Slash

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CMO and Cofounder of Tanaku

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Making homeownership accessible and affordable for all by creating alternate financing products for emerging countries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Create prototype of tanaku's product on mobile app

SOLUTION

How did you find Slash?

Referral

Why did you select Slash over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Slash were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Our company partnered with the vendor to develop a mobile application for Tanaku's rent-to-own (RTO) scheme, targeting homeowners looking for an alternative to traditional mortgages. The app is designed to streamline the homeownership journey, making it easier for users to understand and engage with the RTO model, calculate their potential equity, and track their progress toward full ownership.

Scope of Work
The vendor provided end-to-end app development services, including initial ideation, wireframing, and user journey mapping tailored to the RTO model. They delivered a seamless and user-centric experience by focusing on the following:

User Flow Development

Created intuitive user flows to simplify the understanding of the RTO process, guiding users through eligibility, payment terms, and the path to ownership.
Developed a personalized dashboard that shows users their current rental payments, accumulated equity, and ownership milestones.
App Development and Design

Designed an aesthetically pleasing, user-friendly interface with easy navigation and clear calls to action, ensuring all features are accessible to users of various digital skill levels.
Developed the app on both iOS and Android platforms to ensure maximum accessibility for the target market.
Included an interactive financial calculator to show monthly payments, interest, and potential savings compared to a traditional mortgage.
Back-End Integration

Integrated a secure backend system to manage user data, calculate equity accumulation, and offer payment tracking.
Provided an API structure for easy integration with Tanaku's existing property and financial systems, supporting future scalability.
Testing & Quality Assurance

Conducted comprehensive testing, including usability testing, to refine user experience and ensure a seamless, bug-free interface.
Carried out cross-platform testing to ensure the app functions well across devices, operating systems, and screen sizes.
Post-Launch Support & Maintenance

Offered ongoing support post-launch, including monitoring for issues, regular updates, and user feedback collection.
Provided training to our internal team to help manage content updates and handle minor troubleshooting.
Key Deliverables

Mobile App (iOS and Android): A fully functional, user-friendly RTO app that guides homeowners through the rent-to-own process.
User Dashboard & Financial Tools: A personalized dashboard with a financial calculator and equity-tracking feature.
Backend Integration: A secure backend with APIs compatible with existing Tanaku systems.
Testing & QA Reports: Documentation and reports on usability and cross-platform testing results.
User Training & Documentation: Training sessions and user manuals for our team for ongoing management.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We launched the app succesfully across android and ios.

Waiting list of thousands of users. 30% of users completing the RTO onboarding process and 40% actively tracking their application progress within the first three months post-launch. User satisfaction soared, as evidenced by positive feedback on ease of understanding the RTO model. This app has significantly boosted user confidence and streamlined the path to homeownership through Tanaku's innovative RTO solution.

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

Project management for this initiative was highly collaborative and detail-oriented, with a strong focus on consistent communication and alignment. The team conducted regular huddles and alignment sessions to stay on track, ensuring all stakeholders were informed of progress and milestones. Workshops and feedback loops were integral to the development process, as the vendor frequently engaged with our team to refine features and adjust the app's functionality based on real-time input. Virtual meetings via Google Meet facilitated cross-functional alignment, allowing for swift decision-making and seamless integration of new ideas. This structured yet flexible approach fostered a productive partnership and ensured the project was delivered on time and met our high standards for user experience.

What was your primary form of communication with Slash?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What impressed us most about the vendor was their exceptional cultural alignment and proactive communication throughout the project. Their team demonstrated an innate understanding of our goals and values and the unique needs of our user base, making collaboration feel seamless and highly efficient. They consistently went above and beyond to anticipate challenges, proactively addressing potential roadblocks before they could impact progress.

The vendor's technical expertise and design skills were also standout qualities, with a clear strength in creating intuitive UX/UI designs that resonated with our target audience. Their wireframes were meticulously crafted and laid a solid foundation for the app, allowing us to envision the final product early on and provide valuable feedback. This blend of cultural alignment, skilled communication, and technical proficiency made the entire experience not only smooth but truly productive.

