MateCube

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Promodul AS

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

A user-first, AI-based operations platform for SMBs​

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Further develop our resource planning tool by adding new and enhanced functionality
• Build form and procedure features specifically for our customers in the construction industry.
• Take overall responsibility for the development lifecycle, ensuring delivery and coordination of a platform with extensive and complex functionality

SOLUTION

How did you find MateCube?

• Online Search
• Referral

Why did you select MateCube over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from MateCube were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Further develop our resource planning tool, adding advanced functionality to optimize scheduling and operational efficiency. This included features for forms, file management, personel tracking, and time registration, enabling our team to manage resources and tasks more effectively.

The second objective was to build robust form and procedure functionality specifically tailored to our customers in the construction industry. This encompassed the creation of checklists, forms, and procedures with full PDF export capabilities, allowing both internal teams and clients to access, share, and document information seamlessly. MateCube also developed integrations with multiple financial and accounting systems to ensure smooth data flow across platforms, enhancing operational efficiency and reducing manual processes.

The third objective was for MateCube to take overall responsibility for the entire development lifecycle, from planning to deployment and ongoing updates. This included coordinating complex functionality across both frontend and backend systems, ensuring a cohesive and scalable platform that supports extensive internal workflows, client-facing features, and continuous feature enhancements. Through this collaboration, MateCube played a key role in transforming our platform into a fully integrated, flexible, and high-performing solution.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

All new functionality developed by MateCube is tested directly with both existing customers in our system and with new customers. This approach ensures that features work as intended in real-world scenarios and provides immediate feedback to guide further improvements.

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

MateCube’s project management is structured around regular two-week sprints, during which we plan the features and functionality to be developed. At the end of each sprint, we test the completed work to ensure it meets our requirements. We also hold fixed weekly meetings on Teams every Friday and maintain ongoing communication through Slack and email, which allows them to respond quickly to our needs and provide updates on progress.

What was your primary form of communication with MateCube?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What we found most impressive about MateCube is their strong expertise in the programming languages we already use, which allowed them to quickly adapt and deliver high-quality results. They consistently meet deadlines, and we are very satisfied with their pricing and communication. Additionally, we have established excellent working chemistry with their team, making collaboration smooth and effective.

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

No, there are no areas for improvement at this time. We are very satisfied and encourage them to continue working just as they have.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO and co-founder of Nicklpass, a platform that streamlines access to news and information for companies and professionals. We deliver unified billing for clarity and cost control. For professionals, we consolidate hundreds of paywalled sources into a patented one login and AI-powered insights.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with MateCube?

We had a lot of challenges with our existing system. Initially, I thought it was because of Ruby on Rails.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

MateCube has provided us with software development services. Initially, the team was brought in to do some basic fixes, but we've quickly learned that they can innovate and build new features that prevent the need for those fixes in the first place. The team has been responsible for backend refactoring, engine build-out, load balancing, and adding additional sources to our library.

In terms of features and functionality, MateCube has built the ability to query a database of sources and get the price for a collection of sources. The team has also integrated Typeform and HubSpot and built an algorithm that assigns digital inventory (subscriptions) to end users based on business logic.

What is the team composition?

We've worked with three teammates from MateCube.

How did you come to work with MateCube?

We found MateCube through Upwork. Alex (Founder & CEO) is the best engineering leader I've ever worked with. He's thoughtful and innovative while also not over-promising. He thinks about problems algorithmically and understands business needs. I initially looked for a Rails developer, and Alex had the best hard skills. It's also been great to see that he's a great team builder and has found others who work with the same values he does.

How much have you invested with them?

We don't discuss the budget.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with MateCube in July 2023, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've seen a 70% reduction in our sales cycle, which has resulted in faster revenue. We've also seen a reduction in churn, although we don't have any numbers right now. Certain customers haven't canceled because of MateCube's work. All of our customers have benefited from this, especially those in financial services.

How did MateCube perform from a project management standpoint?

MateCube delivers on time and above the scope. We communicate with MateCube via WhatsApp and Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

MateCube is doing a great job architecting and developing at the same time, which is rare to find.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything for MateCube to improve.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder and CEO of a financial services company.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our company accelerates the RFP and proposal management process by cutting submission time by 77%.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Build prototype, product management

SOLUTION

How did you find MateCube?

• Referral
• Other

Why did you select MateCube over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from MateCube were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Alex and Vadim were contracted to develop the initial MVP for our company's RFP automation platform from May to December 2024. Their work focused on establishing the foundation for our earliest product vision using Ruby on Rails.

Key deliverables included:

• Development of user authentication interfaces including login and registration screens
• Implementation of the knowledge library interface with intuitive Q&A pair visualization and management
• Creation of project management workflows for RFP document handling
• Development of the UI/UX for core platform components
• Successful deployment of the application to the staging environment

The team demonstrated strong technical capabilities within the Ruby on Rails ecosystem and delivered their assigned components on schedule. While our company ultimately pivoted to a different technology stack that better aligned with our evolving architectural requirements, their work provided valuable insights that informed our current development direction and product strategy. Their professional conduct, communication skills, and commitment to project goals were consistently strong throughout the engagement.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrated progress included:

• Successful completion of a functional MVP for internal testing within the 7-month timeline
• Development of core user interfaces with 8 key screens including authentication, library management, and project workflows
• Achievement of a successful staging deployment with working user authentication
• Delivery of an intuitive UI that received positive feedback from initial internal stakeholders

These outcomes provided valuable insights for our product evolution despite our later technology stack pivot.

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

Alex and Vadim maintained a reliable project management approach throughout our engagement, consistently meeting agreed-upon deadlines for key deliverables. They established clear communication channels with weekly progress updates and were responsive to feedback, typically implementing requested changes within 7-10 business days despite on a part-time basis. Their proactive nature in identifying potential technical challenges before they became issues was particularly valuable, allowing us to make informed decisions about implementation approaches that balanced our immediate needs with future scalability considerations.

Even when faced with shifting requirements, they consistently met agreed-upon deadlines without sacrificing quality. While the initial MVP wasn't ultimately used in our final product direction, the insights gained and quality of work delivered justified the cost and provided valuable learning for our product evolution.

What was your primary form of communication with MateCube?

Virtual Meeting

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

What impressed me most about Alex and Vadim's company was their ability to seamlessly integrate remote team members across different time zones while maintaining tight project coordination. Their systematic approach to requirement gathering and implementation priorities demonstrated exceptional project management discipline. Despite working with our evolving startup requirements, they consistently delivered functional components that met our specifications without unnecessary scopes.

Their flexibility in adapting to our evolving requirements as a startup was particularly appreciated. Their attention to detail on the frontend elements was particularly strong, creating an intuitive user experience despite the complexity of our application.

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

n/a

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of a coupons and vouchers platform.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We run coupon/voucher code websites.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Bug fixes
• New features
• Product improvement

SOLUTION

How did you find MateCube?

Online Search

Why did you select MateCube over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from MateCube were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We required a developer that has a strong working knowledge of Ruby on Rails to help fix some bugs and give ongoing support with some issues we face with two applications we own.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Closing of outstanding tickets and bug fixes.

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

Vadim is always very clear in his communication and the MateCube team is usually very quick to overcome problems and fix emergency issues.

What was your primary form of communication with MateCube?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Alexey is very talented and has the ability to get to the root of a problem very quickly.

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

In Q1 of 2025, there has been a slowdown in tickets being closed on Trello for various reasons, such as complexity of tkts.  We would like to move on from the current tkts to new tasks now.  I think this coincides with Alexey having less time available.