LoopStudio

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO of Kalibri Labs

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Kalibri Labs provides hoteliers with data insights that results in growing profit margins, giving them a competitive edge, and ultimately increasing asset value. Kalibri's HummingbirdPXM commercial strategy platform offers swift access to our comprehensive data set that enables tactics to grow profits with lean commercial staffing, empowering hotels to deliver stronger gross operating profits (GOP) leading to better net operating income (NOI) results.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire LoopStudio to accomplish?

• Project Management
• User Interface Development
• Data acquisition

SOLUTION

How did you find LoopStudio?

Referral

Why did you select LoopStudio over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Mission focused

How many teammates from LoopStudio were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Loop provided design services to include figma mockups, key software development deliverables to include UI, API, and data implementation. Deliverables include data workflow automation, data acquisition, and api expansion, and UI refactoring

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Deployed production software, figma designs, and project clarity and timelines

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

Their project management is excellent. They embed into the teams, assess and monitor risk, ensure that they understand the goal of the project, and communicate daily on status

What was your primary form of communication with LoopStudio?

Virtual Meeting

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

What I most value about Loop as a foreign contracting service is their focus on the customer's mission. They've made sure to understand my business goals and serve as partners in those goals. So many contractors show up and see their role as just coding; Loop differentiates themselves by caring for the customers' mission.

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

Loop should continue to expand the skillsets of its engineers. This is an ongoing activity and not an area of concern so much as a recognition that continued investment in its employees helps both me as a client and them as a trusted partner

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co-founder of a cybersecurity software company.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We develop cybersecurity software for commercial and federal customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire LoopStudio to accomplish?

• UI Design/Refresh
• UI Development

SOLUTION

How did you find LoopStudio?

Referral

Why did you select LoopStudio over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from LoopStudio were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

We engaged Loop to do a complete UI redesign and development. Our first UI was developed by founders/security people who have minimal experience with UI design/prototyping/experience. We started with a design sprint, then moved to a low-fidelity prototype to walk through and gain customer feedback, and then moved to a high-fidelity prototype based on feedback.

We are now engaging in a complete UI development project to implement a prototype and will be using them for ongoing front-end development.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Amazing prototype, both low fidelity and high fidelity. Excellent customer feedback. The fact that they got so much done in a 4-day design sprint is shocking. We have referred them to a few other companies in the area that have been similarly impressed.

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

It was really amazing. It had to be to keep my geographically dispersed and busy team in line and held down to get the sprint done. I would hire them to train our project managers if I could. Yes they delivered on time and also were very responsive to changes we requested.

What was your primary form of communication with LoopStudio?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Amazing team all around. They seem to have developed a process to do frontend work that I have not seen before, that is extremely fast, and shows the customer what they are capable of developing in a short period of time.

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

No. They've been amazing throughout the entire process.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of Kenny.Bet

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We develop software to automate novel sports betting strategies and act as a regulated and compliant market maker for emerging online sportsbooks.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire LoopStudio to accomplish?

• Entire front end and user interface
• Scope architectural coherence and modifications to existing tech stack.
• Assess technical aspects and compliance requirements for specific, uniquely regulated, business partnership in New Jersey

SOLUTION

How did you find LoopStudio?

• Online Search
• Referral

Why did you select LoopStudio over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from LoopStudio were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

I engaged Loop Studio for a Design Sprint with the goal of transforming a rudimentary proof of concept in the online gambling space built for internal use into a prototype and technical feasibility analysis for expanding range of product functionality as well as subscriber and investor lead business models.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Fully functional Figma prototype 
• Complete user journey map for present use case and proposed business strategies 
• Proof of Concept for integration completed and partnership and infrastructure SLAs organized.

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

The team set expectations well for the Design Sprint and stuck to the agreed intervals for collaboration and independent execution. The appopriate course corrections were made as we became more familiar with the particular challenges of the project and I was extremely impressed by their response on multiple levels - from apropriate summary meetings with the PM to deeper dives with direct contributors when beneficial to them or simply to satisfy my curiousity.

