StartupSoft

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Sr. Director of Software Engineering of NoiseAware, Inc.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Sensing technology for the short-term rental and hospitality industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Source quality software engineers

SOLUTION

How did you find StartupSoft?

Referral

Why did you select StartupSoft over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from StartupSoft were assigned to this project?

10+

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

I have been working with StartupSoft for the last 3.5 years through many different projects. They have been an amazing partner in helping me find quality engineers to work on my projects. They are always eager to jump in and help with anything that comes up and I can't say enough good things about the quality of the engineers that have joined my various teams that came through them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have had a very low amount of turnover from hires made through StartupSoft. While hiring and retaining engineers is always challenging, the vast majority of the time we have extremely content with our hires; and this is by design, as they want to make sure candidates are a good fit before placing them with your company.

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

I have approached StartupSoft more than once needing to fill a vacancy immediately and they have absolutely done everything they can to do so each time. They are always extremely eager to help in any way they can.

What was your primary form of communication with StartupSoft?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They have a very people-centric approach to the way they do business.

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

Most of the things I've found challenging around StartupSoft are truly more about the challenges around offshoring engineering talent. At the end of the day, if you are interested in pursuing this avenue of staff augmentation, they are as good as it gets.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

B-Stock Solutions is a secondary market for excess inventory in the B2B space. Out platform creates a marketplace for Buyers and Sellers to transact on inventory by bulk. I am the VP of Engineering, heading all software development efforts and IT operations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

There is significant new work (ie, new code) needed for the new Platform that required help from Backend, Frontend, UI/UX, devOps experts. We needed talented technical resources to allow us to build High Quality Enterprise Scale solutions with the latest software stack and Architecture. Our goal is to enable a next generation B2B solution for our existing and growing customer base.

SOLUTION

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

StartupSoft was a recommended vendor from the previous technical leaders who have worked with them before. The areas StartupSoft excels at are getting qualified candidates that work hard, delivers quality and is fairly compensated via market rates as well as caring treatment from the Vendor.

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

We are using Typescript for all Backend Microservices, React for Front End, MongoDB and Rabbit MQ. The scope of work includes delivering End to End experiences for our Registration Flow, Auction Flow and Post Order Flow. They will use the entirety of our Tech Stack. Each Flow, or experience will be integrated with our existing Platform one module at a time.

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

There are 2 DevOps Engineers, 2 Designers, 4 Front End Engineers and 6 Back End Engineers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to launch our Registration Flow experience successfully and is already realizing gains in conversions and stickiness of our new users. We expect this trend to continue as we roll out the other part so the platform in the coming months.

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

The vendor is very open to new ideas and highly adaptable to our needs in both managing expectations, resolving concerns and keeping the employees engaged and happy. We used Slack, Email and Google Meet as our primary communication tools.

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

The leaders of StartupSoft truly care about their employees' safety, wellbeing and state of mind. Also, they are very flexible in growing the team according to our needs.

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

We are currently working on better ways to streamline bi-annual reviews so they can be coordinated with our internal bi-annual reviews.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at a company that focuses on high-growth component spaces. We gather and collect information about those components and compile it on a platform, allowing our clients to analyze them to understand space and development management better.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with StartupSoft?

We were exploring alternative ways to escalate our hiring.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

StartupSoft helps us with hiring and sourcing candidates, and they provide the HR side. They’re embedded in our team, and they generally work on improving the platform and building features with our internal employees. We currently have three developers working from Ukraine, and they work on development and DevOps.

They provide developers, and we manage them. We don’t hand over a project, so we have much more control over the people that work for us. It’s like having permanent staff members in Ukraine, and we can just focus on development work. We primarily use Python, Django, Vue.js, and AWS.

Our platform’s core features are its advanced search and the ability to analyze the entire ecosystem of high-growth companies, but there’s more to it. We’re fleshing out the way we display information about companies and different tools to analyze that — whether it’s by exploring geographic areas or comparing sectors, it’s a data analysis platform in a broad sense. On the other hand, we have internal tools that our people use to curate the data and make sure that the quality is right for the platform.

What is the team composition?

We work with three people. Two of them are full-stack developers, and one is a DevOps engineer.

How did you come to work with StartupSoft?

We looked at a bunch of staff augmentation companies. One of the main reasons we chose StartupSoft was because they explicitly focused on that specific service model, while other vendors had a mix of services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in December 2020, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been able to hire more people than we would’ve done by ourselves, so we’ve been able to develop faster. We don’t have any measure to quantify how much work has been done.

