OQTACORE dev

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the owner and CEO of SPEAK. It is a platform that allows people to get help from therapists remotely anywhere anytime.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire OQTACORE dev, and what were your goals?

We wanted to make the first version of the app using the ideas we had, but we had no experience in IT before. We needed a team that would basically take every possible aspect of building an IT startup, including steps we didn’t even know existed. OQTACORE team explained to us what MVP is, they did market research and created a roadmap for us. We had the first version in 4 months, it was a few months earlier than I could even create a merchant account with my bank!

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

I reviewed three companies and chose Oqtacore because their workflow fit my situation best. The deciding factors were definitely their technical skills and their expertise in building IT startups that I watched in our interview sessions. I was told what to expect, and what the deliverables and schedule would be, even before I thought about it.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Oqtacore was included in all aspects of the project. I gave them a basic idea of “Uber for therapists”, and they started with market research, competitor analysis and presenting me with a roadmap for the next 2 years which I approved. They did everything: ideation, design, development, testing, and deployment.

They helped us define the functionality of the platform, provided recommendations on how to best implement specific features, and efficiently executed the deliverables. The technical level of understanding was always very helpful. The platform is technology-intensive with audio & video calls, the team spent a considerable effort in making them as good as in Whatsapp. Oqtacore also created an in-service CRM system for therapists with customer billing, session notes, and appointment calendar.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I mainly dealt with Dmitriy (CTO) and Saveliy (Project Manager), but they had at least half a dozen people working on the project, based on my understanding.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We received excellent feedback from our users. We are satisfied with the team’s work and are enjoying the software. We started small, and it is important that Oqtacore has used a scalable cloud-based architecture for future growth since we expect hundreds of thousands of users in the coming years. Oqtacore continues to provide support and maintenance and I am also planning to create an application for IOS and Android with them.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Once a week we had Zoom calls to discuss product updates and any open technology questions, and it was very helpful for us. It was a great way to talk through the project, and a useful tool for them to show what they’re working on and give feedback in real-time. In addition, we used Slack and Jira as project management tools.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

We were constantly aware of all the processes of the development and could ask for a detailed review at any time. What we appreciate most is that they always had their own view of what we could do better - they were really immersed in the process. We developed great relationships with the Oqtacore team, the budgeting and schedule were also in line.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nothing I can think of. They always took our budget into account and managed our expectations around timelines and what was realistic for our first MVP.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Flymining is an eco-friendly cloud mining farm. I am an executive.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire OQTACORE dev, and what were your goals?

I approached the team with an idea of increasing return on investment on my already purchased Bitcoin mining hardware. Then we built a transparent and eco-friendly cloud mining farm and proved that it was possible to build it around our value proposition.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

I had already worked with OQTACORE on another project and was impressed by their professionalism, expertise, transparency, and high quality of deliverables.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

OQTACORE started coming up with different ideas, like building a crypto exchange, a crypto reseller, and a cloud mining service. We decided to build a cloud mining service. They visited a couple of facilities around the world to see the best practices and then designed their own version of mining containers, which I think is very good—they managed to avoid having any fans inside.

Parallel to building the mining facility, OQTACORE also started writing the online platform and software for managing the facility. They showed exceptional abilities both in implementing a user-friendly interface for the online platform and serious C++ embedded programming skills for monitoring mining hardware programmatically.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

There were 10 people working on the deliverables and 2 people that I interfaced with most of the time, Dmitriy (CTO) and Saveliy (CBDO).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

OQTACORE built both the hardware and software in addition to managing advertising. They built awesome mining containers in an extremely efficient manner. The platform was initiated in February 2018 and it got its first customers in April 2018, just 2 months after the platform development started. The system was very raw, but we managed to sell the hashing power to a few clients.

Then there were zero sales for the beginning of summer 2018 (we disabled advertising to allow developers to build up on the system), and then saw growing sales between August-December of 2018. OQTACORE still maintains the platform. OQTACORE is an extremely self-organized team. Just make sure your idea is worth building on, that you have enough funds, and they will do the rest.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We collaborate closely with them via email and Skype. They use a very disciplined approach, driving the team to produce quality results. The team holds daily stand-up meetings and weekly review sessions. Their management style is supported by excellent communication skills.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

OQTACORE is impressive in that they did not see themselves as a service provider. They donned the hat of a co-founder and treated our project like their own. It was admirable to see them prioritize the success of this project over their own business development efforts.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Not really, I am very satisfied with the work done.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

FlyStat is an Instagram Analytics online service. It helps business owners control the quality of Social Media Marketing (SMM) projects, reduce costs for controlling SMM staff, and avoid losses from poor social media performance. I’m the CEO of FlyStat.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire OQTACORE dev, and what were your goals?

In 2015, Instagram was already at full speed, but it was hard to find a good content manager. I decided to create an online service that can get actual statistical and analytical information on Instagram. Previously, there was no way to track statistics on Instagram and this service was very promising. OQTACORE did all the development based on my basic UI drawings and their cust dev sessions. The project had lasted 2 years, when Instagram changed their API and cut us off their platform. It became clear that FlyStat would not be a quick win, so I decided to close it.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

I happened to see an advertisement on Google. Next thing, we scheduled a call with OQTACORE’s team. At first, I was rather pessimistic, as the team seemed too young to me. But they had the experience of building similar Instagram projects, so I thought I'd give it a go. The result surpassed all expectations.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

FlyStat consists of several parts: member area, Instagram data parser, platform statistics, platform administrator, financial dashboard platform. The full project lasted 2 years, but the first version was launched in just 5 months, after which we did iterations and pivots, trying to attract customers. The OQTACORE team did all the work, except for UI design, as we had our own vision. They used my drawings and made the platform look exactly as I wanted. We had the most trouble with data collection—at its peak, FlyStat had to monitor 15 million Instagram accounts and update their data every hour. The work on this module took more time than I expected, but then it worked well. None of the other modules brought any considerable trouble.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

During our first engagement, our team included about 4-5 people. I communicated with the team directly, including Dmitriy (CTO) and Saveliy (CBDO).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

FlyStat started acquiring users 3 months after its start in 2015, and a year after we started, it already had 5000 users with 100 of them paying. Between 2016 – 2017, FlyStat was noticed by many large European SMM magazines and was recommended as one of the best analytics tools in Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, it was killed by Instagram itself, when it removed all the analytics APIs and implemented all analytics inside its own app, making all third party services redundant and unnecessary. But back in 2015 when the project was started, it was gaining traction quickly. When Instagram destroyed FlyStat’s business model with one of its updates of API, we had 40k accounts in the system with 400 paying users. I had to close that project, but I stuck with the team and we started another one.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We primarily communicated via Skype and email. They communicate effectively and provide more than mere development, offering constructive suggestions for improvement.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their communication was exemplary. The fact that they understood what I was trying to describe to them was great, as well as the questions they asked. That was probably what attracted me to form this long-term relationship and made me want to start a new project with them.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

No. They have done a great job.