SINAPTIA

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an eyewear company that sells prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses direct to our consumers online. I’m the CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SINAPTIA?

We initially hired SINAPTIA for the ongoing maintenance of our site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

While our engagement started with maintenance support and upgrades, their role shifted to feature development on our Ruby on Rails platform. They currently handle all of our digital web development, including new features and maintenance. We have a few other services, including AWS, integrated within our site, and they help to maintain those as well.

What is the team composition?

Regularly, we’ve worked with three members of their team. Sometimes, there have been around four or five that help out.

How much have you invested with them?

We have an agreement with them for ongoing services with an hourly rate. Overall, we’ve invested between $50,000–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with SINAPTIA started in January 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Although we have projects that began and end with them, we’re consistently collaborating. Their team is frequently developing and deploying features for our website. Since they provide continuous development and maintenance support, they’ve become part of our team.

How did SINAPTIA perform from a project management standpoint?

We track our progress using Trello or Pivotal Tracker, depending on the project. The team at SINAPTIA is excellent at meeting deadlines, relying on the communication amongst our teams for the specific goal. If a deadline isn’t met, it’s because of the tools not being used properly or the project not being well-defined.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team is very reactive, even with our four-hour time difference. If an issue pops up during off-hours, they still make sure to jump on it. They work as if they’re in the same room as us. That responsiveness has built trust between us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only area I could think of would be their knowledge of UX and design. While that may not be their core business, I would take advantage of that service if they offered it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a co-founder of a hospitality development company. We started off as a generic development agency, but over the last five years, we’ve been focusing on hospitality and travel development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SINAPTIA?

We had two challenges; the first being we needed to expand the capability and the second being we needed to expand our geographical support. We were struggling to provide application support from one location across the globe.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, they used Ruby on Rails with AngularJS in the frontend. Now, they’re using Ruby on Rails with React in the frontend and provide development support. They provide base applications and level three support. They work with our clients through our email and communication methods.

What is the team composition?

We work with 4–6 people, including a QA person and developers.

How did you come to work with SINAPTIA?

One of our developers is the brother-in-law of one of their founders.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent just shy of $1 million so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in March 2016 and the relationship is currently ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve really become an extension of our development force.

How did SINAPTIA perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ll help us work to have good quality stories and help us define them, but they need us to be very clear with what our requests are. It's better to spend the time upfront. We have daily stand-ups and we communicate through Slack and Google Hangouts.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They won’t just drop tools and disappear. If there’s a problem with a customer or anything, they’ll stand in the trenches with us until it’s done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Documentation could be improved, but I think we could all improve on that.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go see them in person. They’re individuals who truly respond to being a part of your team and being a part of the project and understanding it, so the investment for me to send out my teammates paid off.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-owner and -founder of a technology company. We provide data capture for infrastructure using unmanned UAVs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SINAPTIA?

We needed to create a web app for our clients to deliver our data.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SINAPTIA built our data delivery platform. It’s a secure site with password entry that’s only for our clients; it’s. It uses a lot of Ruby on Rails and is based on Microsoft Azure. SINAPTIA built the user interface and the backend.

The bulk of the development is done. Now we’re fulfilling more specific requests. Going forward, we’re going to change a lot of things; we’re bringing in more data and data processing features. 

What is the team composition?

I had direct contact with at least three people. I only work with Patricio (Co-Founder) now, who’s been my main point of contact. 

How did you come to work with SINAPTIA?

After scanning a bunch of developers all over the world, I rejected India as a location because of the time difference. I found SINAPTIA on a popular freelance application and saw that they were in Argentina. (I’m Argentine myself.) They had a good reputation, the time zone difference was much slimmer, and we shared two common languages — English and Spanish. I also traveled often to Argentina and could meet with their team in person as needed. Communicating the details in person is very helpful for me.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $10,000–$20,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The relationship started in 2015 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re extremely satisfied. Any limitations in the app are limitations by design. We decided to limit functionalities until users expressly ask for them. That way, we can go by stages and don’t make a mistake assuming what the clients want. 

How did SINAPTIA perform from a project management standpoint?

I met with them personally for the kick-off meeting. Everything else after that happens by email or WhatsApp. We sometimes met by chance, but 90% of our communication has been online. 

The team is quick on its feet and always there when we need them. When we change our mind mid-development, having that responsiveness is vital. Also, before starting anything, they were very clear in establish what we were going to do based on our earlier conversations. Once they had that framework, they’ve had no problems adapting to changes from there. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their prices are very competitive. They’re much more competitive compared to local options. We get a lot of bang for the buck, basically. I’d recommend them because I’m still using them. When I’m not happy, I’m not loyal.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m a novice in the programming world. If there’s a way to explain certain technical decisions to the client — such as why we’re using Ruby on Rails as opposed to another programming language — I’d appreciate it.