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

While the vendor delivered a high-quality app and collaborative experience, there are a few areas for potential growth. User research-driven feedback could enhance development by aligning more closely with user needs and behaviors, allowing for a more user-centered product. Adopting a more iterative approach with faster, incremental updates would also improve flexibility, enabling quicker responses to feedback and a smoother evolution of features over time. Additionally, exploring lighter, no-code solutions where applicable could streamline development, reduce costs, and empower our team to make small adjustments independently, creating an agile and adaptable app environment.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder and CEO of a healthcare company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Slash?

I worked with Slash for hiring and HR support purposes.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired Slash to help us fill the position of senior operations manager within our company. For this project, I gave them the profile and job description. Then, I discussed this project with their team, and they helped me refine the job description. After that, we went through an extensive Q&A to determine the profile of the candidate we were looking for and the tasks and duties they should take over.

Slash then looked into their existing CVs and found additional profiles throughout the whole area of Indonesia. When Slash identified the first couple of candidates, they conducted the first two calls with those candidates and sent me a report.

Their approach prevented me from having to spend my own time going through the interview process with each and every candidate. I only joined the third call after getting a very in-depth profile and comments about each candidate Slash had interviewed and analyzed.

What is the team composition?

I worked with two teammates from Slash, including Maria (Head of People & Senior Consultant).

How did you come to work with Slash?

I basically met them through word of mouth. I met one of the founders and former executives of Slash. However, this person then took over another startup in Jakarta. Still, I decided to work with Slash due to the fact that I already knew one of their founders.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $5,500.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February–May 2023. My original goal was to hire a candidate by April 2023, but the actual hiring was postponed until May 2023.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Slash initially offered mentorship for the candidate we would be hiring. However, their mentorship efforts didn't really pay off, and we had to get rid of the candidate in August 2023. This person only worked with us for three weeks. Still, we also had to downscale our operational team anyway, so this wasn't necessarily Slash's fault. It was a commercial decision I had to take for the company.

Something that wasn't great was that, although the headcount was performing well, the candidate couldn't keep up being a leader throughout the entire process. I still wouldn't blame Slash for that. I would rather blame my co-founder, who didn't give them enough authority nor was more involved in the day-to-day operations than I was.

How did Slash perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated through Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. We also had a communication channel to go through the candidates' CVs and reports.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

Maria did a really great job. She was very hands-on, always accessible, very responsive, and very active. She did a great job of preparing all the materials for the process. Everything she set up was very thought-through.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The entire process from Slash's side was very thought-through. From writing the right job description to identifying prospects, pretesting them, and analyzing the process around it, everything was quite well done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great if Slash extended their search for prospects. They relied quite a lot on the prospects who were in their database already, which wasn't ideal. Slash could have increased the effort in looking for additional people who would be a good fit for the role.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I don't have any particular advice.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of growth of a tech enterprise in the software space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address Slash?

We needed staff augmentation services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, we provided the requirements for the candidates, and Slash found the talent. They’ve helped us do the prescreening of applicants and provided software engineering services alongside our existing teams. They do complex application development.

How did you come to work with Slash?

One of the engineers who previously worked with them referred them. He knew the CTO and pointed us in his direction.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent between $200,000–$900,000 on the projects we’ve worked on.

What is the status of the engagement?

We began working together in April 2021, and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve found suitable candidates for our company. The new teammates have integrated well into our company, and they provide good services. Moreover, they perform to the standard that we expect from our employees.

How did Slash perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very responsive and professional. Slash’s team members deliver all the tasks on time, and they’re great with communication.

We mainly communicate via email and WhatsApp.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have many talented developers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’d be great if they were more affordable.

Any advice for potential customers?

Work closely with Slash to conduct the interviews with the shortlisted candidates.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief product and technology officer (CPTO) of PERSOL Asia Pacific, a regional staffing and recruiting company. We have a presence in 13 countries, including Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, India, Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand. As CPTO, I look after our company’s technology side.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Slash?

