Netcore

Please describe your company and your position there.

Owner

For what projects/services did your company hire Netcore?

To improve my web application and build a simple mobile application that would complement the web application

What were your goals for this project?

Replicate my existing application and implement roles & permissions functionality in it. Build a mobile app for users to input farm irrigation event information.

How did you select this vendor?

Based on some positive reviews I found on internet and based on what technologies they use and are proficient (according to them).

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Design one-page public homepage with login and Contact Us submissions form. Replicate crud functionality from my current web application. Replicated functionalities included: Companies, users, plantings, inputs, yields, irrigations and dashboards Create/replicate mobile app for irrigations information submission. Implement payment gateway.

What was the team composition?

I was told there are many people (~5) involved, but only one person, that I new was working on it and asking detailed questions.

What went wrong with the project?

Project is still not done (delivered) after 1.5 years (after x3 of what they estimated), and I don't see any sights that they are planning to complete and deliver on what was promised. All project payments were requested to be made in first few months of project start. Unfortunately for me, dealings with Netcore was a 100% loss on what I paid them and a lot of lost business opportunities.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Mostly we communicated through slack. At the very beginning the communication was active, I did felt the sense of urgency form Netvoere, there were some project related questions asked. Later, after most of the project money was paid, there was a dead silence…. I checked-in multiple time on progress, Andrejs (Developer) replied “no worries, everything is on schedule”.

I requested to have access, so I can also see the progress and give some guidance if needed. A. Volkovs replied that that is not possible. For few weeks Netcore did provided me an access to invision.com where I saw some page designs. I am not sure if I they were aware that I could read their comments there as well. It looked that few persons were doing/commenting there. Some comments had expletives in them.

That just shows how Netcore treat their projects/customers. Soon after, the page designs were not accessible anymore, I think they were using invision.com trial period. Overall very poor project management, after-all that explains why the project has not been completed/delivered.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

At the very beginning it was positive, there were a lot of promises, and it sounded legit. After I paid them 90% of project estimated money. My dealings with Netcore were horrible. Multiple times they were asking me more money. Sometimes money was sent through PayPal, other times to bank account and later I was informed that the bank account has been changed and i will need to send money to different bank account.

Are there any areas for improvement?

From my experience Netcore should be closed. They just can not take customer money and disappear.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a growth hacker for WheelTrick, a company that provides a gamification widget for e-commerce websites.

For what projects/services did your company hire Netcore?

We needed to hire an external resource to develop our SaaS product, which is a fully customizable widget for e-commerce websites.

What were your goals for this project?

We don't have any experience in web development but we wanted to create a widget that would help increase acquisition rates. 

How did you select this vendor?

They were referred to us by another agency we work with. We told Netcore about our idea. They did some research and created a solid development strategy, so we decided to hire them.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Netcore developed an advanced client panel where our clients are able to create fully customizable widgets for their e-commerce websites. They also gave our clients the ability to analyze statistics so they can see conversion rates from the widget.

What was the team composition?

We were assigned a project manager. The rest of the team consisted of two frontend developers and one backend developer.

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

We already have some clients using our service, and everyone loves it.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Working with Netcore was a pleasant experience. The project manager was understanding and always kept us up to date. The project manager discussed the project with us, created the documentation, and assigned tasks to developers.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Netcore’s speed and quality of work were superb. They even gave us some cool feature ideas and helped us with the marketing strategy.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We really enjoyed working with Netcore, and we didn't see anything that needs to be improved.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Marketing Manager at Sendsafe. Sendsafe is an e-mail validation tool that helps marketing people, by cleaning up their lead lists from invalid e-mail addresses.

For what projects/services did your company hire Netcore?

We hired Netcore because we needed someone who could build the internal Sendsafe system and the validation tool itself.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed a quick MVP for the e-mail validation tool so we could start using it ourselves.

How did you select this vendor?

They were suggested to us by another agency we've previously worked with. After telling them about the project and our goals, they quickly set up a good looking presentation which convinced us to choose them.

Describe the project in detail.

The project itself is very simple, as we needed a tool that can validate e-mail addresses. Netcore started working on it right away, providing us with an awesome project manager who kept us updated with the progress and provided us with a good development strategy.

What was the team composition?

The team consisted of a project manager, one back-end developer and one front-end developer

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

It's hard to measure the success of this project as it's only in its MVP state, but we are now using it every day in our workflow and we already see great results.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was very effective. The project manager who was assigned to us provided us with weekly progress reports and understood our needs right from the start

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their speed and quality development services were really impressive. In our experience usually development gets delayed by some issues, but with Netcore this was not the case.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not really. Their work was perfect.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

ExpressCredit is consumer financial service provider in Latvia, offering consumer loans, pawnbroking service, and money transfer service. I’m the marketing director of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Netcore?

