Stepwise

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product lead at Mondeca, a software editor expert in AI for taxonomy management and smart content tagging.

What challenge were you trying to address with Stepwise?

We had a 20-year-old app built on an old tech stack with a cumbersome UX. We were looking for a company to redevelop it.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Stepwise has built the new version of our app, including the UX/UI design.

What is the team composition?

The team size ranges depending on our cash flow.

How did you come to work with Stepwise?

They came to us looking for potential clients, but we weren’t ready at the time. When this project came up, we contacted them among other companies. We chose them based on the quality of their work and experience. We asked each potential contractor to explain how they’d approach the project, and Stepwise demonstrated a remarkable ability to understand our app’s complexity. Also, they could potentially deliver a production-level application, which wasn’t the case with other potential contractors.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

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

They’re able to understand complex projects. Stepwise suggests and organizes the work in processes that are efficient for everyone. They also adjust the processes as needed so we can deliver on time.

How did Stepwise perform from a project management standpoint?

The team meets deadlines, and they’re helpful and available when we need them. When we had to downsize due to a lack of cash flow on our end, they were flexible. Moreover, they always manage to find a solution without jeopardizing the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They understand complex projects and systems. We didn’t expect to have people who understood us without training them for days.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Moving things from ongoing work to handing it over to the developers was painful to setup.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend they do test them with a proof of concept. You’ll see that the results are high quality.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a project manager at Signes de Sens, an NGO that provides services for people with disabilities, such as improving their access to culture, learning, and other activities. Our vision is to improve the inclusion of people with disabilities in society.

What challenge were you trying to address with Stepwise?

We’ve been working on a project involving children with autism to teach them daily gestures with mimicry. We already had three mobile applications for this with different videos, and we wanted to have a single app that had all the learning materials in the same place. We needed help developing an MVP and improving the app’s ergonomics.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started the project by having a kickoff meeting with Stepwise to make sure we were on the same page and that they had our strategy in mind. While the UX design was ready, the UI design wasn’t finished when the project started, so Stepwise helped us complete it. Then, they started the development using Flutter. We had dailies and demos where we invited other people from our organization to give feedback.

In terms of features, the team added a video library with several videos from our previous app and a video player where children can watch videos to learn gestures. Stepwise added other resources such as paper tools that the parents can download and print at home. Another feature they implemented allows the user to follow the child’s progress within the app. For example, parents can validate the skills their child is learning and visualize them in a tree.

Additionally, Stepwise has been providing us with advice on the best ways to develop mobile applications. The team has completed the MVP, which works on both Android and iOS, and they’ll be working on a new iteration of the app and a version in Polish.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with four people from Stepwise, including a Scrum master, a UI/UX designer, and two developers, one senior and one junior. The Scrum master helps us organize the development plans while the junior developer has built the entire app, with the senior developer there to support her if needed. 

Not all teammates are with us all the time. For example, the UI/UX designer was only with us full-time initially, and she’s only come back punctually when we’ve needed her.

How did you come to work with Stepwise?

We met them through another NGO that linked us. We sent an RFP looking for companies willing to develop this project, and Stepwise was our first candidate. We chose them because we had a great connection; they seemed really organized and wanted to develop a product with social impact, which gave us the confidence to hire them. 

How much have you invested with them?

Stepwise has worked pro-bono for the first six months of the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2021, and they completed the MVP in January 2022; we had a one-month delay due to trouble on our end. Our engagement with Stepwise is ongoing.

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

Stepwise has improved our app; it’s more effective, and the ergonomics are much better. We’re very happy to see the app’s new functionalities they’ve implemented. 

We started testing the app last week, and users who knew the old app are very impressed with the new design. Previously, they could only see one video, and now they can see many videos and have access to a lot of other content, which they’re thrilled about. Users also appreciate that they can see all the content in one place. 

How did Stepwise perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re very happy with their project management. They’ve organized the work in an accessible way. As an NGO, we don’t have much technical knowledge, and the Stepwise team is always there to give us technical explanations and estimate the time they need for development. 

