Magnatesage Technologies

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I have been running 2 startups since 2011. I was the founder and CEO of the first one, eCash Express. We were developing a mobile POS application, most of the work being done by the Magnates team. We also built a mobile payment application, which came in addition to the POS one. We currently have 8 employees and are headquartered in Montreal, Canada. The main operations are in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.  

What challenge were you trying to address with Magnates Technologies?

I needed to get the software for my business off the ground. I am a network engineer by trade and had never been involved in a software development process. When we started the mobile POS application, I was entering an unknown environment, but Magnates was helpful at setting it up.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Magnates let us know what they needed from us, and how we needed to lay out the software requirements. Even though this wasn’t their job, and we were supposed to be coming to them with requirements, Magnates took the first steps in getting us to actually create specs, after which they started the development for Android.

We had an internal team which handled most of the testing for each feature. Every time we came across something which wasn’t working as expected, we would go back to Magnates and have a back-and-forth until we got it how we wanted it. We had a plan to move to iOS later on, but most of our users are on Android, so we haven’t seen a need to create that version.

How did you come to work with Magnates Technologies?

I talked to 2-3 companies, but what made me hire Magnates was that their contact took the time to understand what we were trying to do, and to formalize some requirements. The others wanted us to hand over fully-developed software specifications, which we did not have. Even after the development stage, every time we had an issue, even if it was something we hadn’t thought of before, Magnates managed to develop solutions for it.

How much have you invested with Magnates Technologies?

Altogether, the cost for both apps has been between $50,000 and $80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working on the POS application in August 2016. It was finished in late-November or December. The payment application was started in February 2017, and completed in March. Both applications have been rolled out.

We still have Magnates under contract for any new features or updates. We’re also building an internal team, but, until we can bring them up-to-speed, most of the work will continue to be done by Magnates.

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

The payment app has been doing great, but it’s still in the pilot stage. It’s an enterprise software used by taxi drivers and small merchants, who have been happy with it so far. Since its launch in March 2017, we’ve had 150 taxi drivers using it, and 800 customers have paid them through the platform.

It’s up to us to obtain funding and add more payment terminals, but this has nothing to do with the app.

How did Magnates Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

For the POS portion, we had a project manager and a lead developer from Magnates’ side. Those were our 2 points of contact with them, but there were around 6 engineers working in the background.

The communication methods varied. In the first stage, when we were building specifications, we worked through web conferences, sharing screens and showing what we wanted. When we got to the development stage, we scheduled conference calls every other day using RingCentral, our internal conferencing platform, most of the time. We also had the option to use Skype.

We worked with Magnates’ team in India, and the collaboration worked beautifully. Evening time in Washington DC is morning time for them, so we could address whatever we wanted to be done by the evening, and, by the time we woke up, see it pretty much done.

What did you find most impressive about Magnates Technologies?

I was a little nervous about how reliable and available an outsourced team would be. At the end of the day, the company is in India, and we can’t just go to their office and meet them. Over the course of these 2 projects, Magnates was able to build trust with us, and we felt comfortable handing over the work to them. At this point, we trust them with maintaining the software, while we still don’t have the technical capabilities to do it ourselves.

Are there any areas Magnates Technologies could improve?

When running a startup, we have to travel a lot. I am running between the Ivory Coast and the U.S., and it’s important for me to have multiple points of contact. Usually, 1-2 contacts are ideal for keeping the information centralized and the line of communication simple, but I wanted to have a personal connection with everyone working on my project. I wanted the ability to call each of the 10 engineers and thank them for what they’ve been doing.

Magnates thought that this could have disturbed the workflow and that everything needed to flow through the project manager. This is their internal process and I can’t argue with it, but, at the end of the day, I want to know who’s working on my software.

We’ve had this conversation with them as well, and they offered to have us come visit their office, and meet everyone working on the project, but, as far as having a personal relationship with the developers, they can still improve. I can’t tell their company what to do, but it would make customers more appreciative of what the team does.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Magnates Technologies?

