STRV

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of a fintech startup. We focus on offering digital banking to smaller credit unions and banks.

What challenge were you trying to address with STRV?

We needed someone to help us develop a mobile solution for our next-generation platform.

What was the scope of their involvement?

STRV developed our mobile banking app. It includes all of the features you see with digital banking, such as login, transfer functionalities, and transaction history. They used Swift and Kotlin to develop the app, which is native iOS and Android.

They do have good designing sense, but we had hired a designer before we handed the app over to STRV for development.

What is the team composition?

We hired two senior iOS developers and two senior Android developers.

How did you come to work with STRV?

They were recommended to us. We used them before for our first-generation platform, and now we’re doing the second generation. They have the expertise.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2020, and the work is ongoing.

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

The quality of the code is really good, and the team is very good and experienced. They care about their work. They don’t generate sloppy code.

How did STRV perform from a project management standpoint?

I manage the project. We follow an agile methodology and use Jira to check on the progress. They deliver on time and are very well structured. They know how to prioritize things. We have daily standups and use Slack to talk regularly. We use email occasionally.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re more experienced than I am in mobile development. They don’t just do the work; they go above and beyond and provide suggestions to make the product even better.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They did a really good job. We’re very happy with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you check the developers’ resumes for the experience level you’re looking for. Work with the manager to lockdown the scope of the project and make sure it can fit into your budget.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Daytrip, an online platform. Our users can book private drivers for leisurely trips all over the world. 

What challenge were you trying to address with STRV?

We needed someone to develop our iOS app. We also wanted a company that could master project management and development and really deliver on the product, as opposed to hiring cheaper competition or doing it in-house ourselves.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially hired STRV to design our app. Then, we were choosing between different agencies to develop the app after the design phase, and there were benefits to having the same company develop it. 

They developed our iOS app, and they may develop an Android version in the future. Our customers will be able to use the app to book trips, manage bookings, find inspiration about tourist destinations, and get information during their trip. The app will have various safety features, such as enabling users to share their location with friends and family.

During the design phase, they shared the designs with us through InVision. They used Swift to program the app.

What is the team composition?

We had one UX designer and a project manager during the design phase. For the development phase, we had the same project manager and three assigned iOS developers.

How did you come to work with STRV?

We really wanted the final project to be full-service and to stay on budget and schedule. We trusted that STRV had the process in place to make this happen. They had the experience to give us a clear expectation of what we could expect for the 3–5 months of development, what the final product would look like, and how much it would cost. We chose them because of this. Their portfolio also showed us they could deliver really nice and functional products.

How much have you invested with them?

The design was €20,000 (approximately $22,500 USD), and the development was about €180,000 (approximately $203,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2019, and the main part of the development was finished in May 2020. Now, we’re finishing up some details on our part, such as supplying the backend and making sure that APIs fit well together. The app isn’t released yet, but we’re testing the beta product and finishing up the API communication with the app.

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

We got a nicely designed and working product within the scope and budget. They fulfilled the expectations we had for them.

How did STRV perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is one of their biggest strengths. We don’t have it in-house, and it’s important for an external agency to have. They were very proactive in communication. We had frequent meetings. We communicated with the team through Slack, and they also used a project management tool. 

We knew what they were doing at all times. The project manager was there to step in if the developers weren’t on the same page or needed something. When the project manager sensed that the communication between our developers and their developers wasn’t ideal, she’d step in. They’re really thorough and know what they’re doing.

What did you find most impressive about them?

STRV really cares about the product as a whole. They want it to be usable. They pay attention to detail so that the end-user can enjoy using it. They work on it as if it were their own.

The project management is really good. The communication was very open, and we could quickly go through any questions or concerns on either side.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The project manager changed midway through the project. It would’ve been better if the new one didn’t have to come up to speed on the project. Our developers had to get used to working with a new person. However, the new project manager did successfully take over, so it wasn’t a big problem after all.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have really clear goals in mind when you start the project. Know what the project should achieve, and give the designer a lot of freedom in getting the design to a state where it can achieve those goals. They’re really good at designing mobile apps. It’s very beneficial to give them freedom in designing the user flows and the UI.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-founder and COO of a community-based media company at the intersection of pop-culture and entrepreneurship. We produce monthly events and create tailored content for our subscribers and members, the next generation of creative leaders across entertainment, music, media, tech, fashion & art.

For what projects/services did your company hire STRV?

