SpdLoad

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m Co-Founder and CEO of Cangelo. We’re building a tutoring app that provides instant access to tutors for students who are seeking quick help with their homework

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

We hired SpdLoad for the full cycle development of the educational platform with high emphasis on mobile apps

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

SpdLoad was recommended to me by a previous business contact, so fit the bill perfectly when I was looking for a reliable software developer

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

We started with just an idea of the product and from the very beginning, the SpdLoad team proved to be dedicated to the project. They acted proactively and were very honest in their reasoning. We’ve defined the feature list and started with the design and wireframes. With each iteration on user flows and visuals we’ve been closer to the final concept of the app. Finally, we confirmed the design and all the functionality. The team suggested PHP Laravel and React Native as a tech stack which I was fine with so we proceeded with the development. So far, both apps have been released and SpdLoad helps us with support activities.

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

They assigned two front end developers, one back end engineer, one designer and one QA resource. Besides, they provided a person who was responsible for the project on the vendor’s side so that we didn’t have to manage ourselves and/or worry about the deliverables.

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

They delivered a very high quality application. They are available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Right now the platform is supported by 18 tutors around India and more than 10,000 students used the apps. The project is ongoing and we continue to improve and add new features, hoping to improve monetization!

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

The process is really transparent and straightforward. The project was managed in Jira and for communication we used Slack. We discussed all the details and confirmed features as one team. We had daily communication in slack and the project manager provided reports at the end of each working day. At the end of each 2-week iteration we had a demo call where the team demonstrated the progress.

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

I enjoyed working with these guys. Throughout the whole project, communication was transparent and I felt like I was accurately guided through each stage of the development.

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

Nope, would highly recommend the team to anyone else!

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder and CEO of a marketing tool recommendations platform. Our startup enables businesses to maximize their marketing software setup by analyzing their standard stack of tools and suggesting alternatives and apps that could complement marketing tools already in use.

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

Our initial request was for a graphic redesign of our existing website. Though already during cooperation they proved to be reliable partner. The team was pretty honest and they constantly were coming up with suggestions and valuable insights. So we decided to hire them for the development as well.

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

We were contacted by a SpdLoad representative through Linkedin. We were deciding between several companies and they sold themselves with the case studies on their website, price and effective communication during our initial consultation.

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

As I said, we started with design and requirements documentation. Closer to the end of that stage we realised that the capabilities of the current implementation weren’t enough and in order to scale in the future we decided to start the development from scratch with PHP Laravel and React.js At the moment, the project is successfully delivered and already in production.

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

I was working with their BD, Yehor, as main project coordinator on the vendor side. Overall, the team consisted of a designer, a backend developer, 2 frontend developers and QA (who also served as business analyst on the project).

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

The project was delivered within less than 6 months and we’re happy with the result as the solution that SpdLoad suggested is way better than the one we initially planned.

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

Honestly, I enjoyed their style, they knew what they’re doing. We had daily communication over Slack. Besides, each Wednesday we had short calls with status updates. They also provided diligent documentation, development timelines, completed work updates and a clear breakdown of the hours and costs.

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

I’d say that their communication and transparency make them stand out. We were never left in the dark or wondering how far along the project was. I also felt like they genuinely cared about the project and its outcome.

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

No, I highly recommend them to anyone looking for high-quality, well-priced development. We plan to work with them again in the near future.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a project manager for a startup. We’re developing a chat tool that can be integrated into e-commerce websites to engage with visitors. It’s used for customer support and sales with a video and audio calling feature.

What challenge were you trying to address with SpdLoad?

We hired them to develop our online chat software from scratch.

What was the scope of their involvement?

SpdLoad designed and developed both the chat widget that embeds into websites and the client portal for website owners. There’s also an admin portal on our company’s side that they created. Their team developed the protocol for implementing the tool on client websites. 

We started with a prototype of what everything would look like, from the portal to the client section. They then created technical specifications of the features we needed to have. Their work was done using Laravel PHP and some open-source frameworks. We’re currently testing the product with them and continually adding or changing things.  

For the functionalities, we explained our vision and they helped us implement them. In terms of our business model, they worked with us and made suggestions based on their experience in the field. 

What is the team composition?

