VeryCreatives - SaaS Development

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Venture Builder of Mavie Next

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

While we build new ventures in the (digital) health products & services area and we are also investing in existing companies in the health sector.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire VeryCreatives - SaaS Development to accomplish?

Develop functioning MVP Webapp within hard timeline of 4 months

SOLUTION

How did you find VeryCreatives - SaaS Development?

Referral

Why did you select VeryCreatives - SaaS Development over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great record of former projects

How many teammates from VeryCreatives - SaaS Development were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Deliverable is WebApp MVP where customers see their blood glucose graph transmitted from a third app provider, track their food, chat via Intercom API, receive educational content and weekly reports of their haibts

Features:

• Food tracking (implementation of existing database, linked to search function)
• Glucose graph (API with thrid party App)
• Daily food overview 
• Chat function (Intercom API)
• Weekly reports 
• CMS for educational content (Contentful API)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Kept timeline
• Delivered features laid down in contract
• Kept budget

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

• Great project manager (Márton)
• Delivered on time
• Went the extra mile
• Very responsive
• Easy to align with
• Great communication skills
• Can-do mentality
• Solution-focused
• Proactive

What was your primary form of communication with VeryCreatives - SaaS Development?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

• T'rust and sense of safety
• They have a great quality to their work.

Are there any areas for improvement or something VeryCreatives - SaaS Development could have done differently?

• Minor things that have been discussed in retro - very open and honest meeting where we already defined actionable items how to do it differently in the future

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the COO of pinqDR

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Online dispute resolution - binding arbitral awards for business disputes in 6 to 8 weeks.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire VeryCreatives - SaaS Development to accomplish?

• Requirements definition for a bespoke online dispute resolution platform
• Brand design
• Implementation of a minimum viable product in a short timescale
• Design and build a new website

SOLUTION

How did you find VeryCreatives - SaaS Development?

Referral

Why did you select VeryCreatives - SaaS Development over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from VeryCreatives - SaaS Development were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

From inception to MVP, VeryCreatives (VC) provided a team, workflow and process to define, scope and deliver an MVP of piqnDR - an online dispute resolution tool for binding commercial arbitration in 6-8 weeks. This included a full brand analysis, design and build of a new website as well.

Following the MVP VC have continued to iterate on and improve the product. The key deliverables were a stable, secure and slick web based platform delivered to enable end to end case management of commercial disputes.

The platform needed to acommodate 4 main actors - claimants, respondents, arbitrators and administration and include key features including, document management, messaging, formal legal flows for orders and awards, anda robust notifications system. Finally it was defined that this platform must provide the basis of future development, this was not a proof of concept development.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

1. Ability to run a commercial dispute from end to end, online, with no manual interventions, other than those administrative tasks defined.
2. Secure infrastructure and encryption to be verified externally

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

The initial in-person workshop over 2 days in Budapest was extremely helpful in both the team at VC understanding the requirements but also building a working relationship with the team too. Then, moving predominantly to remote management between us in the UK and the team in HU.

Project management has been diligent and evolved with the requirements of the project. Employing a Kanban approach worked well and complimented the product owner's experience. Overall the project was delivered on time with a bit of scope creep pushing the launch out by a couple of weeks. The team was very responsive and not afraid to challenge and provide expert input. The pinqDR product, and website are better for it.

What was your primary form of communication with VeryCreatives - SaaS Development?

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

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

VC have an absolute focus on early stage startups and supporting non-technical founders in bringing their product vision to life, this really suited us. As our main product owner has technical experience it enhanced this model even more and it felt like the VC team become part of pinqDR from the start.

Are there any areas for improvement or something VeryCreatives - SaaS Development could have done differently?

Every client will say they want things done more quickly and with less bugs! But actually in this case the speed for the MVP and first pass quality were high. One thing that would really help would be for VC to provide devOps support internally. Even though the suggested agency for infrastructure management have been fine, having this as part of VC's offering would be valuable.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director and Co-Founder of Collaboration Network

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a cross sector membership network for customer service professionals and the organisations that interact with them

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire VeryCreatives to accomplish?

• A new Member engagement platform

SOLUTION

How did you find VeryCreatives?

Referral

Why did you select VeryCreatives over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me

How many teammates from VeryCreatives were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

We engaged Very Creatives based on recommendations from past colleagues to build a new platform to provide engagement for and with our Membership base. The new platform CN-X, allows Members to search and connect with each other, search and access our publications, research and video Masterclasses, and manage their engagement with our online and in-person events programme.

