Liventus

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of product and general manager of consumer at a lending company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Liventus?

We’re currently working on different projects with Liventus, but we initially required scripting software support for financial reporting.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Liventus helped us with scripting. They wrote and delivered a series of SQL and Python scripts that allowed us to reconcile a couple of different loan reporting systems. We deploy those scripts to calculate numbers so that we can report our performance to finance partners.

We managed the database of our loan book ourselves, and we provided them access to this data for them to develop the scripts. We also provided them with documentation and sample outputs.

Currently, we’re starting to bring some of Liventus’ team members to support us on web design, but this project started a week ago, so we don’t have any input on that side of their services yet.

What is the team composition?

We’re currently working with three people from Liventus: a project manager, a senior developer, and a mid-level developer.

How did you come to work with Liventus?

We got in touch with Liventus through a financial partner of ours. They had built a lot of tools for this other company, and that’s how we got to know them. As for how we decided to work with them, we did a lightweight RFP process, and they provided us with the simpler and most cost-effective solution compared to the other vendors we spoke with.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July 2019–January 2020 on this project. Our current engagement is for a totally different project.

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

Liventus delivered a very high-quality, extremely well commented, clean, and simple code that business owners could run. We don’t use this software very often, but it underlines the reporting on a roughly $700 million loan book, so it needed to be done right. That’s why we appreciated Liventus’ service.

The development process was relatively pain-free. They did a very good job of getting things right, not on the first try, but very soon after. In general, we were very happy with the quality of development and support we received.

How did Liventus perform from a project management standpoint?

Ours was a light-scope project, so there wasn’t a lot of project management involved. However, I can say that Liventus met the deadlines and was very communicative. We didn’t use any project management tools due to the size of the project, but the project was well managed in general. We used email to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Liventus delivered what they promised under budget, which was key for the success of the project. We only needed a simple solution, and we got a simple solution. A lot of other vendors pitched us complex, full-software solutions, but we only needed scripts, and that was what we got.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. It was a simple engagement, and they stuck the landing. If it had been a more complex engagement, maybe I would have had different feedback.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The more upfront thought you can put into your needs, and the better you can communicate that with the help of documentation and examples, the better the project's outcome will be.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a software developer at an IT company. We provide cloud-based software applications for different industries. I’m currently working on a case management software for nonprofit organizations.

What challenge were you trying to address with Liventus?

We hired Liventus to write the API software our customer needed.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a client who used a Windows Web Services API (WWSAPI), and they wanted to connect that to our case management software. Since Liventus didn’t have access to the web services API during the development or testing process, the team had to spin up their own web services API to test against. Once the development and testing phases were completed, they walked us through the code they delivered.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Tim (EVP of Client Engagement) to initiate the contract. Then, we worked with one of their senior developers in completing the software.

How did you come to work with Liventus?

We were looking for an organization to handle our project, so we contacted Liventus. We were familiar with their company for a while, but this was the first time that we had a contract with them. After that, they sent over an ad hoc agreement the same day we contacted them because we only had a limited scope project. Then, we initiated the project the next day.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $3,000–$4,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them last February 2021.

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

Liventus delivered a software that worked perfectly, and we didn’t have any issues with it. In addition, our external client didn’t interact with them, but they signed off on the team’s deliverable.

How did Liventus perform from a project management standpoint?

Their process was extremely straightforward, but I wasn’t exactly sure how they handled their project management process. After we signed the contract, they immediately assigned an engineer who set up a kickoff meeting with us the next morning. Overall, we had great communication with their engineer throughout the partnership.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Liventus was able to work with a variety of technologies that we were involved in. In the end, they were able to deliver a product that met all of the requirements we asked for — a product that could run and be connected to WWSAPI at the same time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, our project went flawlessly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Define the majority of your requirements before starting to work with a partner.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product development coordinator for a manufacturer.

What challenge were you trying to address with Liventus?

We wanted to create the ability to connect our product to our customers’ WIFI and had a WIFI module built. We needed a mobile app developed.

What was the scope of their involvement?