They’re also very responsive and very agile. For example, if we have an issue, they answer right away, which we really appreciate. We use Slack to share information, and our communication is very fluid even though we speak different languages. As for project management, we use Jira and Confluence. During development, we had daily meetings to communicate on progress.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m impressed by Stepwise’s professionalism. Even though they’ve been working pro-bono, they’re always professional and available to answer our questions – I appreciate that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think there’s anything they need to improve — it’s been a perfect project.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them! Don’t hesitate to work with Stepwise because you can rely on their skills and project management. They know what they’re doing, so just follow their path, and everything will go well.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of Spica Technologies Ltd, a software product company specializing in property technologies. We provide services and tech solutions that streamline office management and facilities operations for businesses.

What challenge were you trying to address with Stepwise?

We have our own in-house software development team, but there are always peaks and drops in demand for development. We wanted to hire a third-party supplier that could provide skilled resources to supplement our team and scale as needed.  

What was the scope of their involvement?

Originally, they provided mobile app developers, but the scope of their work has expanded. Now they provide all-around software development services and UX/UI design.

Our mobile apps and web-based platforms can be integrated with existing business systems to provide better workplace experiences. Employees and other stakeholders can use our platforms to book desks and meeting rooms, communicate with catering groups, or use their phones as their security badges. Our solutions even have wayfinding features.

What is the team composition?

I work with Krzysztof (CEO).

How did you come to work with Stepwise?

We were looking at nearshore partners in Eastern Europe because the time difference wasn’t too dramatic. The CTO of my company evaluated a number of companies based on the projects they’ve worked on before and selected Stepwise.

How much have you invested with them?

Depending on which resources we use, we spend between £15,000–£20,000 a month with them (approximately $190,000–$250,000 USD in total).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in September 2020 and our partnership is ongoing.

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

They’re involved in our day-to-day development activities, so we know how long it should take for them to accomplish each task that they’re assigned. We always discuss any issues they’re having, resolve them, and discuss design options and technical options.

How did Stepwise perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve become integrated with our team. We have team members from around the world, and Stepwise gets along with all of them. As members of our team, their developers are in our daily standups and they participate in our agile sprints. We use Jira to track all of their tickets.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve been impressed with their work ethic — they work very hard. On top of that, they have impressive technical skills. A few times they’ve had to learn on the job, but they quickly pick up new skills and they’re diligent about the work they produce.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything is working well right now.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I have a bi-weekly meeting with Krzysztof to get ahead of problems that may arise. Having senior-level interaction between our two companies has worked quite well.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Plexus Media is a data-driven investor marketing firm enabling new digital ways to share your investment story and attract potential retail investors. I am the Director of Operations for Plexus Media.

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

We hired Stepwise to develop our MVP software offering. The goal was to—using our existing proven model of successful programs in investor marketing—create a SaaS to give a wider reach and application to our existing services. We selected 2 programs that we wanted to develop into a SaaS, and worked with Stepwise on the full development, from UI/UX design to development.

How did you select Stepwise and what were the deciding factors?

We met the Stepwise team and felt that they had the expertise and understanding of the SaaS model we were trying to achieve. Their team spoke excellent English, and offered a competitive rate for their services.

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

They designed the UI/UX based on our preliminary mockups, and developed the infrastructure for development from the ground up. We worked together on a project timeline, which was adjusted on a regular basis to incorporate additional required features as the project progressed.

We received a weekly demo of progress, and our team managed manual bug testing and bug reporting. We addressed challenges together, and found solutions that met our needs each time.

The key deliverables were 2 fully functioning programs, representing 2 separate investor marketing services, with 3 user types. We used Slack and Jira for communication and project management.

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

We worked with a large team of theirs, some of whom were part-time and some of whom were dedicated full-time to our project. We worked with a UI/UX designer, several FE associates, several BE associates, and their leadership. Near the end of the collaboration, we hired an in-house full-stack developer, and Stepwise’s BE Developer worked with us full-time.

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

Although the project took longer than we initially expected, what ultimately was achieved was beyond an MVP platform. The platform is fully-functioning, and we are continuing to develop it independently, with a great framework established by Stepwise.

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

We met three times a week, with additional meetings as needed for more in-depth project management discussions. We used Slack to communicate, and Jira to document project components and progress. They established a timeline based on our desired outcomes, which we adjusted as necessary.

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

Their team members worked together very well. They understood their roles, and were proactive in working together to achieve results.

