SynapseIndia

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm president of a company called Knexus Research. We are an artificial intelligence, machine learning, and research and development company. Our primary customer is the U.S. Department of Defense for which we research autonomous and intelligent systems.

What challenge were you trying to address with SynapseCo?

We were doing something very different with Synapse. We do process management, and there's a specific software-as-a-service application that we were trying to build an infrastructure for. That's not our primary function so we contacted Synapse and had them handle that part of the development project. We are an R&D shop; they are a development shop. We needed development for internal use.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The software is used for internal task management. As an R&D company, we are fairly familiar with software design and development processes, but that's not what we do. I had a good concept of what I wanted in terms of the software requirements, and I had a few pages of written documentation. Basis this information, they provided their quotation, a rough number of hours, and their approach, which seemed reasonable. After verifying that, we started working on the project.

Their primary job was to develop a user experience design, follow that with the implementation given the software specifications that I've given, and develop the backend for it. I specified that I wanted it to be developed in Angular with the Mongo stack. They have a great deal of experience in some of the other third-party components that we needed in terms of messaging.

They laid out a plan, and we started to develop a proof of concept through storyboarding mockups. They took each of the requirements and conducted a detailed interview to make sure they understood how the system was going to work. They started to give me the UI design, which was very helpful for me to visualize how things would work. Every few days, they gave me pages to look at. They're fairly realistic mockups, and I critiqued them. They iterated and incorporated my design changes.

After that, implementation started. They published their code into our server, which we were able to look at and verify. They put up a staging server which I could interact with and see how things were going. That continued the iteration between UI design, HTML implementation, and backend integration until the project was recently finished. We are still in the process of fully integrating and testing.

What is the team composition?

There were three individuals involved. One was responsible for the frontend design, one was responsible for implementing the frontend, and one was responsible for Angular backend implementation. My main point of contact was the backend developer, and he relayed requests to the other two people who built the frontend. Occasionally, they interacted.

How did you come to work with SynapseCo?

I went to Upwork and posted a job listing, and they responded. The volume and quality of work they had done and the reviews they had gave me confidence that they had the technical competency to understand my requirements and do what we wanted. Rather than a one or two-person shop that I could not evaluate, they had a substantial body of experience. They seemed like a 300-person company. They had a well-defined process for gathering requirements, and they're very good at communicating. Every time they did something, they let me know. The interaction was on a daily basis and very thorough. That gave me the confidence that they're asking the right questions and that we'll get a product that's close to our specifications at the end of the day.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost turned out to be a little higher than I thought because I added a lot of requirements. We spent $14,000–$16,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started at the end of July 2017. We've given them a different project, but this particular one ended in November 2017. Right now, we're internally integrating and deploying it.

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

It produces a lot of advantages. We do task planning and tracking. Although there are other commercial products out there, we don't use them because they are not well-aligned with our R&D business process. While we follow a process, it's emergent and evolving tied to R&D. This tool that we built helps with that, keeps tasks on time, and at the same time gives our small team a lot of flexibility.

In terms of business advantage, it's like any other task manager. It helps us keep all the projects on track, keeps our costs manageable, provides much more efficiency, and improves communication between team members.

How did SynapseCo perform from a project management standpoint?