How did StartupSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

We manage the developers directly. We had an account manager assigned initially, and we still have regular sessions and check-ins with each other. We primarily use Slack, Zoom, and email to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They make hiring much easier because they do a lot of filtering by themselves, so by the time we had to choose a candidate, they were all very sensible options. Also, it’s very easy to work with them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We haven’t had any significant problems, so nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a good understanding of how you want StartupSoft’s developers to interact and engage with your company and what role they’ll play. Once you start, it’s your responsibility to keep them occupied and embedded within your organization, so it’s good to do some of that groundwork before fully engaging because the hiring process can be swift.

Also, be mindful of cultural differences because they can come into play, especially for companies in different countries.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the VP of product design for an entertainment company. We create digital interactive comic books across all platforms, mobile web, desktop, VR, and AR.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with StartupSoft?

We needed to build a team quickly and efficiently, so we hired StartupSoft to help us find developers in Ukraine.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

StartupSoft basically recruits development resources to work on our products, so we can focus on marketing, development, design, and so on. They also provide some HR functions.

Our platform takes comic books into our system, and we turn them into interactive comics. We then list them on our storefront apps where users can buy comics. Our app is on various platforms, not just solely mobile or web apps. We have backend services, Apple TV and Android TV apps, and then we also have our VR apps on Samsung Gear VR, Oculus Quest, and Oculus Go. 

To accomplish this, we needed a lot of developers and all kinds of engineers. Once we identify the position and what a potential candidate looks like, we would contact StartupSoft directly and ask them to fill the position. 

Initially, we give them a list of potential job openings, and their recruiters would then search for potential candidates. The team is in charge of the vetting process, which they do through technical assessments. They would then recommend a few candidates for various positions. 

The following steps are on our end. After the team connects us with the candidates, we schedule interviews with them. Aside from the interview, we also give personality assessments to assess if they’re the right fit. 

What is the team composition?

We regularly work with 12 teammates. One is the project manager, one handles QA, and the 10 developers they acquired for us. We also interacted with Alex (CEO) at the start of the engagement to discuss our needs.

How did you come to work with StartupSoft?

I was not involved when we started the engagement, so I honestly don't know how we initially contacted them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $2 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in June 2018, and it’s still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

StartupSoft’s performance exceeds our expectations. They do everything we need them to do and deliver highly qualified developers. The product turned out to be a bigger project than expected, so the developers are working on it, and they’re doing a great job. 

How did StartupSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated with the project manager over email and WhatsApp. For the developers, our company created Slack channels where we could interface with them. We also exchange emails. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

One of the best things about them is they do most of the vetting beforehand, which has saved us a lot of time. The time I spent with recruitment went from 2–3 days a week to 1–2 hours a week, which is a huge boom. I’d rather be developing than recruiting, so they’re doing great. They're really easy to work with and personable. I’ve had zero problems with them. We’ve known each other for quite some time, and we trust them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, I don't see much that they need to improve. Everything's worked out great for us. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The best advice is to talk to Alex personally — he'll do his best to work out whatever your needs are.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of product at Timeslot, a social diary app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with StartupSoft?

We went to them to develop our product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

StartupSoft is developing our app for iOS and Android. We plan to build a web version in the future.

It’s a digital calendar and social platform. Users can post text, photos, and videos that they can share publicly or within closed circles. The main functionality is creating time slots and sharing them in the future.

What is the team composition?

They’re providing developers, QA testers, a designer, and a project manager. I also have regular calls with their CEO.

How did you come to work with StartupSoft?

They were recommended to us by someone who’d worked with them. Our CEO went to Ukraine to meet with their team and make a deal. They came on board at the same time as I did.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost so far is between €700,000–€800,000 (approximately $851,000–$973,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with StartupSoft in March 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re happy with everything StartupSoft has done so far. There’s nothing to complain about.

We’re preparing the beta version of the app right now, and we’re waiting for an investment in order to have a big launch in the US. We’ll grow our team after that, and we plan to continue working with StartupSoft.

How did StartupSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re fully satisfied with them. The team is constantly in touch with me. The CEO regularly inquires about our satisfaction with the product team and the work.

They act immediately if there’s a problem with a team member, they take care of the recruiting when we need something new, and they always update us on the progress.