We are non-technical and it was important to work with a company that could understand our business requirements, challenge and question these and then build a product to deliver the services our Members required. They also provided advice on the Cloud hosting requirements and even how to build Terms and Conditions and a Privacy policy.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everything was delivered to our timescales (even if we missed some of these!). The service is now live in Beta form being used by our first tranche of real Members.

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

We had weekly stand up calls, with access to the design tools for notes and feedback and to the planning tools to check on progress and tasks outstanding. Whenever we required an update, this was achieved within 24 hours. Every aspect was delivered on time, with the operational service available before had planned.

What was your primary form of communication with VeryCreatives?

Virtual Meeting

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

The ability to quickly understand our business in enough detail to build our high level requirements into a product and to challenge us to simplify our processes.

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

None that I can think of

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Chief Product Officer for a startup company that will specialize in Mortgage Lending.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

The brief was to create a digital mortgage application platform and integrate it with our core underwriting platform and a range of industry data providers to automate key friction points in the customer journey. We wanted a firm to provide digital design and web development capabilities across multiple channels to help us meet those objective.

SOLUTION

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

While we had high level goals of creating an end-to-end digital process for mortgage origination, we were unsure on the specifics of how to achieve this. We ran a tender process with a number of development agencies and the Very Creatives team impressed us with their range of expertise, across a diverse client base, and the added value that this allowed to bring to the table in terms of design and direction. Very Creatives demonstrated they understood our brief, had experience in the financial services space and provided us with relevant reference clients to meet. The mix of expertise and experience at a reasonable price point was the deciding factor.

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

We provided high level requirements document on the scope of the customer journey and Very Creatives led a number of workshops on Figma to agree the design of the platform and break it down into a series of development deliverables. Development was performed using Ruby on Rails platform in AWS. We managed all system and user acceptance testing.

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

We had typically 1 backend and 1 frontend developer working on the project. We also had a designated PM and Designer, both part time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our platform is not live yet but has received much positive feedback from the broker networks that will be using the platform.

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

Work allocation was tracked using Asana. Any defects found or change requests were raised in an Asana backlog and the status of any work task in either the main project or the backlog was transparent to all parties. A series of agile project meetings, typically weekly, were held to manage the overall process and manage competing priorities. Individual calls were setup on an ad-hoc basis to clarify any queries with requirements or design.

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

They were a very professional organization. It was effortless to deal with all members of the project team. Resources assigned to the project changed during its duration, but the replacement resources were managed in seamlessly with no issues on quality and throughput.

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

There is nothing significant that springs to mind that would have made a significant difference to the desired outcome.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a project delivery firm specializing in medium to large-sized IT projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with VeryCreatives?

We were looking for someone to supplement our design efforts for an app we were developing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started working with VeryCreatives to be our primary UI/UX partners. They develop the wireframes and content of our platform.

We started with a consulting session where we discussed and identified the user journey, the design of the interface, and how the wireframes will be implemented.

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with a project manager and designer.

How did you come to work with VeryCreatives?

We came across VeryCreatives while researching for providers online.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested somewhere between $10,000–$49,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in March 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our cooperation is still ongoing, but we’ve successfully closed the first phase. The team has a structured delivery approach on how to tackle the project, and they consistently provide us with high-quality deliverables.

How did VeryCreatives perform from a project management standpoint?

They have a project manager that swiftly takes care of the entire project and consistently keep up with our deadlines thanks to their delivery agility.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with their proficiency in putting themselves in the end-user persona. They have the expertise in understanding our needs and implementing quality solutions to improve the overall product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They perform well from a development and design standpoint, so I don’t really have any constructive feedback.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise you to fully define your goals and expectations and be open to collaborating on the development to get the most out of the engagement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a professor at Central European University. Our main line of study in the Department of Cognitive Science is the development of young children. Our English-speaking university is accredited by the New York State, but we are located in Budapest and Vienna.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with VeryCreatives?

We needed to develop an iPad game for children that could also serve as our research tool. We had unique parameters for the application, and we enlisted the services of VeryCreatives to develop the game for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

VeryCreatives developed a game for research purposes. They made it enjoyable for children but fully customizable for us researchers. We set the parameters depending on what questions we needed to discover about the research subjects, and VeryCreatives tailored the gameplay according to those parameters. 

The game was built for iOS and involves an avatar trying to collect berries. Children could observe the actions of the avatar, change the image of the avatar, and decide to collaborate or not collaborate once they’ve joined the game. We wanted to look into how children played, how they chose their partners, and if they took into account the features and behaviors of the other avatars when deciding to collaborate. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people from their team: a project manager, an iOS programmer, and a graphic designer. We initially talked to one of the owners, but he was not involved in the development. 

How did you come to work with VeryCreatives?

