Pronko Consulting

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-owner of The Sweater Shop. We sell over 400 Irish-based products, including sweaters, gifts, scarves, and hats.

What challenge were you trying to address with Pronko Consulting?

We wanted to rebuild our main site from Magento 1 to Magento 2.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have two sites: domestic and international. Max (CEO & Founder) has overtaken both and is overseeing the rebuild.

What is the team composition?

I only work with Max.

How did you come to work with Pronko Consulting?

A highly-rated digital company that we’re working with mentioned a successful project they’d done with Pronko Consulting. They recommended we get in touch with Max, so we did. He explained the process in a couple of meetings and came back with detailed quotes and an in-depth timeline. Based on that and our partner’s recommendation, we decided to go with Pronko Consulting. We haven’t been disappointed yet.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about €100,000–€110,000 (approximately $110,000–$120,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in January 2020. By March, we took them on as our main development agency because we were big fans of what Max had done so far. We still work together.

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

We’ve seen the 90%-finished product and are really excited about it. We’ve shown it to digital agencies and they’re really happy with it, too. There aren’t any metrics yet, but we’re very confident in the whole setup so far. The customer experience and UX have massively improved compared to our old website. It’s a much smoother journey from the landing page to the checkout, There are also third-party add-ons that have been really beneficial, such as customer reviews to give customers extra reassurance.

How did Pronko Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

I have an informal catch-up call with Max once a week or every 10 days. We discuss progress and identify blockers down the road. If there are any issues, he can see it down the road, explain it to us, and find a solution before we get there. He’s driving the whole thing and keeping me and my team and my digital agency really happy.

What did you find most impressive about them?

During the interview process, Max was really keen and eager to come and meet us. We had our first meeting within 24 hours and had a detailed roadmap of what he would with the job. Now we’re 95% done with the project, Pronko Consulting hasn’t let us down once. Every time he says he has something for us, he’s produced.

What stands out are their deliverables. We’ve had a few agencies in the past that we fell out with because they talked a lot and didn’t deliver. Pronko Consulting is the opposite.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I really like the informal approach. It suits me and works well for us. Other companies might look for more formal meetings and updates. There’s no drawback for us though. They’re on budget and on time, and they’ve stuck with what estimates they gave us from the start.

Any advice for potential customers?

I’d definitely recommend them for a personal approach. it’s nice to meet the team that’s going to work with us in the very first meeting. If you want an agile company that’s stress-free with no bureaucracy, Pronko Consulting is who you want to work with. It’s been a nice change for us to come to their company.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Founded in 2008, MageWorx is a Software Development Company that specializes in creating top-quality Magento extensions and Shopify apps. We also offer multiple Magento services that include installation, upgrade, migration, and customizations. I am CMO for the company.

For what projects/services did your company hire Pronko Consulting?

Our company has 80+ Magento extensions and 10+ Shopify apps. We are continually working on perfecting the quality of solutions to ensure a most positive customer experience. With that in mind, we needed an independent expert from the outside to do a code review for the extension of interest.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed a systematic code examination, an outside expert point of view that could lead to incremental product improvements if required. Basically, the primary goal was to ensure we offer a bug-free top-quality product before we increase its marketing exposure.

How did you select this vendor?

Pronko Consulting is a well-established company in the Magento Community. Besides being famous for their unbeaten range of Magento 2 payment methods extensions, the company has developed a reputation as independent Magento Experts.

Besides doing Magento 2 trainings, development classes, workshops, and online courses, they run Magento code audits as a part of their business. Their expertise is common knowledge in the niche.

Describe the project in detail.

Once selected the company, we contacted the team via the easily accessible contact form on pronkoconsulting.com. Their CEO, Max Pronko, kindly responded to our request within 1 business day. It took both our teams a couple of days more to discuss our goals and objectives, as well as timeframes.

We agreed on using Messenger to speed up communication. The project consisted of 4 review phases. Max Pronko went further and shared valuable pieces of advice on what could be done to perfect the product, which we appreciate a lot. The code review was completed within less than a week. Impressive! All done professionally and presented comprehensively.

Additionally, during project discussion, it was agreed to run certain marketing collaboration activities, which were organized, managed, and performed by Pronko Consulting on the highest level.

What was the team composition?

Being Pronko Consulting Partners, we were favored to have Max Pronko as the primary and main point of contact. All project details were discussed with him. What is more, Max personally participated in the agreed marketing activities, and we are grateful to him for doing that for MageWorx.

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

First, the main goal of the extension’s code audit was achieved, i.e., we received a sliced-and-diced code review from independent Magento Experts. Second, after implementing all the recommendations we’ve started to receive more positive feedback from the customers about the product. Third, our marketing collaboration activities allowed us to bring extra traffic to our site and get additional exposure for the product. Boost in sales is also expected as time goes on.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

As said above, we had Max Pronko as the direct point of contact. The CEO of Pronko Consulting is a true Magento Professional. He was easy to communicate with, highly responsive. Updates on the project were frequent and timely. The deadlines were always met. Immaculate.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Quality. Expertise. Responsiveness. It is always a pleasure to deal with professionals.

It’s all about: 

• the way information is presented
• which questions are asked
• how fast you get the result
• what output you get.

With Pronko Consulting, we had extremely collaborative and positive experience. We will certainly engage with this company once again for any collaboration needs our two companies may have in the future.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were satisfied with their work every step of the way. Thus, no, no areas of improvement we could think about right now.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am an external consultant, and freelance developer for GiroSolution GmbH, a German payment service provider.

What challenge were you trying to address with Pronko Consulting?

We needed developers with expertise in Magento 2.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a plug-in with online payment functionalities using Magento 2. They supported us through technical knowledge on the e-commerce platform and continues to provide advice.

What is the team composition?

I worked with the founder.

How did you come to work with Pronko Consulting?

I found the founder online.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in Spring 2017 and the engagement lasted three months.

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

The plug-in launched with no complaints from customers.

How did Pronko Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

They made the project very smooth. They answered emails slowly sometimes but always contacted back with solutions. They continue to support us with minor errors and questions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their founder was always positive and created an excellent working relationship with us. Their team's expertise in Magento 2 was impressive. We faced trouble installing the plug-in and the founder Skyped us despite the time zone difference. Pronko thoroughly consulted us through problems and was very supportive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could make sure the plug-in is fully compatible with the Magento Marketplace.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be patient and insistent with your questions. They will always answer you back, but sometimes you need to email them again. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of an online store.

For what projects/services did your company hire Pronko Consulting?

I hired Pronko Consulting to create a converge gateway API for my online store.

What were your goals for this project?

I wanted to enable a converge payment option during the Magento 2 checkout process.

How did you select this vendor?

I found the vendor online.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

They created a Magento 2 plugin that allowed my online store to process credit cards using the converge gateway.

What was the team composition?

I worked with one other person on their team.

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

Their work successfully allowed us to accept payments through the converge gateway.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They did a fantastic job over the course of several months.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

They could have delivered their work more quickly.