We’re using Slack and Jira for communication project tracking.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The collaboration with their team is perfect. StartupSoft has very qualified people working for them. Their project manager is the best one I’ve ever worked with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I would change.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend StartupSoft to anyone looking to have a successful collaboration.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the sole owner and CEO of a small startup in the mortgage industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with StartupSoft?

I wanted to develop an iOS mobile app, specifically for the mortgage industry.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I gave them a small prototype demo that I had put together in InVision and sent that to them for background purposes so that they understood the overall look and functionality of it. I then walked StartupSoft through the functionality that I wanted and we put together a plan to execute. 

They developed the app, which turns applying for a mortgage into a simple and scalable process. Instead of inputting data or emailing and faxing all of the information in, it's all picture-based. They built it in Xamarin. They also assisted with an interface for the lender.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Andrew (Founder & VP), a project manager, and a coder.

How did you come to work with StartupSoft?

We connected on CoFounderlabs. I saw their services and we ended up having a conversation. We kept touch for probably a year before we embarked on anything, and we met in person a few times and hit it off.

I had looked at other development companies, but StartupSoft was going to be more hands-on with me, which is what I needed. I’m a non-tech founder, so I needed a lot more discussion. I was also able to have longer conversations with them about why I wanted to build for iOS specifically. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $10,000–$15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We talked for the first time about three years ago, but we began working with them in late 2017. The project was completed about 6–8 weeks after that, in early 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, the quality was good. At that time, I wanted to use specific services that they weren’t familiar with so they pushed back. For this reason, I would say that they were good but not great because I needed to use certain services. Everything went relatively well.

How did StartupSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

They stayed on budget, which was really good. The timelines were slightly extended, but it was very minor. All projects go over time and budget generally. Everything was in the parameters that I expected, and I was happy with the results. We used Slack, and a couple of times a week we had Skype calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

StartupSoft didn’t try to change things or question my business model. They took my specs, ran with what I wanted, and got it done in a reasonable amount of time. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everything went relatively well. The only thing I would’ve improved on was the UX because it was functional and plain. I mentioned that at the time, and it’s something they could work on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Get to know the founders as best you can. Be clear with your expectations and parameters, keep the lines of communication open, and let them do their thing.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-founder and chief strategist of BitGate. BitGate bridges the gap between open banking and cryptocurrencies, by creating a mainstream crypto app for the Nordics with secure BankID login.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire StartupSoft?

BitGate required flutter front-end developement to complete the UX implementation. StartupSoft offers remote workers with an attempt to approximate the "inhouse" experience. We hired a flutter developer to test out StartupSoft services and get experience with the concept.

What were your goals for this project?

In general our goals were to get immediate access to a good flutter developer, who would have a good office space and work the clock, without having to go through all the work of having a person in-house. In specific, we wanted to get as far with the UX implementation in the flutter app for both android and iOS as possible in a six month period.

SOLUTION

How did you select StartupSoft?

We wanted to expand our development capabilities by remote work, and realized that we needed to investigate options for that. We have been contacted frequently by remote work development firms but StartupSoft attracted our attention among all as having the right mind-set of focusing on startups that could grow quickly in value.

We quickly established relations and have been in contact with StartupSoft for some time and have been seeing first-hand the progress they have made to attract good developers and grow their business.

Early this year we took the step of hiring with StartupSoft as our startup has been growing and needed remote UX implementation developers to speed up our go-to-market strategy, and we are satisfied with the outcome.

Describe the project in detail.

We had a minimal UX implementation, and were in the process of redesigning it as we onboarded the new developer. As the new developer was onboarding we more or less completed the first design of the UX and had Andrew implement it in Flutter for Android (we now also have had him implemented iOS version).

The design was a basic sketch in wirediagrams, and he had to fill in several details that were missing or not explicit in the wirediagrams. We had weekly meetings with a basic update each week on progress and goals, and he was progressing nicely with the implementation.

As he was the only person working on the UX implementation, he had to master all aspects of the flutter UX implementation, and was also responsible for aspects of the login-process, and to coordinate the front-end with the back-end.

What was the team composition?

