Merixstudio

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a medical software company. Our goal is to offer more insight and transparency into medical billing to help physicians employ best practices when managing claims.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Merixstudio?

We already had a system that enabled bookkeepers to process physician claims, but we wanted to make an extension of that app specifically for physicians. To do that, we were looking for a team with a lot of expertise in frontend development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Merixstudio handled the frontend development of our progressive web app. They worked in conjunction with our internal development team, which dealt with the backend side. We first set up several sprints and detailed what needed to be done and who needed to do them. 

The platform is already finished, but we have yet to launch it. The app allows physicians to log in and see an overview of their earnings and track claims from inception to completion.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a total of five teammates, including Sławek (Project Manager), two frontend developers, a designer, and a QA specialist.

How did you come to work with Merixstudio?

Someone recommended a software agency to us. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the technical background we were looking for, so they put me in touch with Merixstudio, who had a good track record in web-based apps and used the same tech stack as us. They showed us a number of their past projects that proved that they were the best fit for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from April–August 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It was a pretty good project. Merixstudio did an excellent job of getting ahead of the curve — they finished well ahead of time and below budget. Furthermore, we didn't need to redo any part of their work. Whenever we found any issues or bugs, the Merixstudio team solved them very quickly and efficiently.

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint?

They exceeded expectations in terms of the timelines. Moreover, they did a great job setting up meetings well in advance, so there was no shortage of communication between us. We met 1–2 times per week on average. 

The project manager was really professional and responsive — he kept everyone on track and prevented any scope creep.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Merixstudio was a very collaborative team — it was easy to work with them because they set aside their egos and focused on what we wanted to achieve. Additionally, the communication couldn’t have been better. They were willing to sit down with us and plan the project in detail.

Overall, they had a phenomenal skill set, worked efficiently, and communicated effectively. Finding a partner like that was invaluable to us, and we plan on working with them again on the next version of the product. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could’ve been more proactive about giving us suggestions, but in the end, that wasn’t their fault. We designed the product, so they were just doing what they were supposed to. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do your work ahead of time and make sure that the project is scoped efficiently. If you know what you want to build and have a clear vision, Merixstudio will handle the execution and deliver precisely what you want.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CTO of a company in the IoT industry. We also offer cryptocurrency-related financial services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Merixstudio?

We hired Merixstudio to replace our existing software development team because they weren’t able to scale our application to the international market.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Merixstudio is helping us build our website’s frontend dashboard and reconcile our legacy data. They use standard platforms, technologies, and programming languages, such as React Redux, Node.js, React Native, Webpack, TypeScript, Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS. Additionally, they use CI/CD (continuous integration and continuous delivery) practices.

What is the team composition?

Their team composition oscillates between 9–12 people, depending on the project. This includes two project managers who constantly help us out.

How did you come to work with Merixstudio?

Merixstudio was a recommendation from one of our portfolio investors who had used them previously. We tried them, and they’ve worked well so far.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2021, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Merixstudio has helped us release our app’s 1.5 version, as well as our frontend dashboard’s 2.0 version. So far, their work has been very good. We’re satisfied with them, and we’ve received positive feedback.

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint?

Merixstudio has been very good at managing the project. They ensure that we have written weekly updates, and they also keep us updated over Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Merixstudio is very communicative, and they’ve met my expectations. Overall, they’ve done a good job.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be constantly engaged with them, and make sure that you give them as much information as you can before they start working with you. Merixstudio has great assertiveness, which I really appreciate, but it also requires us to be highly assertive from our side. If you’re going to hire them, try to be very communicative for your engagement to work as well as you need it to.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a digital analyst in the ammunition sector at Ruag. We’re in the business of defense, aeronautics, and space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Merixstudio? 

In ammunition, one of the key software components that we offer to our customers is ballistics software to simulate the trajectories of small-arms caliber fire. We were looking to update that software to the latest generation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We developed an updated model for calculating the trajectory of ammunition, and Merixstudio designed and implemented it in a Flutter application for mobile phones. They also created a JavaScript application for the web. Essentially, they wrote all the frontend code for the users. 

Once we selected Merixstudio, we provided them lots of different technical documentation, including scientific papers, our user persona research, and a competitor analysis on existing apps in the space. 

