Starq

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the creator and founder of Gaello Business Solutions AB, a one-man IT company focused on programming web services—mainly booking systems and machine rental software to help with administration and warehousing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Starq?

Initially, I approached them because I needed to expand my programming department to reach more customers and increase work. The project has since expanded to include content development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I work with a common stack that includes MySQL, Microsoft, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Starq provided me with supplementary assistance for ASP.NET MVC and CoffeeScript because of how integrated it is.

As we expanded their responsibilities to include content development, the designer has helped me with branding. They produced a sketch of how the logo and different customer materials should look in regards to spacing and colors. Then, they delivered a framework for how to implement the designs down the road.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with either a programmer or a designer.

How did you come to work with Starq​​​​​​​?

My business partner recommended that I work with them based on a previous project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’re charged on a monthly basis determined by the programmer’s hours. Usually, we spend €4,000–€5,000 (approximately $4,600–$5,800 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in February 2018, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The main benefit for me has been having a supplementary programmer, which gives me more time to pursue either additional work or grow different sides of the business. Starq always finds talented programmers, so I have confidence in assigning tasks to them.

How did Starq perform from a project management standpoint?

I set up the project management infrastructure. We mainly us Slack, and I communicate with the programmer on a daily—almost constant—basis.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I had expected communication and collaboration to be more difficult, especially considering the distance between us, but it's been seamless. There are excellent management processes for both the project and Starq’s team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I went into the project with an open mind, and they've met all of my expectations. I can’t point to anything that they could drastically improve.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a director at Ricoh Sweden and also manage product development. We provide communications products such as interactive whiteboards and videoconferencing as well as software solutions that improve collaboration and efficiency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Starq?

When we sell a solution to a customer, a lot of information goes back and forth between the customer’s IT department and our engineers and configuration department. This is necessary to dispatch and monitor the product. We wanted to develop a platform to ensure a successful, efficient delivery of our services to clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have several ongoing projects with Starq, including the development of our platform, which we call “work start innovation as a service.” The platform integrates all of the customers' assets and information.

In the next development phase, we want to use the same platform to communicate with the customers about what they're doing to improve their processes, how often they use our equipment, and if there are improvements we can make to help them. We plan to integrate machine learning and other new technologies into the platform to help customers improve their work methodologies.

What is the team composition?

We work with three developers and a technical lead.

How did you come to work with Starq?

They were recommended by partners who had worked with them before.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about €300,000 ($345,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2017, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re really satisfied with their work. Their staff is highly competent, and they're able to fill the positions we need. We've tried different outsourcing companies in various countries, but Starq stands out. What we really enjoy is working with a company that focuses not on charging as many hours as possible but on delivering value.

How did Starq perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Asana, which gives us a good overview of the tasks they’re working on and lets us track status. We work with the technical lead but don’t have a dedicated project manager, which keeps the cost down. Communication has been strong, and they’ve followed the timeline we set for the project so far.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their approach focuses on achieving value. They’ve saved us time by integrating a range of different existing tools to develop our solutions rather than building from scratch to charge more hours.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief technology officer (CTO) of Eonbit. We offer a web-based application service for garages who are selling tires and rims.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Starq?

We needed help with web development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provide a webshop for our participating garages, which is offered as an add-on module that lets vendors sell directly to customers. The platform’s main functionality is displaying products and sending orders.

The web shop was originally coded with NodeJS. Starq is helping us migrate the entire platform, making additional improvements along the way. For this initiative, the team is working with React, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, and PHP technologies.

What is the team composition?

We started with one developer but recently took on another one to work on the backend.

How did you come to work with Starq?

Earlier in my career, I started talking to one of Starq’s founders while he was doing some development work for one of our customers. He seemed like a clever guy, so we decided to work with his company.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent €20,000–€30,000 (about $23,000–$34,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2018, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They are very professional and detailed in their work, allowing for a very smooth process. The developer listens to my requests, then autonomously produces quality work that I can confidently put into production without feeling obligated to review it.

Starq is very knowledgeable in coding languages and the platform we use, which helps them work at a fast pace. They’ve almost completed the migration, and I’m very happy with the results.

How did Starq perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very helpful, quickly resolving any issues that come up. We communicate efficiently. Their team uses their own project management tools, but they joined out internal chat channels.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m happy with the developer that’s been assigned to my project. She has the mindset of a hacker, thinking comprehensively about how to best use technologies. I only have to describe my idea; she takes care of the rest only asking questions when necessary.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re a little pricey, but it’s worth the quality of their work and the value of their partnership. In terms of their process, nothing needs to be improved.