OTAKOYI

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the business unit manager of an IT services and consulting company.

What challenge were you trying to address with OTAKOYI?

Our company didn’t have any mobile app developers in-house, so we were looking for someone to supplement our mobile app development efforts.

What was the scope of their involvement?

OTAKOYI helped us build and develop a mobile shopping app on iOS and Android. It’s a marketplace app that presents and catalogs products accurately and provides users with relevant information.

The app is yet to launch as the client is in the midst of deciding whether they should migrate their platform from Shopify to Magento. As of now, we’re still working with the team on multiple projects.

What is the team composition?

For this project, we worked with an Android developer, iOS developer, QA engineer, project manager, and technical manager.

How did you come to work with OTAKOYI?

I already established a professional relationship with OTAKOYI from my previous company, so we called them up once the opportunity to develop a mobile app made itself available.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve invested around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in May 2021.

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

Our general feedback on the collaboration is the quality of their work is quite satisfactory. They help us accomplish our clients’ requests and get the right people involved in certain projects with specific needs.

How did OTAKOYI perform from a project management standpoint?

They perform well from a project management standpoint as they have excellent communication skills and are very proactive when it comes to delivering our needs. We typically interact through Slack and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Apart from their level of technical expertise, we like that OTAKOYI doesn’t underestimate their tasks and they try to fully understand the scope of the project. They also have a very customer-centric approach, which enables them to be present during client meetings.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great if they could take the initiative and propose more projects to the client, and be more proactive in suggesting different solutions.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have the necessary requirements and decide which ideas you want to put forward. Not only will OTAKOYI deliver from a technical perspective, but they will also be very honest and transparent with the process and technology they’re going to implement.

Introduce your business and what you do there? 

I’m a project manager for Plusonex, a software development company.

What challenge were you trying to address with OTAKOYI?

We were looking for a new company to finish the development of the website for one of our clients.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided them with the existing code of the website. They did the front- and backend development to complete the website. Some of the technologies they used were React, Node.js, WebSocket, Chakra UI, and Google APIs. The platform was created for a car company.

What is the team composition? 

We worked with 3–5 developers, a QA lead, and a project manager.

How did you come to work with OTAKOYI?

My boss did the hiring.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $200,000–$999,999.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July 2021–February 2022.

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

The OTAKOYI team delivered the product we requested, but there were some speed and quality issues. They took on every challenge presented to them but struggled with some of the more complex aspects of the project.

Our company would still resolve some of the issues prior to launching. Our client wasn’t happy about the delay. However, it was a pleasure to work with the team. They just need more experience to move from the intermediate to senior level.

How did Otakoyi perform from a project management perspective?

The project manager was concise and clear about what needed to be done. We used ActiveCollab for ticket creation and assignments and Coda.io for technical documents. We had strong communication with them, and they asked for clarifications whenever necessary. We communicated through daily standup calls and Discord. We also used Google Translate to resolve the initial language barrier.

What did you find most impressive about them? 

The team was respectful and kind, and I appreciated that they didn’t challenge my judgment.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were instances where the same task had to be sent back to them several times from QA to be fixed. The developers need to be more detail-oriented. Rather than relying heavily on QA, they could’ve ensured that the functionality and UI they produced were complete and accurate. Their team should’ve taken their time in finding and resolving bugs by themselves.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Prior to starting the project, make sure communication is good and that the team is comfortable approaching you with questions and concerns.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an IT project manager for an international tobacco company.

What challenge were you trying to address with OTAKOYI?

We hired OTAKOYI resources to develop a system. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

OTAKOYI developed a web-based app for us. The team handled everything from front- and backend development to integrations — the app was integrated with pretty much everything. They also worked on its UI/UX design. Their resources built the wireframes based on conversations and requirements. Moreover, OTAKOYI also advised us around certain features we wanted to include in the app. They also worked on guiding us around different ways of implementing such features.

What is the team composition?

We worked with one frontend developer, one backend developer, and a project manager.

How did you come to work with OTAKOYI?