They used a workshop-style process where we explained the project, handed over our technical documentation. Because of Coronavirus, we shortened this phase, foregoing the workshops and sharing the requirements in more specific detail than was in the bid. 

All the work was done remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. We haven’t had a physical meeting with them yet. 

Merixstudio worked independently on sprints and reported back to us. This execution phase ran from summer through winter 2020, with the project deploying in December. There were some bugs and technical difficulties, but those were ironed out in the weeks following deployment. Since launch, they’ve supplemented the project with various additional features. 

What is the team composition?

It’s been varied, but we’ve worked with an account manager, a project manager, a senior developer, three mid-level developers, and two QA resources. 

How did you come to work with Merixstudio? 

We have stringent rules about purchasing so we found four agencies to bid on the project. The requirements were a cross-platform mobile app and web app. We’re based in Sweden but none of the domestic options matched our budget. 

I went out looking for agencies in the US and Europe, and we found a few options in Poland as well. Everyone submitted bids, and we weighed numerous factors, including cost, time-to-completion, the type of technology stack they’d be using and more. Out of all the bids that we received, Merixstudio wasn’t the least or most affordable, and they weren’t the fastest or slowest either. Rather, they satisfied all our requirements across the board. 

How much have you invested with them?

The initial cost was around €80,0000 (approximately $94,000 USD), and we’ve spent another €70,000 (approximately $83,000 USD) since then. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since June 2020. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve received a lot of positive feedback on the application, but we don’t have too much quantitative data summarized. 200–300 people visit and use our desktop application, and over 1,000 people use the mobile app daily. We’re very happy. 

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done very well. Ammunition is a sensitive business, meaning there are lots of security protocols we have to abide by. This makes knowledge transfers difficult, but Merixstudio performed very well. 

We use the Atlassian suite, including Trello, Jira, and Confluence. Slack helps with day-to-day communication and quick questions. Google Meet and Microsoft Teams support our larger meetings. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to rapidly obtain the domain knowledge required in our space stood out. Ammunition touches on defense and law enforcement, target shooting and hunting — these are very different customer types with different demands. It can be difficult to explain this type of business to people, as there are many who are openly against these types of activities, but Metrixstudio was very neutral about it. In this case, it was very easy for us to hand over all the required knowledge to build a successful application. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’ve had some personnel turnover, including one of the lead designers we worked with. She left the company mid-project; we’d spent a lot of time explaining the application to her initially. Some details were lost during the transition — this happens in every business but it certainly created some stumbling blocks. We had a meeting to rectify the problem, and it was taken care of. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re great. They work quickly and to budget. To get the most out of the relationship, it’s important to have really clear instructions and on-point specifications because Metrixstudio will deliver exactly what you ask of them. If you don’t write it down or tell them, then it won’t be in the product. I definitely recommend them. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a travel company. We’re a high-end travel company that specializes in luxury chalet rentals in about 50 different destinations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Merixstudio?

We were looking to update a legacy pricing and availability tool we had. We wanted Merixstudio to develop it as a custom software app. Once they looked at our current systems, they made some recommendations on how we could turn it into a one source of truth system. The system could become far more streamlined and modern. We came to them with one problem, and they showed us what was possible. Then, we decided to pursue that with them.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with three scoping sessions with Merixstudio over the course of a 12-month period. The delay between those was due to our internal team and if we wanted to commit to a project. After the scoping sessions, we did a UX audit and code review of our existing web system.

Once we decided to embark on the large, full project it began again with rescoping the project. That was followed by a UX and design phase where we went through and analyzed the entire user journey and behavior. We took the time to study that together and look at what solutions we could do for the frontend.

We also looked at our internal users, which is our team, and how they’d use the back-office system. We wanted to make sure that was user-friendly as well because that had been a problem in the past. Once we moved on from that, Merixstudio started developing a proprietary backend for us. That dovetailed into the frontend on the website. In parallel with that, we had a proprietary sales tool being developed too.

What is the team composition?

It has varied over the course of the project. We’ve had two principal backend engineers, 3–4 other backend engineers, a couple of frontend engineers, a project manager, a UX specialist, a designer, and the DevOps team.

