Postindustria

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a CTO/Co-Founder

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Postindustria?

We hired Postindustria to help us with development of our platform.

What were your goals for this project?

To continue building our platform and innovate to keep moving forward.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I worked with them in my previous job and really appreciated what they brought to the table. They always have been a good partner and when I had the need at my new company, it was a no-brainer to reach out and engage them again.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They helped build out multiple features and sites to help us hit our company objectives and goals.

What was the team composition?

The team is composed of developers and for a while, we also had a QA headcount to help with automation.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project they are working on is the core product we use for growth of our company.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We use Jira and Slack for all of our communication. We also do zoom calls when needed. One of our requirements to hire was to have developers who can speak/understand English.

So far we haven't had any major issues with communication. However, just like working with any offshore team, there are occasions when there is some confusion due to language.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I really liked the fact when we needed to grow the team, we were able to onboard somebody with few weeks unlike other places where there is sometimes months of wait.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Having flexibility in time schedules to accommodate US time would be nice to have. Even if this was true for some of the developers and not all. I do miss that aspect of working with other teams where we were able to get few developers to work US time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the president and co-founder of AdRev.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Postindustria?

We needed a technology and engineering team to help run our internal testing systems.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our organization manages over 15 million copyrights for about 5,000 different owners, which includes several trillion rows of data a year. So along with that, there is a massive amount of asset management, royalty accounting, tracking, identification, contextual search, macro scraping, and pretty much anything under the sun of digital asset management that you could possibly imagine.

To construct all of those different functions, they use a variety of different coding languages, including Ruby on Rails, Java, PHP, and a bunch of others. We work with them through ad hoc sprints to build everything from traditional customer dashboards to bespoke, internal lightware technologies that we only use internally to solve the mass-scale data and asset management issues that we have in serving our clients.

What was the team composition?

Our main relationship is with Alex (Senior Account Manager), who runs the rapport and communication with the rest of the crew. I believe there are two full-stack developers who he relies on primarily, as well as a few others handling various specific technologies. In total, the team is about 8-10 people.

How did you come to work with Postindustria?

Their team was recommended to my co-founder by a connection he had who works with startups in the LA area. We had another outsourced development at the time who was incredibly inexpensive but wasn’t quite delivering the quality of work we needed as we grew, so we reached out to Postindustria and grew the collaboration from there.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, we’ve invested millions of dollars into the partnership over the years, and it has been totally worth it.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around 2009 and the partnership is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The technologies that they’ve developed for us often have a massive impact on the business and our bottom line. One lightware system in particular that we implemented in 2018 cost us about $100,000 in dev time over a month and a half and brought in nearly $7 million extra dollars in top-line revenue that year.

They have consistently developed things for our product that impact the bottom line in a really positive way, and we only grow the team because the revenue keeps growing as a result. They scale with our needs, and we’ve only benefitted as a result.

How did Postindustria perform from a project management standpoint?

We bring Alex over stateside to work more closely with us all the time, to the point where he’s actually become a permanent LA resident. These guys really are our team, not just contractors, and that is a big part of the success we’ve had with them. The majority of them are full-stack developers as well, and the skills they’ve been able to bring to the table have been an incredible asset to the work we’ve been able to do.

Overall, their ability to stay on top of our timelines is absolutely excellent. We give them a pretty absurd number of different projects and ad hoc demands, and they have managed it almost without hiccup for a really long period of time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve gotten to spend quite a bit of time with Alex over the years and what I’ve noticed in him isn’t even so much a work ethic as much as it is just an innate desire to code and problem solve. That attitude has permeated the entire organization from the top down, and we’ve benefited massively from their commitment to finding solutions for whatever it is we may be working on.

Their solidarity with us in the concept that ‘if you dream it you can build it’ is another big element of that success. Not having an idea or a concept doesn’t intimidate them, and there’s never been a time where they went away to plan out a project and came back saying they couldn’t do it. I really appreciate the can-do attitude that they bring to the work every single day.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think any of the issues that we do run into really come more down to things that we could be doing better on our side of the equation than anything that they are doing wrong. We can throw anything at the wall with them and get it built, but that doesn’t make it the most helpful solution they could be providing. I think the more refined goals and needs we provide to them, the better they are going to be able to address those needs.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Getting early facetime with the project leads can change the landscape of the relationship in an unbelievably positive way. It helped us to become much more productive and comfortable working together, and I would encourage anyone else to get to know them in the same way.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Swiftdine.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Postindustria?