Like other recruiting companies, we get job opening requirements from our clients, and our goal is to find the best candidates to present to them. Then, if a client hires one of the candidates, we get a success fee. However, this work is traditionally done manually; recruiters get the job descriptions, post the opening, wait for candidates to apply, and go through every CV to find the best matches.

Therefore, we initiated a development project with Slash’s help to automate the recruiting process and generate the best-matched candidates based on their résumé information, comparing it to the information in job descriptions. Our ultimate goal was to create a custom software piece that could go through the list of thousands of candidates in our database and automatically pick the best candidates based on the job description.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Slash helped us come up with a cloud-based web application to automate our recruiting process. The project started with a discovery phase, after which we engaged with their product manager and UX designer to come up with the high-level product design and the UX/UI design. Once we finished the design phase, we worked closely with their team on the development phase. Recently, we delivered the final product.

As for the technology stack, we used React, PostgreSQL, Lambda functions, and a combination of an external AI matching service and an API integration with Bullhorn. The app takes the job description information from our Bullhorn system, extracts the job description, and uses the third-party AI matching service to come up with a list of the best candidates for the job, which then displays on our screen.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people from Slash’s team, including a chief product officer (CPO), a product manager, and a UI/UX designer.

How did you come to work with Slash?

We found them through LinkedIn. We decided to work with them after the initial discussion with their team. On the call, we met their CEO, their CPO, and a salesperson, and we felt they were capable.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $100,000–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started talking with them in January 2022, signed the contract in February 2022, went through the discovery phase from February–April 2022, and finished the product in September 2022. Now, we’re in a maintenance stage for the next three months in case there are bugs or issues to fix.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After finishing the product, we did user acceptance testing, and the results were successful; that’s how we evaluated the product’s quality.

How did Slash perform from a project management standpoint?

Slash’s project management was very good. Even though we had a month and a half delay from our original intended schedule, we were both to blame. They were too optimistic with their estimation, and we took extra time to clarify some requirements.

We had biweekly meetings to review our sprints, during which Slash showed us demos of what they had worked on during the past sprint. They always documented everything on Confluence, which allowed our development team to take over the code base once the product was finished. We also used Jira for project management and Slack and Google Meet for communication. Their team was very responsive over Slack, and their responses were very good.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Slash documentation processes were outstanding; everything was well-documented. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Slash’s estimates were too optimistic. It would have been better if we had more accurate estimates, but I know that software development projects tend to exceed the original budget and timeline, so it was not an issue.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Assign a technical person from your team to lead the project; it will be better than assigning a business person who might not understand much about technology.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of COMO Club, an organization with a portfolio of services that includes hospitality, wellness, dining, fashion, travel, and retail.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Slash?

We were looking to modernize our recognition program through technological implications.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Slash developed our customer-facing mobile app that’s integrated with a backend loyalty system. They also implemented the APIs and it’s both available for the Android and iOS platforms.

We started with an initial discovery phase to identify our needs and requirements but even though we agreed on a set scope for the project, we kept our development flexible as there were other opportunities to improve upon the process.

What is the team composition?

We worked with about 8–10 people from their team at different stages of the project.

How did you come to work with Slash?

They were recommended to us by a previous agency and we decided to hire them because we believed they can deliver the level of complexity and credibility in the development of our mobile app and API.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent over $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from June 2020–November 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measured the success of the project based on their strategic and critical feedback, team dynamics, and agility to resolve our issues.

How did Slash perform from a project management standpoint?

There will always be changes in the development process, as we ended up discovering newer tasks that needed to be done. In that regard, I would give them an 8 out of 10 for being flexible in adapting to the process.

We implemented an asynchronous style of working and we typically communicated through real-time collaboration tools such as JIRA.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed with their strategic and critical thinking abilities.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were instances in the project where different clashing ideas would cause friction between team members, so I would suggest addressing this type of thing before starting the engagement.

Another thing they need to improve on is implementing a buffer to anticipate any issues within the project so they can consistently meet their deadlines.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise you to have someone on your internal team that can review Slash’s work on a coding level, to ensure its consistency and quality.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of ASA Advisory Services. We are an innovation consultancy based in Singapore. We help organizations with their product management services and customer service in order to enable them to become more innovative in their operations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Slash?