In order to get the most value out of working with Magnates, the client will probably want to have all their requirements set beforehand and be open to receiving suggestions from the team as well. On one or two occasions, the recommendations which came from Magnates did help a lot. They based the inputs from their past experiences.

Clients can stick to just what they want, but they will probably miss out on opportunities to improve.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Sun Communications is a merchant services business. I’m the CEO.

What challenge were you trying to address with Magnates Technologies?

We needed an app developed where kids could get cash without asking their parents for it. The parents can load money onto the app with their credit card, and the kids can take it to local stores and purchase products and services. The merchant can also text the kids about specials they have. Kids can purchase things without fear of not having enough money, losing the money, or going out and buying things they shouldn’t.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Magnates Technologies helped us develop the app which we put on Google for Android and Apple for iOS. They developed a platform where the merchants and the parents can both have access to a portal where they could see every transaction. The kids could look to see what nearby stores accepted the app as a form of payment. The app worked, and we were very impressed. We didn’t follow through like we should’ve on the merchant side because they have to accept it as a bar code.

How did you come to work with Magnates Technologies?

My business partner at the time found Magnates Technologies online. We had a call center in the Philippines, and we were looking to build an Asterisk server for a call center application. Magnates built that for us, and we used it for four years before we sold the operation to the telephone company where the call center was. The corporation that bought the telephone company also bought the call center. We trusted them to build this new app, and they did it flawlessly. They are easy to work with, and they’re responsible which is hard to find in an overseas developer.

How much have you invested with Magnates Technologies?

We invested $20,000 in this particular app.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with Magnates Technologies since 2008, and the work is ongoing. I’m a supplier for a large purchasing organization for the healthcare industry. I do merchant services for doctors’ offices and surgery centers across the US. They now have the need to put buttons on their sites for payment, and that’s part of our product offering. Magnates is the company that we use to develop these websites.

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

We don’t have any data because it never really took off. We were trying to self-fund it, and we needed to have buy-in from both the merchants and the kids.

How did Magnates Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve worked with Magnates Technologies for a long time and felt comfortable with them, so we didn’t use any project management software. In my business, if it works, it’s great.

What did you find most impressive about Magnates Technologies?

Every time I’ve come to Magnates Technologies with an idea, they can do it. They can do anything regarding software application that you need to run your business. They’ll talk with you regarding the idea, and they’ll tell you whether you can do it or not. It’s refreshing that you can bring an idea to someone and talk through it in a reasonable way regarding monetary as well. I got prices from other agencies for the application that were between $80,000 and $100,000. A lot of times, you must know where to look for this development as opposed to just looking locally. There are US firms you pay more to, and they end up using an offshore team anyway.

Are there any areas Magnates Technologies could improve?

The only thing was the time difference which is 12 hours. However, everything got completed on time. You have to be aware of the time difference when dealing with offshore teams.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company specializes in marketing research, providing data for niche markets via the use of proprietary mobile applications. We're in the startup phase. I am the principal founder and acting chief executive officer of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Magnates Technologies?

We needed help developing our apps. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had our own designs and wireframes that we shared with Magnates Technologies, which formalized and implemented the material, handling all development.

We started out with an initial version of our app and made multiple revisions on our end, based on different needs that arose. Magnates Technologies handled the collaboration very well, considering that we could have been a bit neater in the process.

Magnates Technologies also helped us develop our website, just before a competition, suggesting templates and bringing the know-how for implementing them. I was in charge of developing the website, and HTML coding is not my forte. I presented what I had to Magnates Technologies, and they suggested using more modern templates, which required coding that I couldn't handle.

Magnates Technologies assigned 4 to 6 developers for our work, along with a project manager. We used additional resources in a supplemental capacity from time to time.

How did you come to work with Magnates Technologies?

