Simublade

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Jitt Entertainment, LLC

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

A mobile app that offer challenges in music, dance, sports, fashion and any other category.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Simublade to accomplish?

• To develop a mobile app based on my concept.
• Create a design that was attractive and easy to use.
• Complete within the time frame alloted for development.

SOLUTION

How did you find Simublade?

Online Search

Why did you select Simublade over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Simublade were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Devise a blueprint of the concept, create design, code all aspects of the design, testing, delivery and maintenance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The measurable results were concept design, programming of a unique concept and functional for the users.

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

Simublade assigned a project manager as a primary liaison, while providing a project plan with milestones to be accomplished based on specific tasks. The items delivered in a timely manner, and I had direct access to all professionals via online communication. Therefore, the response to my needs took place in an expedited manner.

What was your primary form of communication with Simublade?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their ability to take a new idea/concept from initiation to completion with little to no difficulty. Also, probably one the best design teams in the mobile application industry. They were very flexible with accepting input, payment terms and ALWAYS respond in a timely manner. This is a 5 Star mobile app development company.

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

Simublade did everything right and exceeded my expectations. I probably was too overbearing for some minor changes, but they were professional throughout the development process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior manager at Used Engines Inc. We sell and ship used engines and transmissions all over the US with free delivery. We’re one of the leading providers of used auto parts.

As the senior manager, I handle the whole team. I’m responsible for creating procedures and policies within the company, ensuring we’re running as part of our roadmap, creating future visions, and planning our missions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Simublade?

We had an old version of the website; it had a lot of shortcomings in terms of UI design. We needed to contact a company that could understand our requirements and build a user-friendly website for our customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Simublade has changed our website to a new interface, and they’re currently working on our e-commerce platform and CRM. They initially built our basic CRM from scratch according to our requirements. The CRM allows our team to process the data and store customers’ information internally. We can get leads on the CRM and have all the customer information required for the purchase. Alongside this, we can create reports that include the data for how much revenue we’ve generated, individuals’ performance reports, and data analysis reports, and everything is integrated.

Our website shows how we do our business, our business policies, and how effective we are among our competitors. We don’t have inventory on the site yet, and users contact us by calling or filling out a form.

Additionally, Simublade offers maintenance and hosting.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with the development team, including three software developers. Two of them are dedicated to our project, and we’re also in touch with the operations head, the CEO, and the strategist every once in a while.

How did you come to work with Simublade?

We found Simublade online and looked at their reputation, reviews, and how they did business. We found someone that could share their results with us and were impressed with what we found, so we decided to do business with them.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent around $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in January 2022, and the work is ongoing. We plan to keep the partnership long-term.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before working with them, we got the customers’ data from the form they filled in. Now, people can see their reports and analyze their performance. We also have organized queues for the representatives so they can see the crucial prospects. Similarly, we’ve built a ticketing system and updated our order system for the support team. Now, they can automatically create orders, which start being processed by a specific team. Additionally, Simublade has incorporated a refund functionality that we used to do manually.

In general, many things have happened since we started working with Simublade. They’re going in an excellent direction, and we’re very satisfied with them. We didn’t imagine we’d come this far within a year. 

How did Simublade perform from a project management standpoint?

They always deliver on time and have a proactive approach. Although urgent requirements come up while working in real-time, they have a calendar scheduled for the next month, so they’re already prepared for what’s next. For example, if an issue occurs with the CRM, they dedicate the manpower to work on it. Sometimes things can be slightly delayed in that sense, but it depends on the situation or how we prioritize our requirements.

We communicate through phone, Slack, and Google Meet. Moreover, they’re very responsive, so if we send them a message on Slack or an email, they take care of it as soon as possible. All in all, the team actively responds to our requests, and their project management is flawless.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their best trait is their personalized service. They try to understand our requirements in the best possible way. Sometimes they request a training session because they want to understand our process more in detail. When they were building our website, Simublade updated the content in a natural and authentic way to meet our needs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing is perfect in this world, so there’s always a scope for opportunity. However, I honestly can’t find something they could improve in their service; we’re very satisfied.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s all about maintaining a healthy relationship. When both parties understand each other, the relationship can go on for the long term, which brings more productivity. In this case, everyone on their team is positive and friendly, and they’re very responsive to queries. As long as you’re clear about what you tell them, they’ll take care of it and get you what you need.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

CEO of Automotive Technology Start-Up

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Simublade, and what were your goals?

