Vault Innovation

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the President and Owner of Wastemaster, an independent 3^rd party waste and recycling broker. We operate our business in a manner similar to an insurance broker or mortgage broker.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vault Innovation?

Vault helped us automate our waste hauler bidding process by developing a web application that allows us to quickly solicit bids from our vendor network and respond back to our potential customers quickly.  Prior to Vault’s web app, we handled all of this manually and now their product has significantly reduced our admin time.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I contacted Vault and met with their owner on a few occasions to go over our business model, and after a few meetings, we determined that this automated database application would make sense for internal use. However, we also determined that although this application is for internal use in the near term, we built it with the future in mind. Specifically, we want to make this application “customer-facing” at some point and Vault was able to make sure the app is able to do this.

What is the team dynamic?

I worked with two people, Jeff [CEO, Vault Innovation] at the beginning and then Andy [Project Manager, Vault Innovation] during the build-out.

How did you come to work with Vault Innovation?

They did a great job understanding my business from the beginning. Jeff, in particular, asked me a bunch of questions to get an idea of how I want to scale my business and how their product would help me accomplish this goal. It was Jeff’s desire to understand my struggles and my goals that made me choose Vault.

How much have you invested with them?

Between $10,000 and $50,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

It began in November 2016 and was completed in January 2017. We use the web app on a daily basis now.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The results have been very positive. I would guess that the time of our bidding process was cut in half as a result.

How did Vault Innovation perform from a project management standpoint?

I think they were very communicative, and we had scheduled “catch-up” meetings where the Vault project manager would provide updates and allow me to start using the app to work out any bugs. In addition, we have found a few issues since going “live,” and the Vault team quickly looked into the problems and corrected them in a very short time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Ideally, I would have liked to know exactly how much I needed to budget, but I understand that as we got started, I asked for a few changes and it was probably impossible for Vault to be able to provide an exact estimate.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder of ClassCrasher, an online children’s activities marketplace.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vault Innovation?

I needed a developer to build a website for my company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The ClassCrasher website was built to be like a marketplace where businesses that cater to children’s activities are listed in a way where parents could search through and find the best class that fits their family’s needs.

Jeff [CEO, Vault Innovation] and the team took care of everything from the ground-up. Initially, I had put together a PowerPoint of the way I wanted it to look and the way in which things interact with one another. I don’t have any technical skills to speak of, so he designed the wireframes and hired the graphic designers to do the design as well as the logo. The website was built on PHP.

The website listed all the classes in the database with a filter, so that parents could sort through by using a keyword search for activities based on age, time of day, day of the week, and proximity to their location. Once they clicked on an option, more information would be displayed about that particular class, and they then had the option to register and pay directly via our site. There was also a calendar integration where the information could be added into a user’s personal calendar upon registration.

What is the team dynamic?

I interacted with Jeff as well as the two project managers. However, there were a number of people they worked with to complete the project that I didn’t necessarily interact with.

How did you come to work with Vault Innovation?

I found Vault through an internet search. I had interviewed approximately 10 different developers, and felt that Vault, and Jeff in particular, had a really good feel for what my vision was. He has kids of his own and he understood the space. He was very honest with me and was a good advisor in general, and not just on the technical specifications of what needed to be built and how, but also on why we should build certain components and not build others.

I didn’t pick Vault because they were the cheapest, it was more that Jeff understood my vision more than other developers. He was very willing to let me know where I should spend money, and pushed back on a lot of the business decisions, which was a very healthy debate. I really appreciated that. I feel the price was a good value for what they could build, and the cost came in much lower than a lot of the other bids that we had.

How much have you invested in them?

I spent around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2015, and the project was complete in October 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I was really happy with the way the site turned out. I think our users were really happy. Vault built out a really robust partner portal that was very user-friendly, so the businesses could add their own activity in there. I had unanimously positive interactions from our partners.

Ultimately, I ended up selling the business to a different company in the United States and they have since rebranded it, but the site is still in use. I think they were very happy with the way the site worked. Their developers have taken over the maintenance of the site, but they felt that everything was well-documented and well-designed.

How did Vault Innovation perform from a project management standpoint?

I think they did a great job. Jeff was very involved at all stages. We met in person once a week, and we would exchange emails throughout the week as well. We had two other project managers that were under Jeff, and both of them were great and very responsive. They did a good job of understanding what my vision was and bringing that into the tech.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I feel as though Jeff was really invested in the business, and wanted it to succeed. He went out of his way to introduce me to other entrepreneurs, and was willing to give his advice on all that he had seen throughout the project, not necessarily just on the tech aspect. Jeff and the team were a great partner to have, and they had a lot of insight for me. This was my first business, and I was just getting started; he did a great job of being a good advisor.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I was very happy with my experience with Vault, and I don’t have any complaints. The team was really strong, the tech came out great, the budget was on point, and things were on time. All in all, it was a very positive experience

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of an on-demand lead generation software company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vault Innovation?