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

They held a call specifically to discuss lessons learned and opportunities for improvement at the end of our collaboration, which was an excellent opportunity for us to go through areas for improvement. We had some challenges with the time difference, and with setting of expectations.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of a financial services company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Stepwise?

We needed to set up a renewable energy financing platform. We previously had a team but required a partner to ramp up the development of a new tech stack for the platform.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Stepwise built the whole web-based platform from scratch. They managed front- and backend development as well as test automation. For the backend, their team used Java and the Kotlin stack. For the frontend, they used React. Their team used MongoDB as a database and Keycloak for user management.

Their team initially built a log-in area for different users such as companies and banks, which enables the platform’s tendering concept. Clients match with banks that hand in offers and then clients can accept the offers.

What is the team composition?

Four people from Stepwise work on the platform’s frontend. Another three people work on the backend including DevOps. One person supports test automation.

How did you come to work with Stepwise?

Our CTO, who previously worked with Stepwise, recommended them. He was quite happy with their team.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about €500,000 euros (approximately $589,000 USD) on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2020, and it’s an ongoing partnership.

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

The platform turned out as expected, and Stepwise achieved the timeline that we set for the project. Their team gave us realistic targets for different project milestones. Stepwise also showed a high level of flexibility with adding and removing team members when we needed more or less development power.

How did Stepwise perform from a project management standpoint?

Their architects manage the project with one on the frontend side and another on the backend side of the platform. As the most experienced developers, they steer the team. It works well. They were also my main contacts at the beginning of the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Stepwise is flexible. I didn’t expect them to be able to ramp up and down so quickly when we need them to. We’re comfortable working with the Stepwise team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could have more senior developers on their team. However, Stepwise has already improved a lot in that area.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend having a product owner on your side. It’s a wise decision, especially if you don’t have previous experience building digital products.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

So I’m the CEO of Mondeca and we’re a software publisher we work in natural language processing.

What challenge were you trying to address with Stepwise?

The core skills are semantics and language processing. We didn’t want to build the IT skills internally, so we looked for a subcontractor.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We mainly use their services for software development. They advise us on information technology.  They’ve done development, visualization, database management, and worked on our front- and backend. They’ve really helps us modernize our technology. They used JavaScript and various other front- and backend packages.

What is the team composition?

We have half a dozen people working on two different teams– so three per team, and a senior architect.

How did you come to work with Stepwise?

We found them on Clutch. We’re a small company, and so we didn’t want to use a big software house and settled on this company size. We also want English speaking people and a company that’s easy to reach. So we did a Google search and that brought us to their Clutch profile.

How much have you invested with them?

At the end of the year, about €120,000 (approximately $132,000 USD).  

What is the status of this engagement?

Their first assignment started in May 2019 and we have two ongoing projects.

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

We’re happy with their work. Their team is knowledgeable. It’s going to market right now.

One is still in development, and another in testing, so we’re not sure how happy the final customers will be. We had one client who tested the product and they were happy.

How did Stepwise perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re excellent. I often learn more from them than our own team. We use Jira to communicate weekly. It’s still a growing company and we’re aware of that. They have excellent resources. In most cases, they have the right people. When they don’t have the right people, they react, and usually before we raise any issues.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to advise. We can tell them to do it this way, but they’ll propose a better idea if they have one. We’ve accepted a lot of their ideas.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sourcing people. It would be better if they had a few more people. Because when they lose somebody, they know how to manage it, but it’s difficult to bring in new people on the spot.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of a company that offers integration solutions to energy utility companies. Our platform facilitates the business processes of utility firms by providing them with out-of-the-box integration capabilities. My role is to ensure the smooth running of everything from client contracts to HR.

What challenge were you trying to address with Stepwise?

We were seeking a development partner because we’re reaching out to global customers in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, and wanted to ensure that we had the necessary resources.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Stepwise’s developers visited our location for 1–2 weeks to partake in the onboarding process. Then, they became annexed to our internal team; they’re managed by our project managers and held to the same project standards.

Our projects range from product customization to the enhancement of core functionalities. Since we cater to the energy sector—a very large industry—there are many processes we’re still working to address.

All technologies are built on Google Cloud and Akka is our distribution framework. We’re also using Kubernetes and Docker for software deployment. Much of our code is in Kotlin, and we utilize Logstash for data collection and normalization. There were also some other open-source frameworks around the Google Cloud Platform, such as subset frames for message channeling.