Referral programs are one of the best ways to increase organic conversions at a low cost. These systems must be extremely frictionless and fun to use which makes developing them and designing the UI rather challenging. STRV developed everything from UI/UX design to frontend and backend development.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to develop and easy and fun to use referral program.

How did you select this vendor?

We had heard great things from people we trust in the tech community. We reached out and felt really good about STRV after our initial call with one of the co-founders. We considered three companies and STRV was selected based on own internal vendor ranking rubric.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

STRV developed the referral rewards system to allow frictionless sharing and earned rewards. Key. functionalities included multiple layers of transactional emails, a web app, and a database. The STRV team was responsible for end to end development including implementation into existing web properties and Saas services.

What was the team composition?

Account Manager, Project Manager, Designer, and engineers.

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

It's too early to be sure but so far we've seen really promising results. Increased engagement and organic referral behaviors have led to higher quality users jointing our platform and at a fraction of the cost.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Our teams linked together via a shared slack channel. This is were weekly standup where conducted. A shared channel was easily the best way to keep this fast-paced project on track. Especially since slow feedback from clients is usually the reason for most delays. We were able to respond nearly in realtime with live feedback.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The entire team from start to finish went out of their way to ensure that all our concerns had been addressed. They aired on the side of over-communicating which was really helpful. They keep us updated on completed and upcoming tasks almost daily and reminded us of their needs from us. I have worked with very many vendors and this is an area where I can say STRV totally stands apart from any other vendors I have worked with before.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Sometimes the team moved too quickly. We found ourselves trying to keep up with needs and requests for information that we as clients were expected to provide. I wouldn't have had it another way but this the only aspect of the project that was particularly challenging.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the VP of Product & Engineering at Teampay, a business-to-business payments solution for SMB businesses. We have hundreds of clients across multiple industries.

For what projects/services did your company hire STRV?

Our company had been around for several years, but had not developed a mobile application. Additionally, we had developed several products that would be well-served by a mobile app. Since we did not have any mobile development expertise, we decided to engage a third party to build our solution.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a robust mobile application on iOS. We wanted it coded cleanly so that we could eventually take it in house if needed.

How did you select this vendor?

We talked to at least five different vendors to understand their workflows, philosophies, capabilities, and prices. After much consideration, STRV seems like the best fit to us because of their ability to work within our existing tools and processes in a timely fashion.

Describe the project in detail.

We started with some basic discovery using the existing mobile web application as a guide for v1 requirements, and then STRV's designer took it from there. We had weekly calls to review designs and make sure progress was moving to schedule.

Once we moved into development, we continued the weekly calls. In addition, STRV was on our slack team, and we saw the results of their regular developer updates. The development team used our Github account, so we had full access, and they coded in Swift.

What was the team composition?

We had a project manager, a designer, and two iOS/Swift developers. As the project moved into development, the designer resource went away.

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

We had a well functioning application in our hands within a few months.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow between our teams was seamless. Because they were on our Slack team, we were able to rapidly provide feedback. They always resonded in a timely fashion.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I really liked the feedback we got from STRV on UX and design best practices on mobile. They provided great reasoning for why they made the choices they did, but we also willing to compromise if we had compelling reasons for wanting changes. It felt more like a partnership than a one-sided relationship.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing comes top to mind.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Manager Global IT CoE Online at a company that supported the global IT service in the cosmetics corporate. Our IT CoE is headquartered in the Czech Republic and it has about 200 employees. I oversee the development of our digital products on websites and mobile apps.

For what projects/services did your company hire STRV?

Our company decided to redevelop the current shopping mobile app with an ambition to build a basic digital platform for our customers. That's why the focus is primarily on the best UX/design experience and modern technical architecture. We needed to increase the experience in that area and we supported our team by experts from STRV.

What were your goals for this project?

The first goal of the project is a prototype where we can consider the UX/design quality and technical architecture. The next steps will follow.

How did you select this vendor?

We searched for a vendor in our region (Central Europe) to be able to meet personally at least time to time. We evaluated STRV as the best option based on their experience and excellence in the area of designing and development of mobile apps.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we selected this vendor we set up two streams of the cooperation. In regard to UX/Design, we started with an intensive workshop with our corporate designers and the project owner to be aligned in an understanding of the project, expectations, and basic rules. After that, the STRV designer elaborated and consulted the design of particular areas in regular iterations. In regard to development, we more profited from a mentoring role of the experienced developer.