At the start, Maksym (CEO) was our point of contact. We’ve been assigned four people, including a project manager and a lead developer.  

How did you come to work with SpdLoad?

I found them through Clutch. The fact that they aren’t just coders made them stand out — they can provide a complete solution, which is good for a startup like us. 

I went to Ukraine and visited 5–6 companies. I went to SpdLoad’s offices and met their people, and I liked meeting them in person. 

How much have you invested with them?

The cost so far is slightly higher than €50,000 (approximately $54,100 USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with SpdLoad in May 2019 and our engagement is ongoing while we test the product.  

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

Although we’re not finished, the quality is very good in general. I haven’t found a single thing to complain about.

How did SpdLoad perform from a project management standpoint?

There is a dedicated project manager on their side and their management is amazing. They’re very detailed and cover everything. In general, they’re always in touch with us. We don’t need to chase them down. We communicate through Slack and Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their level of quality work and communication stand out. We didn’t have a lot of experience creating something from nothing, so we liked that they make suggestions and help achieve our vision.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing to improve on the development side, but some marketing efforts could help reach more potential clients.  

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I’d suggest working with them since SpdLoad is reliable and they produce high-quality work. If someone comes across them, they shouldn’t even think about something else.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an IT company that provides mobile development services to various industries for clients around the world. I’m the lead solution architect of the company, responsible for business analysis and negotiation.

What challenge were you trying to address with SpdLoad?

We hired SpdLoad for additional resources. We needed to expand our team quickly because we didn’t have enough people to meet all of our assigned projects.

What was the scope of their involvement?

SpdLoad worked as a part of our team. They also gave our team the option to support results and coordinate the builds. We worked with them on several projects and had a list of functionalities we needed to develop.

One project was a portal where users could schedule meetings and share information about their plans, experiences, and services. Another was a language learning portal with AI elements. SpdLoad acted as a part of our research and development team, setting up a network and creating additional features within it.

What is the team composition?

We worked with around six of their team members. They supplied one project manager, a business analyst, two developers, and a QA tester.

How did you come to work with SpdLoad?

Our COO found SpdLoad. Before collaborating, our technical staff interviewed their team. Finding a team with hard and soft skills was crucial. That combination works well for us.

How much have you invested with them?

I believe we invested around $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with SpdLoad in August 2018 and finished the project in January 2019.

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

SpdLoad worked well with our company. We’ve received feedback from our team that working with SpdLoad on projects has been efficient and communicative. Their knowledge of frameworks and coding languages was impressive. We plan on working with them again on our next project.

How did SpdLoad perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s delightful working with them, especially with Maksym (CEO, SpdLoad). He was quick to answer any question and solve any problem.

What did you find most impressive about them?

SpdLoad is one of the best teams we’ve used. It was nice working with them, and I hope they generate more and more business. From my experience, it’s been hard to find a team with excellent communication, a desire to help, and a strong level of understanding. SpdLoad is the perfect partner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

An additional designer would’ve been beneficial to the project.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder and COO of a medical startup that focuses on collecting, analyzing, and interpreting medical data collected from our oncological clinic partners. We plan to accelerate and enhance cancer research using an AI analytics algorithm.

For what projects/services did your company hire SpdLoad?

We needed a vendor to develop a cloud-based platform to support our data analysis.

What were your goals for this project?

Our end goal was to offer a product that improved the quality of contemporary cancer research and increased the survival rate among patients.

How did you select this vendor?

We considered eight vendors for the project in total, but we ultimately chose SpdLoad. They were flexible and willing to dive deep into our project from day one. They were available and responsive. Lastly, they were very experienced in the IT field and had an impressive portfolio to prove it. In our opinion, SpdLoad offered the perfect balance of price and value.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

SpdLoad created the infrastructure for the cloud platform and the server. They also created an AI algorithm to analyze medical data like examination results, text, and images, in real time. The team was responsible for building a channel for file sharing and connecting the platform to several APIs for picture and information sharing.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a team of eight. Our primary points of contact were a project manager and a data analyst. The CEO was also available for more high-level conversation.

