Unico Connect

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Chief Product Officer of a financial services company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a B2C payments processor that helps business pay out their customers in a secure, reliable way.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Unico Connect to accomplish?

• Move our product from an MVP to on a no-code platform to a more robust version.
• Serve as our Engineering Development arm of our business.

SOLUTION

How did you find Unico Connect?

Referral

Why did you select Unico Connect over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Technical Expertise

How many teammates from Unico Connect were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Replatformed from Bubble MVP to more robust version of our product on Xano + React Frontends. Integrated with several payment providers, including Paypal, a Prepaid Card Provider, a Bank and an ACH Provider. Created both client admin and customer facing apps in React.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We launched our new version of software that customers are using. The software is generating value for our business.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They supplied a Tech Lead to both contribute and manage work on the team. Our fist Tech Lead was not a good fit and was ineffective. Unico replaced that person with a better one, and after that, things progressed more smoothly.

What was your primary form of communication with Unico Connect?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their knowledge of Xano and ability to partner with clients from the other side of the world are impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Unico Connect could have done differently?

Ensure there are solid processes around defining and agreeing on technical solutions with your clients. If you aren't sure how to do it, do a POC to prove out things will work prior to diving in on solutions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product marketing manager for a captive insurance company. We provide risk management solutions for small, blue-collar businesses in the heavy equipment and transportation spaces.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Unico Connect?

We were building a financial dashboard for our members to review their claims and insurance performance.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Unico Connect provided custom software development and UI/UX services. They designed and developed the financial dashboard and a community platform so our members could share information. They were involved since the beginning, so they helped us create everything from scratch.

We started with a brainstorming phase. We initially gave them our brand guidelines, a bit of our company history, and a description of where we wanted to go. Unico Connect had to learn about our business; they spent about a month and a half learning how we operated. After they got up to speed, we began a design process to create the UI/UX for the members joining our platform. Then, they created some of the wireframes and landing pages.

The platform had a claims dashboard and allowed us to onboard new members and get them to understand how our insurance community worked. Unico Connect used Figma for the design and wireframes, Xeno for backend development, and built the program with React Native to make it flexible. 

Additionally, they helped us set up hosting for the solution.

What is the team composition?

We worked with about 5–6 teammates, including a project manager, a UX designer, and a QA tester.

How did you come to work with Unico Connect?

Another development partner introduced them. We talked to Unico Connect at length about the project’s uncertainties, but they specialized in what we wanted to make. Also, we had a good relationship with their leadership, so it felt like they were down-to-earth and had the same high-achieving mentality as us.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from August 2022–February 2023. We’ll take a brief pause and restart in a few weeks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re still in development, but Unico Connect has created a simple and modern solution. They worked with an uncertain project scope and were patient during the process. Moreover, they worked with our internal team and third-party companies and did an excellent job of synthesizing complex information to turn around the product quickly.

We received positive feedback about the system’s simplicity and clean UX design. We had the typical bugs in the software, but nothing substantial enough to mention. Overall, Unico Connect exceeded our expectations; we appreciated our partnership.

How did Unico Connect perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management went exceptionally well. They pushed us to achieve the results, which we appreciated because we had other priorities. Having their leadership helped a lot in that area.

We used Jira for project management and Slack for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their flexibility and patience were outstanding. They allowed us to work through our business challenges.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It was out of their control but they had some turnover on the team. However, they handled it well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be patient with the process; Unico Connect can help you work through many challenges. However, it’ll only be as good as what you bring to them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder of a travel agency. We curate travel experiences along with offering a comprehensive range of services replete with hotel bookings, sightseeing, land assistance and visa applications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Unico Connect, and what were your goals?