We asked around for iOS developers and talked to about 3–4 different companies. We chose VeryCreatives because they were very responsive and showed enthusiasm to take on this project.

How much have you invested with them?

We paid about $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We discussed the details of the project in November 2019 and they started to work on that in December 2019. There were a couple of rounds of corrections near the end and the pandemic slowed things down, but we eventually finished the project in April 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measured the quality of VeryCreatives’ work based on whether or not the application works, and it works very well for our research. We’re able to customize it from time to time and change the parameters. It’s very flexible and has produced excellent results for our studies.

How did VeryCreatives perform from a project management standpoint?

VeryCreatives was excellent with bilingual communication. They were super fast, responsive, and managed to really understand the details of what we wanted to build.

We used Asana to manage all of our tasks and track how the team was progressing. All of our daily communications were done via Slack. We also met with them in person 2–3 times.

What did you find most impressive about them?

This is a unique project, and VeryCreatives admitted that they had never done anything like it before. However, they were still very responsive to our needs. Their flexibility was also top-notch. We shifted our focus as the project progressed, and they were able to adapt to the changes well. It was a nice experience.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It was a relatively pricey project, but partnering with VeryCreatives proved to be worth every penny in the end. They were a very flexible team. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're launching a website to bring insight, knowledge, and transparency to the interval funds space. I work as a site manager between the business side of our company and the tech side.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with VeryCreatives?

We needed a website designed and built as a news source with a CMS component. There should also be a backend database that would house the financial information relating to the funds. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

VeryCreatives worked on the UX design of the website and on the backend database feature. The website was built on Ruby on Rails. 

We gave them a high-level vision of what we were looking for in terms of the look and feel of the site. They came back about a week later with the first rounds of design, and we reiterated from there. We had a weekly recurring meeting with them that would last for about 45 minutes. They would send over iterations, and we would go back and forth via a UX collaboration tool. 

What is the team composition?

We were assigned a project manager who worked with us throughout the design. The project manager got a designer on board as well as Ferenc (Co-Founder). We also had two developers and five other team members. 

How did you come to work with VeryCreatives?

We'd heard about VeryCreatives from someone who used them 2–3 years ago. We were looking for either a technology partner or someone that could do designs — they fit the bill for both those roles. We reached out and had a Skype call, where we walked them through the high-level vision for what the website was and what our needs were. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $30,000–$35,000, including a side project we did with them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

For this project, the engagement lasted from May–October 2020. The website has already been delivered, although I owe a lot of content and data to update it and get it where it needs to be. We're still working with them, and they get the first look at every bit that we do.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site hasn’t had any impact on our success metrics yet. We’re in a very niche space, and it’s only been a month and a half of action since the site was delivered. 

In terms of anecdotal feedback, VeryCreatives was one of the few firms that made it through the gauntlet of our feedback. They didn’t need that much tweaking from our side. They were very professional, and their speed was great as well. 

From a technical standpoint, they thought through problems to the degree that they weren’t reliant upon us to give every single task. They were upfront in thinking through what the problem in the deliverable should look like before we even started breaking ground.

How did VeryCreatives perform from a project management standpoint?

VeryCreatives performed as expected and as if they were an internal member of our team. It wasn’t just the designer who was making the decision for our website. They understood the problem and were able to manifest something that aligned with what we were attempting to do. We used Asana for project management, and we typically communicated via Slack or email. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to understand the problem distinguished them from other providers. At the root of it, that was where we were really impressed. They were a great bang for our buck — the amount of thought and time that went into the deliverables was something you wouldn’t get stateside. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

The documentation for the deliverables could have been easier to edit, but that wasn’t necessarily on them. That could be on us, too. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Allow the VeryCreatives team enough slack to provide input and critically evaluate your problem. Don't be as prescriptive as you might feel you need to be with offshore teams or third-party vendors. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of JamDoughnut. We’re a small startup that’s building a new loyalty app in the UK.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with VeryCreatives?

We wanted to build a new app that’d combine how to trust businesses with rewards and then ensure the consumers are protected by being able to look after them. We wanted to create a next-generation app that combines multiple services into one.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we set up how we’d bring in data from lots of different locations. As part of that, VeryCreatives looked at how we could combine that together. Then, they built the app for iOS and Android. They brought in different deals from other sources and looked at how we could build a system for doing resolution. We haven’t done that yet, but we’re going to.

They're trying to make sure we’ve thought through everything, built up, and are answering all the key problems that we’ve identified. The solution is currently in its testing phase, it’ll be live in a month’s time.

What is the team composition?

We work with a project manager, two backend developers, two frontend developers, and a designer.

How did you come to work with VeryCreatives?