We were looking to build out the mobile app of our software.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Vault Innovation was with us every step of the way from planning, helping to be soft partners in the development, as well as actually doing the development work itself. The app is more of a tool and was built for iOS. I had a vision of what I wanted, and there were aspects that required someone to think through the whole process of how it would work within an application. We are always enhancing and creating new details.

What is the team dynamic?

There were around three members of their team assigned specifically to our project.

How did you come to work with Vault Innovation?

I was referred to Vault Innovation by a friend of mine who had worked with them previously. I considered a few proposals from other firms, but Vault approached it from a partner perspective. This manifested itself in so many ways as the project progressed. Jeff, the CEO, has been very flexible in working with us and the Vault team members became members of our team. Other developers I have met gave the impression that they didn’t really care about the project once it was sold, and this is definitely not the case with Vault.

How much have you invested in them?

We have invested around $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2015, and the work is still ongoing. I would like to stay with them as long as I can.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The business users of our app love it. They love the simplicity and design. Vault really executed my vision. The app works smoothly and seamlessly, and users have only had positive feedback. It does exactly what we designed it to do, which is the best compliment I could give. Vault has never been completely stumped or unable to figure out an alternative work-around.

How did Vault Innovation perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management has gotten a lot better. Initially, it was a little rough, but that project manager isn’t working for them anymore. We try to meet weekly with the CEO directly because we have built a good relationship, and we speak with the team as well. Jeff is amazing in terms of making sure the right things get done and focusing on the right problems. This has been something I really appreciate about them. There was a level of personal ownership in projects that they took on right from the beginning.

They are a U.S. based company, and there are huge advantages to that in terms of saving time and energy. When working with Vault, you are working with a company that understands the consumer level, perhaps better than foreign companies can.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive thing is that their goal isn’t to become a 500-person dev shop or just to scale for the sake of scaling and gaining more business. They are very selective of what they want to take on, and they turn down clients that don’t fit their criteria.

There is no functionality that we wanted that Vault was not able to do. Their team was able to handle everything I threw at them and more. As we went through our iterations, they are there with us along the way. They were part of the team, and it didn’t feel as though they were vendors that were looking to just make money. They gave us options that would save us money and get the same results we wanted to achieve. They are advocates of not spending money on tech before you need to. They think like entrepreneurs versus someone who is just trying to grow to be a bigger and bigger business.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I could have improved by scoping the project and driving higher expectations for the initial project managers. This could have gone out of scope, even more, had they not helped tear things back. With anyone building a business or an app for the first time, it is so important to scope it properly. Any business should really understand their consumers and test things out before building. We all want to jump into the tech build to see our vision in action, but in hindsight, there are a lot more things to be done before building out tech.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder and CEO of GamerzArena. We are a daily video game competition platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vault Innovation?

I am a non-technical founder. I'd envisioned a project, and needed developmental resources to help bring it to life.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Vault Innovation developed the product from the ground up. I came up with the idea and scope, but we worked together daily on every step as we went through what may or may not work. We used PHP, Python, as well as JavaScript2, and there’s also some Bootstrap framework, along with CSS. The primary is PHP, and it’s web-based. We are now partners.

We went through a discovery phase that lasted 5 weeks after we kicked off our project in June. We discussed what we were going to do, and how we were going to make it work, then decided to incorporate streaming aspects into the app.

Vault allows me to not worry about the technical aspects at all. I’m able to relay my ideas in simpler terms, while working with product managers who then take this information to the developers. Vault works to optimize the technical aspects so we can put together the best product.

What is the team dynamic?

There are usually six team members. They’re able to bring people in if a project calls for additional or specific resources. 

How did you come to work with Vault Innovation?

I was introduced to Vault through a friend. I went through an extensive, 5-6 month vetting process with 8 different development shops in the Chicagoland area, and Vault was one of them.

Vault shared the vision that I had for my business. They’d done something similar in the past, and had a passion for the space we were looking to work in. I needed a team who could work with me to make my vision a reality, and could also figure out the best path to success for our product.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2016, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our users love the interface and its ease of use, which is tremendous for us. Our platform is unique, and we’re doing something nobody else is doing right now, which gives our user base a sense of excitement.