When we started Swiftdine, we were looking to outsource our talent. We had quite the trial and error process with engineers who simply couldn’t get it done.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our company sought out to enhance the efficiency of restaurant dining spaces. Our product allows users to book reservations and ordering & paying for their food ahead of time.

Postindustria developed our front- and backend software in terms of the restaurant web application that receives orders. They also developed an iOS and Android app. Recently, they created a weightless platform that was added as a feature to the web app.

It’s an SMS communication tool so that the restaurants can communicate with their customers by text and sends out order links. With that new feature, the user can click the URL to go to the menu. So now, we have an online application where users aren’t required to download an app or make an account.

As for technologies, the backend is Node.js, JavaScript for Android, and Swift for iOS. We use a lot of APIs for text messaging tools. It integrates with Twilio, and we use Stripe for payment processing. We also use AWS for hosting.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact is Konstantin (CEO). We have a specific person for iOS, one for Android, a project manager that organizes everything, and a QA tester that presents everything to us.

How did you come to work with Postindustria?

We were referred to Postindustria because of the work they did for a different company. Our contact also had issues with engineering and said once they started with Konstantin, it was smooth sailing. They said if we were looking for a group that will accomplish what we want to accomplish, look no further than them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent around $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Postindustria started in August 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s been a great relationship in terms of quality and timing. We haven’t really had any gripes.

We have a solid product that we can trust. They held up their end of the bargain by building us a functional software for our customers.

How did Postindustria perform from a project management standpoint?

It feels like they’re part of the team. We use Slack and email for communication. There is a time zone difference, but it’s not terribly bad. I’m still able to communicate with them. There are never more than four hours that go by without a response from their team.

If there’s a potential issue, they’ll respond promptly. Sometimes I’ll send them a recorded video of an issue, and then they’ll try and recreate the problem before trying to fix it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality and speed in which they accomplish certain tools and tasks set them apart. When we went to them, we already had software in place. They suggested to us, from an engineering standpoint, that they start from the start.

We didn’t want to do that because of the cost, but they went ahead and did it anyway. They worked on revamping and retooling the existing build.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be interesting if they offered clients the ability to buy out certain contracts. For instance, if we wanted to hire full-time staff, I could offer a buy out because those engineers know the product. That would be a nice feature to have, which they may offer. I’d have to ask.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as specific and thorough as possible in terms of what you want to be accomplished before you give them the guidelines. Have your designs and wireframes laid out before starting.

Otherwise, you’ll start changing things later on. Know what you’re getting into before you start. There are, of course, a few times where changes have to be made, so the price changes slightly. But I would advise customers to be prepared beforehand.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CTO of a platform for mobility services, including car sharing and vanpooling.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Postindustria?

We needed a partner to augment our development team while we found a permanent in-house resource.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I provided them with our high-level requirements, and Postindustria’s team executed various dev tasks. The backend developer worked in Python, and the frontend person updated our system. They also provided a DevOps engineer who worked with AWS. Most of their tasks lasted from 1–2 weeks until we found an appropriate internal resource.

What is the team composition? 

They provided three developers for the frontend, backend, and DevOps.

How did you come to work with Postindustria?

A colleague had recommended them, and I’d worked with them in the past. I knew they’d be great for this project, so I hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $25,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership lasted from November 2017–February 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We assigned them high-level tasks, which they executed well. They’re good engineers who developed core code for permissions.

How did Postindustria perform from a project management standpoint?

They were well-documented and methodical. We held daily scrum calls to track progress and make sure everyone was on the same page. Because they’re in a different time zone, the communication was sometimes difficult, but we talked frequently enough.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They do good work and are proactive, grasping our needs quickly to optimize the partnership. Instead of just doing what we assigned, they took time to understand the overarching questions to provide effective solutions and better mental modeling.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their chain of command could’ve been more organized; it wasn’t always clear who I was supposed to talk to.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We develop solutions for local businesses to grow using online technologies. It started with web design, and we are moving more and more into applications, and that was one of the projects that IQRIA developed.

What is your position?

I’m the founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with IQRIA?

I had a vision of how to help a client of mine. The project came from a request that a client made, to have his whole sales team answer live chats coming in from the website. They don’t have a call center, and their sales team is mostly on the ground, but they still wanted the opportunity to help visitors in real time wherever they are. That was the whole idea and the project that I started with IQRIA.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

The scope was basically all of the server scripts that have to be run by the application that is integrated into the website. They provided an API to transfer all of the data into it, and then everything after that was done by them. That includes the widget, server set-up, all the testing, and implementing of the functionality. The system mostly runs on Node.js and uses SQL for the database. The API is the open interface, so the actual website where my clients are setting it up is done on PHP.