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

It was our medical team’s first software-based initiative, and with the help of SpdLoad, we were able to deliver it on time and elicit a favorable market response. They were a great partner, exceeding our expectations in terms of development and consulting services. After doing some brief market analysis, they helped us build a product that filled an open niche in the German medical market.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Their team was always engaged and focused on our project. They were available at a moment’s notice, even over weekends and holidays. SpdLoad also contributed several valuable suggestions to improve the technical aspects of our solution, which ended up giving us a competitive advantage.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They offer a good mix of knowledge, energy, and expertise. SpdLoad is very customer focused, always looking for original and unconventional ways to build an effective solution.

Are there any areas for improvement?

All of the crucial aspects of our project were completed flawlessly. They don’t have their own server storage, but we were able to bring on a partner company to overcome that obstacle. That wasn’t necessarily an issue—it would just be easier to have the entire platform in one place. Other than that, there weren’t any notable weaknesses.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We’re a startup company in early stages of developing different kinds of e-commerce platforms within the art market, recruitment, and the human resources industry.

For what projects/services did your company hire SpdLoad?

SpdLoad has been hired to develop advanced UIs [user interfaces] with different account levels and degrees, a backend admin with monitoring facilities, internal search engines, payment integrations with a buyer/seller interface, and further advanced e-commerce features.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal is to develop leading platforms within the industries we bet on. We want user-friendly search engines for attracting traffic and e-commerce interfaces for internal selling between seller and buyer accounts. Several platforms have been integrated to each other with complicated redirection and verifications of users’ corresponding data.

How did you select this vendor?

We were searching for a highly competent web team and found them on Upwork, where they had a high satisfaction score and wide portfolio. We received many offers from different web agencies, but through our communication, we felt that SpdLoad had the best capabilities for our challenges and projects, mainly based on their answers to complicated questions.

Describe the project in detail.

In the beginning, we showed them sketches of designs and functionalities explained with logic. The web developers started to reproduce the frontend design and followed up with building features and the backend. We were confronted with unpredictable difficulties at times, but we resolved them by working together to find great affordable solutions.

When the platforms were almost completed, we began thorough testing with Sandbox payment and created online worksheets with bug lists where we could add tasks and screenshots that were marked as solved when the task was done. During the process, we also cooperated to find and create improvements that further increased usability, order, and efficiency. Among other things, we discussed alternative payment integrations and email services where they involved specialists to find the best possible solutions.

Explain how the solution addressed your business challenge.

Previously, we had cooperated with a couple of local web companies and the experience was completely different with not only the costs but also regarding availability and follow-up.

The usual attitude about our area of work is that it’s impossible or too expensive/time-consuming. SpdLoad is much more positive and just does the job. Sometimes there is more work than expected, but they take it as a learned lesson, which in my eyes is a great attitude that brings ample knowledge and an improved/extended service in the long-term.

When we started to search for developers in other countries, we were somewhat skeptical since it is difficult to know what kind of people you will find. You can also find developers who are cheaper at an hourly rate but end up being more expensive when doing the work since their education level is low. Everybody at SpLoad has a high education and can finish difficult tasks in a fraction of the time it would take other developers that view their work as a hobby.

What was the team composition?

The company has a large team of about 30 developers with specialties in different areas. For our projects, about 7 – 8 developers have been involved in different stages and areas such as frontend, backend, server/SSL/email, payment integrations, features, and more.

What outcomes or results can you share that demonstrate progress and/or success?

The automated payments and the backend monitoring features save us a lot of administration work. The improvements on the frontend have increased conversion rates by 60 – 70 %. We’re still in an early stage, but with the improvements in conversions, we can finally make the business pull through with a larger income while also spending less on marketing.

How effective was the project management?

We communicate through Skype and Google Worksheets, which makes the process very effective. We can share screenshots with Lightshot in few seconds, add it to the bug list or to Skype, and discuss the details. In Skype, the representatives for different areas of the project collect the topics discussed and the harmony is very good.

They’ve been available to us almost at all times of the day and their communication and follow-up are wonderful. We can share documents, text material, icons, and images directly as they show up.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The reproduction of our designs and sketches is nearly identical and the functionality works just as we described it. Their level of competence is very high—when it comes to complicated tasks in advanced fields, they have experts ready to find solutions. In retrospect, I think that we made the right decision in choosing these people.