We went over several vendors. The vendor we chose wasn’t OTAKOYI; it was another team that outsourced the work to them. For context, we had a working relationship with a company that was then dissolved. I trusted the lead architect of that company, so when he told me that the resources they were using were good, I took his word for it. That was the start of our engagement with OTAKOYI.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent approximately $100,000–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement lasted from November 2017–March 2019.

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

The web app that we built with OTAKOYI was stable, and few bugs were reported by users. In other words, the project was successful, especially considering the complexity of the integrations in the front- and backend. 

Moreover, end users could utilize the platform seamlessly; it was robust — people wouldn’t have used it if it wasn’t. Overall, the project was extraordinarily done. We even used an external resource to test the system, and it passed the test. 

How did OTAKOYI perform from a project management standpoint?

OTAKOYI’s project management was good. They met deadlines. In fact, they delivered weeks ahead of the final deadline. In terms of tools, we used Jira and Confluence for the project’s documentation. To communicate, we used emails and phone calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The resources we used from OTAKOYI were great at their job. On top of that, they were extremely humble and easy to work with — they knew better than us as their client, but they still worked based on our requirements. If I had a chance to work with them again, I’d do it in a heartbeat because of how good they were at both the personal and professional levels. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

During our engagement, I requested them to speak up and voice any concerns that they may have so we could have a discussion. Since they were the experts in the field, I needed them to tell me if our ideas were bad or if we could do the project in another way. We wanted the relationship to be more collaborative instead of just giving them our requirements. 

To be fair, this simply indicated that they were truly humble. In any case, they took my request and started doing it; they improved later in the engagement. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Working with OTAKOYI is easy. You simply have to ensure that the team voices their concerns and provides their ideas. That way, you’ll get the most out of your collaboration. The team has many ideas that are way better than their clients'.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of an online travel agency called Owayy, and we’re located in Denmark, Copenhagen. We focus on offering unique accommodations in Nordic countries.

What challenge were you trying to address with OTAKOYI?

We wanted to do a custom solution for our site that would be more scalable than the current solution we had in WordPress and WooCommerce.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provide us with full-time front- and backend developers to complete the custom solution on our site, with the goal of improving usability on our platform. Their tech stack includes Node.js and Vue.js. We've recently launched the project, and we'll continue to develop new features with the team.

What is the team composition?

We work with a couple of front- and backend developers, and we’ve also been involved with their CTO. We also collaborated with their project manager up until we got our internal project manager.

How did you come to work with OTAKOYI?

We found OTAKOYI through a contact who also outsourced work to them. They set us up so we went to meet the team.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested approximately $125,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in September 2020, and it’s ongoing.

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

We’ve successfully launched the project two weeks ago so it’s hard to share any metrics right now, but they've been able to stick with our budget. However, we could say that OTAKOYI produces high-quality work, and they’ve enabled all our required features to function well. On top of that, we’ve been getting a lot of customers on the site, and they seem pretty happy with our platform. Overall, we’re very satisfied with their performance.

How did OTAKOYI perform from a project management standpoint?

We have good communication; we usually have weekly meetings, but we change it to daily meetings during our busy season. We're using GitHub and Trello, but we’re now moving everything to Jira. Additionally, we communicate through Slack, Skype, Google, and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very accessible to us because it only takes an hour and a half to get to them. Above all, OTAKOYI is always online so they’re available anytime we need them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were a little slow on delivery before and we had a little problem with their project manager. However, as soon as I told them about that, they were quick to find a replacement. At that time, we didn’t get to choose or see our project manager’s background before we were matched with that person. We would’ve liked to have met the team before starting the project.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d recommend them to others, especially for startups because they offer good pricing and quality. Since they’re highly accessible, customers could frequently ask them for change requests.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the marketing director and handle all of our digital presence.

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

Our website was created on wordpress in 2014 and has since had many facelifts, but the cosmetic changes were not overcoming the issues with speed. We had started to receive a large amount of traffic to our blogs and we were upset that we did not have a better ui to convert those users. We hired them to redevelop our website from zero - but keeping all of our blogs in-tact so that we could capitalize on our traffic.

How did you select OTAKOYI and what were the deciding factors?