How did you come to work with Merixstudio?

We scoped several companies in the market and did a bit of a tender process. We went out to 5–6 companies that we’d reviewed and sent them questionnaires. They gave us a little overview of how they work and Merixstudio felt like a good fit. I flew to meet them in person twice. We got on straight away. I had a good feeling, and they were an impressive company so we went with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $200,000–$1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in June 2019. Now, we have an ongoing retainer with them for support services and the constant evolution of our IT.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We released the products in February 2021 so we’re still in the early days. An early indication of success has been that the bounce rate of our website’s frontend has reduced significantly. Time spent on the website and the conversion rates have both increased. All early indications are positive.

Internally, our team is very happy with the deliverables. We feel that the time spent on administrative tasks has reduced immensely. The system is much more efficient and user-friendly for our team. Of course, there are things we didn’t get to that we still want to continue to develop. In terms of customers and suppliers, feedback has been very positive. They praise the new site.

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done very well with project management. There’s always a phase of learning how to work together especially because the bulk of the project was 8–10 months long. We went through several stages, and Merixstudio managed the project very well. Communication was good, and they were transparent. We utilize Slack, Jira, and Confluence.

Their team really worked to understand how we work. They adapted to help and suit us. It’s been a very positive engagement from a project management standpoint. We had regular meetings where the cadence depended on the part of the project. I regularly speak to our project manager. Even now, we speak on a daily basis even if it’s just to touch base on Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Merixstudio sincerely cares about helping to find solutions for their customers. They’re flexible with us and mindful of how we want to work. When we’d present ideas, their team was good at explaining other solutions that may be more effective.

They were good at having those conversations and explaining why we might want to go in another direction. At the same time, if we come to them with a good idea, they were always on board. Listening and working collaboratively are very good between our teams.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing in particular. I think we all could’ve learned to collaborate a little quicker. If anything did come up, Merixstudio reacted and solved it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do a longer scoping session at the beginning, especially if you’re not experienced in engineering like our team was. Instead of spreading out scoping sessions as we did, have them be more focused. Do it over the course of a week to really define the project from the outset.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re Co-CEOs of an investment management company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Merixstudio?

We wanted to develop a new kind of e-commerce platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built our e-commerce platform from scratch.

What is the team composition?

We work with nine people from their team.

How did you come to work with Merixstudio?

We were searching for different partners and Merixstudio was the most helpful in explaining what we needed to do.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent 60,000 euros (approximately $73,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2020, and our work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They share a real belief in our project to the point that they come up with distinctive ideas themselves.

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint?

We have at least one group meeting every week so they can tell us where they’re at in the development. Every two weeks, we have a meeting to discuss any group issues. We talk on Slack. They’re excellent and exceeded our expectations.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their passion really stands out. They comprehensively manage the timescales.

Are there any areas they could improve?

For the first time ever, no!

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to be clear and concise with what you’re trying to achieve. We’ve trusted them with our project and they’ve certainly gone above and beyond.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I handle the technical aspects of the organization, which is an inventory company based in Sweden.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Merixstudio?

Our client who runs a local storage facility wanted to grow but didn’t have the capacity to do so. He received phone calls at all hours and used a spreadsheet to manage his bookings. Our last project involved bookings, so we figured that we could find a solution but needed additional resources.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially had calls during which we described our ideas and collected feedback. We later visited Merixstudio’s office for a 2–3-day workshop in Poland.

Merixstudio gathered a team of project leads, business analysts, and designers to provide us with feedback. To maintain our budget, we had to scale back our ideas.

Merixstudio was involved in making business and technology decisions as well as delivering a result. Their team suggested all of the technologies for the solution, and for the backend, we landed on Django Python.  

What is the team composition?

The team’s composition has fluctuated throughout the project. When we collaborated in Poland, we worked with 6–10 members of their team. We then mainly worked with three people: a project lead, a backend developer, and a frontend developer.

How did you come to work with Merixstudio?

I was familiar with Merixstudio and their previous projects. After we had an idea of what to create, we reached out to them.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Merixstudio in April 2018, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Less than six months into the project, we had a functional platform that delivered actual value to our customers. The system generates revenue and works. We started with one customer and then others adopted the platform, which allowed us to receive real-world feedback on the provided work. We had minor issues creep up but not major ones.