What tips or recommendations do you have?

Having clear sketches and descriptions makes the work much better and more efficient. Furthermore, we use Google spreadsheets for task lists where we can add screenshots and other data, which makes the process very productive.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a trainer and the CEO of Katia KITA LLC. My product is gender-friendly, but the majority of my users are female—moms, to be more exact. I have developed a unique video program combined with a masterfully-designed meal plan in order to bring some incredible results. We are in beta-testing mode at the moment, but we’ve already seen some great results from the program.

What challenge were you trying to address with SpdLoad?

As the CEO of a startup with a limited budget, the challenge was finding good quality for a reasonable price. I needed a reputable and knowledgeable partner who knew what they were doing, as one of my concerns as a non-technical person was about being ripped off. I needed a provider who would tell me what was truly needed for the project and if I needed to scale it up or down.

I explored the market and looked at several products, making sure that mine would be comparable with the best. With many programs and trainers out there, the websites I saw were too complicated and not very user-intuitive. I wanted something simple which could lead to customer retention.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They have taken care of the web project from start to finish. Initially, we went through a comprehensive discussion of my needs, the type of customization I was looking for, and the required technologies. Based on this, SpdLoad came up with technical specs. While the current trend is to use existing software instead of coding from scratch, I didn’t want to a WordPress template because we needed numerous features on the site—login, authorization, payments, and so on. They used frameworks for my site.

It features training videos, recipes, and Facebook integration. Users have access to HD-quality [high-definition quality] streaming video through their personal dashboards, which are hosted on an on-demand content delivery network. The recipes are divided into breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and include take-out options, snacks, and smoothies. That’s more than 100 options altogether. We have several payment solutions, including PayPal. There is also a blog and a custom referral program through which users can receive discounts.

What is the team dynamic?

I have been in contact with their founder, Maksym Babych, who also manages their team. He is my go-to person, and he makes himself available for any questions. Everything has gone through him so I don’t have to talk to 10 different people.

How did you come to work with SpdLoad?

They were referred to me by a mutual connection. I was looking for a company that had its own staff since smaller web agencies today tend to use freelance resources in a subcontracting model. However, if a freelancer becomes unavailable, the whole project would get stalled. Fortunately, SpdLoad has a full staff, from designers and testers to front and backend engineers.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their work has been close to $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with SpdLoad in June 2017, and the collaboration will be ongoing for technical support. I have another project for which I’ll hire SpdLoad. I won’t look elsewhere since I am happy with them and they know my project inside out.

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

We haven’t rolled out public sales yet, but we will launch on January 1, 2018. At this time, I have been monitoring my 100 beta testers closely. I didn’t reach out to more because I wanted the ability to provide close guidance and maintain a dialogue. I receive feedback daily and implement what people ask for.

I can see that the site was developed beautifully. My customers are happy because the website is smooth and intuitive. Everything has worked, and the minor glitches we’ve experienced are nothing compared to what could have been. I know this because I’ve done work with other providers and know how things can transpire. Even during beta testing, when it’s expected for things not to work as planned, we haven’t seen this. I expected to be overwhelmed with technical questions, but this hasn’t happened. This has allowed me to do the work I actually need to do, instead of answering questions and giving directions to the team.

How did SpdLoad perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve appreciated their customer focus. They understood the urgency of my project and shared my vision. Their estimates and recommendations are quite precise. I can always expect them to deliver everything within my timelines and specifications. I’ve found them trustworthy, which is a factor I bring to my own client relationships.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I love it that SpdLoad views all tasks as solvable—that’s the attitude I want in a provider. If a client comes to me asking for a certain fitness program, I will not tell them that it won’t work; I will work around it. In contrast, other providers imposed their own approaches, which didn’t work for me.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not at the moment.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a startup ticket-selling service. Users can register on our platform, create events, and sell tickets on our website with the help of a widget that can be embedded on any website. I'm a managing partner.

What challenge were you trying to address with SpdLoad?

We needed professional software developers at a reasonable cost. We are a German startup and the local development cost is very high, so our purpose was to find more affordable resources.

What was the scope of their involvement?

