Saritasa

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO and founder of a SaaS company. We provide neuroscience in a way that’s accessible for a lot of people, especially during these remote times.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

We were looking for a dev team. We wanted someone close to us in Southern California that had experience working with Bluetooth and ANT+ technologies, which they could integrate into some kind of software platform. One of the needs that we had was simultaneously collecting second-by-second biometric data from 1–1,000 people.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we brought Saritasa on, we had a general idea that another person had created a prototype of, and we wanted to move it into more of a commercial-type product. They helped us think through the strengths and weaknesses of using Bluetooth, ANT+, or some other technology to be able to have devices talking to a hub or directly to the cloud. 

They were involved in narrowing down the kinds of devices we’d be using to collect our data. They were involved in the MVP stage and designing the interface’s front- and backends. They used off-the-shelf sensing technology, like fitness wearables.

What is the team composition?

We’ve had two project managers throughout our working relationship. The first one was great, and our current project manager, Ben, is fantastic. He’s really easy to work with and can translate our needs to the dev team.

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

Saristasa stood out because of their prior experience in the space and their location in Southern California. From what I recall, we found them through general leads from colleagues.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent more than $400,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together began in May 2018, and it’s ongoing. They’ve been our dev and frontend design team for 100% of our work. We just began bringing other people on board within the last couple of months, but we still consider ourselves to be a very young company. We can’t rely on a costly internal dev team; instead, we need a reliable outside team that we can throw a lot of work at.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In our first year, clients understood that we were a young company and that we’d have issues. Some of our clients were essentially beta-testers. At times, our app didn’t function the way it should have, or data wasn’t recorded the way that it needed to be. Saritasa was there to smooth those issues out pretty rapidly. For one project that was going on in France last year, our project manager at the time stayed up through the night to make sure that if anything happened, they were there to jump in and resolve issues.

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

Our communication has evolved quite a bit over our working relationship, and they’ve been extremely flexible. When we first started working together, most of our communication was through calls, emails, and office visits. Now, one of our main communication tools is Jira. As our company has evolved and we’ve gotten a better understanding of what specific needs we have, our communication tools have also evolved.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re straightforward and open about what’s going on. One particular project was definitely under-scoped, and about one month into the project, they realized it was going to take more hours than they originally planned for. Rather than throwing it back on us, they leaned into it because of our existing relationship but also because they realized that they underestimated based on a lot of assumptions they’d made. They really showed to be partners in that situation and wanted to work together.

Are there any areas they could improve?

When it comes to the big thing, they’re very understanding and proactive. It seems that, as we grow, there are smaller things. I know they’re on several other projects, but it would be nice to get the smaller, low-priority things taken care of much quicker.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a real estate broker at PV Elite Group, and the website is OpenHouseDay.com.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

We hired them to build a website from scratch.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Saritasa developed a real estate website for buyers and sellers. They added functionality that gives users routes and maps, serving as an efficient way to view open houses over the weekend.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a team of three people: a project manager, a designer, and a tech specialist.

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

A former tenant referred them to me. 

How much have you invested with them?

We started at $95,000, but the project went over that because I made some changes to the order.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Saritasa in May 2015. The initial timeline was set to be two months, but it took a little longer. It was understandable, given the size of the project and they built the website from scratch, using technologies that required more coding.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website they delivered was good, but nothing gets done without marketing, even if we have the best website on the planet. I put a lot of money into marketing, and I got a lot of signups from buyers and sellers, and people started listing their properties. When I slowed down on the marketing, traffic also slowed down, because it’s all relative.

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

I told them from the get-go that they should translate any technical terminology. When I gave them my ideas, they did exactly that. We started with email and in-person communication, and we added Basecamp and Trello along the way. I learned a lot of technology from them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The ease of communication and their availability to discuss any issues with me were impressive. If something was urgent, I’d send them a text. If there was a glitch with the website over the weekend, they’d immediately look at it and fix it. It was a positive experience.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I have no suggestions. I was happy with the service, and I’m sure they treat everyone else the same. If anything, the issues were on my side. I should’ve determined what I wanted from the get-go, to cut down on cost. This isn’t easy in the technology industry, because things keep changing. It’s an ongoing process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our business is Ovio Technologies, Inc. We build biometric imaging platforms.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

An agency built our frontend/UI but did a poor job. We needed to fix it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Saritasa didn’t create wireframes but built all of the components of the frontend underneath it. Their team fixed our frontend/UI.

What is the team composition?

We worked with an account manager and a project manager. They had a team of programmers overseas, but we interacted with the project manager mostly.

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

We found them on the internet and chose them through an interview process.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent just under $50,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our engagement in August 2018 and their team was done in under 60 days.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It was as successful as we could’ve hoped it would’ve been. Saritasa didn’t disappoint us and I would use their services again.

