Plan A

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Regate, an all-in-one financial management platform. On top of our financial management services, we also generate all the accounting entries that we push into our accounting software. Our current market is France, but we have European ambitions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Plan A?

We were growing fast, so our biggest challenge was scaling up our team. Thus, we were looking for a European partner that could help us grow our team quickly. One of our main requirements was having quality developers who could join and integrate into our existing French team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Plan A has provided us with resources to augment our development team. Initially, we took a lot of time discussing our requirements, after which they started vetting candidates based both on their technical and human skills.

What is the team composition?

Currently, we work with 12 people from Plan A. Initially, they only provided us with a few front- and backend developers, but we now also have QA engineers, Level 2 support people, and even a product marketing manager. In addition to the resources they provide us with, we also work with Plan A’s management team, including a recruitment manager who handles our recruitment needs.

How did you come to work with Plan A?

Our CEO had previously worked with Plan A’s founder.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, we’ve spent a bit less than $ 1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around July 2021, and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to Plan A, we’ve achieved our goal of growing our team. Their resources have integrated into our existing team perfectly, allowing us to deliver faster and with high quality.

How did Plan A perform from a project management standpoint?

Plan A is very good at project management. The recruitment manager always brings us new resources in a timely manner whenever we need them, and they always match the price we expect during our initial discussions. As for communication, we communicate closely with them via phone calls and WhatsApp messages.

We’ve even gone to Bulgaria, and Plan A has come to France on several occasions. We’ve taken the time to build a relationship with both their management team and their resources. Thanks to our close partnership, Plan A’s resources know what we’re looking for, helping them reach our objectives. Whenever they need to fix something, they do it really fast. Overall, our collaboration is very smooth, and we always take the time to ensure we’re aligned.

What did you find most impressive about them?

One of the greatest qualities of Plan A is their mixed approach to evaluating candidate profiles from both the human and the technical standpoints. They’re not just recruiters; their main strength is handling projects. Therefore, they’ve helped us find people for our team with both technical knowledge and human skills.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Although they’ve already started, it would be great if Plan A kept improving their onboarding process. Now that they have several people working for us, it would be helpful if our existing resources could onboard new ones.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Spend time with them and have constant communication to ensure good results.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm head of technology in Denizen - a company building mobile application as a marketplace for unused offices and other spaces.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Plan A?

After we got our initial funding, we were looking to hire the first React Native developers to build our team.

SOLUTION

How did you select Plan A and what were the deciding factors?

We went through a couple of agencies offering developers but the quality of the resources was rather poor. Plan A was able to provide experienced developers for a reasonable price.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Plan A provided two React Native developers to help us deliver our MVP. We integrated both of them into our already existing team. Plan A then just made sure that the collaboration works smoothly and showed great curiosity about how we work.

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

We first introduced our project to Alexander - the CEO. He then recommended two developers to augment our team. After that, we had a standard interview round with them and then decided they would be a good fit for our project and team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

With all the support Plan A gave us, we were able to scale up/down our team without problems. Plan A was always listening to our needs and always offered help.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Even though both developers worked from another country, we were able to integrate them into our team. We had regular calls with Alexander, who made sure that everything works as expected. Alexander was ready to help at any time.

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

Plan A's engagement and willingness to help at all times is really exceptional. It is great to find such a reliable and engaged partner like them.

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

There are no big areas for improvement. They delivered everything we wanted.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the manager and sole employee of a startup. We have three investors, and we’re developing an innovative website for jokes and memes with many new functionalities. We’re launching in 1–2 weeks.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Plan A?

We were trying to create something different and innovative for end users, incorporating the most advanced IT technologies into the website and applications.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Plan A designed and developed our website and Android and iOS app. They discussed, challenged our idea, and implemented it from scratch.

The site is based on Laravel PHP, and the content is crowdsourced through the platform users.

What is the team composition?

They assigned 4–5 people to the project, including a designer, one frontend and one backend developer, and a project manager, who was my main contact.

How did you come to work with Plan A?

I’d worked with one of their developers on another project, and I was very satisfied with the quality and communication. Plan A gained my trust, so I chose them to develop this project.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost was €45,000 (approximately $53,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran between November 2020–June 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have specific metrics. However, Plan A had experienced developers that came up with suggestions and solutions for our problems. They managed to combine the technical experience with the end users’ point of view.

How did Plan A perform from a project management standpoint?

Plan A had good flexibility and reacted quickly when I wanted to change something mid-project that wasn’t in our plans. They managed to do it without increasing the cost or timeline. Overall, they kept everything under control and used resources wisely.

We had Teams meetings once a week to discuss the progress and new ideas. Additionally, I had a point of contact to ask quick questions over email in between sessions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They had deep and expert knowledge from a technical perspective, as well as market experience with online platforms and social media.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was a slight delay, but it could’ve been because we changed the deliverables several times. Also, Plan A should onboard more designers.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Be absolutely honest when you present your idea because Plan A can improve it. Trust their judgment regarding the technical solution.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

InfectRadar is a start-up company. Our objectives are to minimize the business impact of reduced operations and guarantee business continuity during human to human transmitted diseases. My role in the company is CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Plan A?

We hired Plan A as a technical partner during the whole setup, conception and project realisation. Services that they covered were: - Technical consultancy and concept - Technical management - Full application developement (front-end and back-end) - Mobile application developement - Infrastructure

What were your goals for this project?

Consultancy for InfectRadar poject and following full development of mobile and web applications. Plus IT support and assistance.

SOLUTION

How did you select Plan A?

- Excellent feedback for management (experienced and trusted) of the company. - Successful previously developed projects. - Effective and timely communicational strategy.

Describe the project in detail.

InfectRadar helps to quickly resolve the puzzle who has been in contact with the infected or suspected ones. Thus, it allows to quarantine limited workforce, and ensures safe working environment for the rest of the team.

InfectRadar allows employers to decide which employees to start testing first in case of infection penetration in the company. InfectRadar minimizes the business impact of reduced operations and guarantees business continuity during human to human transmitted diseases.

What was the team composition?

-Development manager -Project manager -Senior developer (Android & IOS) - 100% -Frond-end developer -DevOps

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project is finalized, according to submission plus some additional adjustments. The deadline was met on time. The performance of the applications are on the necessary level.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent! We had weekly meetings discussing the progress or roadbloacks.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The experience of the managment team and the technical director.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We meet our goals. More visibility in project stages. Better visibility on project staging.