We interacted through Skype and Upwork. It was very frequent, almost on a daily basis, and I received immediate responses. At the end of the work day, they're clear in communicating what was done and what was posted. Any requirements and ambiguities were resolved through Skype. Examples were given and documents were exchanged through Upwork and our server. When I didn't feel comfortable having information in the public domain, we used our servers. They were very responsive. They clarified everything we requested. They were very thorough.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Everyone has a good work ethic and technical competency. Their graphic design was very nice. It's very good compared to some agencies I've worked with before. I think they're a very good value for the money for their skill sets. Communication in specifications was sometimes a challenge, but they were very proactive in clarifying exactly how they understood it, went back and implemented it and asked me to verify it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be nice if I didn't have to verify so many things. My specification was more along the lines of a narrative and not a software description. If someone could translate nebulous software requirements and turn them into more concrete, detailed design, it would be nice. It would save us some effort. I got some design ideas from them, but I had to ask them for it. Hiring someone with experience in requirements analysis would be helpful.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The more defined your product concept is, the more efficient they'll be. They are very quick and thorough in taking a relatively closed implementation specification and doing it. They'll certainly get you to the point of success. The amount of time it will take going from your concept to the product will depend on how good you are at specifying it. If you leave things abstract, plan for more design and verification time, which is to be expected, but I didn't have a person with that skill set in the team. If you're looking to give abstract ideas and broad concepts, make sure you factor that into your overall process. They're capable of executing it, but it takes longer.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for an insurance company in the finance sector. My role focuses on admin and backend projects.

What challenge were you trying to address with SynapseCo?

Our company needed to build an online program that would digitize clients’ compliance and disclosure documents. We’d been having them fill out on paper during in-person meetings, and wanted to ease this process for all parties involved.

What was the scope of their involvement?

SynapseCo provided extensive coding service to build a program that takes our clients’ documentation process online. In meetings, our staff can now use an iPhone, iPad, or laptop to access a website where clients can input their personal contact information, complete forms, and sign documents electronically. Clicking submit functions as a digital signature, and sends a PDF version to their email to maintain a record for the future.

The backend programming included the digital signature, designing "next," "previous," and "submit" buttons, and implementing content including field texts. They built an online quiz or program that lets a user select from multiple options, and then translates that selection into a PDF for each of our clients.

Using basic design programs including Canva and Microsoft Word, I created basic templates to show their team how I wanted the layout to look. Once they received those documents, they’d implement those changes. They're currently conducting a clean-up of the final draft, so we can start using the program exclusively with our clients.

What is the team composition?

Ashish Goenka was our project manager and main point of contact, who I spoke with via Skype calls and email. I occasionally spoke to Depak Kumar Sahoo, just to make sure everything was going well.

How did you come to work with SynapseCo?

We submitted a post on Guru.com to solicit interest from e-freelancers across the world. We’d received significant feedback and interest from other freelancers, but something about SynapseCo’s profile struck my attention. I was impressed by the revenue they'd made via this platform, and their many previous projects had good ratings. Work for other clients showcased on Guru and their own website looked well-done. Their reputation seemed promising, so we took a leap of faith and decided to hire them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $5,000-$7,000. Guru makes it difficult to track all the spending, because vendors withdraw from the money allocated in one’s paid account based. You have to trust your freelancer to log the correct number of work hours.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in October 2016, and our engagement has lasted a little over a year. Moving forward, I'm not sure if we'll keep them on retainer for ongoing web hosting, but we’ll definitely consider using for our many future projects.

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

The program seems quite functional so far. Although I don’t have specific metrics to share, I can speak to their value as a company. All the people I've dealt with have been very helpful, and they're excellent at staying in touch. They're always available to respond to our emails, despite the time difference; we're located in Toronto, and they're in India.

Over the last year, they've provided excellent influence for our project. I’d take screenshots of each webpage, compile them into a word document, and add content to show their team what I wanted to change. Several of these update documents evidence the impact of their work, and the nature of our progress over the past 6-8 months.

How did SynapseCo perform from a project management standpoint?

As my first time managing a project, I struggled to see the trajectory from a design and content perspective. They've been supportive in that regard, and consistently gave us useful suggestions to improve the program, including what things to add. I spent a lot of time testing and tracking the site, which may have made the project more expensive than we'd anticipated.

