Mobiwolf

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder and owner of a startup tech company with a mobile app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Mobiwolf?

We wanted to develop the app and get it ready for market.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a dynamic prototype, and we just wanted it brought to life basically. We took their advice on the platforms because I’m not a developer, so I relied on them for the project management, and the development of the app and website.

I think part of their issue was that they recommended using Flutter, which was a fairly new platform, and I don’t think they knew how to use it.

What is the team composition?

There were 5–6 people including developers, a project manager, and a dedicated tester.

How did you come to work with Mobiwolf?

I found them on Clutch and based it on the reviews. I got some references and then I met with them in the Czech Republic prior to signing up with them.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent around $50,000 USD.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in August 2019, and the engagement stopped in January 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

The relationship started out fine, but things got quite frustrating because every time they were testing releases, there were issues that kept popping up — it dragged on for a while. We were estimating for it to be a nine-month build, and by about a year and a half, they started stagnating and going around in circles. They couldn’t come up with a solution for some of the final things, like the subscription that we needed to have embedded into it.

It just started dragging on and on, so I had to make the decision to withdraw from them. I found a developer in New Zealand to try and finish up the last bits. By the time we got it and he had looked into it, the coding was a mess and there was a reason why it took so long — there was no structure, and it was a complete mess.

Initially, we agreed to withhold the final payment until we worked out what was going on. The more people that dug in and tried to fix it just made more of a mess. I went back to them and told them it wasn’t in good shape, but I gave them a couple of options; either to provide some manpower to try and fix the mess, or just refund part of the money — they went into the no response or contact mode. After spending $50,000 they wouldn’t even respond to me or tried to make it right.

I think what they had done is subcontract the work. They didn’t keep a close eye on it so it became too much of a mess and got too hard, so they just walked away.

I have lost potential funding and a lot of potential customers because of the length of time it took, and there has been a financial impact as well, because I had to spend a whole heap of money to try and get it fixed up — it has had a huge impact and was almost catastrophic.

How was project management handled?

It was just through communication. They used GitHub for putting in the issues and bugs, and then we just used email and other things.

Is there anything that the vendor did well or that you would consider a strength?

They promised and didn’t deliver. Initially, it all seemed fine, but because I didn’t have a tech mind, I couldn’t go in and check their work — and I didn’t have a tech lead at the time so we were bootstrapping. It was a terrible experience and one that had a huge impact.

In what specific areas can they improve?

They could have coded in a professional way that was up to industry standards and used recognized disciplines — it just wasn’t there and the whole thing was a mess. I’ve had 2–3 different companies look at it since, and they were just shocked and dumbfounded by the substandard quality of work.

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?

Don’t go with Mobiwolf.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a startup founder. Naturally we are at the beginning of our development. Our team is small and efficient.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Mobiwolf?

Before contacting Mobiwolf we prepared prototype with UX design and elaborated short list of hypothesis we would need to test with MVP. Mobiwolf team was chosen to prepare project MVP of mobile application and help us with initial backend structure.

What were your goals for this project?

Main goal was to test our hypothesis. We needed to see if mobile phone video camera is capable of Recording good quality videos while moving, process the videos and store it according to our specific algorithm. All technical adjustments and camera settings needed to be tested in real life situations.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

It was pretty easy to select Mobiwolf for us. They were among first ones how replied almost immediately, gave comprehensive pricing and contributed to the project development right from the start.

Describe the project in detail.

Cyclical video recording of the situation on the road by driver’s mobile phone. Each cycle is short - just 30 sec long. If nothing Is happening then each of the following video files will be written over previous one.

If driver sees specific situation worth recording he simply taps the screen of the phone and last 30 sec of recording will be delivered into constant memory of the phone.

What was the team composition?

We had one Android developer, UX designer, QA manager and technical adviser for the whole MVP development stage.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

After several iterations over two month period we developed stable MVP good enough for beta Testings. We launched MVP at Google Play Market in Early Access mode but despite that we got huge number of downloads - over 16 thousands just in couple of days.