We needed help building a platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The platform adds value to our innovaiton- and agility-focused training programs. We did a scoping workshop to identify the product vision, intended user experience, goals, and expectations. They then developed the AWS-based platform using wireframes we provided to them. The backend content management system was built in Ruby on Rails. They also developed native mobile apps for Android and iOS as companions to the platform.

What is the team composition?

Andries (Partner & CEO) and Marc (Partner & Chief Product Officer) were my main contacts. The team fluctuated, with at least 5-6 people working on the project.

How did you come to work with Slash?

I know Andries personally. When I shared my vision with him, he liked it and joined the company as a co-founder. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $150,000–$200,000 with them. The first version of the solution was built in exchange for equity.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February 2019–October 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Across the several versions of the platform we've released, the main metric we've tracked is end-user feedback. We are on the third version now, having made changes in response to the feedback we received. 

How did Slash perform from a project management standpoint?

We were interacting with too many members of their team at the start of the engagement. However, communication improved once we established a project manager. We had weekly meetings and collaborated via Slack, Jira, and WhatsApp.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team was connected with the vision and motivated in their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They need to continue to mature as a company. They’re a young agency that has used what they've learned to improve how they operate. For example, this project suffered from a lack of efficiency early on due to the communication problems we faced. However, they were able to augment their operations and rectify the issues by appointing a project manager.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Before involving any developers, take as much time as you need to properly plan out your process. Make sure your team has a clear understanding of the product vision and what you want to build.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO and co-founder of Clik. We are a data-driven payment aggregator and enabler.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Slash?

Slash works with us on the first iteration of a know your client (KYC) system where they are developing some algorithms for fraud detection in terms of document tampering and liveness detection.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Slash develops algorithms and the system that receives pictures of photo ID. Then it processes them automatically with a result analysis for evaluating if the file was tampered with or not. They also work on the integration of the app with our platform. There was some architecture and liveness detection work also done on the platform.

What is the team composition?

We have a team of 2–3 Slash team members working with us. 

How did you come to work with Slash?

I met Andries (CEO) a few years ago at a conference where we were both speakers on a panel, and we started speaking to each other about our respective businesses. I found Slash interesting mainly because AI and machine learning services in Cambodia are very difficult to find. He had a team for that, so it made sense for us, if we wanted to move fast, to outsource our work with a team that had the skills. That’s how we became partners for this project.

90How much have you invested with them?

We have invested somewhere between $60,000–$80,000 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working around December 2018, and it’s an ongoing partnership.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
 
Our main purpose is building the app and getting to a level of accuracy that is adequate for a commercial service. Another metric we take into consideration is its percentage level of accuracy. We look at different ways to trick the system and make sure that the algorithms mark the information as false. Slash has achieved our metrics without trouble.

How did Slash perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate using Slack and Microsoft Teams. We have a good experience working with Slash, and we’ve managed to do things on time. There have been some delays but it was reasonable. Everything has worked out pretty well considering the challenge.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It is a pleasure working with Slash. Our team likes working with them and since we're both in the same city, the teams can communicate very easily. Their team can come to our office, and we would go to their office. It is a collaborative effort — we want to continue working with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everyone can improve on getting things done according to time. This is difficult to control because we're developing things that are pretty new. We always have unforeseen challenges which take more time to sort out. These things send us back to the drawing board a few times when it comes to finding the right kind of algorithm to get proper results.

Any advice for potential customers?

Try to have a direct line with Slash’s team. That has made it very easy to make decisions and compromises on different things. One of their best assets is they actually do care about the project, and they’re proactive at trying to find solutions and making sure that things get done.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of 360Wellness. We’re a software company that built an online wellness marketplace for fitness and wellness enthusiasts and professionals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Slash?

We needed their team to help us design and develop our MVP.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we started this project back in 2019, I wrote down all the product specifications and the vision that I wanted to portray through our MVP. I relayed everything to Slash, so they can picture the product that I wanted them to build. They were involved in the conceptualization, design, development, and implementation phases of our tech products. 