For this engagement, Liventus created four mobile apps: two for residential and two for retail. They are available on iOS and Android. With the app, customers can create and manage their accounts on the app. The team gets notified of any product problems via text or email. They also manage the API calls and server end of the WIFI module.

What is the team composition?

I work with an associate app development manager and a junior app developer. 

How did you come to work with Liventus?

The CEO had worked with their president before, and they decided to partner in this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together around June 2016, and our engagement is ongoing.

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

It has been a smooth engagement from the start. Liventus is quick at fixing any issues that arise with the WIFI module.

How did Liventus perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything is good. They’re very responsive and have met deadlines well. We have good communication, and the app developers are both great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve done everything we’ve asked of them, meeting every challenge. They go above and beyond our expectations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I can think of.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have your scope in place and know your vision. Go over everything in detail, communicating clearly.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of Beacon Funding. We’re an equipment leasing company and what we do is call on small businesses throughout the company and we help them acquire the equipment they need to grow and expand. For example, we would finance equipment for an embroidery company. We would do the same thing for new tow trucks, food trucks, septic trucks, screen printing, or apparel.  

What challenge were you trying to address with Liventus?

We originally reached out to Liventus to help us with our original CRM installation. We use Microsoft Dynamics here. Over the years, they’ve been a key partner to build a tremendous amount of automation around that core frontend system. Now we have a very automated frontend system that streamlines our application, credit approval, documentation, and evaluation processes with our customer.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re basically our technology team. They still support and maintain our CRM. We’ve branched off of that and they’ve helped with our sales process. When someone completes an application, they go through for credit approval and funding. We built an extension of our CRM system to manage the commission associated with those deals.

They also built a CRM module that will help us repossess equipment if the company can’t make their payments.

They’ve also been very involved with our data. We’ve accumulated a ton of data since 2002 and Liventus has helped us build data warehouses, master data management projects, and then use that data now to more intelligently engage with prospects. It helps us identify companies interested in buying.

What is the team composition?

We work with about 10 people on a regular basis. Over the course of the project, we’ve probably worked with about 30–40 people.

How did you come to work with Liventus?

I don’t know how we found them. It was a very long time ago. I think the founder of Liventus is local so we probably connected through common acquaintances.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $500,000– $1 million per year (approximately $9 million).

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with Liventus since February 2002 and we continue to work with them.

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

We conducted about 2,000 leases and manage millions, and all of that goes through our platform. The whole process is so simple now. The automation has seriously improved the process. It used to take our accounting team 4–5 days to close a commission, and now it’s an automated process. It is one of our core competitive advantages because we can bring in new talent and they can adapt to the system quickly.

We’re rather dependent on them because they have such a robust understanding of our CRM platform. It would be hard to replicate that partnership elsewhere.

How did Liventus perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a project manager here, and he has daily standups with the Liventus team daily. We’re talking to them all the time. So if there was an issue, our project manager would interface with the development team. I can also call them if I need help. I have all of their phone numbers.

What did you find most impressive about them?

At this stage in the game, they’re so knowledgeable about our organization. I can throw business requirements at them and they come up with solutions that suit our company well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It is expensive, but like anything else, there’s a cost-benefit for working with them. Do I make more as a result of this partnership? The answer is clearly yes. Of course, they’re not perfect. Sometimes I wish things would go faster.  But if you compared our competition’s platform to ours, theirs would pale in comparison.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

When you’re working with Liventus, or any technology firm, it’s a two-way street. We put a tremendous amount of time and effort into these projects as well.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of sales and ticketing at the Nederlander Producing Company of America. I’m responsible for implementing technical solutions for our website and different products. We offer products for online digital lotteries and online ticketing for our shows.

What challenge were you trying to address with Liventus?

Our challenge was hosting a digital lottery, distributing tickets, and selecting winners in a scalable way for tens of thousands of people every day. We had a complex set of goals.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us to create a platform that gave us the ability to create and host lotteries. While my team created the specifications, Liventus delivered the code. The platform’s a consumer-facing website built on WordPress. However, their team developed a lot of proprietary code for the platform.