We used several threads on the Guru site to connect on a daily or weekly basis. We also communicated daily or every other day via e-mail and Skype, which is much easier. Despite being based in India, we had very few issues communicating with the group. There was a negligible language barrier, and we resolved incongruences by sending screenshots with additional context.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciated their constant availability, quick responses to emails, and regular updates on project status. If I was busy with work and missed correspondence, they'd send reminder emails and accommodate my schedule. They consistently indicated when they started work on new fixes, and would confirm receipt of my messages by the next day. It was never difficult to get in touch with any of them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes as the manager for this project, I received insufficient guidance on what direction to take. I would prefer them to provide specific outlines, rather than having to guess what best practice would be. I often gave them basic design templates to show what we were picturing, which they’d implement as-is. We wanted them to showcase our designs at a higher level, and upgrade these generic examples to fit our layout.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would suggest asking to provide specific examples of PDFs or web links from previous projects related to one’s industry, whether that’s finance, insurance, or marketing. That will give you a nice idea of the value they can bring to your project, or what types of programs they can build for you. Some of their work is shown on Guru, more specifically catered materials might be helpful.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the president of a company in which I build mobile apps for iOS and Android. My current project is an app for managing photo on a user's smartphone.

What challenge were you trying to address with Synapse?

The biggest challenge was that I had taken classes in Android programming, but it was too difficult and I wasn't going to be able to complete the project on time. Therefore I needed to hire a consultant to assist with the Android development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Starting from specifications and sketches I provided, Synapse put forward a contract proposal and I was pleased with the cost. They then created a version of the Android app almost to the tee matching what I wanted it to look like. They brought experienced team members to work on the project, which included Android programming, back-end database work, and graphic capabilities. I was very impressed with the capabilities of the team. 

What is the team dynamic?

I was in contact with one main project manager, and he put me in touch with two developers who I mainly worked with, one working on the Android programming and the other working on the backend server configuration using Amazon web services.

How did you come to work with Synapse?

I did some searching using a tool called Elance for independent Android developers and I found Synapse India. They had a history of good reviews, so I decided to hire them.

How much have you invested with them?

This year I will have invested between $10,000 and $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The relationship with Synapse began in November 2016 and the first version of the product launched on the Play Store in October 2017. I am continuing to work with them on developing the future versions.

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

The app only launched about one month ago and the feedback so far has been positive relating to the look and feel of the app.

How did Synapse perform from a project management standpoint?

I am very impressed with them. They politely and enthusiastically prod me to keep the project moving along because they are excited to work on the next phase. I get the sense that they really know how to do business. As an example, I just gave them specifications for an update on the Android development, and they turned it around and got back to me with a proposal in one day. They are also flexible with workflow, allowing me to break the development into five milestones, which is how I like to work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I found that they were able to bring a number of experienced people to the project, consisting of Android programmers, database programmers, and  SEO capabilities. They have provided me a complete team to be able to get my project to the Play Store, quickly and professionally. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Right now I am very happy with the way they manage projects and I don't have any improvements to offer.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm an independent nurse practitioner, helping to care for geriatric patients at the nursing or long-term care facilities.

What challenge were you trying to address with Synpase?

I had done a doctoral thesis developing a tool that can be used for patients with wounds in long-term care setting. I needed a software program to document clinician's assessments on wounds, so I was looking for a company to create a mobile app for me.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I provided them with a paper tool and explained what layout I was looking for. They developed an app for both iOS and Android based on the original paper tool. In addition, they provided the design work: they gave me different options to choose from and guided me in the right direction. I wanted to call the app "Sage" and  use the sage flowers in the background, so they developed the screens to reflect that.

I see a lot of the same patients from week to week, and the app allows me to input the information and then go back and make changes or print a report for a patient's chart. It saves time, and makes the clinician's work easier. 

We're working on a website now, which will be used as a marketing tool to inform people about the app and its features. 

What is the team dynamic? 

I worked with a designer, a back-end developer, a programmer, and a project manager. 

How did you come to work with them?

I used Upwork to solicit the project to several developers. Synapse had the most expertise and the background in medical documentation, so they were a good fit for me.

How much have you invested with them?

I spent around $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement? 

I started working with them in February 2016, and we still work together.  

