ScaleUp Software

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Owner of ClockSynk

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

ClockSynk is a sports technology startup that provides live digital scoreboards, game-day tools, sponsor visibility, and post-game information for youth sports organizations. I am the founder and am responsible for the product vision, customer relationships, business development, and overall direction of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire ScaleUp Software to accomplish?

• I came to ScaleUp with an idea for a digital scoring platform and needed a development team that could help turn that idea into a functioning product. As a nontechnical founder, I also needed guidance on how to build, deploy, and continue developing the platform as ClockSynk grew.

SOLUTION

How did you find ScaleUp Software?

upwork

Why did you select ScaleUp Software over others?

Pricing fit our budget

How many teammates from ScaleUp Software were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

ScaleUp helped develop and deploy the ClockSynk platform through multiple phases of development. Their team worked on the backend, frontend, deployment, troubleshooting, and additional functionality as the product evolved. Daniel was my primary business contact, while members of the development team handled much of the technical work. Over the course of the relationship, they helped take ClockSynk from an idea into a product we were able to use at live sporting events.

What's the status of this engagement?

 The engagement has ended, and ClockSynk is transitioning the platform to a new technical provider. ScaleUp has agreed to cooperate with the transition and provide the information needed for the handoff.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with your partner evolve?
We worked together for more than a year, and during that time ScaleUp helped me build something that did not exist before. The relationship became strained near the end after I discovered a source-code repository had been publicly accessible and there were communication issues surrounding that situation, which ultimately led me to move the platform to another provider.

In what ways can they improve?
My biggest recommendation would be stronger communication, clearer expectations around ongoing support, and more formal processes for security, repository ownership, access, and technical handoff. For a nontechnical founder, it is especially important that risks and limitations are explained clearly rather than assumed to be understood. The situation at the end of our relationship could have been handled much better, but I also do not want that experience to erase the work their team did in helping me build the product.

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?

Be very clear from the beginning about who owns and controls the code repositories, cloud accounts, credentials, domains, and other infrastructure. Also establish in writing what happens after launch, including bug support, live-event support, response expectations, and ongoing maintenance costs. ScaleUp helped us get a complicated idea built and into the hands of real users, but I learned that founders — especially nontechnical founders — also need to make sure they understand and control the technical infrastructure behind their product.

UPDATED REVIEW

Erin Schollaert
Owner, ClockSynkSports

Butler, Pennsylvania

1-10

Aug 2025 - Sep 2025

$10,000 to $49,999

Verified

Project summary
ScaleUp Software developed and deployed a web application for a digital scoring systems company. The project was completed through fixed-price milestones, including deployment, bug testing, and handoff.

Feedback summary
ScaleUp Software successfully completed the project, and the client used the resulting product in real-world environments. However, the client was disappointed with the technical handoff and transition process. Meanwhile, the team was personable, enthusiastic, and easy to communicate with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Owner of ClockSynk

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We build digital scoring systems

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire ScaleUp Software to accomplish?

• Develop a web application

SOLUTION

How did you find ScaleUp Software?

upwork

Why did you select ScaleUp Software over others?

Pricing fit our budget

How many teammates from ScaleUp Software were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

I hired ScaleUp Software through Upwork to develop and deploy our software platform. The project was completed through multiple fixed-price milestones, including deployment, bug testing, and handoff. During a later transition to a new technical provider, we discovered issues involving source-code repository control, technical handoff, and access to infrastructure and third-party services. We also discovered that proprietary source code had been placed in a publicly accessible GitHub repository. Daniel acknowledged in writing that making the repository public was a mistake. We requested information and assistance needed to complete the transition. When that was not resolved, we had to engage a new technical provider to secure, document, and transition the platform. My advice to other founders would be to require from the beginning that all code repositories, cloud infrastructure, credentials, documentation, and deployment assets remain under the client company’s control throughout the engagement.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

I hired ScaleUp Software through Upwork to develop and deploy our software platform. The project was completed through multiple fixed-price milestones, including deployment, bug testing, and handoff. 

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

During the build, communication was generally responsive and the team was personable to work with. Milestones were completed and payments were released through Upwork as the project progressed. The problems became much more apparent during the later transition to a new technical provider. At that stage, we encountered issues involving source-code repository control, access to infrastructure and third-party services, and incomplete technical handoff information. We also discovered that proprietary ClockSynk source code had been placed in a publicly accessible GitHub repository, which Daniel acknowledged in writing was a mistake. I provided the team with an opportunity to assist with the transition and requested the information and access needed to move the platform safely. Those requests were not fully resolved, and I ultimately had to engage another technical provider to secure, document, and transition the system. So while the project moved forward during development, the final handoff and transition did not meet my expectations for a software project involving long-term ownership, security, and maintainability.

What was your primary form of communication with ScaleUp Software?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Daniel was personable, enthusiastic, and easy to communicate with during the development process. He understood the vision for ClockSynk and was willing to work through changes as the product evolved. What stood out most was his ability to take an early-stage idea and help turn it into a functioning product that we were able to use in real-world environments. Unfortunately, the later transition and technical handoff did not meet the same standard, which significantly changed my overall view of the engagement.

Are there any areas for improvement or something ScaleUp Software could have done differently?

The biggest area for improvement is ownership, security, and technical handoff. For a software project of this type, the client company should maintain clear control of its source-code repositories, cloud infrastructure, credentials, deployment documentation, and third-party services throughout the engagement—not only at the end. During our transition to a new technical provider, we discovered that proprietary ClockSynk source code had been placed in a publicly accessible GitHub repository, which Daniel acknowledged was a mistake. We also had to work through repository access, infrastructure access, documentation, and other transition details that should have been much cleaner and more complete. ScaleUp could have improved the engagement significantly by establishing client-owned repositories and infrastructure from the beginning, maintaining stronger security practices, and providing a complete technical handoff package at project close. For future clients, I would strongly recommend that ScaleUp build those practices into every project as a standard part of delivery.

Overall rating:    0.5

Quality:    0.5

Cost:    0.5

Schedule:  0.5   

Willing to refer: 0.5