NYC Devshop

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The Mom Project is a digital talent marketplace and community that connects accomplished women with world-class companies for rewarding opportunities. After having children, 43% of professional women opt out of the workforce. This represents the single largest brain drain in our economy. Conversely, businesses are turning to contingent labor. We provide an avenue for women who are looking to return to the workforce for project, part-time, or full-time positions. I am an executive of the company [CFO].

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with NYC DevShop?

We needed to build an MVP [minimum viable product] of our talent platform. The website is a digital marketplace so it required algorithms that could match talent with projects. In addition, the algorithm had to have a high level of accuracy.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Based on our requirements, NYC DevShop developed our solution using Ruby on Rails. This is a technology that NYC DevShop specializes in. We had 2 designers and 2 developers from NYC DevShop's team, and we interacted with them directly.

How did you come to work with NYC DevShop?

NYC DevShop ranked as one of Inc.com’s top 10 developers in New York. We vetted them against 3–4 other options. We saw that NYC DevShop had a good balance of design and engineering capabilities. It was also important that they seemed to believe in our mission.

How much have you invested with NYC DevShop?

This is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with NYC DevShop in December 2015. In the coming years, we are planning to make multiple enhancements to the platform.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We've had very high engagement so far with our solution. Around 6,000 talented professionals have signed up, as well as nearly 200 companies. The platform has served as an effective marketplace for fostering the community. I'd say it's met our expectations so far.

How did NYC DevShop perform from a project management standpoint?

NYC DevShop developed the website on time and within the budget. We collaborated using Trello, which NYC DevShop provided for us.

What did you find most impressive about NYC DevShop?

NYC DevShop's CEO has a good balance of engineering acumen and business savvy. Since the agency will be building the initial framework for those businesses, NYC DevShop needed to be more than a technical partner. This is important for someone partnering with startups.

Are there any areas NYC DevShop could improve?

Some of NYC DevShop's UI/UX designs could have been stronger, but there will always be something to improve.