How did you come to work with IQRIA?

I’ve been using Elance for maybe three to four years now, and I haven’t had the best experience. So this time I only selected firms from Eastern Europe rather than Asian countries. I looked at their portfolio, and I asked them to give me some references, some former clients to talk to. I reached out to those clients, got feedback, and conducted extensive interviews with IQRIA. After that, I felt I was in a good position to make that decision.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

It was in the range of $3,000 to $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The work took about seven weeks. We started back in August of this year [2015], and went to about mid-September. We’re working on phase two now.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We’re in the beta phase right now. It’s not publicly available yet, but I do have interest from clients, and we’re putting it on their website. IQRIA is also constantly checking on any bugs themselves, because they are using this solution themselves. In the end, the results were very good, and we’re already working on phase two.

How did IQRIA perform from a project management standpoint?

They use JIRA for tracking, and they’re very professionally set-up in the backend.

What distinguishes IQRIA from other providers?

The reason I chose to work with IQRIA is that they understand and embrace the lean startup methodology, which was a first for me. It might seem counter-intuitive that they focus on delivering less features, but those features are quality, rather than trying to upsell a client on all the additional features that they can think of. That makes it very honest.

Is there anything IQRIA could have improved or done differently?

They’re a small team. I was talking to Constantine, who is basically the CTO, rather than talking to the developers themselves. That was fine for me, but I’m not sure how scalable that model is going to be for them. That might be an area where they could improve, in terms of expanding the team.

One constructive piece of feedback would be to give all their clients access to JIRA. I requested it, so that I can access any bug reports and add my own comments. It may be helpful for them to set that up for all clients.

BACKGROUND

Please provide a description of your company. 

We are a bootstrapping startup that helps massage therapists retain their clients through automated rebooking systems.

What is your role at the company?

I am co-founder and responsible for the specifications of our technology, and getting it built by the right developers. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was the business challenge that you were trying to address when you approached IQRIA?

One of our biggest challenges, as a bootstrapped startup, is to have quality development at affordable prices and to have a developer who you can communicate with readily to understand our product and develop it in a lean methodology, rather than traditional full-scale development.

What were your company’s business goals for the project?

Our goal was to develop an MVP [minimum viable product] at an affordable price that we could take to market to generate income and gain feedback so that we could then know what to develop in our scalable product. 

SOLUTION

Can you talk about the scope of the project?

We needed a product to record available times for therapists on a calendar interface and then email these available appointments to clients with matching preferences of day, time, and service. The client could then simply click in the email to secure the appointment they wanted, finally both the client and the clinic would receive notification in a confirmation email.

What was your process for selecting IQRIA with which to work?

IQRIA applied to a job posting we listed on one of the large sourcing sites. IQRIA stood out from the rest of the applications in their professionalism, and how they approached the job listing. When I contacted them, Konstantin [Mirin, CEO at IQRIA] took a lot of time to understand what we were trying to build, and produced a few mockups for us as a part of his bid. This was well beyond any of the other competing applications, and we were very impressed with both his dedication and his grasp of what we were trying to build.

Can you give a sense of the size of the project in dollar terms or personnel work hours?

The full project we were trying to develop was around $20,000, but this was way outside of our pre-revenue budget. IQRIA worked with us, and ended up developing an MVP [minimum viable product] for us, which costed only $4,000. We were ecstatic about this solution.

When was the project completed?

The project was completed in December 2014. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the results of the project, and are there any metrics you can share?

The project was a success. IQRIA delivered a very robust and impressive MVP that we are now preparing for taking to the marketplace with landing pages. It was delivered on time and close to budget.

How did IQRIA perform?

IQRIA performed extremely well. They were very open to communication, listened closely to what we wanted in the scope of the project, and delivered well above expectations. Any bugs, of which there weren’t many at all, were quickly fixed. For handover, IQRIA worked with me closely to ensure I could manage the system myself and looked after me with fantastic customer service.

When working with them, was there anything unique or special about them compared to other companies that you may have worked with?

I would say the time and effort and personal connection with Konstantin as he works to come up with a solution that fits the scope of the project while conserving budget is something you can’t find very easily.

Looking back on the project, is there any area that they could improve or you would do differently?