We needed to build our company website to attract investors.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Netcore handled development while another agency handled design. It’s a simple informational website where visitors can easily find what they’re looking for. Netcore reviewed our design and came up with some ideas, which we gave to our designer.

What is the team composition?

I first connected with their CEO to discuss the agreement. I also worked with a project manager.

How did you come to work with Netcore?

Our company’s IT director had worked with them previously and said great things about them. We got in touch and decided to work together.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Netcore in June 2017. The project took two or three months to complete. The first version was delivered in October or November of that year, but we made a few changes and updates.

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

The site is informational, so it’s hard to measure its success. It serves as our business card for attracting more investors; we have other sites for customers. 

How did Netcore perform from a project management standpoint?

The job was clear, so I haven’t had many issues. We only talked once or twice during the project. They handled everything else.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their speed was good, and they didn’t make a lot of mistakes. I was satisfied with their work.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Talk to the owner or project manager. They know what they’re doing. You can rely on their professionalism and let them do the work.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the Head of Digital Development at SIA Lattelecom. We’re a large, telecommunication and network engineering service.

For what projects/services did your company hire Netcore?

We were planning to launch a new smart-home service with associated software and hardware, so we needed someone to finish planning our app and then design and develop it as well.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to develop our smart-home app to launch our new service within the given timeframe.

How did you select this vendor?

They were recommended to us by another agency. Soon after we reached out to them, Netcore convinced us that they’re the best candidates by providing extensive project research, proof of concept and spectacular presentation.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

Netcore provided many services including project planning, designing and developing. Workflows, wireframes, and mockups were first approved by us before actual production began. They’ve proven themselves efficient in using Agile development methodologies.

What was the team composition?

About 10 of their team members participated throughout the project, but the number changed based on what was necessary at the time. We had our own project manager and communicated with their lead developers as well.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The project was successful and we received even more demand than we initially anticipated post-launch.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Their project management was one of the most efficient and communicative efforts I’ve seen. All kinds of communication channels were established such as Slack, Skype, Jira, and Github. Our project manager ensured smooth communication and their leading developers participated in communication by providing precise reports, timeframes, and status updates. Everything was delivered within the provided deadlines and any changes or improvements were implemented quickly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

There were several impressive things I noticed, but communication stood out the most. Everything was transparent and everyone – not just the project manager, but developers too – contributed on open communication channels. There weren’t any misunderstandings, mishaps, or unexpected errors which, in my opinion, is very rare.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

I don’t think there’s a lot of things they could improve on with regards to the development process. The documentation was a bit too technical to instantly comprehend sometimes, but that’s not to say it was incomprehensible by any means.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our business is a car sales platform that hosts classifieds and advertisements throughout Latvia. A customer can sign onto our website, view the full history of their advertisements, and check out other ads. I handle administration and marketing.

What challenge were you trying to address with Netcore?

We wanted to quickly create a complex website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We wanted a website integrated with a fully functional back office system and an accessible database of logins. We also wanted to be able to adjust our posted ads and access monthly reporting.

What is the team composition?

They had a team of 10 to 15 people. Four people addressed errors and bugs before launch. I stayed in contact with the owner because he listened to our ideas.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent around €40,000 ($46,984 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January 2017 to May 2018. During that time, we stopped work for a few months due to funding issues.

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

They provided the best service possible and everything worked well. We are new, so traffic isn’t strong yet, but we can see customers visiting the website through Google Analytics and the integrated system that Netcore created. We’ve had visitors every day, which is good.

How did Netcore perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great. We didn’t have any communication issues. We mostly used email, phone, and Skype. Everything was brilliant.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner of Mediazer. We are the largest Latvian daily newspaper.

What challenge were you trying to address with Netcore?

We wanted to create a new social media management tool.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Netcore developed a custom social management platform to expedite scheduling efforts. Clients are able to link different social media accounts to the platform, then create content and select a specific time to share the post. Users can optimize their marketing potential on various social platforms with this better-organized posting strategy.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent approximately $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2016 and the partnership is ongoing.

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

Netcore’s app started with a small outreach, but our network is spreading to include Ukraine and Estonia.

How did Netcore perform from a project management standpoint?

Netcore effectively managed the project. The team communicates responsively and consistently.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They bring a unique point of view to each project.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the e-store manager for Arkolat Group, a household goods retailer. We sell items such as tableware and kitchen equipment to B2B clients. We also have a retail chain of stores where we sell to B2C clients.