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m in contact with them at least once a day. Although I don’t take part in their morning scrums, I receive feedback from either the project lead or the project’s head developer. When they share information, it’s clear and structured. We communicate in English, and their team has excellent language skills.

I didn’t have a ton of experience working with remote teams and heard horror stories about remote projects. I initially paid attention to their team but quickly realized that my fears were unfounded. Merixstudio had experience working in a remote capacity.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I feel secure with Merixstudio. When they say that they’ll complete a task, they always complete it on time. Their team keeps to timelines and budgets. If it appears that a milestone won’t meet the given estimate, they quickly flag it for discussion. They’re professional and never leave us wondering. I enjoy chatting and working with Merixstudio.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, Merixstudio has the experience to mitigate any issues related to a remote partnership. I’m happy with their performance.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Based on our experience with Merixstudio, I’d say that clients shouldn’t try to micro-manage them. Instead, clients should focus on helping them understand the problem to be solved and the business behind it. If the client listens to them, they’ll get a ton of experience.

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was published on September 24, 2018.

Jonas Ekegren

Co-Founder, Walaro Software

IT Services

1-10 Employees

Sodermanland, Sweden  

$50,000 to $199,999  

Apr. 2018 - Ongoing

Project summary: 

Merixstudio handled the wireframing, design, and development of a responsive web app using Python Django. They also provided support on the business development front and are an ongoing tech partner.

Feedback summary: 

Their team’s genuine interest in the business idea and revenue model led to the development of a platform that solves a real problem. Merixstudio doesn’t need to be micromanaged and acts more as a partner rather than a one-off vendor. Hiring them early-on in the project will ensure stellar results.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the founders and CEO of Walaro Software.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Merixstudio?

We were entering the self-storage business, which isn’t too digitalized. We took on a consumer perspective and tried to solve the issues and challenges that someone might have when looking to rent storage space.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We contacted Merixstudio during the early stages of our project. We gave them an overall technical description, based on which they went through all the wireframing and design work, along with the technical development. They built a responsive web-based application on the Python Django framework.

What is the team composition?

We had a business developer and a technical project leader. There were also 2–4 developers working for us at different times.

How did you come to work with Merixstudio?

My CTO searched on Google, and I believe we found their Clutch reviews. We read about some of Merixstudio’s recent work and decided to give them a call. We were impressed with them from the start, so they were the only company we contacted.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent €50,000 (approximately $58,100 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in April 2018, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re quite impressed from a business development perspective. It’s not often that we find a tech team that wants to know so much about our business idea and revenue streams. Their curiosity helped us when we started discussing technical challenges, what problem we were actually trying to solve, and how we wanted to make money through the platform. Overall, they’re a good and competent team.

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve performed perfectly. We use Google Hangouts for online meetings, and communicate a lot through Slack. They’re professional, punctual, and always ask questions when they need to be asked.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The expectation when outsourcing a web project is that we have to tell the developers in detail what needs to be done and what to avoid. This isn’t the way Merixstudio works, which impressed us, turning them into more of a tech partner than a vendor. I believe there’s a big difference between the two.

They worked by first understanding our business and revenue streams and then developed the technical platform. I think this is the way to go for companies like Merixstudio.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Actually, no, which is unbelievable. I can’t think of anything they could’ve done better than they have so far in this project.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

As always, it’s important to be a good buyer. I believe Merixstudio is a good team, and they’ll give a lot of business development support, but clients need to be good buyers in order to get the results we’ve gotten from Merixstudio. Contacting them at the early stages of a project will be greatly beneficial.

Start Ratings:

Overall rating: 4.5

Quality: 5

Schedule: 4.5 

Cost: 5

Willing to refer: 5

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of design for an insurance firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Merixstudio?

We engaged Merixstudio to build an automated inforce policy management system that would benefit our clients and their advisors.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They enhanced the code and client-facing elements like UX. They have also helped with the automation process for digesting available data, creating reports and statements, and automated client communications.

What is the team composition?