I went through several different sources, narrowing my search to freelancer.com and oDesk. At the beginning, I was expressing a vision, and looking for someone who wouldn't simply perform a transaction, but who had their own vision, and could understand where I was going. My long-term goal is to scale up. If the provider is simply doing the work in the most efficient and procedural manner, it would not work for me. I needed help in understanding and expanding the vision, getting a sense of how it needed to be structured. This was the main differentiation between Magnates Technologies and other companies.

How much have you invested with Magnates Technologies?

The total cost of Magnates Technologies' services has been up to $50,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Magnates Technologies in the first quarter of 2014. Our current app was launched in the summer of 2015 for Android, and in November [2015] for iOS, after a number of revisions. Magnates Technologies is providing ongoing support for us, and we're having conversations with them about a redesign of the iOS and Android versions.

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

We created an internal ticketing system that was used for rating our efficiency from a development standpoint. In terms of communication, quality, and turnaround times, Magnates Technologies showed continuous improvements. 

We decided to design our app and pitch it around an entrepreneurial competition for our market segment. When we first started out, being in a low-budget situation, we had to pick our strategy for entering the market wisely. Our target, at that point, was the association members participating in and hosting the event because they would ultimately be our paying customers. The adoption from end-users – the actual consumers that would use the app – is an initiative that is still on standby. We need marketing dollars for that, which is something that we're currently working on.

Having an award-winning app, which made the finals of that competition 2 years in a row and has been well received, has given us all the notoriety and publicity that could be gathered from the market and potential commercial partners.

How did Magnates Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

Any issues with the budget were on my end. As I've mentioned, we went through a series of initial revisions. While we did have a quote, and everything was in line, we increased the budget through our own doing. We used Microsoft Project for communicating with Magnates Technologies.

What did you find most impressive about Magnates Technologies?

From my experience, one of the unique competitive advantages I've found by working with Magnates Technologies is that they make it easy for people to have collaboration. I know of other people who've had very bad experiences working overseas, with issues stemming from communication, which eventually leads to other things. We've never had issues of this kind with Magnates Technologies. They were very communicative, accessible, provided contracts, and other legally binding material when we needed it, and addressed everything that we needed on our end, either in terms of quality or financial matters. Magnates Technologies was very approachable in this sense.

The fact that Magnates Technologies took up this challenge, and performed great throughout the process, is something that should be celebrated. For me, the rating is personal as well as business.

Are there any areas Magnates Technologies could improve?

Magnates Technologies will probably begin to grow as a company. I recommend that they anticipate that growth adequately, and increase their workforce, ensuring that they can meet the demand with enough supply. This wasn't an issue for us, but I have to wonder what will happen with our development team, once Magnates Technologies starts to see popularity.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Magnates Technologies?

Depending on the type of business being run by the client, and on the stage that they're in, it's best to identify needs and be as concise as possible. Given the time zone and communication gaps, things can be made more effective if there is a clear, concise communication process in the beginning. I'm sure that more established and mature businesses will not have this issue, but I'm speaking mainly for people like myself, who are new to the process.

AishFi Inc, an Arab company based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is working on building a true Arab instant messaging alternative to the current instant messaging apps available in the region. I'm the CEO of the company. We will open a United States office in the near future.

I'm the CEO of the company, we will open a US office in the near future.

The functionalities integrated, especially the ones that deal with security, such as auto delete of the messages, was very important. We always had problems in the past working with developers that don't properly support apps after they are live.

Magnates provided iOS and Android development, testing, and support. The support aspect was the key. That's why I hired them. I knew that they took support seriously and were strong in this aspect. I searched for firms that could both develop apps with important functionality, but also be responsive after launch to bugs and changes.

Magnates is one the best companies I've had the chance to collaborate with. They're very professional and well-organized. The estimations provided were up to the mark and justified properly. They stand behind what they do, and they know what they are doing because of their expertise.