The team composition is the CEO, CTO, back-end, and UX design, all working with Andrew in the weekly meetings to coordinate the UX implementation. I mostly work on the UX design and quality control of the UX implementation.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before this project, we only had a very minimal UX implementation. Now we have we had have fleshed out the whole UX implementation in Flutter for both Android and iOS with all of the basic functionality, and are now moving from the testnet to the livenet. So the flutter implementation of all basic UX functionality has basically been completed in the six months since we hired him from StartupSoft.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had regular updates, and StartuSoft were always very responsive to any questions or concerns. They are clearly committed to making sure that their developers are performing well, and will quickly fix any issues that may arise. In this respect they work like an excellent project manager and human resources employee would in-house.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The most impressive thing is how independent the developer was. As a young startup you need each individual team member to carry their own weight not only in terms of development power, but initiative and drive to fill in gaps that comes from a flatter structure than you have in bigger companies.

StartupSoft seem to master the combination of being a firm project manager for the client, while also having developers that have an ability to think independently to solve problems creatively to develop a more efficient implementation.

This combination of having a firm structure around the employee, while retaining an ability on the part of the employee to have sufficient independence is quite rare.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We did not really have any issues. There was a small learning curve for the developer to get acquainted with our code and structure, about 2-3 weeks, but that's to be expected, and that's about it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was the project manager and responsible for product develoment at Mercato AG, Switzerland. Mercato AG develops applications for Blockchain based B2C Services

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire StartupSoft?

the challenge was to find both technical and UX solutions to make highly complex process based on blockchain technology simple to use for any user even the most non-savvy

What were your goals for this project?

create a product which seamlessly integrates traditional financial services with advanced blockchain solutions

SOLUTION

How did you select StartupSoft?

StartupSoft was able to quickly recruit and direct a capable and scalable team. The company fully integrated with the core team and other third party service providers and quickly started to support all crucial processes

Describe the project in detail.

mercato wallet was meant to be a crypto wallet, a crypto and forex trading platform, a social trading platform and integration with a traditional bank account - all together in one app

What was the team composition?

we were assigned a full team composed of a project manager, software and data based developers, block chain specialists

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project is undergoing changes mainly concerning branding and a pivot from it's initial concept due to significant market changes

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

we were using various cooperation and project management tools which totally replaced direct contact due to the high efficiency of StartupSoft to make use of these tools

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team was always willing to propose improvements on technical solutions. StartupSoft was always able to quickly find new technical skill sets when ever needed. Development was agile and always had room for adaptations

Are there any areas for improvement?

there is nothing I can really find negative about the cooperation. even language was not a barrier

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of MOOCTORS, an education technology company providing an online tutoring platform for massive online open courses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with StartupSoft?

We wanted to design a marketplace.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We approached them with a concept and a number of wireframes. We explained the business idea behind it and what we wanted to achieve. We used Java, Python, C++, HTML, and more.

What is the team composition?

They allocated a project manager, a designer, and 1-2 developers. Most of my communication was with the project manager.

How did you come to work with StartupSoft?

The CEO was an acquaintance of mine. In the process of sharing information on the project, I also exchanged information with him. We discussed it several times. We then proceeded further with the business aspect of the interaction.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January–May 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our KPI was staying within our budget. They came through, and we’re satisfied with their work.

How did StartupSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication and ability to meet deadlines are pretty good.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were particularly satisfied with their project manager. She was forthcoming, open to communication, and responded promptly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were 1–2 times where people left the team and that could have been avoided. I don’t know what happened internally. That was a hiccup but the person who took over did their best to cover everything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open. Tell them as much detail as you can or what you think you understand from your project. Discuss the specification documents that you’re going to receive so that there are no misunderstandings. Make sure you 100% understand it and that it meets your expectations.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We offer a fitness and health management platform for the professionals. We provide the tools to improve the level of fitness of their clients. I am the co founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire StartupSoft?

We were looking for a long term partner to help us design and build our platform.

What were your goals for this project?

The objective of the project was/is to develop a web application and its associated mobile app.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had several bad experience before finding the right partner. All our initial exchanges on the organization, project management and delivery was intense. At the end, it was an easy decision as StartupSoft is very professional, dedicated, and customer-centric.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They have designed, developped, launch and maintain a new backend, frontend and mobile application.

What was the team composition?

The poject team has about 5 depending on the phase on the project. Still we have a stable project manager who manages our collaboration on a daily basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The platform has been launched on time and help us onboard new customers with an improved user experience and better performances.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project management was/is very good with very regular calls and at least weekly meetings. We communicate mainly using Skype.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We have access to the project manager but also the entire team from the designer to the QA. Plus a strong engagement from the company exec.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not much to improve. Think ahead on the use cases it will ease the conversation.