They built a CMS into the system that connects to a merchant account with an online payment processor. Their team baked security protections into the system too. We also set up a validation system and protections from bots and attacks.

After the lottery project, we flipped over to them from a previous provider to overhaul our website. We wanted the highest possible Google rankings in organic searches but our website wasn’t built in that way. Their team completely overhauled our original website design and developed a new platform for us.

They manage the maintenance of the website every month. Liventus also creates bespoke CMS functionalities that we use every day.

What is the team composition?

I always had a project manager and 2–3 developers.

How did you come to work with Liventus?

I initially worked with Tim (EVP of Client Engagement) on a ticketing website many years ago, which he built from the ground up. At that time, he had a different company that eventually merged with Liventus. That’s how I found the Liventus team, and I’ve stuck with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably invested $1.5 million–$2 million in their services. Their maintenance services cost about $120,000 every year.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started to involve Liventus in our lottery project around June 2015, and our partnership’s ongoing.

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

The lottery process is 95% automated based on our work with Liventus over the last five years. It’s hard to express the success of the lottery. We’ve had as many as 65,000 people enter the lottery in one day.

We also created an algorithm that picks the winners and notifies everyone within a minute of the lottery closing. Many other digital lotteries don’t notify people who enter them that quickly. We need to move quickly because the shows start within two hours of the lotteries.

We started selling our own tickets about two years ago. All of a sudden, COVID-19 hit and shut down our industry. We had no tickets to sell because there were no shows. And yet, our website continued to thrive in organic search results. Over the last 3–4 months, we more than doubled our organic results from a year ago even though the industry’s on pause. That’s a testament to how our website was built and the relevancy of our content.

How did Liventus perform from a project management standpoint?

They have met every challenge that I’ve thrown their way. Not every single day is perfect, which is an unrealistic expectation. However, we work through challenges. Their team pays attention, gives solutions, and strives for perfection. When they make mistakes, they find solutions.  

I still work with the same team that I was working with five years ago. That’s important because they have the mental history of our unique system.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team’s always available when we need them. I can’t remember a time when I reached out to Liventus and didn’t receive a response almost immediately. They deliver for us and meet the needs of our business.

Their team’s also quicker than most other developers I’ve engaged. When you receive a product from a developer, sometimes it will be only 30% of what it should be. Liventus’s first version of a product’s 75%–80% where it should be. I can attribute that success to their process, our team’s organization, and the communication between us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I honestly can’t think of areas for improvement. We addressed our challenges.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do your homework. If you come to the table prepared and clearly explain what you need from them, they’ll deliver.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of laboratory operations for an independent handling and inspection company for carbon-based fuels. We primarily work with petroleum coming from a refinery, as well as coal and biomass, and we provide sampling and analysis services for anybody along that supply chain.

What challenge were you trying to address with Liventus?

We needed to transfer an old lab information management system from a Microsoft frontend to a web-based application.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their team started out by helping us develop elements of a web application for different parts of our business. We worked one by one so that we could get functionalities implemented without having to build the entire application at once but eventually pulled back from that as well due to cost concerns.

Since then, they have continued to work with us in a maintenance capacity on our existing applications and provide occasional updates to the Microsoft frontend. We continue to develop with them as we can but in a more limited capacity.

What is the team composition?

I had two points of contact on their team, one of whom was well versed in the web development side and the other who focused on Microsoft Access. I believe they had others working on the project behind the scenes, but I didn’t have direct interactions with them.

How did you come to work with Liventus?

We had a computer hardware provider that we worked with who referred us to them. They presented to us and we moved forward with them from there.

How much have you invested with them?

The total spend has been around $150,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

I believe we started working around June 2018 and the partnership is ongoing.

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

They really did a great job in the first year that we’ve worked with them. The web app itself is great, and we only have problems when we make a large change on the Access frontend. It’s everything we wanted.

They are still providing good service, but we have seen some increase in the errors that we’re getting and the severity of those errors over time.

How did Liventus perform from a project management standpoint?