What was your primary form of communication with LoopStudio?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Loop makes a concerted effort to align incentives. They do not "sell" as much as they create a mutually beneficial objective and then execute.

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

I think they handled a challenging task very well. We spent a week longer than anticipated but I felt that was the appropriate choice. I was so impressed that I have since engaged them for a longer term project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing and experience manager at a membership organization that supports the local technology community. We help member companies build partnerships and connections.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with LoopStudio?

We needed someone to create a platform where we could offer new experiences to our members.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

LoopStudio built out a platform for us. We first gave them documentation that detailed exactly what we were looking for in terms of the design and functionality. It also outlined what success would look like.

After going through the documentation with the team, they started the development phase. LoopStudio worked in two-week sprints that had unique goals attached to them. 

The app is now finished. It lives on the backend of our site and is only accessible to our members. Users can look at upcoming events, networking opportunities, and so on. Furthermore, it features a member directory to help users interact with each other.

The team continues to update and maintain the platform. In addition to that, LoopStudio has also helped us redesign our corporate website to better match our brand.

What is the team composition?

We work mainly with 5–7 teammates, including a project manager, designers, and developers. 

Their head of business development and some executives also reach out to us to ensure that everything is running smoothly.

How did you come to work with LoopStudio?

Their head of business development reached out to our CEO on LinkedIn.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in January 2021, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Many of our members have given us very positive feedback, and they feel that it’s a great addition to their membership benefits. LoopStudio has successfully produced a very functional platform.

Regarding the site rebranding, we’ve also gotten high praises from our community regarding its look and feel. Our site now accurately reflects our brand and our mission.

How did LoopStudio perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is excellent. LoopStudio is very organized and upfront about the process, allowing them to develop a clear timeline. 

We communicate via a Slack channel, and we exchange messages constantly throughout the day. The LoopStudio team quickly addresses our concerns over Slack, so we don’t always need formal meetings.

At the beginning and end of each two-week sprint, we have meetings to ensure that we’re on the same page. If they can’t complete a task within two weeks, the team communicates it ahead of time and adjust the meeting accordingly.

Despite the language barrier, the LoopStudio team’s fluent enough in English. If they can’t understand anything, they don’t pretend to do so. The team communicates any confusion to us immediately, which is helpful. We also appreciate that they work according to our business hours.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s been an extremely positive experience. LoopStudio is a patient team that’s keen on delivering what we want. However, they don’t just go along with our ideas, but they also give us crucial feedback on making the platform even better.

Furthermore, their detailed timeline helps us understand precisely what they’re working on in each sprint. It also allows them to adapt quickly to any changes we ask for.

Overall, LoopStudio has taken our vision and brought it to life. They’re genuinely committed to fulfilling our needs, and we’re pleased with the outcome.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think there’s anything they could do better. LoopStudio has already addressed any issues we’ve encountered.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear idea of what you’re looking for and communicate your expectations with the team. LoopStudio will work with you to make sure you get what you want.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO and founder of a cybersecurity software startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with LoopStudio?

We needed someone to develop a web application for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Loop Studio is responsible for the app development, and they’re using React, Node.js, and JavaScript for this project. We had the concept for the app, and we built wireframes and mock-ups. 

The app has functionalities for user management like account creation, login, and password reset. It also has a lot of visualizations and charts, as well as data management and navigation. 

What is the team composition?

I am in contact with a lot of their teammates, but Agustín (COO & Co-Founder) is my main point of contact. We started off with just one developer working for us, and we currently work with three. We’ve had as many as five. 

How did you come to work with LoopStudio?

They were a referral from a colleague within the industry. I liked that they worked with a lot of companies over multiple years. I really wanted a partner that could connect with our business. 

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested close to $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in November 2019, and it is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We follow an agile development methodology and measure how long it takes to build and ship the app’s features with velocity points. For our ticketing system and project management, we use Jira. 

How did LoopStudio perform from a project management standpoint?