The CEO approached me on linkedin looking at expanding into the Japanese market. When the timing came around - I reconnected with him to discuss a larger project which we are now in the process of developing. But as a first step we decided to try to have them redevelop our main school website. We looked at their previous work and the reviews from other clients on this platform and other websites.

After speaking with them, it became clear that their processes were very professional and streamlined, allowing us to feel comfortable in taking the first step with them towards development.

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

First we had a series of meetings to discuss needs and the initial project scope, then they got back to us with an initial estimate for a discovery phase to determine our scope and develop a clickable prototype. This was great because it allows us flexibility. And the planning stage has a deliverable in the form of a clickable prototype.

After the discovery phase was completed we were able to collaborate visually and see the finished look of the website before the development phase began, that saved considerable cost and we were very happy with that result.

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

We worked with an account manager, several developers and a main project manager. The main project manager invited us to a shared collaborative workspace and he handled 95% of the communication and client needs, which was very convenient for us. They were always communicative and speedy in terms of their reaction to problems and getting things fixed quickly.

If anything did go wrong, it was fixed within an hour or two usually, depending on the complexity of the need - small things were fixed in minutes.(During business hours)

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

We just launched the site so will have to update this later - but having this new website allows us to directly book sales appointments at a higher rate and we are converting much more of our blog traffic into inquiries.

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

Communication was great, we had a shared workspace using slack and the main project manager had weekly zoom meetings to discuss progress and show off the prototype. When the development phase reached its later stages - we were able to login to the development environment and add changes to thinks like marketing copy directly ourselves which was nice.

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

Everything. Normally when you see a company with a great design portfolio like Otakoyi, there is a tradeoff. They provide a level of support and design intelligence and quality that is more than our expectation. This for what we were quoted by other vendors in the market. They have a collaborative design process and they listen well and can react and interpret client needs quickly.

They also fix things quickly whenever they go wrong. Highly recommend them.

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

When we launched, we forgot to communicate a few things about having a shared wordpress file directory. This was partly our fault - but when doing a deployment, they could double check and force the client to pause to make sure nothing will get broken. Again, this was mainly our fault. :D But yes, other than that pretty prefect.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Solaris Japan is a leading online retailer for anime and video game products. I founded the company in 2008 in Tokyo.

For what projects/services did your company hire OTAKOYI?

We had a very rudimentary "my orders" page which didn't allow the customer to edit or receive updates for his orders. Otakoyi helped us with redesigning the "my orders" page in a way that customers can now edit or cancel their order and also change their shipping method.

Claims for lost and damaged items can also be filed with the new system. The overhaul not only allows for a much better user experience but also cuts down on customer support tickets.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to integrate all order related actions into the "my account" page, so the customer could update their order without having to go through customer support first. We also wanted to automate more of the steps to reduce hours needed to deal with menial tasks like initiating a cancelation or shipping upgrade.

How did you select OTAKOYI?

After approaching us through LinkedIn, we scheduled a quick call to talk about working on some potential projects together. The call went great and after looking a bit more at their beautiful web presence and quality of existing projects, we knew we had to work together.

We have worked with other companies in the past but none of them had the broad skillset and high quality of work as OTAKOYI. Right out the gate they were very pro-active and hands on, we could immediately tell we were in good hands.

Describe the project in detail.

We started off with a call going over the project requirements and the reasons behind why we needed to overhaul our "my orders" page. After that we provided slides of the current designs with explanation how things should change.

We left the exact implementations of the new UI up to OTAKOYI, since we were very impressed with their existing projects UI/UX. Just a few days later we received the first mockups for confirmation, to make sure the project was heading in the right direction.

They came up with great and clean solutions to implement all our feature requests and even added some of their own ideas to improve the overall user experience. We would keep receiving updates and interactive prototypes continuously. All our requests and tweaks were implemented promptly and communication was smooth.

What was the team composition?

We were assigned three people to our project. A general manager, a project manager and a designer.

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

Within the first 6 weeks after the update, customer support tickets relating to order changes went down by 76%. Our customers are super happy with being able to quickly update their orders right from within their "my orders" page without having to reach out to customer support.