The first year went really well in terms of timelines as well, and we were able to complete a lot of work with them. Their communication was really good, and we had good turnaround times on all of the work. This year, that performance has gone down, which is partly a result of the change in our work with them and partly due to a change in our project manager and a loss of institutional knowledge as a result.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve been really pleased with their overall ability to sit down with us and discuss so that they get all of the information that they need to do what they need to do. They are able to translate our needs into the specific deliverables that they need to produce in order to satisfy them. Because of the work they put in on the frontend, the better product they are able to provide to us in the end.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The communication could definitely use a little work. I’ve addressed that with them, and they are working to improve in that regard. It’s not bad right now, but It’s not as good as it was before we changed personnel.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just be clear about what your end goal is and what your expectations are for them, and they will deliver that for you.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president and founder of Engaging Minds. We’re a learning center that focuses on teaching executive function skills to students in grades 2–12.

What challenge were you trying to address with Liventus?

We asked them to create a new parent portal for us.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I shared with them a very rudimentary model that we’ve been using. Our old portal was ready to be retired and upgraded. They took the functionality that we created and made it a little bit better.

What is the team composition?

Dan (President & Co-Founder) is always available to me. Ha (Associate Application Development Manager) also works with us. They’ve had various other people working on the portal throughout our engagement.

How did you come to work with Liventus?

It was a word of mouth referral.

How much have you invested with them?

I’d say between $25,000–$35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2016.

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

They’re good listeners and problem-solvers. Liventus helped us figure out different ways of approaching what we wanted to do. We wanted to make it easy for our families to connect with their instructors. Their team was creative and thoughtful about how they approached that.

How did Liventus perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been really good. They have an inside ticketing system that they like to use. I don’t always use it, but they haven’t penalized me for it. Their team is responsive whenever we need them to be.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I like working with Dan. He’s a good guy. Even though we’re a small client, they take us very seriously and treat us like they would any other client.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Try to identify one person that can stick with you for the long haul. We have that in Dan and Ha, but the people who are doing the groundwork have shifted a bit over time and they needed time to get up to speed. It’s not a fair criticism because, with that level of employee, there’s going to be turnover. We’ve been working with them for four years so it hasn't affected us enough to make a change!

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the group president of an incentives and recognition company. We’re part of a summit group that also does branded items as well.

What challenge were you trying to address with Liventus?

We needed to create a web platform that would host various incentives and recognition programs.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our team worked closely with them using an agile process to design the platform and then they handled the entire development process from the ground up. The platform allows us to process files that we receive from our clients and then send that information out through both social media and emails directly to the recipients of the awards.

It also hosts sales and loyalty programs by which employees are able to receive points, bank those points, and then ultimately redeem them for cash on a virtual Visa card. We primarily used .NET for all of the actual infrastructure of the project.

What was the team composition?

We have a core team of three people assigned to the work, and then we add or subtract people depending on the bandwidth we need for whatever stage of the project we’re at.

How did you come to work with Liventus?

We met their CEO during another project that we were working on and began a relationship with them that made it easy to reach out when this particular need arose.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost of the project has been a little over $3 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around August 2016, and they continue to maintain the platform for us.

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

For a sense of their level of performance, we can point to the management of the new programs that we implement. For example, in a huge client that we brought on recently, there were a lot of changes that we had to make and maybe one or two issues that came up at all in that process, which really speaks to the level of attention to detail and commitment to the work that they have.

How did Liventus perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve really become integrated within our own team, so in terms of project management, we’ve really been pleased with how they’ve communicated in our own internal operations. There haven’t been any issues when it comes to maintaining the speed of development, hitting all of our milestones, or ensuring that everyone is on the same page throughout all of the work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our biggest reason for selecting them in the first place was the ability that they demonstrated to really listen to what we were saying and then deliver that we needed rather than taking existing code and trying to force it into the functions that we wanted it for. They are focused on our core business needs, and for that reason, we are very happy with all the results they’ve achieved.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think the only main thing we could improve is to have an assigned account manager besides the developers working with us so that if we did have any issues, we could maybe address it from a more holistic perspective rather than with the individual developers. That’s something we’ve talked about with them, so we wouldn’t really call it an issue for us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Work really closely with them regarding timelines and let them lead you through the work because they are excellent at mapping things out ahead of time. We found our best success came when we were visiting them once a month to spend time reviewing and planning each step together.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an online marketplace for used industrial equipment, and I’m the operations director here.