SpdLoad has been working on the backend side of our project and making page redesigns on our website. Since we don’t have time to redo the whole site at once, we’re focusing on the most important pages. We're also developing an Android application and plan to create an iOS version soon.

After a user creates an event through the administration panel, writing a description and setting prices, they will have access to a small JavaScript widget to put on their website, through which people can buy tickets. After selecting tickets through the hall plan, they pay and receive digital copies to print at home. The same process works through the widget and our website, and the tickets are scanned through our app during events.

What is the team dynamic?

There are a few specialists from SpdLoad who work for us. We currently have one PHP developer working for our project full time, as well as a project manager who coordinates the process. There are numerous tasks, so we’re working intensively.

How did you come to work with SpdLoad?

We received a recommendation from a friend who had run a project with them. We had a few conversations, did a test period, and decided to work together.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their work so far has been €35,000 to €40,000 [$40,000 to $47,000].

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with SpdLoad in December 2016.

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

We have a good workflow. The developer in our project is responsible and always there to help us with urgent issues. We're happy with the collaboration.

How did SpdLoad perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly communicate over Skype with the project manager, who usually answers within 10 minutes to an hour. If we have questions or feedback, we can discuss it with him. He always listens to our suggestions and draws the right conclusions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Responsibility is important for us because it’s not easy to find partners who try their best. We can’t professionally judge the quality of code, but the accountability is very good and so is the speed of delivery.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Our developer didn’t always estimate deadlines correctly. We’ve had delays of a few days, but this has only happened once or twice in the last year.

Please describe your organization.

We are a peer-to-peer international delivery platform connecting travelers with people who wish to order products or send packages abroad. If someone from the US wants to order a product from Vietnam, for example, they can connect to a person from the country, who will be traveling to the US. Essentially we're an Uber for international parcel delivery.

The company is made up of myself and my partner. We also have outsourced designers, and my brother has helped on the MVP over the last two years. We're located in Vietnam.

What is your position?

I am the founder of the company.

What business challenge were you trying to address with SpdLoad?

I needed to find a responsive partner who could build the platform for me. I had a two-month collaboration with another team and saw some bad results, so I needed to find another option. There was no other platform similar to mine to use as an example, so I needed to plan everything and work together with the developer.

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

I had an MVP solution and a user base, but the platform itself did not exist. SpdLoad adapted my concept into the actual technology. We initially developed a responsive web application using Angular and Laravel.

SpdLoad was flexible around the features we'd be building, and advised me on how to build a product that could evolve over time. SpdLoad assigned a Russian-speaking team for my project, which made it easier for me to work with them. They understood my business concepts and adapted the platform to best suit those. Even after the specifications were set, it was easy to change and adapt them. My US partner reviewed SpdLoad's work and approved it.

I was in contact with SpdLoad's head developer, who consulted me on every aspect of the project. He put together the rest of the three-person development team. At one point, we introduced an additional resource.

How did you come to work with SpdLoad?

SpdLoad was recommended to me by my partner and mentor, who was using them for an AI project. I saw their portfolio, liked it, and contracted SpdLoad.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The cost of SpdLoad's work has been $8,000 for our initial phase. With the changes I requested, the total has gone up to $11,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I have been working with SpdLoad since August 2016. The backend has been completed, but we've needed to make a lot of changes and adapt the design accordingly. We estimate that the app will be ready in three weeks, at which point we will start beta testing.

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

SpdLoad did everything I asked for. My mentor looked at their work and approved most of what SpdLoad was doing. Everything has been fine on their side, even though the app hasn't launched yet.

How did SpdLoad perform from a project management standpoint?

One of our developers left the project, and it took SpdLoad some time to find a replacement. They did adjust the billable hours accordingly, which I respected. From a project management perspective, this still shouldn't have happened. I expected SpdLoad to have some ongoing contracts with developers in order to prevent incidents like this one.

What distinguishes SpdLoad from other providers?

What I like about working with SpdLoad is that I can call them anytime I have an issue and receive a quick response.

Is there anything SpdLoad could have improved or done differently?

The only drawback was our developer leaving, but I was compensated for this by SpdLoad. Bad things will happen, but I am satisfied with my collaboration with SpdLoad.

Do you have any recommendations for others considering working with SpdLoad?