Any advice for potential customers?

Partner with them. Be straightforward, frank, and direct, and you’ll get good results. They’re an easy group to work with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of OmniAlly Digital Solutions. We provide digital signage software, hardware, and service support.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SINAPTIA?

We’d just started our organization and quickly needed help with developing our software platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Using Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, and even a little bit of Python, they developed our MVP platform within a two-month timeframe. I believe they used Apache.

The platform has two ends—a dashboard system as well as a media player that communicates back to it, and they continue to develop both. They now also perform some odd jobs for us, because we receive custom work requests from our clients.

What is the team composition?

We have a core team of two as well as a designated project manager. At any given time, we have between 2–6 teammates.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent somewhere around $400,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February of 2014, and we’ve continued to rely on them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve truly valued our partnership with SINAPTIA. Their work has been great; soon after its completion, the finished platform enabled us to close a major deal with one of our bigger clients that we still have today.

SINAPTIA’s strong suit is their ability to roll with the punches in an agile process. I don’t have to hesitate when I reach out to programmers with a change in scope. It makes development much more navigable, especially in a competitive landscape.

How did SINAPTIA perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re adaptive and organized. We have scrum and sprint meetings every week, respectively, and we use JIRA for project management. They use the platform for code repositories as well. They keep good track of roadmaps and new features that we’re going to be rolling out.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really. They evolve very well in accordance with what our needs are. We’ve been very happy with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Try not to get too caught up in what the tech stack needs to be, or how to get to the solution early. Leave it to their hands to come up with the appropriate solutions; they’ll know of the quickest path to deployment.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Directora of Cocoliche Ropa Con Otra Oportunidad

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Cocoliche is an argentine community of clothes with another opportunity, where you can buy and sell specially selected second-hand clothes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• improve the sales system with barcodes
• incorporate stock controls

SOLUTION

How did you find SINAPTIA?

Referral

Why did you select SINAPTIA over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from SINAPTIA were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Environment management scheme
• Performance analysis and troubleshooting
• Barcode generation and label printing
• Stock control

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Customer waiting time
• Product labeling time
• Less errors in labeling

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

The project was developed on time. Quick responses focused on the solution.

What was your primary form of communication with SINAPTIA?

Virtual Meeting

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

Their efficiency, kindness, and punctuality were impressive. They delivered excellent solutions.

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

I don't know

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co-founder of Raive

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We provide marketing tools for small e-commerce businesses

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Build a Shopify App

SOLUTION

How did you find SINAPTIA?

Clutch Site

Why did you select SINAPTIA over others?

High ratings, Pricing first our budget, Great culture fit, Company values aligned

What was the size of SINAPTIA’s team?

2-5 Employees

What was your primary form of communication with SINAPTIA?

Virtual Meeting, Email or Messaging App

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

Sinaptia managed to build the Shopify app in record time including key features likean embedded app, clear reporting and survey on the post checkout page of Shopify flow.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Build the app in less than 1 month

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

Sinaptia managed to deliver the app in a record time and without too many bugs. Very responsive to our needs and demands!

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

Sinaptia is a very good partner to work with in terms of efficiency and communication.

Are there any areas for improvement or something {provider_name} could have done differently?

Nope

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Director of Operations at DHNN, a design consultancy focused on digital products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Sinaptia to build the front-end and backend integration for a subscription based website. Their goal was to translate our product design into a fully transactional website integrated with our customer logistic hub.

SOLUTION

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

We found a great review here on Clutch and aproach them and a few others. They showed interest in working with us from the first call and had a great sales approach in a consultive way, which doesn't make feel unconfortable or pressured to close a deal.

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

We started validating with them the site architecture, user flows and user stories in order to let them create the data models and set the working environment. We delivered wireframes in order to let them start working on a rudimentary frontend, and then the final design in Figma.

We agreed to work in a iterative release model, having a working MVP as soon as possible and adding detail and complexity (in terms of visual desig, animations and editing capabilities) on sucesive iterations. The project was entirely build on Rails.

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

2 sr Front-End developers and 1 sr backend developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site looks and works as it was designed, and that's a lot to say. We didn't have to lower our design standards in order to accomodate what the front-end can deliver, instead they were up to our standards.

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

We used Trello, Slack and had daily stand-up meetings to track the progress and discuss blockers.

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

The human quality, they are great guys to work. And of course, they have great technical skills. They offered valuable advice during the process and were always willing to collaborate with us.

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

No.