TechAffinity, Inc

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the Founder and CEO of SGDstyle. We house two brands, UrbanUndercover and TowelTopper. UrbanUndercover designs and develops better travel apparel and accessories for the modern traveling woman.

We focus on versatility, fit, functionality and style. We place emphasis on sustainability, superior craftsmanship and longevity of your clothing. We’re seasonless minimalists who believe in encouraging and creating a better
world.

TowelTopper is our other brand and these are patented towel bands that will wrap around the towel on your body or your beach chair to secure it in place. It’ll turn any towel into a spa wrap to keep you covered at home or away.

When you wrap it around the towel on your lounge chair a the beach or pool, it’ll mark your spot and secure the towel from falling down your back or flapping in the wind.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with the vendor?

We designed and developed a new website with a company that primarily focused on visual design and functionality of the site. Therefore we still needed help with the “meat” of our website; SEO, metadata, helping move us to the top of searches.

We needed help improving the quality and quantity of website traffic and targeting unpaid traffic to help drive brand/product awareness and sales.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Techaffinity started by analyzing the website and offering direction on what was the most important to tackle first, second and so on with regards to improving unpaid user traffic directed to the site. They had a big job of starting from almost scratch with us and holding our hand a bit as we we go through the learning process of
SEO and traffic generation.

What is the team composition?

I was the point of contact from our side and we worked with three team members from Techaffinity. We mostly communicated with Arul, who acted as account manager, but Hari and Senthil were working on the site and included on all phone calls and emails.

This made it really efficient as we didn’t need to search who to contact nor did we need to repeat information already given.

How did you come to work with the vendor?

We were searching for someone to work with and I posted on LinkedIn that we were searching. Someone from Techaffinity reached out to me and the conversation started that way. Many, many, many others responded, but I found that I liked their customer service most.

How much have you invested with them?

To date just under $2K.

What is the status of this engagement?

SEO and traffic generation is an ongoing project. So this isn’t something we are looking to “complete” but rather build upon in partnership with TechAffinity as we grow.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have seen an increase in traffic from people searching something we can offer and in turn have seen an increase in sales. Techaffinity really knows what they are doing and offer the numbers and statistics to back up their work.

How did the vendor perform from a project management standpoint?

Beyond Fabulous. As I mentioned, we had three points of contact, but they acted seamlessly as a team. Arul was the Team Lead and did most of the communication, but Hari and Senthil were always present and available.

I never felt like the lines of communication were dropped. Therefore, projects move along smoothly with everyone aware of what is happening and when.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I am very pleased to work with Techaffinity. I think they are very, very good at what they do. I find most impressive their willingness to work with me. We are a very small company and I believe they are used to working with much larger clients.

However, I feel that they care just as much for us and our success as they
would for a higher paying customer. They are patient in explaining things to us, as we are not experts in this area, and offering very solid advice on next steps.

They are extremely thorough and deliver what they said they would. They look at everything in depth and really want to see our performance excel.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not that I can think of. They focus on SEO, improving our site data, information and speed and help drive unpaid traffic to our site.

We work with another company for the website design and functionality, because I believe that Techaffinity’s skills in this area are with much more complex systems than what we are currently using.

However, Techaffinity communicates with this other company/team if there is something that needs to be accomplished or addressed from their perspective.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the deputy director of VeteransPlus, a nonprofit that helps connect veterans and their families to financial aid and advice. VeteransPlus is affiliated with The Yellow Ribbon Network.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TechAffinity Inc?

Seven years ago, we launched a network to help our nonprofit partners coordinate their efforts to help military and veteran families. Our network lacked funding and we weren’t satisfied with the quality. We wanted to build a robust new network with more useful tools.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed and tested the new version of our Drupal open source network. The team worked independently, but took direction from our consultants. The network launched in November 2018 and scales to phones and tablets. TechAffinity continues to monitor its status.

What is the team composition?

We are in regular contact with Jam (Founder and CEO, TechAffinity Inc) in Tampa; Kyle (Director of Operations, The Yellow Ribbon Network), is Jam’s main point of contact.

How did you come to work with TechAffinity?

We had a consultant who had worked with them; they introduced us in December 2014. We interviewed TechAffinity and selected them without conducting any further interviews. Jam’s proximity to us was another factor.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent close to $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with TechAffinity in January 2015 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The network we have built continues to grow. They've introduced us to ideas and concepts that we didn't know existed. They have educated our team members and directed us toward new nonprofit opportunities.

How did TechAffinity Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

There’s not a rating I could give that would be high enough. Kyle manages the project on our side, and Senthil (Director of Open Sources Initiatives, TechAffinity) understands what we’re trying to accomplish. Jam and Kyle are both connected to Senthil, whom we often call in India. Occasionally, we give to Jam and his team transcribes them for Senthil. As a nonprofit, we have to micromanage our funds, but the countless hours we’ve spent with Jam haven’t cost anything. Jam has met with us about 200 times over five years and has never charged us a dime for his time. He has advised and guided our team throughout the partnership.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re best at listening. The team doesn’t just build what we tell them to build, they think outside the box. That creative approach is critical to our success.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I've never seen a better firm, especially for affordability, direction, and leadership.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner of Firehouse Design Inc. We mainly offer web design.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TechAffinity Inc?

We needed to outsource some development work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

I mainly use TechAffinity Inc for PHP and MySQL development, but they’ve also done some .NET work for me. They’ve created customizations to go on top of the WordPress platform. Using Typeform, they’ve built online forms for users to fill out. The team set up procedures that regularly reach out to the API, extract the input on these forms, and post it to the database.

What is the team composition?

I interact with about three people from their team.

How did you come to work with TechAffinity Inc?

TechAffinity reached out to me first. 

How much have you invested in them?

I generally buy a bank of 50 hours that I can use at any time. A typical project with TechAffinity costs around $6,000–$9,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since January 2010.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

TechAffinity delivered on the timelines that we set according to the agreed-upon scope. I have met one of their sales managers, and I enjoy their attitude. It’s easy to let them know if something isn’t working for me, and they will make adjustments as needed. I wasn’t pleased with other overseas outsourcing options I’d used, but TechAffinity has done a good job.

How did TechAffinity Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

TechAffinity Inc hit our deadlines, which was an important achievement. Other offshores developers I’ve used would not only miss deadlines, but also fail to communicate when that occurred. I need to be careful about defining the job scope clearly, but they always deliver what they say they will.

What did you find most impressive about them?

TechAffinity Inc has the capability to work with any technology I need. If I don’t know a certain programming language, I can describe the work I want to be done, and they will make the necessary connections to set it up properly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There's nothing that stands out to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about the end goal for the project. I suggest using a fixed bid rather than a bank of hours. It seemed to take them longer to do things that I would need. TechAffinity is very consistent, so I know what to expect. I would prefer to know the exact price upfront, though. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am an owner of a medical office I needed some one to promote my website online and help with the web design

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire TechAffinity, Inc?

SEO website design

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to improve our google search results

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Word of mouth

Describe the project in detail.

We had a website but had no online presence The company helped us with website design then they we able to make us second on google search for local search for medical offices providing a specific medical service Also started google analytics log in

What was the team composition?

project manager Two other individuals

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We rank two on google search for local search for specific medical service

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very good communication weekly meetings when the project started then biweekly then monthly with meetings as requested and e mail communication

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They're outstanding professionals.

Are there any areas for improvement?

consumer psychology I got tips about website design from other sources that was not mentioned to me by them like the order of things on the website or what kind of picture to put on the website that is the best for my business so I shared that with them and they made it happened