Storypoint

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the talent acquisition specialist at one of the leading freelancer platforms. I’m responsible for all the hiring processes in Kyiv.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Storypoint?

We brought on Storypoint to help us with recruitment services for our product development team. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Storypoint’s recruiters help identify and screen candidates to fill our open positions — we provide the job descriptions. Their team then posts that job description on the platforms they use for recruitment. They are the first point of contact for potential candidates, discussing salary expectations and availability with the candidates. During those screenings, Storypoint asks specific questions that we’ve requested they ask. 

Once they identify a candidate, Storypoint’s team relays them to us, along with a short profile that contains information gained during the screening, including the candidate’s previous experience. Once that recruitment process is complete, our in-house team handles the onboarding process. 

How did you come to work with Storypoint?

We initially reached out to them to help with another project, but they mentioned they also did recruitment, so we brought them on board for that instead. I think we were one of their first partners. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $60,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with Storypoint since May 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Storypoint has delivered qualified candidates to fill our open positions. They’ve filled two positions that were hard to recruit for, and the two teammates we hired have been working with us for over six months and are really fantastic additions to our team. We have a very high bar, but Storypoint continues to provide us with superstar candidates. 

How did Storypoint perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team is very responsive. We used to have weekly calls when we had a lot of open positions to fill, but now that we have fewer positions to fill, we just chat when needed. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Storypoint’s team is trustworthy and sensitive to our needs. They’re very detail-oriented — if I ever need a candidate’s background double-checked, they’ll do it. Personally, I enjoy working with them because their communication is clear and their team is nice. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They need to continue to focus on our specific needs and directly transfer our job requirements to the adverts they put out. They shouldn’t try to alter descriptions to increase submissions. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s important to be clear about expectations and your needs. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the co-founder of Totallib. It's a note-taking app for better thinking that allows users to develop their knowledge base through a system of individually connected notes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Storypoint?

We worked with Storypoint to build an MVP for our product. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

After we signed the contract with Storypoint, our co-founders made a list of what we wanted to have in our product and how we wanted them to be developed. The team conducted design sprints before getting into actual development, building mockups and preliminary UI/UX designs based on the problem that we wanted to solve with our product. On top of that, they polished our strategy and analyzed our competitors, assisting us in finding where to differentiate our features. 

Then, we moved into actual development, where we had weekly meetings and biweekly demos. We closely followed the development process while trying out the product and giving feedback. Storypoint then implemented our suggestions and followed up on the feedback that we gave. 

During and after the design sprint, we discussed the technologies that we wanted to use. We wanted to build the product with a popular tech stack since we planned to scale up and hire our own internal team. As a result, we stuck with React on the frontend, and we used Node.js on the backend. So far, we’ve hired one frontend engineer, one backend engineer, and a designer for our own in-house team. 

Currently, we’re working closely with Storypoint to improve the product and iterate on new features. We’re also building a roadmap to help us structure the development process going forward. They're also helping us fix issues that our early users report. We’re at a transition period, where their team provides support services as we transfer the product to our own internal development team. They’re helping us sort through the process to have a frictionless transition, organizing all systems to keep things going.

What is the team composition?

I've worked with Andrew (Co-Founder) and Diana (Co-Founder). Andrew gives us useful suggestions on product design and structure to help us streamline the development process. Diana is more sales-oriented, so she helps us figure out basic marketing strategies for when we release the MVP to early users.

How did you come to work with Storypoint?

I initially asked for some recommendations from friends, and I received ones for well-established companies. Then, Andrew reached out to me on LinkedIn after I posted that I was looking for product development companies. 

What I liked about Storypoint was that the founders had some previous experience in startups. They were also more of a product-building company and less of an outsourcing, technology-oriented company. Apart from that, their team was quite small, and we wanted to hire a small team to have more efficient communication and collaboration.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $45,000 to build the MVP. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We've worked with Storypoint since October 2020, and the engagement is ongoing. The MVP was launched in February 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve launched a beta product to get some early users, and we’re building our email list of subscribers. We’ve already got around 2,500 emails from our launch. Anecdotally, we’ve been very satisfied, and the pricing has been pretty good. 

It would've been cheaper to hire freelance software engineers, but we’d also have to spend much time beforehand to onboard them and explain everything. Then, we’d have to keep all of that communication going by ourselves. In contrast, Storypoint has a small team, and their price is very competitive in relation to the results they deliver.

They’ve been very good, and they don’t require a lot of resources and involvement from our side — we could focus on other things like building the company and fundraising. 

How did Storypoint perform from a project management standpoint?

Storypoint’s performance has been very decent, and they organize everything by themselves. Their co-founders have also been very helpful and reasonable; they keep us updated on the project status, so we don’t have any major roadblocks or disappointment —  everything has been okay for us. We mainly communicate via email, instant messaging, and video calls that are regularly scheduled beforehand. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Since they’re a small team, they’re able to move fast. It’s one of the major reasons we’ve decided to work with them. Moreover, one of their founders has previous operational experience with startups and tech companies, so we can easily talk to them in the same language. We don’t have to over-explain things because they already understand. 

On top of that, they always show initiative. When we want to take the product in a certain direction, they always ask why. They aren’t only focused on the process or development; they also want to know why we want certain things. In other words, they help us crystallize our vision and know why something makes sense for us to do. That has been helpful for us because we want a partner and not just an outsourcing agency that develops everything we want. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their team can improve the process of onboarding their clients because it seems that they don't have a well-developed process for that. We had a rough start at the beginning because we hadn't worked with Storypoint before; we had to organize the process in the way we were used to. 

On the other hand, our rough start may only be because we were one of their first clients. Apart from that, everything was perfect, and they may have already improved their onboarding process. In the end, it wasn’t a major showstopper, so we still gave them a shot.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You have to clearly articulate the vision of what you want to build. Let them suggest some variations of that vision. Explain what kind of problem you want to solve, and get their input. For instance, ask them whether it makes sense to create a mobile app or some other product. 

We’ve had a good experience with them. They can also open new possibilities for you, so treat them as a partner from the beginning. Don’t be afraid to hear their input because they can help you build a better product and define your vision in ways that you may not have explored before.

Another good piece of advice is overcommunication. As a founder and a product builder, we have a product vision in mind, and sometimes it’s hard to explain to other people what we want to build. As a result, overcommunicating about the project will help the company come up with better ideas on how to realize that vision and solve problems.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a Recruitment Lead for EMEA Region (UA, PL, UK) in Allvue Systems.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Storypoint?

Increasing the teams - BAs, QAs, Software Engineers, etc.

SOLUTION

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

When I came to Allvue the agreement between Allvue and StoryPoint was already signed.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

I don't remember the exact amount.

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

N/A

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Storypoint has been our company's partner for more than a year, and we've immensely enjoyed this cooperation. Their team understands our business needs, which is a fantastic quality. We closed many vacancies with them, like QA Engineer, QA Lead, Application Support Engineer, and others. The recruiters apply relevant candidates with strong hard and soft skills. We recommend working with Storypoint as they are efficient and very professional in what they do.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

good

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

QAs, BAs - the strongest side.

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

No