I would say overall they did an impressive job, and there really isn't too much I would change.

BACKGROUND

Please provide a description of your company. 

We are a platform for content creation and sharing between teachers and students. We have currently have more than 100,000 students using our product here in Canada. It’s been about three years since we started the company.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I’m the CTO. I’ve been managing our development teams since the founding of the company as well as our outsourcing partners in Ukraine.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with IQRIA?

We were searching for talent and expertise in JavaScript. We had some very high-tech problems that no one on my team had any experience with. We brought them on first to figure out the problems we had, and then to fix them. Since we first started working with them, I've remained very impressed with IQRIA's engineering skills. We’ve partnered with them for about two years now.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

It was mostly front-end JavaScript development. From the beginning, we didn't just want to send them a project that they would deliver to us in a month or two. We wanted them working with our developers closely, so we could remain very involved with their work. This has worked spectacularly, and I continue to be impressed and completely satisfied with the development their doing for us. 

What was your process for selecting IQRIA with which to work?

I wasn’t necessarily searching for a firm to outsource to, but I was browsing several online JavaScript forums, and I noticed that this team was talking about some very technical issues that not many people even knew about. It’s very hard to find a team that has precise expertise on JavaScript and front-end technologies. A quick chat with one of their developers was enough to convince me that they were the real deal.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

So far its been somewhere between $100,000 and $200,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the results of the project?

The quality is exceptional. I’ve never seen such attention to detail and quality  ̶  ever. Most companies just try to get the project out. We really want consistent quality in our work, and they have helped push us even further in terms of standardizations and programming patterns.

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

None that I can share at this time.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

Their professionalism and expertise. You rarely find the level of enterprise professionalism that they offer. They really are attentive to making things the right way. When you’re working on very complex and very large projects, you have no margin for error, it has to be absolutely perfect. This is one of the first teams I’ve seen that has this level of professionalism. I would hire their whole team if it was a possibility. They are the best I've ever worked with.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

I don’t have anything negative to say.

BACKGROUND

Please provide a description of your company. 

I run a company that provides commercial LED lighting solutions. We custom design LED solutions, and then have a calculator that shows customers how much money our LED options will save them. We work primarily with large commercial companies, and are based in San Diego.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I’m the founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with IQRIA?

We were looking for a team that could build us a complete site, with some fairly complex applications. As part of our business, we developed an algorithm that calculates savings. We wanted to build this into the site and add some unique user features. For example, after you fill out the necessary fields, it will email you a custom PDF report of the cost depending on the inputs. The calculator allows you to pick bulbs by picture and provide relevant details about your business. It also links that to our CRM [customer relationship management] system, so we can follow up with the potential customer by email.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

They designed and developed the whole website and, while they didn’t create the actual algorithm for the calculator, they coded it and added it to the website. They went beyond my expectations for the calculator by creating a unique user experience.

What was your process for selecting IQRIA with which to work?

I had a prior relationship with the owner of IQRIA [Konstantin Mirin]. I reached out to him, and told him what we wanted. He said he could provide it to us at a really great rate. That's all there was to it.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

I can't give you an exact number, but they charged $40 an hour on average, which is phenomenal. We're really happy with the cost of the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the results of the project?

The website project took about three months, and the results have been fantastic. We plan on using them to build a mobile app for Android and iPhone that will control the brightness of LED panels soon. 

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

Their quality of work is phenomenal. We’ve gotten a lot of compliments on our website and our savings calculator. It’s been only a pleasure working with them. They’ve provided a ton of support and overall guidance. I would say they exceeded my expectations on all levels.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

I don’t have a single negative thing to say about them. We’re going back to them for all of our coding needs.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Have your stuff ready to go. You're always going to be the one that holds the project up. They're extremely responsive and work very quickly.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

founder of fintech company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Postindustria?

need build platform that integrated to numerous providers and maintained records of spend

What were your goals for this project?

build platform on time on budget

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

reference from another organisation

Describe the project in detail.

fintech platform that helps large volume payment flows for B2B

What was the team composition?

front end and back end developers, systems architecture, QA and designers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

— It feels like they’re part of the team. We use Slack and email for communication. There is a time zone difference, but it’s not terribly bad. I’m still able to communicate with them. There are never more than four hours that go by without a response from their team. If there’s a potential issue, they’ll respond promptly. Sometimes I’ll send them a recorded video of an issue, and then they’ll try and recreate the problem before trying to fix it.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

very good, as above

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Everything was very good.

Are there any areas for improvement?

no