We have sprints every two weeks, which starts with a Monday kickoff meeting, and we maintain communication through a Slack channel. At the end of the two-week cycle, they do a demo where they show us what they’ve built. I also have the option to meet with Agustín every two weeks, but I rarely have to do so because they’re very organized.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their professionalism is impressive. I think they're very capable engineers, but they're also very good at communicating. When we do the sprint planning to figure out what work is going to be done, they ask relevant questions and are able to understand their work requirements. Thus, they develop and ship their deliverables as scheduled.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think they have any. I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It will help to have a web app in mind, as well as mock-ups and design parts done so that they can visualize what is being asked of them. We always build our mock-ups and wireframes before the sprint so that there's just something to discuss and present visually.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Bluebat Games offers a white label social casino platform providing best-in-breed features for maximum brand experience and player loyalty. Through this industry-leading product, online and mobile players can stay connected to their favourite casinos. My position is VP of Product and Managed Services

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Loop has been contracted to help the company develop the new product. The new product uses modern technology and unifies the development process and LoopStudio has helped us to achieve this goal.

SOLUTION

How did you select LoopStudio and what were the deciding factors?

We have worked with other contractors in the past, and we received a recommendation to work with LoopStudio from one of our business consultants, who worked with the company in the past.

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

We have built a development team in-house, and added LoopStudio developers to complete our need of resources. We used their experienced react native developers to help us develop the new product. The developers have delivered complex features(payments, mailbox etc) and improved flows between our system and our clients' systems.

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

Since the beginning of the collaboration we had 5 developers working with us from LoopStudio. They all performed Senior Developer roles in our company.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We managed to increase our throughput by 40% during the development cycles, as well as improving our quality standards with the innovative ideas that LoopStudio developers had.

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

The project management role was filled in-house, LoopStudio was flexible enough to adapt to any of our needs and tools. (Slack, Jira, Confluence etc)

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

LoopStudio is a great partner to have, always open to fit the client's needs and offering help whenever they see the client is faced with a problem.

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

There has been no negative experience with LoopStudio so far.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a startup that is building a platform for digital pass transactions with a mobile app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire LoopStudio?

For developing backend and frontend code. Loop Studio worked to redesign and develop the REST API and the React Native mobile application

What were your goals for this project?

Get the project development round back on track, inherited from another company. Review and redesign several design goals. Correct previously implemented functionalities and develop new ones. Deploy the platform services on cloud and the mobile app in the appstores Cost effective budget

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

The transfer of the project and retention of the technology, from the previous company to Loop Studio, was done in common agreement with all parties. Loop Studio is a recognized development company. Selecting this vendor was a winning decision

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Legacy business rules adjustments. New business rules implemented. REST API corrections and development. Ruby on Rails and MongoDB backend development React Native mobile app deep adjustments and development Cloud and app-stores deployment

What was the team composition?

1 Engineering Lead and Project Manager 2 Backend Developer 2 React Native Developer 1 Devops

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are currently developing a backend for digital pass transactions together with a React Native mobile app.

However, our project began in a different context. When Loop Studio took over the project, we were looking for someone to solve several code and management issues that had been inherited from the previous developers.

With great talent and enthusiasm, all the issues were quickly resolved and excellent results were obtained. Loop Studio managed to understand our business, the urgency, and relevance of the problem, and immediately aligned themselves to our goals showing great flexibility and commitment to us.

Due to their professionalism and high involvement degree, once the project was set in the right direction, we decided to move onto developing new functionalities. These were smoothly developed and the progress we experienced was impressive.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They are outstanding in the use of agile methodologies. They work on perfectly delimited sprints and deliverables that conduce to accurate validations and continuous deliveries. As a result, they have generated substantial savings to our development budget.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team is very proactive and puts a lot of effort into product quality. Their focus on understanding our business model and analyzing each requirement in depth has been a fantastic surprise. They are very talented coders.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They are immersed in a continuous improvement process, which is of great benefit to their customers. The recurrent iteration cycles led to significant findings and corrections, saving time, money and painful headaches.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company is a real estate tech tool that connects brokers with small businesses and provides tools to brokers so they can handle more clients. I overall all operations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire LoopStudio?