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

We used a project management software. We gave them an accelerated timeline and fixed budget. Saritasa came in under time and on budget, which never happens.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They took ownership of all aspects of the project. Their team was self-reliant, so they didn’t need a lot of hand-holding. They took the time to understand what we needed and did it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company is called Cordova Consulting and my role is the director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

We needed to do electronic visit verification for our employees. When our employees go to a customer’s house, they have to prove that they went to that customer’s house.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The scope was pretty specific because it’s government-mandated. We had to have the type of service, start time, and end time of the service recorded in the app, and it needed to verify the location. It works on iOS and Android. One group worked on wireframing and how it would look. Then it got pushed to a development group that wrote the actual code. We’re now in the testing phase.

What is the team composition?

There’s a project manager, an account manager, and a sales manager. They also provided a team of developers.

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

We interviewed three companies. We looked them up on the internet and they were local and seemed reasonable in price.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2020 and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everyone is happy so far. We were very particular on the specifications from the get-go, so there weren’t a lot of questions. They’re following that, and everything looks and works exactly how we expected.

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

When we started, we went to their office and spoke to them in person. Once COVID-19 hit, we began video chatting in order to continue the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a good line of communication. We’re very happy with how they’re operating.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’ve exceeded our expectations so far.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a professor at The University of Chicago. I do research and teach.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

We’re trying to develop a research tool through an app. It’s basically a memory test. The additional challenge we were dealing with was when users are doing the test, the data was then uploaded to a server where we could efficiently download the data and do analysis.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

At the beginning of our engagement, we had a prototype that didn’t work. Saritasa came in, reviewed the code, and were able to update it relatively quickly so it was working properly.

From then on, they’ve been improving it.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with a main manager, two tech folks, and my doctoral student has been interacting with them to keep it moving forward.

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

Before, we worked with an internal app development team and they created a prototype for us, which sort of worked. But it was just like really slow trying to get changes made. And we just weren't confident that we'd got to get it done in a timely fashion with them because we spent almost a year on it.

Then we paid another company, and we worked with them, but after a year, we still didn’t have a working product. So, we weren’t satisfied.

We got further advice from another specialist, and they identified Saritasa as a more established company with better infrastructure and more stability than the other programs we’ve worked with.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent $23,449 so far with Saritasa. I believe there is at least one bill outstanding, however. And, we plan to continue to develop the app with this team.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2019, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve made the product viable. Before, the product didn’t even work. Now we can use it to collect data for our research. It's pushing our product forward. Because of our success with them, we plan to continue to invest with them.  

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

Unlike our previous engagements, Saritasa gets things done in the time that they say they're going to get them done and they tend to work. I’ve been fine with their project management. We can contact them through phone or email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve delivered a working product when no one else could. And they delivered it on time for a reasonable cost.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There have been a few misunderstandings along the way, but I think that’s largely in part to them climbing on board with pre-written code. However, I have no significant concerns.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The more complete of a picture you have on what you want from your app, the better they will be at implementing it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

GlobeTax is the leading provider of withholding tax relief, recovery and reporting services to the global financial community, processing and filing over seven million reclaims a year. I am a DevOps Engineer at GlobeTax Services, Inc.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Saritasa?

Our company needed to develop multiple Jenkins jobs ASAP with the only one DevOps Engineer at the company.

What were your goals for this project?

Fast and quality job.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Our team searched on-line and comb through many Consulting companies. Eight companies were considered and interviewed. Saritasa was chosen because it had a good presentation and we liked the people representing it.

Describe the project in detail.

After we choose the company, we described each project in detail and we discussed each one with Saritasa. The work was started very quickly.

What was the team composition?

I was a main contact in our company to coordinate all the interactions of Saritasa and GlobeTax's Development and Networking teams so I worked directly with Saritasa's developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality work was done on-time.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The developer we were assign was really knowledgeable and easy to communicate with. Saritasa's project manager was great, understanding, and helpful.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We really liked Saritasa and are sure we made the right choice. The company has great resources and is flexible and knowledgeable.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not really.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president and CEO of a global alternative health education company. We offer certifications in methods of alternative energy healing for people around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

We had a fully functional website that outlined the mind mapping system, but we needed a mobile app to be more functional for our users.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, the project was focused on developing a mobile app, but we decided that creating a desktop app for Mac and Windows would increase functionality. We laid out our requirements and they were able to take the HTML mind mapping system and create an accessible app.  It’s essentially a knowledge base about the human body.

Since we completed development several years ago, they’ve continued to provide maintenance on the apps.

What is the team composition?

We had a team of four people. Stan (Manager of Client Engagement, Saritasa) was our main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

We were looking for a development company. I happened to be in their area and looked up local companies to see if I could meet with anyone in person. That’s how we discovered them and the rest is history.

How much have you invested with them?

Over the course of the first year, we spent about $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in 2013 and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work has had a profound impact on our business. The software they developed is now an enormous piece of our revenue, so it contributed to the growth of our company and revolutionized our business. It certainly has helped with sales by making our products more usable and enticing.

For the last several years, it has run flawlessly. Now that more technology is coming out though, we’ve had a few issues and it needs to be updated. We’re looking into that project with them now.

