Snow Data Science

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a professor in the business school at Shenandoah University. I teach sustainable business strategy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Snow Data Science?

I brought them on for app development and consulting services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I had developed an app, and they put together some simulations as to how the app might work in the aggregate. The objective was to see if data was analyzed, what different scenarios we might use it for.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Avery (Owner).

How did you come to work with Snow Data Science?

Avery is a smart individual. He’s learning cutting edge tools and grasped what I needed very quickly.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost was less than $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project was from March–October 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our next step is to solicit feedback from academics and various other individuals.

How did Snow Data Science perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re great at communication and project management. Avery was very responsive and creative. He brought tools and know-how into the equation that I wasn’t even aware of. He expanded my understanding of what’s possible and opened a lot of creative doors for me. I really appreciated that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Avery isn’t trying to sell out-of-the-box solutions that he’s developed. Rather, he seeks to understand the client’s needs and then customizes a solution. His personalized service coupled with his cutting-edge expertise is exceptional.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I got a lot of value for what I paid. I have absolutely no cause for complaint.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Spend some time to think through your requirements. The more information you can provide to them, the better job they’ll be able to do.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I been developing fintech applications for the past 20 years. Previously I made a decision support tool for buying and selling stocks. The product was sold to TD Ameritrade and integrated into their Trade Architect product. I am the Chief Investment Officer at two firms (QuantExits and ReadtheMarkets.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Snow Data Science?

I am now working on a decision support tool for buying and selling equities that includes comprehensive back testing. I needed to get the inputs of a financial data set into a machine learning environment and hired Snow Data to do this work.

What were your goals for this project?

I needed to come up with a framework for valuing 37 correlative measure indicators for valuing stocks.

SOLUTION

How did you select Snow Data Science?

I was referred to Snow Data by a friend and included them with another firm on a trial project to confirm their competence.

Describe the project in detail.

I drafted a high-level requirements document outlining the results I needed, and Snow Data responded with feedback to help me flesh out ideas. There were quick to get us a working prototype and final product. Some work is ongoing currently.

What was the team composition?

I dealt with Avery Smith.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work was thorough, detailed, accurate and well communicated. I was able to make determinations and gained direction from my data I couldn’t otherwise get. They took the confusion out of nebulous machine learning and analytics. They’ve given us scripts allowing use to reuse their code to confirm our algorithms. Most valued was the manner they made the analysis accessible and interesting to our team.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication was great. We communicated via phone, email, and video conference.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

As odd as it sounds, I valued Snow Data's empathy. They got to know our challenge and took it on as their own.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The only area of improvement I can think of would be having slightly heavier comments in their code. It was well commented...I just always like to have more because I want to be sure what I was after when I revisit the code later.