We initially hired LoopStudio to help design out business search tool in order to better equip our sales team with leads. But since we started, we have expanded their scope to other projects.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to have a real estate broker put in a very simple set of information and have our web app generate a list of potential businesses to reach out to. It cut our labor hours in half for this task.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were recommended by a former colleague. We looked at 4 other companies and LoopStudios had a competitive price with the ability to start quickly.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They designed the both the front end and the back end, researched different software types that could by integrated and created multiple iterations to bring up the speed.

What was the team composition?

The project had three people, a developer, a graphic designer, and someone overseeing it.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were very profession and clear, keeping to every deadline and completely the task in a timely fashion.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We used slack and Jira, which both were very effect and simple to follow.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Honestly, this if the first time I've every worked development project and at the end it came in under budget. We've used them multiple times since and we have always come at or below the hour estimate they laid out.

Are there any areas for improvement?

It was a really good experience

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I’m the CEO of Pierce Plan, which is a software that tracks the academic eligibility of student-athletes to make sure they're eligible for a college scholarship.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Loop Studio? 

My original developer left to take another job. I needed a vendor to quickly bridge the gap and provide technical support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Loop Studio finished the second version of my software, which is built on Ruby on Rails. They’ve been providing support and enhancements ever since. 

What is the team composition? 

I've been in contact with four people including a business operations lead. I’ve had two specific developers assigned to my project. There’s also a senior developer above them that checks all of their work before it’s pushed to production.  

How did you come to work with Loop Studio? 

I believe they were connected to me by a mentor who’s in the technology world. I interviewed them and spoke to at least one other company that they worked with. In general, Uruguay has a reputation for becoming one of the leading technology countries. 

How much have you invested with them? 

I’ve spent $30,000–$35,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around June 2018, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Loop Studio has provided proof of concept for my company. At one particular school, the initial baseline was that 47% of students were ineligible when they uploaded the software. That’s been reduced to 25% in one semester. This shows that the software works. It provides real-time information and stakeholders are using it to take action. 

How did Loop Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

If you're going to outsource outside of the U.S., the biggest barriers to communication tend to be the time zone and language. We're not in the same time zone, but they're usually only an hour or two off. They speak English, which makes it very easy to communicate.

We primarily use Slack, GitHub, and Google Chat. They're always available. I've never felt that I could not access them. They've so flexible and accommodating, especially as my needs have fluctuated in terms of hours required. I'm sure they've shifted their developers to other projects, but they always make time when I need tasks done.

What did you find most impressive about them? 

Loop Studio are problem solvers. They’ve found a couple of solutions on how to code the software more efficiently. I’m on a budget, and they've been accurate in estimating how long it will take to develop various features. Typically, they complete the task in fewer hours than they predicted. I appreciate the communication and the way that they work to fulfill the needs of my company.

Are there any areas they could improve? 

No, I don't think so. Everything has been pretty smooth.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO at Memberspace.com. We provide membership logins and paywall functionality for Squarespace websites.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Loop Studio?

We needed a vendor to help us speed up development for our Ruby on Rails application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They are helping develop a Ruby on Rails app for us, mostly focusing on the backend. They are also using jQuery and React on our project along with some SQL database management.

What is the team composition?

We started working with one member of their team, and then they added three more people.

How did you come to work with Loop Studio?

We found them on We Work Remotely. We interviewed many vendors, and Loop Studio seemed to have the most friendly and knowledgeable team. Also, they were just the right size for us and had affordable rates.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested over $100,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in December 2016, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They build features very quickly and are less expensive than US teams. That allows us to have three times as many developers for the same price, so the project moves faster. Plus, they communicate very well.

How did Loop Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

We used GitHub and Basecamp for project management. They speak very good English, and we didn't have any issues with the time difference.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're very friendly and motivated. We recently visited them in Uruguay and really liked their company culture. They're the kind of people we'd like to work with for the long term.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can't think of anything.