What challenge were you trying to address with Netcore?

Our websites were outdated, and we were looking for a market expert to help us create a website for all our channels so we could sell our goods on the internet.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed the design, content, and backend of our e-commerce website.

What is the team composition?

I was mostly in contact with the project lead.

How did you come to work with Netcore?

We were referred to Netcore. We met and decided we liked their ideas and price.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2016–June 2017.

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

The site is mobile-friendly. It’s a big gain for us to have more mobile clients. It has a modern look and it’s easy to use.

How did Netcore perform from a project management standpoint?

In the beginning, we had a few meetings. After that, we had a week or two of Skype calls. Project management was great. I could call any time of the day, and I got my answer right away. We used Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their personal approach makes them stand out. They make it feel like you’re working with a friend. They go above and beyond to bring the results.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t hold back if you think something is too hard to do or too expensive. In our case, we were able to find a solution to bring the vision to life.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a new advertising platform for Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Estonia. It’s a free service where people can make listings for TVs and other household appliances. It also has options for paid advertisements, including highlighting and other elements that can help visibility.

What challenge were you trying to address with Netcore?

I needed to develop the platform.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Netcore provides consultancy, development, design, as well as some business and project management. They designed the logos and came up with the color scheme and layout.

What is the team composition?

I mainly interface with their chief solution architect and head of business development. I’ve also communicated a few times with the development team to report the errors encountered during testing.

How did you come to work with Netcore?

I found them on Facebook, contacted them, and scheduled a meeting. Netcore quickly understood what I needed, which was very nice. Other companies gave me steep prices and didn’t fully grasp my idea.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost was above €25,000 ($29,087 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Netcore in May 2017. The collaboration is ongoing.

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

The platform is running smoothly, and as an end-user, I can say that the design looks great. As with every project, there have been some hiccups, but those mainly occurred during the testing phase. I reported some obvious issues that they should've foreseen, and while it was a struggle at first, everything has gone really well in general.

How did Netcore perform from a project management standpoint?

Working with them is easy. I usually get responses to emails within the first hour. We had constant communication during the building phase in order to know what was happening. They provided updates nearly every three hours.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I simply gave them my main idea and they understood everything, which they proved when they developed the first elements and presented them to me. Their communication and responsibility are remarkable as well, and while there were some issues and errors, they fixed everything quickly.

I will definitely continue to use their team for future projects. I know how they operate, and I know the people working there. I just hope that they hire some good testers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The testing phase didn’t go as well, given that I had to do almost everything myself. They were short on testers at the time, which I can understand, but I think that customers need to receive products that don’t have any obvious errors. In my case, I got an error immediately after accessing the tool, which could’ve been avoided.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a co-founder of GO Projects. Our platform allows freelancers from a variety of industries to market their skills and connect with those looking to hire them.

What challenge were you trying to address with Netcore?

I had the idea to create this platform and knew how it should work, but I needed to outsource the development process.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Netcore team managed all aspects of design and development in building a website that was capable of supporting our platform. They provided substantive input on the website’s structure and overall layout. The website allows freelancers in Latvia to make a profile, attach their portfolio, and market the services that they offer. The site now has a wealth of freelancers ranging from handymen to financial services specialists.

What is the team composition?

Netcore’s owner served as my primary point of contact and liaised with the rest of his team. I met with the web designer a few times in the planning stages to discuss layout, color schemes, and functionality.

How did you come to work with Netcore?

My partner had hired them for a previous project and recommended them. I approached Netcore and had a couple of conversations with them. They offer a broad variety of services and I liked the way they think.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between €20,000–€25,000 ($23,406–$29,257 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2016, and the project concluded in April 2017.

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

Our website was up and running within six months of hiring them. They came up with productive ideas on their own accord and were clearly vested in our project’s success.

How did Netcore perform from a project management standpoint?

I generally prefer to speak on the phone, but they pushed for communication via email to avoid misinterpretations. I adjusted accordingly, and they were right. With this kind of project, it was an advantage to have everything in writing. We appreciated their emphasis on this. They were always professional, and they did their job very well.

There were a few delays throughout the project, but it was never a serious issue and most were on our end. We compensated by completing other aspects of the project early, and we were still able to launch the site on schedule.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I like their approach. They were forthcoming with their own input and delivered everything we agreed on. They were open-minded and very proactive throughout the project.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear with your own ideas and identify your overarching goals. When you successfully convey your ideas, they’ll provide excellent advice. Be open to their ideas; they’re knowledgeable and extremely capable. Even if they say something isn’t possible or should be done differently, you can push them and they reliably come up with solutions.