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

I used to do a dictation service, which was very costly, but with the app there won't be any fee because I will input the information and print it at the facility.

The app (both iOS and Android) is getting ready to launch, so it hasn't been utilized in the public domain yet.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very responsive, professional, and timely. We use Skype, email, and phone to communicate. We prefer email since they're in India and I'm the United States.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're very knowledgeable about the product. I had no IT experience, and they guided me through the entire project. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear vision of what you need, and Synapse will be able to guide you and give you suggestions on how to market it.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a tech company that works with trading-type businesses in the financial sector. We develop trading and marketing platforms, B2B products, backend membership websites, landing pages, etc.

What challenge were you trying to address with SynapseCo?

We initially hired SynapseCo to develop a web-based app for one of our partner companies.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had somewhat of a prototype for the app already, but we decided to make it for a single client instead of the whole market, so SynapseCo took the functionality and concept of the initial app and built it for one user.

We've also had them build some custom functionality for our traders, custom e-mail solutions, and some backend widgets, trade boards, and plugins. These are all on a WordPress site, and I believe SynapseCo uses PHP, Ajax, Laravel, and HTML. The projects are all for different partners, and everything SynapseCo makes is mediated through us.

What is the team dynamic?

We’ve had as many as six people on our team. The composition changes sometimes, but we usually have WordPress developers, a couple of designers, a backend expert, and then some SEO experts and content writers. We tell SynapseCo what skills we need, and they put the team together.

How did you come to work with SynapseCo?

We researched several different vendors before finding SynapseCo. Our initial project was the app, but they did so well that we began to give them steady work for other projects.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent well over six figures so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together for about a year and a half.

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

They deliver their products on time and perform at the same level or better than our in-house team. Any new projects go to them first because I know they’ll do a great job. Normally, I'm very thorough and picky when it comes to working with a third-party vendor, but SynapseCo has consistently impressed me.

How did SynapseCo perform from a project management standpoint?

Most of our communication is via Skype, but we also use email, screen shares, and phone calls. We talk with them every night.

The team they provide us has changed a few times, but it’s probably been about 90% consistent so far, and whenever it does switch, we’ve never lost any quality.

What did you find most impressive about them?

For an overseas company, they’re timely and easy to work with. They deliver on their promises, and their skillsets make them an invaluable partner. I can trust that they’ll do the job well and be honest about their capacity and limitations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The time difference and language barrier have sometimes been a challenge, but that’s not necessarily their fault. We’ve managed to work through any miscommunications, though.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do your research and be clear on your expectations so that everyone is on the same page. In long distance partnerships, it’s critical that everyone understands the project or else the timeline can be severely delayed.

Please describe your organization.

Our company sells school clothing to schools in the UK.

What is your position?

I am the senior partner of the company.

What business challenge were you trying to address with SynapseIndia?

We needed help in developing our website. We didn’t have the ability to do the work ourselves, so we had to outsource the work.

Please describe the scope of your involvement with SynapesIndia.

SynapseIndia has modernized our website using the Magento platform. We have had about six developers from SynapseIndia assigned to our project, and we interact with them directly. One developer is assigned to maintaining our cloud server and other resources working on different sites for the company.

At the moment, we’re running a project that will combine three sites into one administrative panel.

How did you come to work with SynapseIndia?

I found SynapseIndia through Upwork, which was called oDesk at the time. I considered some UK-based companies in the beginning but chose SynapseIndia out of several candidates. Up to that point I had used several developers for website work, but I ultimately decided to use only SynapseIndia in order to maintain continuity. Introducing new developers at that stage would require training them from zero.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total development cost with SynapseIndia has been between $3,000 and $4,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We first got in touch with SynapseIndia two or three years ago, and the relationship is ongoing.

Could you share any statistics, metrics or other feedback from this engagement?

SynapseIndia is a good and thorough development agency.

How did SynapseIndia perform from a project management standpoint?

