PrimeHammer

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are the biggest babysitting marketplace in the Czech Republic. We are also starting a beta in Slovakia. I am the chief executive officer of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with PrimeHammer?

We need to move fast in the development of our platform because the competition isn't sleeping. We were bootstrapped but needed to create a website, as well as Android and iOS apps.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our CTO is leading the development, and we've always hired contractors for specific tasks, like building a backend for our phone call system.

PrimeHammer has developed the backend and APIs behind our website and apps using Ruby on Rails. Our backend is running on Heroku, while the front-end is using basic jQuery. We preferred not to use technologies like React.js because search engine discoverability is an important factor.

How did you come to work with PrimeHammer?

I've known their principal for a long time, and he has a small share in our company. When he started PrimeHammer, it was a natural progression to use them. We've tried looking into other options, but outsourcing projects of this size is always hard. I didn't want a regular agency which would work in a waterfall system requiring full designs. We needed to move in a rougher way, deploying features within a few days and delivering them to customers, in order to know if they will work or not. As an example, we weren't sure if our reservation system could work, so we made some quick tests and iterations, which is something that PrimeHammer has been excellent at providing us.

How much have you invested with PrimeHammer?

The cost of PrimeHammer's services has been $150,000 for 2016.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with PrimeHammer at the beginning of 2015. We have an ongoing project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our user base is comprised of mothers and babysitters (i.e. people who aren't tech-savvy). They have appreciated the site's look and feel, but we haven't gathered any specific feedback.

We have 70,000 registered users and have a big presence in the Czech Republic, with 50,000 active users per month, and 1,000 new subscriptions.

The platform has been running smoothly, and I've appreciated PrimeHammer's approach to our transitions, namely from Ruby on Rails version 3 to version 4. We're currently planning to switch to version 5.

How did PrimeHammer perform from a project management standpoint?

For me, it was important to integrate the people in PrimeHammer's team into our own flow and project management tools. We are using Trello and Pivotal Tracker for planning creating tasks.

What did you find most impressive about PrimeHammer?

PrimeHammer has a focus on development, instead of being a one-stop-shop for every facet of our work. We have separated the graphic design from our work with them, which has worked well. PrimeHammer has a single responsibility in our project, so if something goes wrong with the development, it will be their fault, and I can address it.

Are there any areas PrimeHammer could improve?

I can't think of anything.