, I had none of these problems with Kodo Labs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The company is a small-brand agency in San Francisco that specializes in retail branding both online and offline. I’m the co-owner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kodo Labs?

We needed a developer because we don’t have our own developers in-house. We use Kodo Labs for their ability to build websites in multiple languages.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve worked with Kodo Labs on 20 different projects. Several years ago, we worked with them to envision not only the code language but the structural wireframe. It was an architecture site in which we leveraged new technology using Ruby on Rails. The project spanned a vast variety of services including imagery, text, and video. There was a lot of show and hide of content. We worked with Kodo Labs on different technologies that the user could engage and interact with and share their experience with someone afterward. We built a PDF composer where a user can gather information by clicking on “PDF builder” and then at the end of their visit, those selections have been compiled into a PDF which they can download. That person can then email that as a hard copy instead of just telling their friend to go to the website.

How did you come to work with Kodo Labs?

We found them online through a friend referral.

How much have you invested with Kodo Labs?

The project cost under $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in September 2008, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have used different developers over the years and their personality traits ultimately affected the development process. Kodo Labs is Ukrainian and they’re much more cerebral and functional. We present them with ideas and they provide insightful suggestions. The process is streamlined, quicker, and ends with a quality product. The project achieved the goals the company was looking for. From a design standpoint and a functional development standpoint, everything is very smooth, works on all platforms, and is done in a way that’s completely unique in terms of navigation compared to than anything out there.

How did Kodo Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management was very good. We used Yahoo Messenger when we first started and now we use Slack. We have unique channels specific to the development teams and are able to chat with them personally anytime online. The time difference has never been a problem.

What did you find most impressive about Kodo Labs?

Their attention to detail from a development standpoint outweighs anything I can provide. They give suggestions and that saves me money and time because they’re providing me with the tools to get the job done according to my parameters.

Are there any areas Kodo Labs could improve?

Not really. They’re our number one team.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO of a private chef booking platform.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

On-demand private chef booking platform connecting chefs with event hosts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Kodo Labs to accomplish?

• Create a responsive user interface
• Implement core platform functionality from scratch, given quite rigid requirements

SOLUTION

How did you find Kodo Labs?

• Online Search
• Other

Why did you select Kodo Labs over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Kodo Labs were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Gig-based user matching experience, comparable with Airbnb and Uber

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Ongoing

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Excellent communication with regular status meetings to discuss prioritization, etc. Time zone issues have not been a problem. 

What was your primary form of communication with Kodo Labs?

Virtual Meeting

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

The project manager is hands on with the technology, he understood our requirements immediately and the company was available to begin work very quickly. The team was filled out with four other developers, each with their own specialty.

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

Cant think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of an HR consulting company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed to develop software to enable us to measure and report employee engament dats

SOLUTION

How did you select Kodo Labs and what were the deciding factors?

We received very positive recommendations for them

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

Understanding what we need, prototype development' actual development' testing

How many people from the Kodo Labs 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?

The process and outcomes were excellent

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

we had weekly calls

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

They were helpful and responsive.

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

None