Unico Connect helped us re-design our website adding a lot of character and charm to the overall look and feel.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We had received good feedback from a few friends about the company & the founder, which is why Unico was our only choice.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

The main aim of involving Unico was to:

1. Update the website for both look and feel and to improve the quality of the back-end infrastructure
2. To position the website as an interactive marketing tool for The Postcard Life
3. To seamlessly integrate the website with the firm's social media strategy

I trusted the team to do a great job, which they absolutely did! Given my lack of technical know-how, the Unico team was completely empowered to use the right tools and technology to deliver the product.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Our main point of contact was Dipen himself which made everything seamless. We also had another designer & a developer working towards designing the website.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Launching the website helped our clients understand our work & what we offer better. We connected our Instagram page to the website which gave a broader idea about our services & real-time experiences to prospective clients belonging to an older age group. The website also served as a B2B marketing tool.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We were always kept in the loop with the progress of the website. Detailed communication and transparency through the entire process was very helpful.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

It was very easy to reach out to Dipen himself and have everything go about seamlessly.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

A couple of times it was a little difficult for the designer to understand our vision, however that was also resolved soon with some in-person meetings and detailed drawings of what we exactly were looking out for.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am founder of a Behavior Design firm based in AI/ML competencies. We offer a SaaS product to large enterprises

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Unico Connect, and what were your goals?

We had to upgrade our core offering to PHP7. Additionally we were building new product capabilities and a HX based UI

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We knew the founders of Unicoconnect . A boutique high quality firm with a strong track record.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We laid out the objectives of the project and started with a Business Requirement Document. Thereafter the team developed a Product Requirement Document and set it to a project schedule. Parallelly we developed animation nudges with a creative agency. These had to be brought into the new version seamlessly. The team engaged extensively with the agency to deliver

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We had a team of 5 people including a project manager and two full stack developers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The HX based UI was very well received and engagement on the product went up by 30%

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We had weekly reviews to track progress and coordinate across various stake holders. We used Jira and also project management tools

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their in-depth knowledge on PHP was most reassuring. They were versatile and could easily translate the business requirements.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

During launch we discovered some minor bugs ( not withstanding extensive testing). It was most reassuring to see the team work round the clock and resolve all such issues rapidly

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a company creating a software suite of products for health professionals focused mainly on health coaches and their clients. Our platform also has a client-facing side for people to connect with health coaches.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Unico Connect?

We hired them for custom software development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, Unico Connect did the backend development work. After they delivered that product, we engaged them to do the frontend development. They used Xano for the backend and are now using React for the frontend. The team is also using an existing library that we purchased. 

What is the team composition?

The CEO is our project manager. We worked with two backend engineers for the first 3–4 months, and then we started working with one frontend engineer. Later, we asked Unico Connect to add another frontend developer, and then we replaced that second person because they’ve moved on to another project. In total, we’ve worked with 4–5 different teammates from Unico Connect. We also have a backend developer on our end who aids in communication and QA. 

How did you come to work with Unico Connect?

I know Xano’s founding team and asked them for a provider who knew their systems. They recommended Unico Connect. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $25,000–$40,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Unico Connect has created a well-designed architecture for our service. We’ve had very minimal bugs and a large number of feature implementations. Additionally, we’ve had lowered costs due to the team’s feature development speed.

How did Unico Connect perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve performed well on all project management fronts. They have good uptake and communication and hit the expected deadlines. They’re also communicative when we have to change the deadline. The delays have been expected due to an increase in the scope of work. 

They use ClickUp and GitHub to update us on their work. As for communication, we use Slack and Zoom. Depending on what we’re doing, we use Google Sheets to manage the implementations of certain APIs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m impressed with Unico Connect’s speed, which is also a function of budget because the faster they can implement things, the lower the cost for us. As a result, a project that should have cost over $150,000 will cost less than $50,000. This allows me to plan better and will enable me to deliver a finished product with all the features our customers need. Therefore, it’ll be easier for us to get more customers since we won’t be struggling to add more features. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they need to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice would be to start with a good initial plan; take the time to plan everything out. Be very diligent about describing what you’re trying to accomplish in full detail. When we were doing an implementation, we missed a couple of things that we didn’t articulate fully, so we had to go back. Unico Connect didn’t take too much extra time because they know what we’re building. However, if you take the time to plan upfront, you get the benefit of avoiding those issues.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of an app for dogs called Barko Friends. People can track their pet’s medical details, including vaccinations and worm and flea treatments. I’m the only person in the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Unico Connect?

I was trying to develop the app using one DIY platform called Bravo. I realized I couldn’t finish it and needed someone to help me.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, Unico Connect saw what I’d done and built it from scratch again. I’d done all the UX/UI design, which was all in Figma. They were able to see exactly what I was trying to do, so there was less for them to do in that sense. Since I hadn’t done this before, they guided me through every step of the way and helped me make the process work.