We work with a UX designer, scrum master, business analyst, two frontend developers, three backend developers, and three QA engineers.

How did you come to work with Merixstudio?

It may have been through a referral; our internal technical consultant found them. They showed hunger and dedication beyond what we saw in their competitors.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in June 2020 and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product is more efficient and functional, putting us ahead of our competitors. The system works well, and the automation saves us a lot of time and labor. On top of that, external feedback has been positive.

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint?

They are communicative and transparent; they ask for input when they run into issues. They use Slack and Jira to ensure effective communication. They’re available and responsive even outside business hours.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Due to their open communication, we’ve been able to build strong rapport with each member of the team. They’re eager to learn and are determined to deliver a quality product every time a task is assigned. We see them as a long-term partner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not at this time. At one point, QA had begun to decline. We brought it to their attention, and it has improved. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clearly define your requirements.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m co-founder and CEO of Rosalyn.ai — a company that provides virtual assessment and proctoring technology. We use AI and computer vision to make exams secure, scalable, and cost-effective.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Merixstudio?

As AI and computer vision are our core capabilities, we needed a partner to help us build the web part of our platform. A bootstrapped company, we sought a cost-effective partner too. We needed an agency that could autonomously deliver functionalities per our requirements.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Merixstudio is building our exam-taking platform, which incorporates e-commerce capabilities. Their team is also implementing functions that allow users to schedule and conduct exams. We’re building the cognitive component in-house, which analyzes a test taker’s environment and searches for cheating.

What is the team composition?

We started working with two people from Merixstudio but scaled the team to 10. At the moment, we’re working with eight people from Merixstudio.

How did you come to work with Merixstudio?

One of their ads resonated with me. They used startup language and understood the challenges of product design and development. Merixstudio had a mature approach and appeared to be a capable team. I vetted the developers who would be assigned to us. They also had a sophisticated sales process and met our requests such as providing testimonials. I then traveled to Poland with my co-founder to participate in a workshop with Merixstudio, which was helpful.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent around $500,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Merixstudio in December 2019, and it’s an ongoing partnership.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As a result of the development, we recently closed a round of funding. We have a strategic investor that wants to use our platform. We haven’t reached the MVP stage yet because we’re building a complex system. 

We have the most advanced proctoring system on the market right now. Although that’s due to our internal technology, it’s also a result of the UX and functionalities that Merixstudio built. The platform is scalable and done right.

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint?

We initially hired an external head architect to balance our teams and have an internal product manager. We left the project and scrum management to them, and our team creates the architecture and requirements.

We use productboard and Jira to manage development tasks. The two systems are closely integrated. We also communicate via email and Slack. We work with them as though they’re our internal team, and it works well. Merixstudio pushes back on our ideas, and they’re on point most of the time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re most impressed by their communication skills. Their cadence is great, and their project manager amazes us. They have great English language skills.

Communication was one of the main challenges that we encountered with our previous partners. Although their developers were competent, they didn’t communicate well.

Merixstudio’s engineers are competent and have mature processes. They didn’t just assign developers to our project and expect us to make it work. Senior engineers from the company constantly check the work and provide insights.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We moved quickly and changed our requirements. As a result, we were unable to accurately estimate some components. We didn’t follow Merixstudio’s processes initially, so I wouldn’t blame them. We’re working with them to get things back on track.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I recommend participating in Merixstudio’s product management or initial kickoff seminars. They gather the team for two days to talk with their clients about their visions and goals. This helps paint a picture for the developers and enables them to adapt along the way.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of messeji. We’re an early-stage startup that’s building a SaaS platform designed for B2B salespeople. Our solution helps users with productivity and effectiveness.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Merixstudio?

Both my co-founder and myself are from business backgrounds, so neither of us had the technical skill set required to build our platform. Since a big part of getting our business off the ground was our solution, we outsourced the full stack development to Merixstudio. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Merixstudio created our platform from the ground up using wireframe designs and interface mock-ups as a starting point. From the beginning, they were able to transform our ideas into an action plan that would result in a tangible piece of software. They built the frontend using React, and the backend is based in Python. 

Additionally, they helped us with the DevOps work, building our Google Cloud infrastructure and assisting with some UX design. It wasn’t purely technical work, either — they supported us with some business compulsories.