Simublade was engaged for full-scale development of a go-to-market ready web, mobile web, and native app technology.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We were able to meet with the owners face to face. They exhibited a thorough understanding our needs. Of the 10 dev companies we interviewed, Simublade also produced the most detailed, relevant and well thought-out proposal.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Out development was heavy. Simublade handled everything from wire frames, design, api integrations, algorithmic rule engines, front end/back end dev, infrastructure architecture, etc. We co-planned the concept, but they did all the heavy lifting to bring it to life.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Approximately 12, ranging from full stack developers, dev ops, designers, project managers, etc.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Every dev project has road bumps, but Simublade handled them with agility. The final product far exceeded anything we could have possibly imagined when we began. This is a very talented team!

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Simulblade generally recommends agile sprint methodology but will cater to the client's way of working and style.

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

Attention to high-impact efforts and their ability to create innovative solutions to achieve the desired result.

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

The Achilles heel of every dev project is time. It always takes longer than expected and involves more than originally scoped. Explaining that upfront would be helpful, but regardless... Simublade was exceptional at communicating and managing scope creep on the fly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of the Just.Live app. It’s a social justice app that people use to live-stream protests, activism, and opinions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Simublade?

When I engaged Simublade, I needed to create my app. I wanted to create an iOS and Android version.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Simublade created iOS and Android versions of my app. I came to them with an idea, and they created the platform from the ground up. When I first sat down with them, they asked about my goals and vision. I also presented them with drawings that I created, and then their team incorporated my ideas into the design.

I wanted to create a failsafe system that would prevent anyone from deleting videos without the user’s knowledge. Simulade built a feature that preserves content on the Cloud for 30 days until it’s officially deleted. They also created a website for me.

What is the team composition?

I primarily communicate with a project manager, Hassaan (Senior Product Manager). He communicates between his team and me.

How did you come to work with Simublade?

I searched for local development companies. While looking, I came across Simublade. I picked them because they were reputable and personable. Their team was friendly and interested in my project.

How much have you invested with them?

For all of their services, I spent roughly $125,000.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around June 2018, and we launched the app in July 2020. I now have them on retainer for maintenance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They took my drawings and made them into a product that I never even imagined. Their team did more than I asked of them.

The platform’s absolutely beautiful. They impressed me with their design. Our users also love the design, especially how modern it is. They also love our two different scrolling features. Users can scroll up and down as well as left and right on the app.

Simublade also put neon lights behind the videos on the platform. It’s those little details that my users specifically appreciate.

How did Simublade perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m impressed with Hassaan. When I first called Simublade, I talked with him and that was lucky. He knew exactly what I wanted, which took a lot of stress off of my shoulders. He made this a comfortable process by communicating the process in laymen’s terms. Their team also does an outstanding job of delivering on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I didn’t know anything about development when I started this project. Having them on this project was one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made.

Simublade does more than I ask of them. I feel that I actually received a $250,000 platform for $125,000 because they genuinely cared about creating a relationship. This doesn’t feel like a business transaction. Our relationship feels more like a friendship.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don't have constructive feedback.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If this is your first development project, I would definitely recommend working with Simublade. I would also recommend them to anyone who wants a personable engagement. Whereas other companies focus on making money, Simublade actually cares about bringing your vision to life.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

RecTable (dba chimemenu.com) is a dine-in, digital ordering solution for restaurants. I serve as the CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Simublade?

We were on a compressed timeline for launch and needed Simublade to develop a full front end platform for both of our two applications. These needed to be developed in react and hook up to API dummy end points.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to achieve a fully functional, cleanly written front end for our two platforms.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were connected originally through a mutual connection, but ultimately chose them due to the price and timeline.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We provided fleshed out designs in figma and guidelines as well as dummy data. From there, we completely handed it off to the Simublade team and let them construct the product. Of course we had frequent check ins, but they were fully responsible for developing the code.

What was the team composition?

The project had 2-3 dedicated project managers, and under them 2-4 engineers who would work on specific components of the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This project still serves as a functioning front end for our applications. We have only modifies small components and refactored parts of the code periodically, but overall this was an integral part of our business.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We worked predominately in slack and github. This was very effective for us as this was a defined project.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The company was incredibly communicative, flexible, and eager to help us however they could. It was not simply outsourcing our code to another company, rather bringing on a group of individuals who equally cared about our success. That mindset made all the difference.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is very little they could improve frankly! The code was clean and organized, as well as everything was taken care of to standard. I am looking forward to working with them again.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company is a liquor delivery company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Simublade?

I hired them to create a mobile app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed an entire mobile app from scratch. I told them what I wanted, but I don’t have a technical background, so they had to take charge of the overall process, including design. The app allows users to view the best price for liquor in their area. 

What is the team composition?