What is the team composition?

We have around eight Stepwise members on our team. Some of them are pure developers, and others are senior development architects who define the appropriate solutions.

How did you come to work with Stepwise?

After doing some online research, I was attracted to Stepwise because of their focus on open-source technology, like Google Cloud, which is the platform that our product is built on.

How much have you invested with them?

The total so far has been around $400,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began engaging Stepwise in January 2019 and plan on working with them for a long time.

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

We couldn’t be happier. I’ve been delighted by the resources that the Stepwise team brings to our delivery department. In a strategic sense, they’ve become an integral part of our team. They deliver excellent code quality. While we were initially skeptical about it devolving into an “outsourced-team” relationship, they’ve truly merged with us.

How did Stepwise perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management has been handled on our side, so they haven’t had any direct responsibilities on this front. We use Slack for communication, which has worked really well for us. They’ve also successfully onboarded new hires onto our projects. There wasn’t really a communication barrier; we have an agile and straightforward way of working with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re devoted, proficient developers that have mastered their technology and domain. They’re a flexible team with a familiar work ethic. While they weren’t as large at the beginning of our relationship, they’ve grown substantially, supplying us with skilled resources along the way.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Since we have a major client in Germany, it’d be great if their team spoke German, but otherwise, I can’t really think of any real improvements.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

While we want to keep them for ourselves, clients should aim to leverage Stepwise’s senior resources. Additionally, bringing their team to our office—including their boss—was critical to getting to know them and their work culture. Try your hardest to integrate them into your team, so you can share the sense of ownership over the product you’re developing together.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the co-founder and CEO of Coders Co., a data-science services and big-data solutions firm.

For what projects/services did your company hire Stepwise?

We’re building a data platform that integrates healthcare data from different sources, and we needed someone to design and develop the platform’s frontend.

What were your goals for this project?

We had to build a tool that could be used by a diverse group of end users ranging from the Ministry of Health to patients and providers. An additional challenge was that our client had only a vague idea of what the tool should look like. Also, we had very opinionated stakeholders that had to be convinced the tool would be useful to them.

How did you select this vendor?

This was one of the few cases where cold outreach actually worked. Krzysztof (CEO, Stepwise) contacted me when he was visiting my area, so I met him and his partner Rafał (Co-Founder, Stepwise). We hit it off instantly. We’d discussed many different projects before finally finding one to work on together.

What I found convincing about Stepwise was, paradoxically, the fact that they never give straight answers to questions like 'How much would X cost'. They always engage in a discussion to understand the problem and then brainstorm with me to find the best possible solution.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Stepwise designed and built the frontend of our web-based data platform. The design process was made challenging by vague design requirements provided by our end-client and strong and diverse stakeholder opinions jockeying for priority. Stepwise assisted us by providing mockups, suggestions, and technical insights, which allowed us to home in on the best possible solution. They then proceeded to build the entire application in less than two months.

What was the team composition?

We worked with several web developers and a UX designer.

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

The application is launching next week, but we’ve already received positive feedback from future users. When we started the project, they were skeptical about the tool’s potential usefulness. After playing with the nearly-finished application, however, they understood the value it would provide by storing the data they need in an accessible, beautiful, user-friendly interface.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

It was very challenging, seeing as there was little clarity surrounding what needed to be done. To their credit, Krzysztof and his team coped well and provided great help in refining user requirements. We worked in an agile manner, with sprints and bi-weekly demos that allowed us to deliver a satisfactory result quickly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They're experts at what they do and a true partner. They collaborate with you to find the best solutions to your problems, both technical and non-technical.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, not really.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a program executive at Huge Thing. We’re a startup accelerator working with young companies from all over Europe. We support founders in their journey to become smart entrepreneurs able to build strong and capable teams. Our goal is to give them the tools and knowledge necessary to build a successful business.

For what projects/services did your company hire Stepwise?

We engaged Stepwise to work with startups from one of our acceleration programs as a technology partner for technical audits.

What were your goals for this project?

We’ve observed that early-stage companies frequently struggle with technology including architecture, technical debt, and security loopholes. To help them with those challenges, we hired experts familiar with FinTech solutions to share their knowledge.

