Redlizard Studioz Inc

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Windsor Trucking Solutions. We develop solutions for the trucking industry, mainly in the compliance space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Redlizard Studioz Inc?

I initially hired them for mobile application development. Since then, they’ve done a number of projects for my company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, I brought them on to build up my mobile application. But as time progressed, I needed to replace the team that was supporting my original Java-based project. Redlizard Studioz Inc took over support for our current solution—maintenance and upgrades— that we had in the marketplace for about five years. After that, they developed a mobile app for iOS and Android, as an add-on solution to my main product. Recently, the team built out a new SAP solution. They now provide support and maintenance, and create add-on features and functionalities for the tool. Aside from the Java tool, the other solution is PHP-based in the C++ framework.

What is the team composition?

For the newest solution, I work with a main contact and a manager that supports her. A handful of other teammates work in the background and are included on emails. For the other products—and Java-based products—I have one main contact and either one or two managers. I usually interact with the main developer on fixes and updates. On the mobile side, I go through the management team and they have a mobile team complete the fixes.

How did you come to work with Redlizard Studioz Inc?

I got a referral from another person I had been working with. For the Java solution, I chose Redlizard Studioz Inc because I had a relationship with the team at that point. They were a natural fit to have them develop the latest product I had just taken to market.

How much have you invested with them?

For the most recent projects, I’ve spent between $35,000–$50,000. Including all upgrades and maintenance, I’ve spent more than $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The mobile app project started in March 2016. They started working for me full-time in January 2017 and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Redlizard Studioz Inc is a really nice resource to have. I have a really good relationship with the entire team, from managers to developers. For the most part, their quality and speed are good. They provide solid value by letting me scale the team based individual projects. Hiring an internal development team would be too cost-prohibitive for my company.

How did Redlizard Studioz Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

Their management team is excellent and has been of the main reasons I’ve stuck with them. We’re slightly more flexible with deadlines than other companies in the outsourcing space. As a smaller company, we don’t have the stringency to need something out to market by a certain date with specific requirements. We use Trello to a limited extent, but otherwise no project management tools.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They easily learned my proprietary software and now do work quickly with it. The team builds solutions with that same user-friendliness in mind by imagining if their grandmother had to utilize the product. That approach reassured me because I could see them using a critical eye to figure out the UX and ease of use.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Although they have a main backup resource for time-sensitive matters, more of those resources for certain projects would be helpful. However, that’s a minor thing and not a main issue.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

‎Revealio is an augmented reality company which has developed an app similar to Shutterfly, offering pre-designed card templates for users' photos. They can add text, a digital signature, a greeting on the back, as well as videos and call-to-action buttons.

I am the founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Redlizard Studioz?

I needed to build an MVP [minimum viable product] of the app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

After explaining what I wanted to Redlizard Studioz, I was given a solution based on the Android platform. Building an MVP would take a lot of work, so it made more sense to only work on one operating system in the beginning. We chose native development because of the intensely graphical nature of the app; it would not have been easily supported by the cross-platform software of the time.

Redlizard Studioz built my app. The original version had 16 templates and many other user interface-specific functionalities. I worked with a full-time senior developer, a project manager, and one other developer who worked part-time.

How did you come to work with Redlizard Studioz?

I had built a very basic prototype, so I knew what I needed to develop. I hired Redlizard Studioz after vetting a few companies. They came highly recommended by an investor/advisor; Redlizard Studioz had attended one of her entrepreneur boot camps. I spoke to their founder and felt confident in their understanding of my vision. I was introduced to the development team and received a clear explanation around what would be built, how long it would take, and how much it would cost. It was important to know that Redlizard Studioz' team would hold my hand throughout the process since I wasn't a developer.

How much have you invested with Redlizard Studioz?

The cost of Redlizard Studioz' work for the first phase was under $50,000. We've added a lot since then.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Redlizard Studioz in October 2015. Redlizard Studioz continues to provide a lot of support.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The general feedback is that the app is great, but I've also heard requests for improving the user interface. This is understandable since we're still in the MVP stage and are trying to gain traction. I have nothing negative to say about Redlizard Studioz' work.

How did Redlizard Studioz perform from a project management standpoint?

My original project manager isn't working with Redlizard Studioz anymore. At the time, he did a great job of trying to communicate clearly. Even though he had a strong Indian accent, he had good English skills. There was some miscommunication because of the language barrier, but any issues related to this were addressed by Redlizard Studioz. I was never charged for any wrong directions taken. Redlizard Studioz made sure that the lines of communication were clear, and that the work was handled efficiently. To this day, Redlizard Studioz' business manager is making sure that the app is receiving adequate support. We've used Skype and email for communication.

What did you find most impressive about Redlizard Studioz?

I had never built something of this magnitude, so I appreciated Redlizard Studioz' ability to explain the work to me and provide better alternatives for my requirements. Redlizard Studioz worked with my startup, helping us get to where we needed to go.

Redlizard Studioz made sure that I was supported, asking intelligent questions which helped prevent going in the wrong direction. Communication was very important for getting the app built within a quick timeline, making it as affordable as possible for the client.

I have worked with other developers. Compared to them, Redlizard Studioz cared about my app's success. Their CEO is an incredible person to work with, taking the time to explain things. I was able to bounce ideas off of him without being charged for the time. He simply wanted to give me a good vision and helped me make educated decisions.

Are there any areas Redlizard Studioz could improve?

We have learned along the way how important it is for me to be kept in the loop, rather than being surprised at the end of the month. Redlizard Studioz is implementing this in order to communicate even better.