TECLA

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of an online platform that allows users to buy and sell auto parts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TECLA?

We were looking to supplement our existing development team, which consisted of two developers in San Francisco, in developing several new platforms and applications for our customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started our engagement with TECLA by bringing on one full stack developer, and in the last 18 months, we’ve since added two more. Our first project together was an overall redesign of the frontend of our website, including the addition of a custom login portal for our professional customers. Our stack is Python running on a Bottle web framework, and all of our infrastructure is on Amazon Web Services (AWS). We use Javascript, CSS, and Bootstrap on the frontend, with Node and Handlebars for templating.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with three developers from TECLA, and they’ve been fully integrated with our team.

How did you come to work with TECLA?

We conducted an online search for development firms and individual freelancers in Latin America to avoid significant time differences. We found TECLA and reached out to them. They were very responsive and easy to communicate with, and we moved forward with them shortly after.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested $50,000-$199,999 on the engagement thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in September 2016, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve had great results with TECLA’s developers. They’ve allowed us to drastically increase the pace of our development process and try new things more efficiently. This is crucial for us as we continue to grow. They were very helpful in ensuring that the right developers joined our project, and their familiarity with our system has been a tremendous asset. They’re enthusiastic and work hard to learn quickly.

How did TECLA perform from a project management standpoint?

We use GitHub Projects as a ticketing system. We’re currently trying out several new projects and strategies, and as a result have not maintained a strict scrum system. However, we’ve been very happy with their time estimation and ability to meet deadlines. We’ve been very happy with how the engagement has progressed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re committed to solving problems. Over the course of the engagement, they’ve grown to become an integral part of our team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind. We’ve been very happy with the engagement and would highly recommend them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner at an immersive technology agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TECLA?

We needed staff augmentation for our company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They found us developers that use Unity Technologies, Oculus, HTC Vive, and ARCore, through a search and interview process.

What is the team composition?

We have two resources assigned to us.

How did you come to work with TECLA?

I’ve been working with the founder for a couple of years and have previous work experience with them.

How much have you invested in them?

We spend $5,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since February 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been very pleased with the developers that we’ve hired through them. TECLA conducted a thorough personnel search for us and they were really good in the interview process. The person we landed on has been a really good addition to the team, and we’re really pleased with that result.

How did TECLA perform from a project management standpoint?

We worked directly with the developers. TECLA’s quality, support, and help have been very high-level.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The founder is always available to talk and is very helpful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Witlee is a small company that is building an e-commerce platform for fashion bloggers.

What is your position?

I am the CTO and am in charge of all the technology and coordinate all development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Tecla Labs?

We needed help building out our front-end.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

We have in-house designers that actually come up with the designs. I've got two front-end developers within Tecla Labs that we give the designs to, and then I document how the APIs [application programming interfaces] work. They take the designs, the API specs, and then build the front end to those specs.

How did you come to work with Tecla Labs?

Gino came as a recommendation, to our CEO. We had a number of different conversations, both what their skill sets were, the specific skill sets of the developers, what resources they have available, and cost.

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

We're working with them on a monthly retainer basis. We're paying less than $10,000 a month for two developers. We're approaching having worked with them for a year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We are currently working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I don't have specific statistics, but Tecla Labs is highly responsive and good at going with the flow. If I need to change the priorities, they're more than happy to flip and to do what needs to be done.

How did Tecla Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They do a good job and meet all our expectations. We use Pivotal Tracker to have them check in all the projects they are working on.

What distinguishes Tecla Labs from other providers?

Tecla Labs has done some great work. The UI [user interface] matches the design we provided which is really important. I'm very particular as far as how I want it to look and flow and can get very specific. Tecla Labs always puts up with it, makes the changes, and delivers how I want it. Their ability to be flexible is a huge benefit to us.

Is there anything Tecla Labs could have improved or done differently?

Overall, we are happy with our relationship with Tecla Labs. That being said, if the communication between us improved a bit, the relationship would be even better.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

My company provides a feedback and posting platform for enterprises to unlock the voice of their employees, get feedback from them, and improve the organization.

What is your position?

I am the head of engineering at the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Tecla Labs?

The challenge we faced was figuring out how to scale up our development resources so that we can continue to improve our product faster than we are right now. We have a small internal development team, so we were looking to augment that.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

We now have two full-time developers and one full-time designer from Tecla Labs. We've worked with other providers who help with overflow through the years. For the development work, they do web applications.

How did you come to work with Tecla Labs?

Gino [Ferrand], who is one of the founders of Tecla, reached out to me via LinkedIn. That's how I found out about them. I evaluated a number of different providers and, for us, the determining factor was that Tecla Labs was in our time zone. I felt like they were a good value and that they had the capacity to grow with us. They've been very flexible with finding people with our specific requirements.

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

We're paying about $18,000 a month for the designer and the two developers.

What is the status of this engagement?

We still work with them. We've worked with them since November [2015].

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Internally, we're moving much faster than we were without them and have been able to implement far more features. Once we brought on our first full-time designer, it made the quality of our user interface, product, and marketing efforts increase substantially.

How did Tecla Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They're doing a great job. Anytime we've ever brought anything up, they've been super responsive.

What distinguishes Tecla Labs from other providers?

The biggest thing Tecla Labs provides is that they feel a part of the team. It doesn't feel like we are are in different locations, which is nice. They've been a good value.

Is there anything Tecla Labs could have improved or done differently?

I don't think so. They have been on time and have provided for a good relationship.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

My company is called Fabio LLC. With Tecla Labs, we developed an application to provide moving services on demand or as scheduled.

What is your position?

I am the chief executive officer and co-founder of Fabio.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Tecla Labs?

Tecla Labs developed our app.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

Tecla Labs took our basic idea and came up with a proposal. They designed everything, from wireframing to the actual program design. They then published the app, which is currently just in iOS, on the App Store.

How did you come to work with Tecla Labs?

A friend of a friend pointed us toward Tecla Labs. We sat down and had a meeting with them. From day one, they were very open to communicating with us and giving us guidance. The level of detail they went into with us set them apart from other companies. We're not well-versed in programming, but they were able to talk in nontechnical language so we could all get what we were trying to accomplish.

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

We have spent about $30,000 working with Tecla Labs. That number is a little deceptive because I believe the value they provided was easily double or triple what we actually paid for.

What is the status of this engagement?

We're at the tail end of the project, so we're still working with them. There's a little troubleshooting left to be done, but we're two or three weeks away from finishing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics, metrics or other feedback from your work with Tecla Labs?

We launched the app last week in the App Store. Since then, we have had a lot of traction. We've had about 50 people download the app so far in about four or five days, which is good and certainly more than we expected.

How did Tecla Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

The most important thing about project management is communication. Tecla Labs was dealing with multiple departments of ours. Their communication is above and beyond what is required. They send daily updates and constant emails with questions or status updates. I never had to ask myself what was going on. I'm constantly being reminded that they are performing work. They are on time, start with a good proposal, and work above and beyond to ensure that they meet or exceed all deadlines and requirements.

What distinguishes Tecla Labs from other providers?

Tecla Labs is unlike any of its competitors because they've provided more than we asked them to do and always think outside the box. They came up with solutions to problems we hadn't even thought of. Much of that is a consequence of how they communicate with each other internally. They look for solutions before they bring the problem to my attention, which helped a lot. They understand exactly where we are and want to be the best at giving us what we need to be successful.

Is there anything Tecla Labs could have improved or done differently?

I wish I could be a little bit more involved in how the back-end looks and works. I don't have any real knowledge of back-end or programming issues. I would have liked to be able to be guided a little on how that language works so I could understand how they made things happen.