I had one main point of contact who acted as a liaison between me and the Simublade developers. 

How did you come to work with Simublade?

I found them online. I can’t remember which site specifically,  but I called multiple vendors and felt Simublade had the best service.

How much have you invested in them?

I invested about $40,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

I first reached out to them in January 2019. They didn’t start working on the actual development until March 2019. The app is complete, but we haven’t launched it in the App Store yet.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The design of the app is beautiful and matches what I envisioned. It’s also user friendly and easy to use. Even if there were flaws, they were fixed right away. 

How did Simublade perform from a project management standpoint?

They were amazing. They laid out a timeline from the beginning and stuck to it. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They give their work a personal touch. I felt like we were able to form a strong relationship; I wasn’t just another customer. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I wish we would’ve done weekly check-ins from the beginning. We’re doing them now, but I think they would’ve been beneficial from the start. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

Communicate constantly and keep an email chain where you can track the progress of the project. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing partner for a venture capital firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Simublade?

We needed to develop a mobile app. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We gave Simublade an overview of our vision and expectations. They designed and developed the mobile app for iOS and Android in React Native.

The app is a game that has been mainly marketed in Nigeria. The user answers questions for points that they can use to buy virtual scratch cards. They can then win money and prizes. 

What is the team composition?

I communicated with Hassaan (Senior Product) at first, but since we got going, the head of engineering has been my primary point of contact. 

How did you come to work with Simublade?

I met with Hassaan in 2017 to discuss a different project. While we didn’t work together then, I reached out to him for this project because I liked his enthusiasm.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $36,000. Payments were broken into milestones. We have paid about 60% of the total and are currently in the sixth milestone.

What is the status of this engagement?

We talked for a few months first, but the contract began around May 2019, and it is ongoing. We should be done by the end of this month.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s hard to give statistics as we haven’t launched yet. Simublade has done a great job with design and software. From the demos they’ve showed, I think the app looks really good. Any frustration I had over how long the design took was erased when I saw it. It was immaculate.

How did Simublade perform from a project management standpoint?

Scoping the project took a long time, but apart from that, communication has been good. We use Slack. I asked for biweekly updates, which I receive. Once the project got going, I began communicating directly with the engineer rather than through Hassaan.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their design blew me away. They delivered exactly what I wanted. They were also flexible regarding payment.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Communication was not the best, but it improved over time.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Discuss the scope with the engineer and the salespeople in the beginning.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

OralAssist is an LLC that was created for the purposes of my app. I’m a special education teacher in Texas, and I saw a need for an app that would allow teachers to differentiate oral accommodations that students with special needs receive in the classroom.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Simublade?

They worked with us to develop an iPad application that could scan and upload documents in order for teachers to be able to accommodate students who needed audio recording versions or anything of that nature.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I storyboarded a basic version of the app on PowerPoint initially, and from there, their project manager bounced some ideas back and forth with me. We were able to work towards a fully fleshed-out wireframe that included a Logo, a color scheme, and all the different features that we wanted to include. 

We developed the app for iPad originally, and I hope to be able to expand to iPhones on iOS soon. There wasn’t a lot of technology out there like what we were developing, so we really just had to start small and build up from there.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with their project manager, but he had a development team working with him behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with Simublade?

We researched and spoke to several different developers to try to communicate our mission and find someone that would be able to turn that into an app that was both trendy and also teacher-friendly.

From the start, Simublade seemed like a really good fit because they weren’t nearly as pressing to make the transaction as some of the other companies. Their prioritization of our needs and the quality of their ideas really impressed me.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, the project cost between $40,000-$50,000

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from November 2018-June 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are really pleased with the final design of the application. It’s catchy and innovative, and we’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from educators about both the design and the functionality that it provides.

Their team was very quick to accept feedback and modify anything to fit our needs, which I really appreciated. Thanks to their work, I’ve seen a significant benefit to the student population we were trying to serve, and as a result, I’ve been invited to speak about the app at several conferences about dyslexia.

How did Simublade perform from a project management standpoint?

I thought they did an excellent job of managing the project. Their timelines were very accurate from the beginning, regardless of changes from me and unexpected challenges. They were also very organized, which helped to make sure that we were always on track with our progress and including everything that needed to be in the final version of the app.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They made a really significant effort to understand our mission and the audience that we were trying to reach. It was clear that they wanted our final product to be something that actually helped those people, and that made the relationship much better and the project much more enjoyable to work on.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only thing I think they could improve on is their ability to communicate clearly about the specifics of a project with someone who doesn’t have as deep a knowledge of some of their industry terms and concepts. 

