Synterra Software

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Yea, a communication agency specializing in graphic design, website creation, and community management. We help our clients develop their visual identity and digital strategy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Synterra Software?

We needed help turning our concept for Le Petit Musée du Vin into a complete interactive digital experience. The main objective was to build 14 self-guided educational modules in seven languages, combining strong design, gamification, and intuitive UX. We also needed the application to work reliably offline, be ready for a fixed museum opening date, and allow our team to update content independently without relying on developers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Synterra Software handled the project from UX/UI design through development and deployment. They built the complete React and Electron application, including 14 interactive educational modules in seven languages, quizzes, animations, interactive visualizations, and mini-games. They also created an edit mode so our team could manage content independently, implemented offline-first functionality for the museum kiosks, and integrated Mixpanel analytics to measure visitor engagement. They also helped us solve some complex UX and educational challenges throughout the project.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 2–5 teammates from Synterra Software.

How did you come to work with Synterra Software?

We found them on Upwork. We chose them because they had high ratings, a great culture fit, good value for the cost, and a good understanding of the project.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2025–January 2026.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The museum opened on schedule with a fully operational and reliable system. In the first 30 days, we recorded 1,919 visitor sessions, with a 97% quiz completion rate and strong engagement across the interactive modules. The application has also operated with zero downtime thanks to its offline-first architecture. Beyond the technical results, the museum achieved a 4.9/5 Google rating, with visitors frequently highlighting the interactive and multilingual experience. Our team can also update the content independently, which was one of our key objectives from the start.During the first 30 days, the average dwell time was around 182 seconds per module, and some of the more complex modules kept visitors engaged for 12–13 minutes. The 97% quiz completion rate was a particularly strong indicator that visitors were actively participating rather than simply browsing through the content.On the operational side, the biggest change is that the museum team can now update text, images, videos, and translations directly without waiting for a developer, which makes day-to-day improvements much faster. On the visitor side, feedback has been very positive, particularly around the interactive format, multilingual accessibility, and overall quality of the experience. Having both this feedback and the analytics also means we can continuously refine the content based on real visitor behavior.

How did Synterra Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Synterra Software’s project management was very good. Communication was clear and regular throughout the project, and they were responsive whenever we needed adjustments or had questions. Most importantly, they delivered on time despite a fixed and non-negotiable museum opening date.We communicated through virtual meetings, emails, and messaging apps.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What impressed us most was their efficiency. They understood our needs quickly, found practical solutions to complex requirements, and kept the project moving without unnecessary friction. Even when requirements evolved during development, they adapted quickly and stayed focused on delivering the right result on time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s always room for improvement in any project, but overall, this was one of the best development experiences I’ve had. The team was efficient, responsive, and solution-oriented throughout the project. I wouldn’t point to any significant issue that negatively affected the collaboration or the final result.

BACKGROUND

I am the Founder & CEO of AGsoundtrax

We run AGsoundtrax, a music licensing platform where video creators, filmmakers and brands can find and license human made music from indie composers, plus some tools we built so you can try the music on your own video before buying. AGsoundtrax is a stock music site with real composers (no AI music), people come to license tracks for there videos, ads and films and we also have browser tools like Sync Studio for testing music under the footage. we're a music licensing platform (AGsoundtrax), basicly a catalogue of human composed tracks that creators and companies license for video, with a few editing tools built around it.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

• Make the site faster and more stable, specially search and the catalog when traffic goes up
• Rebuild how composer uploads get processed so big batches dont time out or get stuck
• Fix the database and cache issues that were causing errors and downtime
• Harden the site against hackers and attacks, patch the security holes and lock down anything that shouldnt be public

SOLUTION

• Online Search
• Referral

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Company values aligned

2-5 Employees

Max and his team came in around mid August 2026 when our site was growing fast and starting to crack under a DDoS attack.

The work was mostly on the backend of our Next.js platform, the stuff users never see but feel right away when its broken.

They made the whole site way more solid. Main things they delivered are:

 - Music search: optimized our search and tag queries so finding music across thousands of tracks is fast, moved search to a proper API and made it keep working even when the database or cache has a bad moment. 

- Redis integration: brought Redis into the stack for caching the catalog and search results, so repeat searches come back almost instantly and the database doesnt get hammered. Later moved it to Frankfurt next to our database.

- Upload pipeline: rebuilt how composer uploads are processed, in the background with a queue (QStash), in parallel, and protected against stuck or failed batches. Also cut unnecesary database load during uploads and tag edits.

- Security and DDoS: helped us get through a DDoS attack, set up Vercel bot protection and firewall rules, patched Next.js vulnerabilities and locked down things that shouldnt be public in production.