Also since the order updates are instantly reflected in our backend there is no longer any accidental fulfillments of orders that needed to be updated and didn't reach the fulfillment center in time.

The update has allowed us not only to increase customer satisfaction but also reduce cost at the same time. The whole project was a great success.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Thanks to always having an open line of communication, the workflow between our teams was great. The frequent updates made it easy to see how the project was progressing and allowed us to quickly clarify or tweak details whenever needed.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Not only did the team implement all of the features as requested, they even filled in some of the gaps we failed to address. The result was that the overhaul ended up much more comprehensive than expected.

A lot of edge cases where considered and there for pitfalls avoided. OTAKOYI really took the time to understand the project and create something complete. So often when dealing with third parties they just try to rush through the project doing the bare minimum to check all the boxes without making sure everything actually makes sense and fits together.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Of course, everything could always be cheaper. Our initial budget for the project was a bit smaller than where we ended up at. But considering all the extra details that OTAKOYI made sure to include, the project also became bigger and in the end better than originally planned.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of WikiHero. We’re a startup.

What challenge were you trying to address with OTAKOYI?

I have a design background but didn’t a technical founder. I needed a partner to execute my vision.

What was the scope of their involvement?

While I created initial designs, we started the engagement with business analysis. We had a round when we established the project’s requirements. Their team then managed the whole project including the development and the QA process. They built a responsive web app.

What is the team composition?

At the beginning of the project, I worked with an account manager and a business analyst to work out the scope. During the project, I worked with a project manager and three developers behind them.

How did you come to work with OTAKOYI?

One of the reasons that I decided to engage OTAKOYI was Clutch. I read reviews and searched many websites of development agencies in Ukraine. Their reviews on Clutch were the most trustworthy, so that’s why I decided to contact them. I looked at their past projects and thought that it was worth a try.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent about $20,000 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We officially started the project in March 2020, and our partnership’s ongoing.

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

We delivered on time at the right cost. They weren’t the cheapest option, but they were within the range. It’s a pleasure to work with them. When we met or reviewed features, it was an easy experience. We have a good relationship

We launched the website, and it works perfectly. We only had minor bugs, so it wasn’t a hassle to review the whole website.

How did OTAKOYI perform from a project management standpoint?

We had a Slack channel, which allowed for ongoing communication. Once every two weeks, we had a call to review sprints. We also had other calls as needed. While their team was fairly autonomous, I was in touch with their project manager who kept me in the loop. We also used GitLab where I interacted with the team and answered questions.

They kept their deadlines. There was maybe a difference of 1–2 weeks, which is quite good for development. It was a smooth process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They made the engagement enjoyable. Their team didn’t just want to make the product; they were transparent and helpful along the way. Their team proposed solutions and wanted to improve my idea. For example, there were a few cases when the designs didn’t fit the technical solution. Their team was independent enough to propose a solution that didn’t add another bundle of costs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s always room for improvement. There was one case when I asked for a search feature that could be hard to complete correctly. I said that we needed to test the feature, but they reassured me that there wouldn’t be problems. When we shipped, it wasn’t adapted to help people search. Their team needed more context and time.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It would be helpful to lay down all the details with them. I had a clear vision of what I wanted, which could be helpful to them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of United Software Solutions.

What challenge were you trying to address with OTAKOYI?

We needed additional full stack and design resources for several projects we got around the same time.

What was the scope of their involvement?

OTAKOYI helps with the back- and frontend development and UX design of a web solution for a client. We specified our requirements for the type of resources we needed, such as having a good set of soft skills. We also asked for a project manager because we needed to coordinate some staff, and we occasionally need help with estimations as well. They sometimes speak directly with clients as well as with our internal team.

What is the team composition?

They had an engagement manager at the beginning, and then the project manager coordinates the team.

How did you come to work with OTAKOYI?

We used Clutch to find a company that had a good price and good quality.

How much have you invested with them?

My company has spent $100,000–$120,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2019, and the work is ongoing.

