nomtek

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of iHomie. We’re trying to create social networks for apartment buildings and privately-owned buildings here in Sweden. We’re trying to set up an app and a website for scheduling laundry, having an internal alarm in the house through a supplier, and a small sharing economy so neighbors can help each other out with different things.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with nomtek?

I’ve worked with service providers before, but I’ve never been on the technical side. I felt hesitant hiring someone because I didn’t want to get in a situation where it’s not a good fit and the project stops.

We needed help drawing a roadmap for the project and leading the team. I wanted someone who could build our website and mobile app without me having to be too involved. I wanted to be able to trust them to do nice work and get clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started off with a workshop to draw up the technical roadmap and to find the smallest scope we could to get started. They were consultants to us in that sense. I had a very broad scope in mind, but they helped me to narrow it down. Then, they found a team and a platform to build it on. They’ve been 100% involved in everything. They provided us with our website and the app. The iOS app was built in Firebase because I didn’t want to spend too much in the beginning. We are going to build Android at a later time.

We have laundry scheduling. What was most important to us was the alarm feature in order to get our funding. Neighbors can alarm each other when something happens in the building. It’s not going to sound like an alarm; it’s a push notification We have got state grants for the alarm, so it was a key feature for us. They’re also helping us to record the users and measure their engagement.

What is the team composition?

When we are in a time crunch, there are more people. We generally have four to five people on the project.

How did you come to work with nomtek?

I found them through a firm here in Stockholm. Based on what I told them, they recommended nomtek.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent €120,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve made the first delivery, but they’re working on a couple of changes and improvements. I wanted them to launch a first version before it was completely finished. We launched in the first buildings and we’ll have the beta users testing it soon. We have positive feedback, but it’s only 10 users.

The quality is good. They do a lot of testing internally. They worked out most of our bugs so far. I don’t believe it’s crashed at all. They’ve been very good and very easy to do business with.

How did nomtek perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very involved. Their COO is involved as well. I love working with them. We pay half of what we’d pay here in Stockholm. They perform more and are very engaged in the project. When we need to scale up the team, they’ve managed to do so instantly. They’re a great team and have great team management. They have their own video conference platform that we use.

What did you find most impressive about them?

When there is an issue in communications or expectations, they’re so good to work with. We work things out easily, and I’ve never worked with a company like that before. They’re amazing; I have only good things to say about them. They’re very engaged in the project. If I tell them what I want to build and they see a way to do it in a less time-consuming manner, they will point that out and guide us through the process. They’re remarkable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve a little bit on the graphic design part. It’s because we are in different countries and have different styles. It’s small fixes.

BACKGROUND

We are a historic barbell company that manufactures top of the line equipment for professional weightlifting, powerlifting, and other types of functional strength training. Our mission is to provide the world’s best lifting equipment and education. My title is Project Leader–New Business Development and I am responsible for completion of new initiatives to support the company and lifter sport in general.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

We wanted to create a user friendly and reliable form check tool for weightlifters.

SOLUTION

Our goal was an app that could help weightlifters improve their technique, by watching tutorials, but also getting immediate feedback through a split-screen video function. We sources 20-plus developers worldwide based on a good track record and good reviews. There were many good choices, but we felt an immediate connection with the enthusiastic and intelligent developer we spoke to from nomtek. The developer got back in touch with us unprompted 24 hours after our conversation, with a proof of concept for the most challenging app feature. We felt nomtek was a company with both integrity and competence we could trust.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

We are very satisfied with both a great working relationship and a great app. The project was technically complicated and our spec was developed in an agile manner, demanding a lot of flexibility from the developer. If we could give future nomtek clients any advice it would be to have as clear a picture as you can, ask questions and raise concerns early, and trust in your working relationship.