What was the team composition?

In general, there were a product owner, a designer, frontend/backend developers and QA in the team. As mentioned, we hired just the UX/design position and a senior developer/architect. The project management was on our side.

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

The project is still in progress. However, we can already predicate that the result of the phase of the prototype will be successful. Especially we can highlight very positive feedback on the design where our designers appreciate the experience in mobile apps. As well the developers bring the knowledge and experience that was expected.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The hired experts were in almost daily contact with the product owner. The communication was perfect and the cooperation was smooth.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

First, what was already mentioned several times, the experience in mobile apps development. Second, the stability of the high-level skills and knowledge. We haven't found any weak points during the cooperation. Third, perfect communication.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The price is relatively high compared to the competitors. On the other hand, the quality is high too.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the mobile engineering manager at LegalZoom. We allow entrepreneurs, people who want to start a business.  We offer easy, digital legal solutions for our customers.

What challenge were you trying to address with STRV?

We’re creating an app that will help out clients form an LLC, incorporation, or other classifications.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app is a post-order product we use to finalize customer orders, users can ask questions, and they can track the status of their order, digital files about their company, chat with an agent or a chatbot. We wanted to build a modern mobile app that ties into our secure APIs, and other toolsets.

They built it from the ground up. Working with our internal teams, they created the architecture, engineering, design, and the product.

On the iOS side, they used Swift, and on Android they used various toolsets, SDKs, and native plug-ins to build a native experience.

What is the team composition?

We had a total of nine people on our team, including four iOS engineers, four Android engineers, and one UI/UX designer.

How did you come to work with STRV?

Someone on our team worked with them in the past and had a great experience. They loved that they were able to scale up quickly and still deliver a robust, clean code, that created the experience to the customers.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $5 million–$10 million

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2017 and the project is ongoing.

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

As time goes on, STRV continues to build the right product. They’ve been ahead of the curve in ensuring a great product and customer experience.  

On the product side, we use Google Analytics to optimize leads and track metrics. We ensure that our customers are getting a great experience—whether that’s finding different defects or resolving confusion. We also track metrics on the hours each developer spends on a project and their impact. They’ve been overachieving on several levels. The experience we’ve had while working with them has been great.

How did STRV perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management standpoint, they’ve done very well. Communication has been amazing. We have monthly stand-in meetings, but if I need additional information, they’re always available to answer questions. Their door is always open.

There’s a ten-hour time difference between our team and theirs, but they still get back to us in a timely manner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

First, the ability to scale developers at a rapid pace. Second, they customize the development process. I’ve worked with other offshore teams in the past, and it’s been very difficult.

Their team had gone above and beyond. They actually sent a developer here to work out of our office. That’s a big deal. They’re able to join meetings, interact with us, and get to know what we really need.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At the beginning of our project, we had a few communication issues when rotating developers into our project. We had a few gaps between developers that would stall productivity. But, we’ve figured out the right process and are able to transition between developers smoothly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You’ll get high-quality engineers that work quickly and efficiently. They’ll definitely bring your business new customers. We had a great experience.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The Athletic is a subscription-based sports media company, and my position is CEO. 

What challenge were you trying to address with STRV?

I was the only engineer at the time when we hired STRV, and we needed some engineering support for our mobile offering. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

STRV built our initial iOS app and our initial Android app. They developed both from scratch while I created the API.

We were primarily responsible for the design, although STRV did come up with some great ideas. We had a separate design team at that point. They delivered an app that lets users subscribe to our service, read articles, favorite articles, and personalize their experience based on whoever teams they follow.

Now STRV is integrated into much larger teams. We still have them on board, but they work with our full-time developers who are based in San Francisco. We treat them as additional engineers.

What is the team composition?

In the beginning, it was two iOS developers and two Android developers. At one point, we reached three of each. For the majority of the engagement, though, we’ve had one iOS develop and two Android developers. We also have a project manager, but they are very hands-off with our project.

How did you come to work with STRV?

I have a friend who worked for SRTV doing sales in North America for them. He’d talked them up to me before, and I eventually got to know them and liked some of the work they’d done.

How much have you invested with them?

At this point, we’ve spent about $1.2 million. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2015. 

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

The initial apps that they created were successful and enabled us to raise $100 million.

How did STRV perform from a project management standpoint?