I had used them previously for a different project. I went back to them because I liked the service that they delivered.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about £200,000 (approximately $300,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in March 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re very happy and satisfied with the quality and service we’ve been given. VeryCreatives has been proactive in helping to deliver this and think through the problems. They’ve come up with great ideas and it’s been a very positive engagement. The app has 100 beta users, and they’ve provided feedback on how we can improve it. We’ve taken all their feedback to implement those improvements.

How did VeryCreatives perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication has been good. They use Asana for project management. We have weekly and ad hoc meetings to go through everything we’re working on.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their overall approach is very mature and engaging.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d give them a positive recommendation.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of Initium, a startup for marketing automation technology. We also provide consulting services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with VeryCreatives?

I needed help to create the prototype of my idea.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I came to them with just an idea. I worked very closely with them to make it a reality. They created the prototype, wireframing, as well as the creatives and execution of the platform. They gave advice on what they felt would work best, and we worked collaboratively from there.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with about 6–7 people including the owner, the CEO, the head of technology, the development team, and a project manager.

How did you come to work with VeryCreatives?

They were a referral from a friend who knows them. I did shop around as well.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $50,000-$75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2019, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They bring you back to reality very nicely, politely, and efficiently. As a startup founder, I have these ideas and aspirations but I also have limitations, budget, and time concerns. They’re able to manage that very nicely. 

Every time I come up with an idea, the project manager finds an interesting way to make it happen without asking me to immediately go up and revise the budget which I’ve always appreciated from them. 

Other agencies would have simply asked for money and change requests whereas VeryCreatives works with what I have. It shows the respect they have for their clients. I appreciate the transparency they maintain with their clients. It’s one of the reasons I really like them.

How did VeryCreatives perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is very good. I’ve worked with a lot of project managers in the past and I wish I would have had this kind of project management on my team. They’re on the ball. They use all the tech possible to keep us abreast of what’s happening. We’re never confused with what’s happening with our project with them. 

They use Asana and Slack. If you don’t know how to use them, they’ll train you.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s a perfect balance. They’re a little more expensive than other vendors, but they have a team that acts as an extension of yours. They give 110%. We also have a very nice working relationship. It’s fun chatting with them and working with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We always want things to be a bit faster but overall, I have very little to add in terms of improvements. The good thing about them is when they know they lack something, they’ll work to get it. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be fully transparent from the get-go. Let them know your budget and timing constraints. Don’t force them or put pressure on them because you won’t get the best out of them. The more transparent you are with them, the better the relationship. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner for a venture capital firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with VeryCreatives?

I hired VeryCreatives privately. We were looking to prototype an application with them. The goal was to get it ready for launch mode so we could then financially sell-off or partner with another organization to deploy it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The mobile application is raffle-oriented and included an iOS app, Android app, and administrative backend. There’s a CMS that manages inventory and integration with payment service providers. There are also push notifications, OTP, SMS, identity verification, and everything that we’d need to set up a service that charges customers money and manages the rappel process —both the ticketing and ordering sides.

What is the team composition?

We worked with an account manager, backend engineer, iOS engineer, Android engineer, designers, and QA people.

How did you come to work with VeryCreatives?

They came recommended to me through a business partner. I was looking for a partner that had experience working with a specific payment gateway, spoke English well, was reasonably priced, and located close to my time zone.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve invested about $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from July 2019–February 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

VeryCreatives did a great job, and I really enjoyed working with them. They delivered exactly what I asked for. It’s now complete, and we’re working with partners to sell the IP. They’ve been supporting the software as required. It was a great experience.

How did VeryCreatives perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was good. I was able to get pretty far into their project management and design system. It was nice to be in the workflow of the team. I had clear visibility on the assignment of tasks and how they were performing all of that; it was all well-organized and on-time. The founders of the company were super attentive. If there was ever a miscommunication, they provided client services and mitigated issues.

What did you find most impressive about them?

VeryCreatives goes from concept into a requirement set. They extracted what they needed to build and then got that into a codified document that made it easy for me to prioritize and price the time. Their team went into a really granular level of detail in terms of features and functionality. The senior architecture was exceptional. The work product ended up being very transportable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I generally like for agencies to also provide DevOps. I would’ve loved if they powered the infrastructure for the product and provided me with an SLA or dedicated person who ensures the solution runs afterward. This is more of a reflection on the size of their team than a deficiency in their offering. It’s not a negative thing; they ran a very transparent process. They custom-designed a package for me which they don’t usually do.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you have a good conceptual understanding of what you want to build, then they will build you a great product. You don’t want them to invent your business; you want to invent your business and then have them build it.