No critical bugs were detected on such big base of testers. Application works great and we are considering to move to the next developments according to our strategy and backlog priorities.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent communication! All suggestions, bugs, changes were considered by Mobiwolf team immediately with no delays even over weekends or holidays.

Project started almost at the same time with quarantine for Corona Virus but this fact had almost no impact of project development During whole development process we arranged only two Zoom sessions to discuss some ideas and possible improvements. This shows full understanding of all processes and professional execution of all tasks

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Responsiveness to our request, fast reaction to changes, patience ;)) and of course professionalism of each of the team members

Are there any areas for improvement?

Hard to say. I wish I could say speed but I understand that sometimes impressive speed may lead to unimpressive results ;))

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Findme Holdings. We’re developing a social networking application designed to help people find others within two kilometers of themselves. It links to other users’ social networking apps, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Mobiwolf?

We were looking to design and develop our iOS and Android app. I’d never made an app before or even worked in the IT business, so it was a very new challenge.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had an initial investigative phase and then Mobiwolf built a custom app for us.

After downloading our app, users can link it to their other social networking apps in order to see the Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts of people around them within a two-kilometer radius. Everyday users can use the app to find new friends, socialize, sell secondhand items and other purposes.

This also creates a direct connection to businesses targeting nearby people in order to make them aware of classes or products. This means that they can bring in real business from their immediate vicinity rather than rely on pushing something to followers in far-away locations.

What is the team composition?

I worked with a few people from their company, including their CEO and a designer.

How did you come to work with Mobiwolf?

I looked around for app development companies in Europe, U.A.E (where we’re based), India, and other locations. A friend recommended Mobiwolf and I found them to be the most professional and responsive group. They got back to me immediately and were clear about our project’s limitations. The other companies I contacted were late to reply.

How much have you invested with them?

I spent around $27,000 on their work, including a few additions made over the course of the development.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July 2017 and released the app a few days ago.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

People have mentioned how simple the app is to use. It’s user-friendly, easy to navigate, and works perfectly. There is an app tutorial, but there’s really no need for it because the platform was designed to facilitate accessibility. I haven’t had any complaints other than people requesting more features, which we plan on implementing in the future.

They quickly responded and fixed any bugs we identified. I couldn’t have asked for a better team. I’m sure that Mobiwolf had other projects, but they still managed to do everything immediately. They acknowledged and resolved all issues within an hour.

How did Mobiwolf perform from a project management standpoint?

The team was on top of everything. They were in touch on a daily basis to make sure I was informed regarding their progress. They investigated our product’s limitations and possibilities, as well as how best to go about achieving what I wanted. Whenever I had a query about any topic, they were quick to answer it.

I thought we would have issues based on stories I’d heard from others and due to the apps in the market, but we haven’t experienced any. I have nothing negative to say about them. Their ability to communicate in English was great. They were also good in terms of quotations and they stayed within our budget.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate their correspondence speed. Mobiwolf made an effort to answer any questions or queries I had. They never left me to wonder and were always there to help. They really delivered more than we asked of them. I’m not a tech-savvy person and they were able to help with the items I couldn’t do myself.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would appreciate it if they were able to provide more comprehensive services around legal aspects since law firms are heavily involved in this domain. Mobiwolf is brilliant, so I have no other comments.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s important to be clear about what you need. Mobiwolf is excellent at delivering exactly what you want and can even come up with suggestions on how to improve a product.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The company is a startup which made smart shoes that connect to Bluetooth. I was the CTO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Mobiwolf?

I needed someone to build an iOS application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We asked them to develop an app to track where people run and all the associated information. That was one part of the scope. We also asked them to make the design evolution. We asked them to develop something to save the user data. We gave them connected shoes to work on that. They had to make it work well.

What is the team dynamic? 

There was one engineer that worked with us for six months. He did what we asked him to do. We sent him the design and he coded the app and made sure it worked. There was also the boss who dealt with the contract.

How did you come to work with Mobiwolf?

I found them on freelancer websites and then contacted them on Skype. I went to Ukraine to get things started and was there for a month. Then I left and they continued the work. I also worked with another company that did the Android app.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost was around $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in May 2015 and we ended the project in October 2015 because we had some financial constraints.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I was happy with their work. They made the app that we wanted, things worked, and they often went the extra mile. We gave them some freedom to make decisions when we had no specifications.