The app is for iOS and Android. I think they’ve used Flutter for development. Unico Connect has taken the designs from Figma, and I could change anything from there. They’d translate the design and take the feedback to carry on.

What is the team composition?

I’ve met the co-partner, and there is a project manager and other people on the team.

How did you come to work with Unico Connect?

They were recommended to me. I used Bravo initially, and the people there suggested Xano as a backend database. Then, someone from Xano recommended that I get in touch with Unico Connect. I inquired and engaged with them to do the work. Without that recommendation, the app wouldn’t have happened.

How much have you invested in them?

In total, it’s less than $10,000. I was on a budget, and they managed to make that stretch.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together at the end of November 2021, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We just launched the app yesterday, and they did a great job — it’s pretty much what I envisioned. We had a thorough testing phase, and they dealt with any bug or feedback I sent. There weren’t any quibbles, and if I wanted to add things as we went along, they were happy to do it. Sometimes that meant that the quote would change, but Unico Connect was happy to be flexible, and they were realistic about what they could do for this first version.

Overall, I needed their guidance and help, and they were always there for me.

How did Unico Connect perform from a project management standpoint?

Rather than leading them, I told them I was part of the team. Since they know more than I do, I told them to ask me for anything they needed. When they deliver a quote, they stick to it. However, if I want something that isn’t in the schedule, they add to it. In general, the team does everything they promise within the timescales, and delays are usually my fault.

We generally keep in contact by email. After the first couple of weeks, we had weekly Zoom meetings. Sometimes we meet more than once a week, but it always feels like we’re working together. I’ve also used Figma to add comments on the design.

What did you find most impressive about them?

To be honest, their strong point is that they deliver on what they promise when so many companies don’t. Everyone has the gift of promotion, but the gift of delivery is something completely different. Therefore, Unico Connect’s strong point is that they’re able to deliver what we asked for. They’ve been absolutely brilliant, and I can’t speak highly enough about them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

This is my first experience working with a team in a different country where English might not be their first language, yet all their communication and tracking have been brilliant. Whenever there are bumps in the road, it’s probably my fault for not explaining something properly. If I’d criticized anything they’ve done, I’d be incredibly picky. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just do it. Planning something is a big commitment, so entrusting that kind of investment was important to me as someone starting without a massive amount of funds. Therefore, I honestly think I couldn’t have found anyone better. If you’re worrying about whether it’s the right thing to do, do it. Unico Connect is absolutely brilliant, and I don’t hesitate to recommend them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the app product manager for Highlands Community Charter School, an English learning institution for students in California. We have a diverse student population that’s primarily made up of refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Unico Connect?

We were looking to unify a more seamless and supportive educational experience for our students, so we decided to create a mobile app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Unico is primarily developing a mobile and web app that involves a lot of third-party software integrations.

Some of the features they’ve implemented are a student information system, robust chat functionality, video chat, and a task management system. The team is also including a news and events section that can be filtered by subscriptions, and single-click access to the school’s support staff.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with Dipen (Co-Founder), Armash (Senior Software Engineer), Malay (Partner), Jayant (Software Engineer), and Shadab (Software Engineer).

How did you come to work with Unico Connect?

Unico Connect was highly recommended by another development vendor.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve invested about $36,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in October 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t released the product yet, so we don’t have any behavioral metrics to share, but they’ve done a fabulous job of making sure the timelines we agreed upon are consistently met.

How did Unico Connect perform from a project management standpoint?

The team is managed incredibly well. Their organizational structure makes it clear who I need to talk to for any given issue.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We're very impressed with their responsiveness and communication skills.

Are there any areas they could improve?

So far, there’s nothing I can think of.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s valuable to have an open mind and listen to their recommendations because they have a very experienced point of view of what works and what doesn’t.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I founded Heirloom Tales LLP, India's First-of-its-kind family app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Unico Connect, and what were your goals?