Slash improved the overall look and feel of our products, focusing on UX design. Their software engineers also helped us build and implement our new Android- and iOS-enabled mobile application, which we recently launched in the US market. They developed the entire platform, utilizing Agile Infrastructure to implement the necessary tech solutions.

Their executive team continues to support us by providing business growth strategies and advice on startup corporate structuring.

What is the team composition?

We initially onboarded four of Slash’s full-stack developers and two infrastructure architects, before ramping it up to a total of eight software engineers. Andrius (CEO) and Mark (CPO) are actively involved in building and launching innovative tech solutions for our business.

How did you come to work with Slash?

I actively looked for a tech agency to support our development needs, interviewing over 25 teams across Asia. Slash was part of the top three agencies I shortlisted — after going over their promising project proposal, I finally decided to choose their team as our tech partner.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $200,000–$300,000 SGD (approximately $151,000–$226,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in January 2020, and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve surpassed 5,000 downloads during our product's beta phase. In addition to having been nominated as World Wellness Summit’s App of the Year, which will take place in Singapore next year, our app has averaged 4.8 and 5-star ratings on Android and iOS, respectively. We’re a bootstrapped startup, so obtaining this nomination through Slash’s efforts is a huge deal to us.

How did Slash perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Jira as our main project management tool. While I always want everything to progress faster, I understand that it takes time to create a great product. Slash has been highly cooperative and transparent in meeting deadlines and providing project updates. 

We’ve established an effective working relationship that allows us to get to a middle ground whenever there are delayed timelines due to unmet requirements. It’s impossible and ambitious to build and launch an app within two months, but we’ve been happily coordinating with their team to meet our sales goals.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s their impressive level of understanding and communication — I honestly feel like they are an extension of our company’s internal IT team. Slash has always been incredibly supportive of our business needs, so it’s always an easy decision to renew our partnership with their agency.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could focus on speeding up their workflow, as we always prefer our products to be built faster. However, I understand that app development is a tedious process, and I highly appreciate the fact that Slash cooperates well with us to deliver our needs.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

There couldn't be a better tech partner than Slash, so you have to be a committed partner to their team as well— be willing to make certain compromises and listen to their suggestions. Once you create this working relationship with their team, they’ll be able to deliver your design and development needs more efficiently.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Talentora, a mobile app that connects talent with hirers in the media and entertainment industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Slash?

We hired Slash to rebuild a completely new app for the company. The previous app was poorly built by the previous developers, so I suggested rebuilding the entire app again.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Slash built a mobile app with a new backend function for us. The app was built for both iOS and Android systems. I had my own designers, so we provided the designs and the technical documentation, and they were in charge of the development.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people from Slash on this project: Andries (Partner & CEO), Henry (Product Engineer & Principal Developer), and one more person. One was a backend engineer, one was a frontend engineer, and Andries was the product manager. He reported to me.

How did you come to work with Slash?

We had an investor who knew Andries and his company, and he recommended them to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $40,000 SGD (approximately $30,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from December 2017–November 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Slash’s work ethic was good, and their processes were systematic. Back in 2018, we reached the 5,000 users range, and the app was stable. However, we ran out of money, and we had to end our engagement with Slash.

They informed us that the app was not built to scale up and the architecture wasn’t completely built. They warned us that it would cause a problem in the future when we had a ton more users. What Slash told us, happened, and we’re currently experiencing problems with the app. We have a lot more users joining, and the app doesn’t perform as fast as it should.

We can’t blame Slash’s work for these issues because they did warn us, but we had to end our engagement nonetheless. Since then, we’ve engaged with a new set of developers to carry on Slash’s work.

How did Slash perform from a project management standpoint?

The project was managed well. We had weekly calls on Fridays to follow through on what had been done in the week and what were the goals for the next week. We also had a daily check in on Trello, where I could monitor and see what was happening.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I found Slash to be the best developers’ team at some point because they knew what they were doing. They did walk the talk in terms of product development and communication, and our engagement was strong. They were great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Slash’s pricing was quite expensive compared to their competitors.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Slash is a great team to work with, and they offer open communication. They have the knowledge and are adept at client service.