How did Mobiwolf perform from a project management standpoint?

I met them twice in Ukraine. Our contact was good. We communicated mainly by email and Skyped when needed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are a small company of around 6 people, so I got a sense of family from them. I had good contact with the CEO and the engineer and would almost consider them as friends.

We also had good brainstorming sessions; it felt like working with coworkers, not with an outsourced company.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The problems were more on our side, as we were not precise enough on the specifications.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an Android developer for a member-driven conference management system and collaboration platform that combines a conference database, a registration system, and a research platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Mobiwolf?

We had an Android app for our services but needed someone to develop it for iOS. Our goal was to increase our amount of users by getting an iOS application on the App Store.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Mobiwolf developed our iOS application including the following features:

• Registration and login screen, with social login integrated as well.
• Menu with animated content.
• Requests to a server.
• Featured academic organization and map.
• Conference list with search and filter options.
• Conference details.
• Offline availability.
• Push notifications and personalized settings.
• Google Analytics.
• Option to sync conferences to device calendar.

How did you come to work with Mobiwolf?

We sent a request for quote to some mobile apps development companies in Germany, Ukraine, and other eastern European countries. Then, we selected the companies with the most affordable quotes and talked to them. We made our final decision based on our impression of them.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $6,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in April 2016 and was completed in June of the same year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were satisfied with the results. The app was developed according to our requirements and within the specified timeframe.

How did Mobiwolf perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very easy to contact using Slack and Skype. They get five stars for quality, time management, cost, and communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team always tried to understand not only our technical requirements but also the business requirements. They contributed a lot.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They should speak German, rather than only English.

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your company?

Right now, our company solves BYOD problems – bring your own device. We're a startup, and we began solving this problem at the outset. After we began, we then expanded to other mobile security problems.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenges were you attempting to address when you initiated the project with Mobiwolf?

Generally speaking, they did non-core development for us, meaning that if we need to build some UI for mobile devices or implement some functionality, then mainly they did it. I was overseeing their work.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of the project in terms of components? Did it involve custom design and development, training, or support?

Their role was to support us on the backend development side. We did most of the design work, but when we needed increased functionality, we always deferred that to them. They also conducted some usability testing once we began rolling out beta applications. 

How many projects have you worked with them on?

It was one project, but it took almost one year to complete. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How satisfied are you with the work they’ve delivered?

I’m satisfied with it. We were, at some point, reaching the time where you’re out of non-core tasks, meaning that the overall complexity of our tasks increased. At that moment, we decided to start looking for another company.

What operating systems were you working with? 

They were building applications in iOS and Android.

When working with Mobiwolf, is there anything that you'd consider unique or special compared to other developers that you’ve worked with?

I would say no. Generally, they don’t do it, what they do, meaning they are good with building Android and iOS application. They're quite competent when it comes to building basic infrastructure for iOS and Android devices.

In retrospect, are there any areas you believe they could improve upon or that you might do differently before approaching this type of project?

No. I would say they did exactly what we asked them to. It’s just our requirement gradually changed over the course of this year. With different requirements comes different solutions.

BACKGROUND

Can you briefly describe your company:

We are a startup based in British Columbia that is developing a solution for business professionals looking to network.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What were your goals going into the project?

We had already developed the initial Web application for our product, but needed to develop the mobile aspect. The mobile part of our product is what our users will interact with 90 percent of the time, and we needed it to be high quality. But, as a startup, we also had a limited budget.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of the project?

We approached Mobiwolf with our concept for the mobile application. They completed the design and development for both iOS and Android.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What was unique about working with Mobiwolf?

Mobiwolf worked very well given the time difference, and showed great dedication to our project. They were often willing to work late into the night in order to complete the project. 

Are there any areas where Mobiwolf could improve?

Mobiwolf could have better project management skills. I had to act as the project manager at times with the developers and designers not talking to each other. The whole team could be pulled together to create a more coherent, unified voice.