How did you select this vendor?

One of the business mentors in our program recommended Stepwise.

Describe the project in detail.

We started by defining our expectations and target audience. Then, we requested Stepwise prepare a detailed description of their audit offer and an initial roadmap to follow with startups willing to participate in the audit sessions. During the sessions, startups chose from among three areas Stepwise prepared: architecture review, code review, or security review.

Afterward, Stepwise setup and executed audits for two startups who expressed interest. They held opening sessions and met with the CEOs and CTOs to understand their challenges and the current state of their products. Afterward, depending on particular needs, the technology resources started to share knowledge and code. We asked that both parties provide us with final reports of the work after it was done.

What was the team composition?

We worked with two software architects experienced in various IT areas (backend, frontend, cloud, security) and one business resource who could relate to non-technical entrepreneurs and founders. The idea was that the tech people would communicate with their counterparts on the startup side and Stepwise’s business strategist would discuss any important decisions with the business reps. This ensured everyone had a common level of understanding.

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

Both projects ended on time and all parties were satisfied. The startups contacted us afterward, expressing their satisfaction with the audits’ quality. They underlined that the final result exceeded their initial expectations.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We’d never had an external vendor engage directly with our startups before, but after receiving a recommendation and seeing some of their referrals online, we decided to give Stepwise the freedom to communicate and execute directly with the companies. From the beginning, it was clear that Stepwise was very well-organized and had both soft and technical skills. According to the startups, Stepwise’s communication was straightforward, frequent, and professional.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their technical skills are highly impressive, based on the information we received from the startups. They were specifically praised for their FinTech knowledge, as well as for their ability to shift between objective reporting and subjective, personal interactions. They’re also able to use a business-oriented approach and establish effective processes.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can’t point to anything as a specific weakness. They provided excellent work in all aspects of the engagement. It far surpassed our expectations.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of Self Learning Solutions, which offers advanced tools to support business processes, decision recommendations, and scoring in the fintech sector. Our solutions are based on machine learning, deep learning and AI.

For what projects/services did your company hire Stepwise?

We hired Stepwise to build our platform. They chose the technology, designed the architecture, and developed its tools. We were also looking for a long-term partner to help us evolve our business and build new tools.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed a cloud native company with strong technical skills that could collaborate smoothly with business and data science teams. We also wanted a partner oriented toward machine learning and AI, with the capacity to work with algorithms and neural networks.

How did you select this vendor?

A colleague with a technical background recommended Stepwise’s architect. After exchanging ideas about how the platform should look, we decided to hire them. Our teams had the same vision for the technology's business functions.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

Stepwise ran workshops with us to clearly understand our goal, our target users, and our processes. Then their architect did the research and chose the right technology. They used Google Cloud Platform, Flowable, Java, TensorFlow, and Python. They have also supported us as we talked with Google representatives to obtain credits for our MVP on Google Cloud Platform.

After they designed the architecture and had it verified by our business and data science teams, they began development. It’s ongoing, but the MVP was ready for customer tests after only two months. That was impressive.

What was the team composition?

Stepwise supports us with a cloud and solution architect, a senior developer, and a data scientist support manager. Their CEO facilitates our communication, project setup, and business development.

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

The MVP is a decision engine for business process management. Thanks to this platform, we can offer a revolutionary product to support loan and credit businesses. It can be a decision and scoring engine, a platform for maching learning implementation, or a model for deep learning and AI. Business processes and rules can be developed with n-dimension decision tables. It's useful for manual or automatic credit decision processes. Most importantly, the construction and development of its processes can be completed by analysts, not just IT staff.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They take a professional, experienced, and client-oriented approach. They tried to understand our needs before starting development, which has definitely avoided problems and eliminated unnecessary costs.

They implement a high-level development process with best practices I've only read about before. They set up communication tools and ticketing systems and propose one-week sprints for maximum flexibility. We closely monitor progress and plan our next steps together.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Two aspects of our cooperation are the most impressive. The first is their technical knowledge and the quality of work they deliver. The second is their approach to software development. They do the right things in the right order, and their lean approach is perfect for launching innovative ideas.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

Their prices are high for the Polish market. However, their experience, quality, and professionalism justify everything. It's hard to find anything negative.