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

They had people available and built the team for us really fast. We have had a smooth cooperation. It’s a good feeling that they have our back. They’re experts at what they do. Our clients are happy, as are our engineers. They bring good value.

How did OTAKOYI perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is good. They have good communication skills. We talk every week, and they have ongoing communication with the team. They use Jira to manage the tasks and bugs. Their management takes time to communicate and ask what’s going on. They have feedback sessions from time to time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re honest and passionate about what they’re working with. They try to understand the project from the inside. They bring ideas on the fly, which helps a lot as well. They’re a great company to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everything is good so far. They perform well. They exceeded our expectations of coordinating the team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them the project specifics and explain your ideas to them. They really want to lead the project. Give them a bit more information so you can expect more engagement. Sometimes, they bring really great ideas on how to implement things.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a software company that develops video apps for the automotive and real estate market.

For what projects/services did your company hire OTAKOYI?

We needed to revamp our customer invoicing system for our resellers. We were also looking for a couple of full time backend php developers for on-going projects and system support.

What were your goals for this project?

To completely revamp the customer invoicing system that we currently have and to have strong reliably team of developers to do additional projects and system support once OTAKOYI proved they were able to finish the invoicing project in time and within budget.

How did you select this vendor?

We went through YouTeam, an online outsourcing portal. We interviewed several companies and selected OTAKOYI after interviewing the developers that they were gonna provide for our project.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Our resellers use our app to capture videos automotive dealers and need to have an easy way to bill the dealers for their work. Our invoicing system allows them to easily create an invoice directly from our app and send it to the dealer after completing the job while they are onsite. OTAKOYI was hired to help us completely overhaul the invoicing system to make it more robust and more user friendly.

What was the team composition?

A project manager and two full developers.

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

Our users, esp. the resellers using our app to capture video and then be able to bill their customers from the app has increased the adoption of additional resellers using the app for their invoicing needs. In addition, this new invoicing system has led to higher retention due to higher usage and better integration.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We have a project management call twice a week to review the tasks assigned to the developers. Each task is assigned a deadline for completion. The project is well organized and has therefore resulted in timely completion of the projects and within budget.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We've been very impressed by OTAKOYI. Their developers have been top notch so far. They are very knowledgeable and very technically proficient. In addition, unlike other development firms we've worked with, these developers think outside the box.

They make recommendations that we haven't thought about. On top of everything, having interacted with management we feel we can trust OTAKOYI as a company. We are looking forward to working with them for a long time to come as a trusted development firm for all our development needs.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We've thoroughly enjoyed working with OTAKOYI so far and have no complaints. The only one small issue is the time difference which makes it difficult to collaborate more closely.

Please describe your company and your position there.

CTO - I manage all the technology initiatives and operations at the company.

For what projects/services did your company hire OTAKOYI?

Develop several web apps to streamline operations and reporting.

What were your goals for this project?

Making data accessible and useful. Helping Operations team correctly prioritize work. Streamline current data management processes

How did you select this vendor?

They were recommend by a business partner. We used them for a small project and they delivered ahead of schedule, and produced a product that exceeded our expectations. After the initial product, we contracted them to build several more web apps for us.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

1) Operations Dashboard - a page that summarizes current and scheduled work by employee, giving management a quick overview so we can identify issues (not enough work for an employee) and proactively work to remedy the situation 2) A Heat map showing amount of activity by region - helping hire and/or redirect current employees to service regions with higher volumes 3) An employee service locations map - showing areas covered by each employee, helping shift work to reduce employee drive time 4) A Portal where employees can get a quick overview of their overall work load, and communicate with the operations team.

What was the team composition?

Otakoyi provided a project manager, a designer, and 2 developers.

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

Tools Otakoyi developed are used daily to direct work done by the team. This visibility has helped increase worker productivity , and has led to significantly more work from the existing staff, as well as identifying areas we needed to hire additional staff.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Very effective communication using a combination of Slack, Email, and web conferences.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Primarily the speed in which they delivered quality software. We've also happy with their positive attitude and engineering excellence - their suggestions significantly improve the products we ask them to build.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that I can think of. They're able to quickly deliver everything we ask.