What is the team composition? 

We had a team of about nine people working with us. There was a project manager, front- and backend developers, DevOps specialists, UX designers, and QA testers.

How did you come to work with Merixstudio?

Funny enough, we initially started on this project with one of their direct competitors. I’d done some of the design around the UX/UI with them during a three-month design sprint. We ultimately decided not to proceed with the full development, and that’s when we’d heard of Merixstudio.

Once they’d come on to our radar, we gave them a call to see if they could drive the project. They ended up enabling us to recover from our initial setbacks and eventually start building our platform.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $170,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from April–October 2020. We started with a five-day discovery workshop and kicked off officially in May. 

Although the development ended a week ago, we’re looking into entering a bridge contract with them to perform maintenance over the next couple of months. Our hope is to start on our second phase of development in Q1 or Q2 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The main goal that we’d set out to achieve was to define a plan around building our product. Merixstudio delivered a clear outline that leveraged our knowledge, content, and vision while meeting our budget and technical requirements. 

Anecdotally, we were very happy with our engagement with their whole team. Everyone was enthusiastic and went the extra mile to help us. Together, we got through a large learning curve to end up with a product that we’re excited about.

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint?

There was some trepidation around embarking on such a large project with a team based half-way around the world. However, it ended up being a seamless working experience. They accommodated their schedule to overlap with ours, and it was a collective push to foster engagement.

Their team practiced an agile methodology. Rather than setting deadlines for each feature, we were more interested in seeing how far we could get on our platform within a limited timeframe. From there, we’d collect user feedback to iterate.

In terms of project management tools, we use Jira to track our task backlog and Confluence to collaborate on outstanding issues. They also had a shared Slack workspace with us, and we hosted Google meetings several times a week.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed with the development work that they’d done, particularly from their Python engineer. Having that individual continue to work with us will be key in our decision to continue the engagement. The platform that they were able to design is in a good place considering that it’s just the first version of it. They set us up to take on heavy backend MI and analytics requirements. 

I’d also highlight the project manager who led the project. From our perspective, we can be quite involved and are somewhat demanding with our questions. But, they still helped us through the process.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Overall, I was very happy with the outcome, but some of the Google Cloud infrastructure took a bit longer than expected. Also, there were a few instances where we had to go back and re-explain some things. That was partly due to our inexperience and partly due to a bit of a language barrier.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The biggest lesson that we’ve learned internally is to keep a concise vision and then exceed expectations rather than attempting everything at once. If this is your first time building a solution from scratch, Merixstudio can help plan the functionality as long as you make sure you’re aligned on your vision. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Vertical Strategy, a management consulting house.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Merixstudio?

We hired them to do an implementation of an MVP that we’ve been developing. We were doing the research on the UX, but we didn’t have the in-house capability to actually build an MVP of that size by ourselves.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had some early-stage wireframes, and we also had some software. Merixstudio developed an iOS and Android app using React Native.

They used Django Python for the backend, and they also did some UI design. It’s a health care app that enables nurses to get remote support on difficult tasks. Users can take images with the app and send them.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 8–10 teammates, including a salesperson, a product owner, two app developers, two backend developers, two QA engineers, and an infrastructure engineer.

How did you come to work with Merixstudio?

I had a recommendation for a partner, but I broadened the scope and looked for a few different ones. I also used Clutch to find some other candidates, and Merixstudio was one of them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent €100,000–€200,000 (approximately $118,000–$237,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in April 2020, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve launched, and we’re doing analytics for the product and following up with users. We’ve only received positive feedback so far. It feels like a solid Native app that was professionally made.

How did Merixstudio perform from a project management standpoint?

They have a very stringent process, and they’re really good with the day-to-day operational and sprint planning work. We can tell that they’ve done that many times before. They’ve been very transparent. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Merixstudio has been committed to delivering a full product for us, going to lengths to make sure that we had a finished product to go to market with. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes there are some usability details that could be improved. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to have well-specified requirements. Think about the whole product in user terms as much as possible. You don’t want to get stuck halfway and have the team waiting to do work. Be prepared enough in terms of the requirements to keep up the pace of the project.