Don't be shy in asking questions; SpdLoad will answer them. It's also best for customers to have some understanding of the technology. I had to address technical issues with my partner since I don't have a background in IT. It was hard to find a common language with SpdLoad's team in the beginning because of this, but they've adapted to my lack of knowledge and are now using language that I can understand.

Please introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company's name is the Impacto Group, a communications and market research firm. We are currently representing several brands in Ukraine, one in Spain, and one in Great Britain. We are exclusive distributors for those countries, and we are starting a consulting business for companies who want to enter China. I am the owner of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with SpdLoad?

We developed our online store with another company, and it was very expensive. But, when we wanted to add some additional features, we very quickly realized that what we bought was very limited. The company that was developing the site was very expensive and not very responsive. They were putting us on a waiting list of something like two or three weeks. Today, that is an unacceptable waiting period, particularly for something online.

While I was trying to figure out a solution to this problem, SpdLoad contacted me. There are, of course, many companies that offer their kind of service, but the way they contacted us, and the way the email was written, they just caught my attention, so I gave them a chance to present themselves.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first thing we did was a mobile adaptation for the website because our website was not set up for mobile. This was the first work they did for our site. They were quick, they were very professional, and the price was very good. Slowly, we stopped working with the first company, and we have now entirely stopped working with them on the current project.

We've been working with SpdLoad for more than a year now. They have provided all the support and done all the new modules for us on the first project. Then, we started a second project from scratch called OpenCart. It's another Internet website, an Internet shop. We haven't launched as yet, but compared to the first site it's bigger, more expensive and has much more features. Essentially, we now have two projects with SpdLoad.

The first website was on MODX. When we contacted SpdLoad for additional modules for the website, they didn't have a manager working with MODX, but they found a very good programmer very quickly. I am happy with the person they found because the first company had programmed the platform in a way that made it very complicated for their clients to leave them. It was challenging to find someone who could take their place in our store. SpdLoad found this person, and we are very happy with him.

How did you come to work with SpdLoad?

They contacted us, and I gave them a try with the mobile application for the first website. They did everything great, so step-by-step, I started to give them more tasks. That was how we started to work with them.

How much have you invested with SpdLoad?

We have invested around $6,000 with the mobile application for the existing website. We've already invested around $4,000 in the current project, and it is not yet finished. I think in total it will come in at about $7,000 to the moment of launch. Then, monthly support requires some expenses.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with SpdLoad in June or July 2015.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work or the impact of the engagement?

We have both wholesale and retail customers using the site, and we are receiving very good feedback. First of all, people were complaining that the site was not mobile-friendly; now it is and is being used at a very good rate. Then, we have our own managers who are working with the site, and they are very happy with what we did with SpdLoad. Some modules were created from scratch to help us manage the warehouse, something we invented ourselves that is very easy for us to work with. Our company employees and managers are very happy with the site.

How did SpdLoad perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is very simple and easy for me to use. We are using Google Docs. There is a spreadsheet where we input what needs to be done. SpdLoad works very quickly and updates the status of the project frequently. When I need to clarify something, they respond very quickly. They're always online.

The other company that we had been working with was just not reachable, which was very tough, especially when the site was not working. Since we began working with SpdLoad, the site is always working, and if I need something – weekends or weekdays – there is always someone taking care of us.

What did you find most impressive about SpdLoad?

They are very client-oriented. They are very quick. They give good advice in terms of design and general approach since they work with foreign markets. That was one thing I liked about them – they know the latest trends, and they give great advice. If I say let's do this, they might point out what is trending now and suggest a different way. I am very glad they gave that kind of advice. In a couple of cases, I had some reservations but, in time, came to understand that they were right.

They give very good professional advice in a way that is not offensive. Even if I have a stupid idea, they never tell me that directly. They know how to communicate and give good advice to avoid mistakes. SpdLoad is not just a company who is doing what you tell them to do and doesn't care about your business. They do care, and that's very important. I feel like they are a part of our team.

Are there any areas SpdLoad could improve?

This is only the third vendor I've worked with, and compared to the first two, I can't suggest anything. Maybe there is always something that could be done better, but I just don't have the experience to say. Everything is good for me now.