What challenge were you trying to address with Liventus?

We’re a small business that’s been operating on a mobile platform that’s run by a third party. The platform is out of date, and the third party submitted a quote that detailed what it would cost to upgrade it. I called on Liventus to submit a competing quote.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their team proposed converting my site into something more responsive. In this effort, they converted a few pages to give us an example of what this technology could do. It performed much better than what the other company could provide, so we went with them. They’ve since converted my site to be fully responsive, so tablet and mobile users can attain a much better UX. Every .NET page has been redeveloped and reformatted from top to bottom.

What is the team composition?

I’ve had four people working on the project from their team: a senior manager, a UX liaison, and offshore developer, and an engineer that I’ve been working with for many years. 

How did you come to work with Liventus?

The development team that we’re working with was recently acquired by Liventus, which allowed us to maintain the same team. 

How much have you invested with them?

On this project, we’ve invested about $15,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2011, and our collaboration is ongoing.

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

They provided me with a much more efficient solution. I’ve seen offshore relationships go wrong when the offshore company doesn’t feel engaged as part of the team. I’ve had a weekly call with them every week since the start of this project, and I can tell that they’re all engaged with us. They’re set to deliver the final product soon, and we’re so happy with their work that we’re already planning another project for them.  

How did Liventus perform from a project management standpoint?

The team worked in concert to ensure that we were communicating effectively and that their work would not impact my production environment at all. I’ve been working with my senior contact there for many years, and this is the most efficient collaboration we’ve ever had together. They haven’t exceeded costs and have managed to keep us on time with deliveries. It’s a huge bright spot to have new functionalities being created, especially given the global pandemic.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

They take ownership of issues and have worked to develop a close relationship with us. More than any team I’ve worked with in the past, they feel like an extension of our staff. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’re in good shape here. This was a bright spot in a dark time.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate your needs and goals. I don’t micromanage them because they’re creative, intuitive, and knowledgable in their field. There have been very few times that I’ve had to send work back to them for modifications.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Fruitful Yield is a health foods store with 13 brick and mortar locations in the Chicago suburbs. Fruitful Yield also has an online retail site that ships products nationally. I am the eCommerce Manager at Fruitful Yield.

For what projects/services did your company hire Liventus?

Liventus was already hired when I began working for Fruitful Yield. I know when Fruitful Yield hired them that they wanted to have an online retail site but did not have a team to design, create, and manage the backend. When I started at Fruitful Yield, Liventus was about to start redesigning their current website and that's where I became involved.

What were your goals for this project?

The website had to have a responsive design, eCommerce capabilities, built on Magento, include custom integrations to meet specific needs, include a Wordpress blog, and have employee access for phone orders. These goals would help us meet our customer needs and expand our brick and mortar business to online.

How did you select this vendor?

When I started at Fruitful Yield, Liventus was already working with the team. Our IT department is heavily involved with the selection process.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Liventus listened to our needs. We had weekly calls and a few in-person meetings. They returned with mockups of what the website could look like. We went through many revisions until we nailed a design we all felt comfortable with. We also looked to them for recommendations on design and function throughout the process.

What was the team composition?

The team that works with us is comprised of 2 main people. A project manager and a developer. They also bring in a few others depending on the expertise needed.

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

After the launch of the new website sales increased by 2%. Right now we are on pace to increase sales by over 40% this year.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We have weekly calls setup to touch base on completed tasks and future tasks. They are very responsive. Once an email is sent, they usually respond within minutes. If there is ever a delay on a task or project they are very transparent and keep us up to date every step of the way. Communication is usually through conference calls, Join.me, or Microsoft Teams.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Most impressive to me is their skillset and communication. They are able to problem solve and tackle projects in a timely matter. Their quick responsiveness to emails is impressive. I'm never left wondering.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is not much that I can think of that they could improve. Actually nothing comes to mind.