SynapseIndia has come to understand how we expect them to work. We have daily contact through Skype and can easily give them instructions. If SynapseIndia’s team is unclear about anything, they will let us know. We also collaborate through the Upwork platform and work on an hourly basis. Upwork is good enough for us, so we don’t use any specialized project tracking tools.

What distinguishes SynapseIndia from other providers?

SynapseIndia works well as a team. They work well with each other and their clients in order to provide the best possible solution. It’s better to work with a team that has the cumulative expertise and knowledge in order to get the best result. Previously I worked with a different company for server maintenance, but getting two companies to talk can be difficult, so we decided to move that task to SynapseIndia, so they could manage the whole lot.

Is there anything SynapseIndia could have improved or done differently?

SynapseIndia should make sure that their resources have a good grasp of the English language, given that they’re dealing with English-speaking clients. We have been able to get through to them, but it’s sometimes better to talk to a vendor in our own language.

RATINGS

Please describe your organization.

We are a startup developing a data-feed marketplace.

What is your position?

I am the founder of the company. Because we are so small, I basically manage everything from the product, to the business development, and the operations.

What business challenge were you trying to address with SynapseIndia?

We wanted to save money by outsourcing development. The idea was to find a reliable partner that could support our development tasks and also scale their involvement when the time came.

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

SynapseIndia developed various modules for our company and also helped us with project management. We also have an e-commerce presence for which SynapseIndia has built backend software like inventory management integrations with distributors and marketplaces. We mainly use open-source software like Magento. SynapseIndia has developed our solutions using MySQL, PHP, and more recently, Java.

At its peak, our team consisted of 4 developers from SynapseIndia. We interacted with them directly.

How did you come to work with SynapseIndia?

SynapseIndia was one of the biggest companies on Elance at the time. The cost was a major consideration when making our choice. We considered around 10 other candidates, and initially started working with two of them. We ultimately switched to SynapseIndia exclusively.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total development cost so far has been above $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have an ongoing engagement with SynapseIndia. I plan on using them for many years.

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

SynapseIndia did a very good job of developing our marketplace integration software. They delivered the work in a reasonable amount of time and always checked if everything was working properly. We run many scrum jobs, and any problems are addressed without delay. SynapseIndia's team will usually have overtime until everything is working properly. Their commitment level is always 100%. SynapseIndia's team is also very polite, respectful, and professional.

How did SynapseIndia perform from a project management standpoint?

In terms of scheduling, we've only had minor issues. We don't use any specialized project management tools because our management does not require this. Documentation and feedback are provided by myself directly. I give SynapseIndia small tasks, instead of overall projects. They report to me twice a day by either email, Skype, or phone.

What distinguishes SynapseIndia from other providers?

SynapseIndia is a serious company, compared to some of their competition. I worked with other developers who always found reasons for delays, sometimes lying. SynapseIndia focuses on my project and gives me access to the resources I hire.

Is there anything SynapseIndia could have improved or done differently?

Whenever we have issues or delays, SynapseIndia simply gives me discounts. At times, I was not charged for a week's worth of work when their developers needed more time to do research. SynapseIndia has always accommodated me and made sure that I was happy.

Please describe your organization.

We are an e-learning specialist company for repair stations. Our company is a subset of the Earle Aviation administration, issuing licenses for mechanics.

What is your position?

I am the founder of the company.

What business challenge were you trying to address with SynapseIndia?

I was looking for programming talent which we lacked in-house. The ability to have access to resources on-demand was important. There weren't enough programming requirements in our company as to justify a fulltime team.

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

SynapseIndia has worked with us as an external resource. They represent our sole programming capabilities. SynapseIndia has worked on PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript applications. We also worked on one project using Apache Flex, and have used them for small CSS and HTML modifications to our website, in order to make it responsive. Our focus has been on PHP, in which SynapseIndia is very good.

There have been 2-3 developers assigned to our work, but we've primarily worked with only one person for the last 8 years. Specialized projects, like the Flex one, have required different persons. We also brought in CSS and HTML designers for our website work. We haven't used any quality assurance resources.