We haven’t experienced any problems. All of their engineers are experienced, and we have project managers on our side.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The personal ownership of the product stands out. Our iOS developer cares deeply about our app, as much as any of our full-time employees. That level of commitment makes a huge difference.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was a short period back in 2017, where we had a few issues with an Android developer. STRV had a few folks leave their company, and, although it wasn’t their fault, we did feel the impact in terms of a lack of continuity. For the last two years, though, we’ve had the same person, and it’s been wonderful.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re looking for a premium partner who’s focused on creating an app or a website that lasts, STRV is an excellent choice. I can’t comment on their ability to deliver MVPs or rapid prototypes, but I would put them in the highest end of partners who work in the capacity that we’ve hired them for.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a product finance controller at Rich Uncles, a company that sponsors multiple real estate investment trusts (REITs). Rich Uncles has developed an investment platform where investors can purchase REIT shares. The share proceeds are then used to purchase commercial real estate that have creditworthy tenants. Our REITs receive rent from the tenants and distribute that rent to shareholders in the form of monthly dividends.

The platform is quite complex and has multiple backend integrations with web application services to facilitate the capture of funds and the issuance of shares. Investors have a dashboard on the platform where they can manage their accounts, purchase additional shares, access their investment history, set their dividend selection, redeem shares, process transfers, update banking information, manage user security settings, etc. The platform not only gives users a point of reference to their investments but also to the REITs that the investments are in, the status of those REITs, and the assets that they’re purchasing.

What challenge were you trying to address with STRV?

When I came on board in 2015, Rich Uncles was working with a local vendor that had developed the first version of our website. However, we needed something a bit more sophisticated and robust. We were looking to integrate more web applications.

What was the scope of their involvement?

STRV redeveloped our platform and built new features. As we implemented more third-party applications, they took what had been previously developed and evolved it to what it is now. They helped us transition from a LAMP stack environment to a full JavaScript stack.

What is the team composition?

We have a pretty extensive team over there. It varies depending on the project, but we consistently interact with 4–5 individuals. If we need to add more developers, we’ll ramp up to 8–10 team members.

How did you come to work with STRV?

A business associate suggested that we reach out to STRV. We liked their products, and they had a robust team of front and backend developers who were well-versed in current technology. They seemed innovative and capable of catapulting us to the next level. 

How much have you invested with them?

My company has spent somewhere in the range of $1–$10 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work with STRV began in May 2015, and it’s ongoing.

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

Our projects are very event-oriented, so as long as they’re completed to our specifications, it’s been a success. STRV’s work has been well received by our internal team. 

How did STRV perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been great. Our current project manager is very thorough and looks at the past, present, and future. One of the things we appreciate is that they communicate very well. They’re also very realistic, and they’ll push back on timelines if our go-live dates are too aggressive. 

STRV’s team is forthcoming and honest in the work that they provide for us. They’re there to help us and make our products as successful as possible.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team is pliable, innovative, and creative, and they deliver on-edge technology. When it comes to development, they’re willing to ride the wave with us and make constant changes. For instance, if there’s a new regulation and we need to switch gears, they’re right there with us. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

In everything, there is always room for improvement. Throughout my time working with them, I’ve seen STRV take strides to better not only elements of the platform but also our business relationship. As a young company, we’ve gone through lots of change that pushed and challenged us to hone the quality of our product. I can’t say I’ve experienced a period of time where we’ve seen any degradation in their work as a result of our fast-paced growth. STRV has been consistent every step of the way. Even anticipating certain changes and making adjustments resulting in favorable outcomes for us and our investors.

Any advice for potential customers?

Our experience is that STRV is the engine that will catapult you. Know what you want before you go to them, because they’re an open canvas and can create whatever you want. If what you want isn’t pretty, the picture they sketch won’t be either.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and co-founder of a business that helps other companies access capital and fundraise more efficiently.

What challenge were you trying to address with STRV?

The core of our business and product is building easy-to-use tools for companies to understand their financial health. We had to build a consumer-grade frontend that would be a good foundation to release these features to our users. They were instrumental in building this foundation.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped me and the CTO pick which frontend technologies we should be using, delivered the first version of the technology, and help us iterate on top of the platform. The program was built in React, specifically React Hook because it’s more functional. We also used TypeScript and single-page rendering with Next.js. GraphQL was used for our data-layered backend.

