MIFY SOLUTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and director of development for Limadi. We provide IT solutions for small and mid-sized businesses, which includes everything from POS systems to payment apps. We’re trying to make them affordable for small businesses and optimize the workflows of different industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with MIFY SOLUTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED?

We write down customers’ requirements, then we find programmers for the actual development. That’s why we hired MIFY SOLUTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’re working on our first project with them. They’re creating a transportation-route optimization solution for transport companies, in the form of a website and mobile app for our users.

We discussed the technology part with them, but we don’t usually interfere with what solutions our suppliers use. We simply gave them the requirement that the solution had to work for iOS and Android, using the best technologies.

What is the team composition?

The team size has varied. Based on our discussions, there are 5–10 people involved. There’s an account manager, a project manager, a lead developer, a designer, and three programmers – for web, Android, and iOS respectively.

How did you come to work with MIFY SOLUTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED?

When we were initially considering them, we proceeded with someone else for the project. Our contact from MIFY SOLUTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED remained interested and always asked how it was going. Even though we were working with someone else, he offered advice.

When we got the transport solution project, I talked to my team about trying MIFY SOLUTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED without going to anyone else. We picked them based on how they treated us and the good advice they gave. The company we chose for that previous project couldn’t deliver what they promised, so we stopped that collaboration.

How much have you invested with them?

Because we pay as they finish milestones, I think we’ve paid them around $3,000 so far. The collaboration is very new.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with MIFY SOLUTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED started in March 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We wouldn’t have a product without them. Quality is a big thing: it’s money, timelines, and the solution itself. It’s high-standard, and they know exactly what we want. I’ve had negative experiences with similar developers in the past. With MIFY SOLUTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED, it’s the opposite.

They actually understand, instead of just saying that they do and delivering something else. When they say they understand, they really do, and I can see that when they deliver small tasks. They’re not greedy; their prices are very good, and they don’t actually charge anything before delivering the product.

Every time they deliver a milestone, I have a chance to review and comment it, and they’ll make any necessary changes. They ask for payments only after I’m satisfied.

How did MIFY SOLUTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m a control freak when it comes to tools, and I’d say that they’re up to date. They keep timelines with great presentations, proposals, milestones, and task breakdowns. That works very well. They use Excel and PowerPoint. I’d prefer to use Trello and project boards, but that’s difficult to do when they’re in India and we’re in Denmark. We have 1–2 updates a week and workshops every 10 days or when necessary.

Their team is realistic with timelines. They usually put some extra time in and complete before, so they have a 35%–40% buffer. What they don’t account for in their project management are changes from the client. It’s difficult to calculate with them, but it’s understandable. I don’t know whether they could do anything better in that area, because it’s very difficult to say how a client will react.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their best qualification is that they put the client first. When I come with something ridiculous, they won’t say no or that it’ll cost extra. Sometimes, the client will come up with a new idea and want to shift the work, but MIFY SOLUTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED won’t just say that it’ll involve a new project and that everything the client’s paid for is lost.

They’ll try to understand why the gap is so big, and try to get the best solutions. It’s very important to understand customers. I have a lot of customers, and now I’m the customer, and I know how difficult it can be. They’re better than me at this. Their team knows what to ask for and how to ask, and they’re always very calm. They’re great at understanding what the customer means.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t know how they calculate their prices. They gave me 4–5 proposals for different projects. The transportation app was the cheapest one, but most difficult. They may have decided to give us this one for cheaper, and then be more realistic with the rest. All of the projects have the same timelines with varied pricing. I think that it’s important for them to understand it from the customer’s point of view when giving a proposal.

The pricing is still very good, including the more expensive estimates. Their quality is one of the best, so I just have to understand their pricing more. When my partners and investors ask about pricing, I give them an explanation. When I give them a proposal for a simple software solution that costs more than the most complex one we have in the portfolio, it’ll be very difficult for me to explain.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I usually think differently than others, but I’d tell another customer to be clear about their end goal, instead of being too detailed with specific requirements. If they do that, they’ll fail from the beginning. If there’s an end goal, the customer should include 5–10 words on what it should look like when it’s done, and then make a breakdown. They’re great at that.

That’s why our collaboration has worked very well. I told them from the beginning what my end dream was, but I didn’t know how to get there or what the small details were. We didn’t have a logo or colors; I just told them it had to be “nice.” The team had their designers make some options we could choose form. If I told them I wanted certain shapes and buttons, the end result wouldn’t have been as good.