We wanted to develop a user-friendly, easy-to-use mobile application on both IOS and Android platforms. We wanted to develop it in one language reducing the development time.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We searched for various vendors on clutch, shortlisted a few including UniCo Connect. The criteria were experience, the timeline for completion, and costing. Since our company was new we wanted our vendors to guide us through the process and suggest the best options at each step which would save time, cost as well and be effective.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

After exchanging the basic paperwork, we provide the team with wireframe and design. The Unico team reviewed the details and arrange for a team call to discuss execution and suggested a few changes in the design and wireframe which were very valuable to us. They came back with the first module within 2 weeks as per the committed timeline. At each step, their team was very adaptive to changes and was also forthcoming with suggestions, which was a value addition for us.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

A project Manager was assigned who was a single point of contact apart from the founder himself who was available whenever needed. Apart from them, the team consisted of 3 members into development and backend.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Within 3 months we have seen more than 3k downloads on android and IOS. We have received good ratings on both the store

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

The Project Manager was easy to interact with, he understood our requirements and suggested the best way ahead. The timeline was perfectly adhered to. Due to the pandemic, all our meetings were online and despite not meeting in person they have delivered a wonderful fully functional product, just the way we wanted it.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

This was our company's first venture ever into IT field and we had no technical know-how of how to go about, terms like coding language, API, server, backend etc sounded too complex to us initially but Unico team held our hand and lead the way very comfortable explaining us taking us into confidence at each step. The team coordination is very good there is no communication gap internally within their team or us. Our weekly call and progress update trials were all as per schedule. Overall we had a very good experience with team Unico. We would surely work with them in the future as well. We have found ourselves very good, dependable experienced developers. It was a pleasure working with Unico Connect

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

No, all seems to be fine

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of operations for a finance corporation located in Mumbai, India. We’re an investment firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Unico Connect?

We’d used them to integrate some reporting on our website so it’d be a one-stop-shop for clients. We wanted to give users access to all their data on their accounts with us, including reports and statements.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The initial scope was data migration. Unico Connect had to pick up data from another server and ensure that the latest data was reflected on our website for all of our clients.

We connected them with our banking teams. We didn’t have anything in-house; everything was outsourced. I was the mediator between Unico Connect and the banking team.

This was our second project with them. Our initial project with them was for data migration for an older website; they helped us with web development. This project was merely integrating the data from the banking system to our company websites for our clients.

What is the team composition?

The initial calls were with Dipen (Co-Founder), and then we were introduced to the rest of the team. Right now, we’re in contact with 2–3 people.

How did you come to work with Unico Connect?

I believe it was a referral. They were based in Mumbai as well, and if I’m not mistaken, our portfolio management services had used them before to develop their own website.

We liked what they brought to the table and were quite happy with the work they’d done in the past.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent less than $3,000 on this particular project.

What is the status of this engagement?

This project began in November 2020, and it was a short timeline of about two weeks. However, we still coordinate with them for maintenance. If we have other side projects or anything related to the website, we reach out to them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

For us, it was more convenient. Once it went live, we didn’t have to go back to them for any issues. They did an excellent job.

How did Unico Connect perform from a project management standpoint?

I had to loop in the founder to make sure that we reached the deadline. We communicated over the phone and by email, and we didn’t use any project management tools.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their knowledge was outstanding; they were always in a problem-solving mode. The team could find a solution to any issue, and they were very candid about what could and couldn’t be done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They need to focus on being more customer-centric. It’d be good if they checked in with the client every now and then.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s good to have a significantly large project. Also, make sure that most of your conversations involve Dipen.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My company is into Bespoke Design & Built solutions in Architecture, Interiors & Landscape Industry. I was the Lead Designer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Unico Connect, and what were your goals?

Having the company with over 400 employees & different departments namely, Business Development, Design Development, Project Management etc, it was important for the management to have a one stop solution to manage the workflow.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

It was through the reference of one of our clients & the good & reliable word of mouth reviews for Unico Connect.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Our key purpose for the software was to tap in potential leads through social media, business development executives and run a system with reminders to cater to a larger span of market reducing human errors. For Project Managers, its was a timely automated generation of workflow diagrams to keep the client & appointed designer in coordination.

The software also took care of procurement, administration & Managerial aspect of the company. The technologies used were Laravel, PHP and Node.js

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with 4 web developers and 1 project manager. The team was of senior level experience.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The software helped in smooth running of the organization & also getting all the data into digital medium for future records & analysis

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Excellent project management skills & client handling. we communicated through zoom calls & emails.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Teamwork & a good project plan & execution.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nothing I can think of. The team was professional.