As a teacher, I’m exposed to a lot of technologies, but talking about programming can often be like a foreign language to me, so even though they tried to walk me through everything a little more breakdown would probably have been helpful.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just keep a running record of your ideas and allow their team to help you take them to the next level. You don’t have to have everything figured out exactly from the very beginning to be successful with them. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a manager at Parrotforce. We provide next-generation virtual assistants to companies and entrepreneurs to help with a wide variety of tasks.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Simublade?

One of our biggest challenges was routing call requests, which can come in a lot of different forms. Getting those requests to the personal assistant was a manual process, which made it difficult to manage.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Simublade built that entire stream for routing requests. The system stores that conversation data between a client and personal assistant, analyzes it, and applies natural language processing (NLP) to the conversation. That machine learning process determines what important things the virtual assistant should remember. 

The project was an iterative process where we went feature by feature. Simublade took our ideas about how to take conversation data from SMS, email, and Trello boards and made them better in the process. The team built the app in NodeJS and React and its database in SQL. We host the system on Google Cloud Platform.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager who served as our main point of communication. Later, we also worked with a designer.

How did you come to work with Simublade?

I think we found them on Clutch. We weren’t sure what to look for at first because we lacked that technical expertise to determine how exactly we should improve our processes. Once we got on a call with Simublade, they started recommending ideas right away. We didn’t pursue some of their ideas, but a lot of the things they suggested were really good. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent upwards of $100,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April or May 2017, and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Simublade’s app has completely changed how we work at the company. We no longer have to worry about routing data manually—the system does it for us. Now, we can focus more of our energy on building relationships with customers and growing the company. 

From a customer standpoint, the experience of using our personal assistant service improved. Each customer has their preferences and important information stored whenever a personal assistant hand-off takes place. We can make those transitions in the backend seamless without sacrificing customer service. 

How did Simublade perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything arrived on time, and our expectations were super clear. Our project manager recommended a lot of ideas that improved the product. We got everything that we wanted—I have no complaints.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The strategy part of it really impressed us. Simublade took our problems and converted them into solutions that we wouldn’t have thought of. That was even more important to us than them making just a great app.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t really have any major complaints. We’re nearing the end of the project, and we’re happy with everything.

Any advice for potential customers?

Allow Simublade to explore for you and provide suggestions. Really utilize their product strategy to find creative solutions and take advantage of their great development.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder of the startup CoTravel, an app that introduces persons involved in travel agencies and gives them a platform to meet and chat with each other, market ideas, etc.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Simublade?

I needed a firm to build an app for people to be able to branch out and make connections in industries outside of their own. I wanted it to work like other matching/swiping apps but with a travel orientation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Simublade had an eight-phase development process. First, they completed the mockup and made my suggested changes to the wireframes. After that, they did frontend mobile app and backend server dev. The frontend had login functionality and the backend had user handling and basic algorithms in place for matching. Next, they completed matching functionality, chat functionality, and match pages on the frontend.

Halfway through the project, I decided to change things, and Simublade didn’t have a problem, which was nice of them. After the chat functionality was finished, they implemented chat controller, payment functionality, and location functionality. Once all the major functions were implemented, they moved into beta testing and then the app was released in the App Store.

The whole algorithm for matching was based on regions and subregions throughout the world. So, instead of focusing on how many miles you are from someone, you select five regions of interest where you want to meet people, and the app sends users your way.

The programming was done through Github and Firebase SDK, and we just created an iOS app for now.

What is the team composition?

I only had contact with my dev consultant, and I’m not sure how many developers worked under him.

How did you come to work with Simublade?

I did a Google search, and I saw Simublade had good reviews. If possible, I wanted someone based out of Houston, so I contacted them. I was considering about ten companies in total, but Simublade had a good reputation, was near me, and offered competitive pricing, so I chose them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in January 2017, and the app launched in August.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app is functional and does exactly what I wanted. I've barely marketed it, and it already has users. Even though our contract is finished, Simublade still keeps in contact with me for any small changes I may need.

The users say its functional and they like it, and I haven’t heard many complaints.

How did Simublade perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly communicated over phone, text, or email. Simublade was easy to get a hold of and accommodating. They gave me exactly what I asked for.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

They made time for me, and they’re nice people to work with. They made any changes I asked for, and the whole team was personable; I always knew who I was speaking with.

This was my first experience with mobile app dev, and Simublade was thorough, direct, and friendly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They stuck to our timeline, but I think the app could have been finished a bit faster.  

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

It depends on what type of app you're building, but Simublade is a great partner. They met my needs and were able to perform.