There’s a streaming app that allows users to simultaneously play video games while competing on our site. The steps beyond initial use are minimal, and the setup is also simple. The core of our business centers around wanting to create the most positive and inviting experience for our users. We’ve accomplished this, and we continue to improve upon it constantly. We also continue to improve upon the physical appearance of the site due to great feedback from our users.

How did Vault Innovation perform from a project management standpoint?

They do a great job. There is a product manager specifically assigned to my company, and I also regularly communicate with Jeff [CEO, Vault Innovation]. Terry [CTO, Vault Innovation] is also available to me. We communicate through Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Vault is looking to help build businesses that will succeed rather than simply finishing a product and moving on. They are there to communicate through a business perspective as well as a technical one.

We didn’t engage as partners at first because we had a contract, but then there was excitement on both sides. We were extremely pleased with their work, so a partnership made sense to us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’ve addressed some of the concerns I had before. When I first started engaging with them, their website was not clear concerning their focus on building businesses outside of tech. Their website made them appear to be purely mobile-based, which isn’t the case. They do work with mobile development, but they are very involved with web as well. After I talked to Jeff, they updated their website to reflect their services more accurately.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

 I’m the COO of a timeshare termination company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vault Innovation?

 We needed help with simplifying and elevating our CRM to ease our workflow.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

 Vault Innovation has put together an interactive database with limited scope to share with third parties. The team has also worked on data organization and an easy pull with radius, zip code, and area code logics.

What is the team composition?

 We’ve worked with three teammates from Vault Innovation.

How did you come to work with Vault Innovation?

 We found Vault Innovation through a referral. They were highly recommended.

What is the status of this engagement?

 We started working together in May 2023, and the engagement ended in September 2023.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

 Vault Innovation provided excellent support anytime I thought of something that would make life easier.

How did Vault Innovation perform from a project management standpoint?

 We primarily communicated via email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

 Vault Innovation’s knowledge and customer service were impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

 I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of Grupiks

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

My company has multiple apps in the market. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Vault Innovation to accomplish?

• Take over existing codebase and get the mobile app launched

SOLUTION

How did you find Vault Innovation?

Referral

Why did you select Vault Innovation over others?

• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Vault Innovation were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Developed an AI photo generator app with multiple themes to have as your background. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app was launched and the reviews from subscribers that joined was great!!

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

The team was excellent and delivered everything I needed on time and communicated with me thru the whole process. The response was excellent when I reached out with questions or concerns. 

What was your primary form of communication with Vault Innovation?

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

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

The most impressive thing was the professionalism and communication. They treated me like family. 

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

I love working with this company. Keep up the good work. Thank you very much Jeff!!!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of MAIR Technology

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We provide elite personal protection on demand

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Vault Innovation to accomplish?

• Application Development

SOLUTION

How did you find Vault Innovation?

Referral

Why did you select Vault Innovation over others?

• High ratings
• Referred to me
• Other

What was the size of Vault Innovation’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

• Design an easy-to-use engaging experience for users.
• Architect a solution to connect Clients with Security Services via a mobile application.
• Build and maintain a secure and scalable code foundation for future enhancements.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Development Plan
• Clickable Prototype
• Launch Strategy

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

Working with Vault has been an enjoyable experience. Everyone has been professional yet personable. All deliverables have been completed in a timely manner.

What was your primary form of communication with Vault Innovation?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They're a one stop shop for startups!

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO of an online gaming skills development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Vault Innovation, and what were your goals?

We wanted to develop a mobile app that allowed our users to access our skill-based development content and interact with our coaches for advice during a game session.

SOLUTION

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

We originally researched a few app development companies that could bring our ideas to life. After speaking with Vault Innovations, we were convinced and decided to hire them.

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

Our CEO had a few initial meetings with them to outline the scope of the project, key functionalities for the app, and a tentative timeline. The scope included the full design and development of the app as well as supporting user testing, revisions based on feedback, and deployment to the app stores.

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

We had a full team at our disposal including a Project Manager, Product Manager, Designer, Developer, Quality Assurance, as well as oversight from leadership.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product came out amazing! We provided very little initial direction beyond functionality and they produced a full functioning app as well as a back end management portal.

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

They were always available via email and extended the option for phone calls in emergency situations which we didn't need. Additionally, their project manager scheduled weekly teleconferences and all necessary parties were on it each week, based on the current sprint objectives.

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

I loved how organized and knowledgeable the team was. They almost always had an answer to any of our questions and even provided feedback to improve other tech we were using in our environment. 

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

Not that I can think of.