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

They delivered everything on time and in budget. Communication has been really good with them. They’re responsive to our requests and are always willing to do what we need. We communicate via email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their responsiveness and willingness to do whatever we need is what impresses me most. They have an excellent team of people who are extremely knowledgeable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The programmers we were working with were located overseas and that may have caused delays. We would explain to Saritasa what we wanted, and then they would explain it to the programmers. They were phenomenal programmers, though.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Generally speaking, be very clear about what you need and keep communication lines open. The more you communicate with them, or if you communicate on a consistent basis, the better the project will go.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of electronics at Vance & Hines. We make after-market motorcycle equipment. Most of what we do involves exhaust systems, but we do have an electronics line.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

We wanted to use their knowledge and people to help create a new web-based product that could allow a user to reprogram their motorcycle’s ECU. It enabled a smartphone user to download a map and make changes to the system. We created the software and hardware in-house, but we didn’t have the time to develop a website for it. Thus, they created a website integrated with the app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created a new backend API that allowed the user to download a map and install it on the motorcycle. They then built our database and added functionalities so that our customer service team could communicate with our database and users. This was combined with a backend service to edit maps in the database, which they also built. If a customer was having a problem, they could contact us and upload content so that our customer service team could investigate the issue. Later on, they created a duplicate of the server and modified it for other use.

What is the team composition?

They had a team of developers. There was one main person who went between us and the main programmer. 

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

I remember that we put the bid out to a few different companies. Saritasa’s quote showed that they had an understanding of what needed to be done. The other quotes were very generic and didn’t show a level of understanding we wanted. They gave us a list of requirements, a timeline, and a price. We moved on from there.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, it was around $70,000. The first part of the project was $50,000 and the second was $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in late 2013 and the project ran six months. It wrapped up at the beginning of 2014. We then engaged them again in 2018 for the server duplication project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Saritasa provided developers that were able to understand the requirements and build a site exactly how we wanted. The project would not have been as successful without them as we’d never done this before and didn’t know what to expect. They really worked with us and guided us through the process; we’re a lot smarter now. We could’ve been better at being more specific on what we needed. We continue to go to them if we run into a situation where we don’t have the manpower.

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

In the first project, we had some issues with conveying how our files were structures. However, we were able to get on the phone with a programmer and other staffers from Saritasa to get around the problem. We typically communicated via email and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve been very proactive and responsive throughout the project. We’re seeing results right away.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You should specify what you want on the product as much as you can. The other team is not going to understand it the same way that you do. It was really great that they worked to understand how we wanted the product to be designed. It was exactly what we needed.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of an online meal prep company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

We wanted to create a CRM software to streamline procedures and make them easier for all of our employees. We needed to build the technology effectively and in a timely manner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’re early in the process but Saritasa has been great. Their team’s working to build a CRM for account management in our backend. We offer a subscription service, so the platform will need to manage scheduling and meal assignments as well as information such as preferences and menus.

What is the team composition?

In the beginning, Michelle (Software Development Advisor and Director of Client Initiatives, Saritasa) was our account manager. She introduced us to Ben (Project Manager, Saritasa), who’s our project manager now.

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

I found them on Google and looked at a few local companies. I viewed their website and other reviews.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $10,000 on their services so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in September 2019 and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

So far, I’m happy with them. Saritasa has done a good job and products have been on time.

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve used GoToMeeting. Saritasa has always been on time to meetings, which we hold once or twice a week with Ben—who’s really good at what he does. He’s always on time and has communicated clearly. When you’re not a developer, it can be difficult to get your ideas on paper to create a platform because we speak two different languages. He has been able to speak with us as non-developers and his developers, which I haven't experienced with another vendor.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication skills differentiate them from other agencies.

Are there any areas they could improve?

So far, no.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re very good and will walk you through everything.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Emerging Transformational Ventures (ETV) GLOBAL, Inc. We’re a California-based mergers and acquisitions and business development firm. We work with innovative companies to develop products and promote them in the market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

The goal was to develop software solutions from start to finish, and then introduce the products to the market.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Saritasa is providing development services for several of our current and past clients on an ongoing basis.

What is the team composition?

They assigned a review team to draft a proposal, a second team for the project outline, and a third team for development. They had a project manager at every stage who followed up with us.

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

A personal friend introduced me to their CEO. I had heard about Saritasa from another source who’d used them two years ago to develop a product. I met with them and introduced my first client about a year ago.

What is the status of this engagement?

One of our projects started in April 2019, and they’re still working on it.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One of our clients was acquired by a large company as soon as Saritasa finished the project.

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re extremely professional and timely, and we’re very satisfied. We’ve used all forms of communication, including phone, Skype, and face-to-face meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re friendly, and they’re available almost 24 hours a day. I don’t usually call late, but I’ve done it a few times follow up on a few things, and each time I was able to get a hold of people. Saritasa is also one of the most technically-knowledgeable teams I’ve met.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Billing isn’t clear sometimes, even though we’ve already agreed on the payment structure. It’s important to review with the client again, before billing has been done, so that they know what to expect in terms of when the invoice will be coming in.