How did you come to work with SynapseIndia?

I went through a bidding process and reviewed two candidates, SynapseIndia being one of them. They proved to be much better from a working relationship standpoint. I didn't consider local companies due to cost. Given the ad hoc nature of our work, local availability was not very important.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The average annual cost is around $8,000-12,000. The total cost has been around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working together for 8 years.

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Expertise has been shown repeatedly by SynapseIndia. They've been helpful with design and coding, as well as with changes to our website. SynapseIndia is very responsive in this sense.

Defects are problems that are never addressed or are outside of the scope of what can be done, which has never happened with SynapseIndia. If we run into a problem, they will fix it, so it's never been an issue.

How did SynapseIndia perform from a project management standpoint?

They've been better than myself in terms of responding to progress checks. Communication has always been done verbally and with occasional screenshots for what needs to be changed in terms of visual design. SynapseIndia has allowed us to work in this way, without any issues. Because I constantly deal with the same person, I haven't had a need to use specialized project management tools.

What distinguishes SynapseIndia from other providers?

Since I've worked exclusively with SynapseIndia for a long time, I don't have many points of comparison with other competitors. I've found that their level of communication has been extremely good and has allowed me to rely on SynapseIndia for programming. We've underwent a series of small code changes which have progressed over almost 10 years. The application has changed in ways which couldn't be predicted in the beginning, but SynapseIndia rolled along with this. They've shown flexibility and adaptability.

Is there anything SynapseIndia could have improved or done differently?

I'm very happy with the relationship. We've settled into a very smooth communication routine, so there are no problems in that regard. In terms of programming skills, I definitely have no issues with SynapseIndia. Whenever I needed additional expertise on top of the PHP work, the company itself has stepped up with programmers who could provide the service. Upsurge capability is a good advantage.

Please describe your organization.

We are a video based platform, a community for sharing videos.

What is your position?

I'm the founder of the startup.

What business challenge were you trying to address with SynapseIndia?

I'm a designer myself and I needed engineering help for making the site. I was basically looking for someone to take my visual designs and implement them. It needed to be cost effective and the level of service had to be very high as well as reliable.

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

The website was built from scratch. Technology-wise, it was pretty basic. It's Linux-based, developed using PHP and I chose my own hosting. In terms of architecture, they pretty much came up with all the ideas. They worked on a lot of the application program interface [API].

I had one developer assigned for my project. Aside from him, there was an overall project manager, one designer for HTML structuring, and one engineer.

I chose Amazon Web Services [AWS] for hosting, and that required high technical skill for installation. AWS has a lot of different elements and components, which were beyond my knowledge. They have a small team specialized on that.

How did you come to work with SynapseIndia?

I conducted interviews with at least three other companies, and in the end, I chose them. My choice was based on a combination of accessibility, cost and previous experience.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

We've spent over $30,000 overall.

What is the status of this engagement?

It's an ongoing relationship.

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

In terms of outside feedback, I don't have a whole lot. My own feedback is that they're average to good, engineering-wise.

How did SynapseIndia perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a great job in terms of cost effectiveness and delivery. You will always have technical difficulties. Because we are in a very resource-controlled environment at this point, we do our best with what we have. I do all illustrations myself, and the engineers make up 60-70% of the project. Communication with them is generally very good.

Is there anything SynapseIndia could have improved or done differently?

Not that I don't think highly of them, but they don't really work on a project. They maintain the relationship at asking if everything is okay.

When it comes to design, they're not really what you're looking for. They do not have the right resources for creative work. If you're looking for good, organized, engineering work, they should be able to support your need. I ended up firing the designer assigned to us because the work was very lousy and unorganized. I didn't think they knew what they were doing. In the first six months, I was not able to go to the backend and look at the code. I could look to the CSS, but had no access for making corrections myself. I would give them a design and it would come out totally different. The current designer is more organized and generally better. I wish I'd had him from the start.