- Database stability: fixed hangs and wrong results through our connection pooler, which was behind a lot of the random errors users saw.

- SEO: optimized pages so they load lighter and faster (lazy loading videos and images), which helps our Google rankings.

- Docs: cleaned up all the project documentation so the next developer (or AI agent) can pick it up easily.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

- Search pages used to fail about 1 in 5 times at peak traffic, after the fixes they basicly stopped failing

- Composer uploads process 2 tracks at once in the background, so big batches finish in about half the time and dont time out anymore 

- The site stayed up through the DDoS attack and traffic spikes

- Search results come straight from the Redis cache for repeat searches, so the database load dropped a lot

- Everything was delivered in small steps over about 6 weeks, each fix live within days

-SEO optimization,
- Database optimization

Very organized. Every change came as a seperate pull request with a clear description, so I always knew what was going live and why.

 When something went wrong they reacted fast, one time an upload change got stuck in production and Max rolled it back the same day and came back with a better version the next day.

Urgent stuff like the DDoS and security patches got handled within hours, not weeks.

 hey also documented everything so my own team and AI tools can keep working on the code without depending on them.

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What stood out most is how deep they go..
They dont just patch the symptom, they find the real cause, like tracking our random search errors all the way down to the database pooler and the cache.
They also work really well with a codebase thats built partly with AI tools, they cleaned it up and wrote the docs so the AI agents follow the same rules, which I havent seen other devs do. And they're careful with production, every change came with tests and a safe way to roll back.

Nothing big really. If I had to pick something, maybe having one more person on the project at times, just because we had so many ideas going at once. Max handled it all really well, it's more about our own pace than anything they did.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO & founder of Capsure, an Australian online platform that automates administrative tasks for those who receive government funding for their disability.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Synterra Software to accomplish for your online platform that automates administrative tasks for disability funding recipients?

I hired Synterra Software when Capsure was just an idea. I had the product idea, business requirements, and industry knowledge but no existing platform. I needed guidance, technical expertise and a way forward. 

SOLUTION

How did Synterra Software build your platform?

In our first meeting, Synterra Software put together an architecture diagram, and that’s where we started. Since then, we’ve had an amazing professional relationship for over two years. Synterra Software has delivered a React web application, a Django backend, an automated invoice collection and data extraction system, a Chrome extension for claim form auto-fill, and subscription management with Stripe.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 2–5 teammates from Synterra Software.

How did you come to work with Synterra Software?

We found them on Upwork. They had high ratings and seemed to offer services that aligned with what we needed.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2024, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen positive results in the end-to-end testing of the invoice-to-claim workflow, the accuracy of extracted invoice information, the reliability of the browser extension auto-fill, the synchronization between the extension and web platform, the successful Stripe subscription flows, and the client review and production testing. We’ve also received positive feedback from early users. Our very first user said that the platform took her weekly administrative tasks from 10 hours down to one hour.

How did Synterra Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They always deliver on time and with quality. We communicate through virtual meetings, emails, and messaging apps.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their expertise is impressive. They always have suggestions to improve upon my ideas, and they never say no. They always find a way to make it happen. They’re also lovely people; I consider them good friends now.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’re always very professional.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Founder of IslandMetrics LLC. We provide operational sustainability intelligence solutions for the hospitality industry, helping businesses monitor, manage, and improve their environmental and resource performance.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Synterra Software?

I had a static prototype and needed a senior full stack software engineer to transform it into a fully working product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Synterra Software has introduced full functionality into the AI-generated static mock-up. The team has built a React-based web application, a NestJS backend, Stripe integration, authentication systems, deployment infrastructure, and operational reporting workflows. Synterra Software has understood the system architecture early, taken ownership of implementation, and consistently handled refinements, fixes, and logic adjustments.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 2–5 teammates from Synterra Software.

How did you come to work with Synterra Software?

We found them on Upwork. We chose them because they had high ratings, their pricing fit our budget, and their company values aligned with ours.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2026, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re currently onboarding our first set of hotel properties. This wouldn’t be possible without the disciplined help, dedication, and skill of Synterra Software to develop a fully cohesive and commercially viable product. We’ve been extremely pleased with the quality of work delivered.

How did Synterra Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Synterra Software has delivered work on time. We communicate via virtual meetings, emails, and messaging apps.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What we appreciate most about Synterra Software is their lack of unnecessary back-and-forth. They have strong execution, sound judgment, and steady progress. Their communication is clear, delivery is reliable, and technical challenges are solved quickly and professionally. They’ve been highly reliable throughout the engagement.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing they need to improve.