We started with an initial build-out, doing a lot of foundation-laying work for us. They’re staying on to help us spread that knowledge internally as we add more engineers to the project. An STRV designer also helped us think through our design language and strategy.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two frontend engineers and one designer.

How did you come to work with STRV?

I had worked with STRV at a previous company. I had experience with how they work and the quality of developers that they bring to the table.  

What is the status of this engagement?

The work began in March 2019 and is still ongoing.

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

Across the board, we’re seeing that our frontend design hold up as our customers use the platform. The STRV engineering team has helped deliver value to our customers. We were able to get that ready in a short amount of time.

The work has also been well-received in our internal team. Their engineers have worked well with our internal team and transferred a significant amount of knowledge for long-term success.

How did STRV perform from a project management standpoint?

We handled all project management internally. However, they were self-starters and able to manage themselves. They came up with requirements and were proactive in giving feedback in regard to the different features we were building and how long the product would take to build.

What did you find most impressive about them?

When you choose to work with STRV, you know you’re getting great developers. You won’t need to rewrite their code. They really help lay a strong foundation.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, none that I can think of.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re great. They do great work and set your products and technology on the right path.

Please describe your company and your position there.

iOOi™ brings a unique value proposition in that its Socialpedia™ platform is designed in a manner that encourages users to stay immersed on the site and in the content. I'm CEO of iOOi using my advanced strategic & organizational abilities to lead the development of iOOi ™ with STRV engineerings.

For what projects/services did your company hire STRV?

Since I visualized a user-generated-content-focused platform that effectively combines learning, search, multimedia, and shopping all contained within a single site, I have no software engineering experience and found that STRV is best fit to develop iOOi's platform from scratch to finished development.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals for this project is that iOOi™ is easily distinguishable from other websites that have:

• singular focus (ex. social networking vs online publishing)
• suboptimal layout and design
• low ability to captivate users
• high bounce rates

Also, one of our goals is to have users who can view all user generated content in an elegant way with no clicking-through to other websites, therefore keeping them on iOOi™ longer. Another goal is that our platform strengthens the searching and knowledge-sharing experience by encouraging high quality user-generated content for users to explore. In other words, as the length of time that a user remains immersed on the site increases, so, too, do the opportunities for monetization.

How did you select this vendor?

After contacting several potential vendors, we met up and received their initial pitches. We narrowed it down to 2 vendors and then we shared our visualization/concepts with them. It was very excited to select one because we foresee that they will help us to see our product become live!

With being said, we selected STRV based on their quality of their final proposal, their willingness to work with us on how to interact with the website.

Describe the project in detail.

After we selected STRV, we had a series of discovery/brainstorming meetings to discuss our visualization of iOOi platform. Within first 12 months, we received mockups and initial designs for the main page on the site.

After alpha and beta testings, we re-vamped & provided our improved design layout and flow on how we wanted the rest of the site to feel and look. The vendor came back to us with final iOOi platform - we were blown away!

What was the team composition?

Initially, we were assigned a project manager to support iOOi's visualization & platform and serve as the main point of contact throughout the project. My team and STRV's project manager and two frontend and 2 backend developers met up weekly via appear.in. After first 12 months, especially with wireframes & concepts being completed, it was down to 1 each of frontend and backend developers.

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

After first round of iOOi platform is completed, Alpha testing was launched with around 50 users. In May 2018, we saw & collected many feedbacks. After revamping all designs, the new design of iOOi looked much more visible and friendly on the site.

Last May 2019, we launched Beta testing at one of university with around 150 people. Their feedback was very positive on the usability, flow, and look of the site. However, I saw few opportunities to improve and impact much more so currently we are working on it. Hopefully we will do a final test - Gamma before hard launch will be in early 2020.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Although the project manager was replaced twice, currently project manager was much easy to communicate with and provided us frequent updates. The project manager, 1 frontend developers and we connected via appear.in at least once a week and use Slack & Trello for all communication. Overall, I'm impressed by the timeliness of the team.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was blown away by their abilities to complete my visualization and concepts. Frankly, with my no background software experience, I've learned so much more than I thought possible. I appreciated that they were patient and thoughtful while we came up to speed. They are particularly collaborative and positive experience for us. I will certainly engage with STRV again for next project such as App, Admin System, etc...

Are there any areas for improvement?

Naturally everything can always be done faster, but overtime we realized that patience and persistence are very important. In the end, quality is more important than speed and we ended up with a powerful & beautiful product. We will be next new platform what will shake the world!