The problem is that it's very difficult to go back and fix things. It's very time-consuming. This is my one bad experience with them. Again, in terms of engineering, they're very good and efficient.

My recommendation for future clients is to treat Synapse as a production shop for more technical work, and to steer away from using them as a creative or strategic partner. If you're just looking for something very ordinary, it would be okay.

Our business concept has been done before, but it's still different from anything out there. This became a challenge. I'm the designer myself, and I have very high standards in terms of what I'm looking for. Something being two pixels off from what I wanted is a problem. If you have very high standards, you should have an in-house designer to work with them.

Please describe your organization.

We are an online aggregator of food products – an online farmers' market. We have created a back-end that allows 750 vendors to put their items up in one convenient place. We then help them sell their items.

What is your position?

I am one of the founders.

What business challenge were you trying to address with SynapseIndia?

We needed Synapse to help develop the functional back-end for us. We use mostly off-the-shelf components that we've heavily modified to allow us to have a vendor portal. We were having difficulty manipulating that package in a way that we wanted.

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

We used Magento primarily. We've also found a few different bolt ons, so to speak, for vendor logging in and the portal part. Then, it was rebuilt from the ground up for our purposes.

There are too many modules to mention that were used in our platform. One of the bigger things we had them do is to create custom shipping modules. Also, a custom login portion that allows us to manage not only products, but vendors and customers at the same time. They've done some extensive work on the shipping module. I don't think anyone else had what we were looking to do.

They've created and remodified geolocation modules for us. They've reworked some of the standard Stamps.com, FedEx, and UPS modules in order to work within our paradigm. They did work on our online credit card processing, and created a revenue calculator in the back-end for our vendors. They've also done some extensive SEO [search engine optimization] and Google work for us. They weren't the first developers we've used, but they've been with us for 18 months so far.

Individual developers come and go, based on our individual projects. We run one or two projects at a time and, based on the need, I will pick out what the next thing to work on will be. We've only done a soft launch so far. Most of our activity so far has been building up our vendor base. We need products to sell. While we've done that, we've been live testing. We've done some marketing, but we soon realized that we needed to work more on the kinks in the back-end and in getting vendors.

Right now, we're implementing a different type of Apache Server, which is faster and more tailored toward Magento. Within that project, we've had multiple people work with us. Generally, we have one project person and, depending on our needs, we'll hire through them. At this launch, there were probably six developers we worked with. They've been a one-stop shop for us.

We work directly with the developers or directly through their project manager, depending on the technical knowledge level at our end.

How did you come to work with SynapseIndia?

We'd gone through a couple of different firms in New Jersey and New York City. We didn't really like them. I'm a developer by trade and reached out to some friends that had done offshore projects. SynapseIndia came up. They weren't the first we used. We tried two other companies and gave them each a small sliver of work. Of the three, we liked SynapseIndia the most in terms of interaction, how they worked, and cost structure.

What is the status of this engagement?

Primarily, we work with them project by project. We've used Elance and eWork. I've talked to my project manager about their involvement, and recently they've been giving us feedback regarding what they could do for us. I will weigh that against what the other founders think and pull the trigger if we think it's right.

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Since they operate as an extension of our team, we don't really have any specific metrics tied exclusively to them. Our own staff has been very impressed with their reliability and the consistency of their work. We rarely have issues with bugs discovered after launch.

How did SynapseIndia perform from a project management standpoint?

They've mostly delivered on budget. The few exceptions have not been their fault. The scope of the original project was not done correctly.

They've been really good at setting up times that are convenient for both of us, so we could have real-world communication. We talk through Skype every morning.

Is there anything SynapseIndia could have improved or done differently?

As great as their communication is, there occasionally will be an issue because they are in India. They should get some more native English speakers even though they generally speak the language. The project manager's English is fantastic. When it comes to speaking with some of the programmers, though, things will get lost in translation. That's not really their fault because they don't typically send clients that far down the rabbit hole.