Voler Systems

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the former director of program management for Rokid Corporation Ltd, a startup company focused on smart speakers and AR glasses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Voler Systems?

We hired Voler Systems to provide us with consulting services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their consulting services touched on topics such as hardware, software, and industrial design. In addition, since we didn’t have sufficient engineering capabilities and could only create our own design, their engineering team led the implementation of our ideas.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 2–3 people from Voler Systems.

How did you come to work with Voler Systems?

We had multiple meetings with their team, and we felt that they were a trustworthy partner.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We engaged with them from June–December 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their engineers were pretty good. They did a prototype for us, and we used their work for demonstration purposes.

How did Voler Systems perform from a project management standpoint?

They had a good project management process. We communicated with them on a daily basis through emails, phone calls, and video conferencing.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were able to prepare and create all of the things we wanted. However, we didn’t work with others so it would be hard to share what made them stand out against their competitors.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They charged us with their hourly rates. As a result, we’d now be looking for a company that we could grow with. However, I’d like to emphasize that Voler Systems’ choice was a call for their business.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re open to tackling challenges, and they can provide the support that you need as quickly as possible. Understand their strengths and before approaching them, you need to know more about what you want to do. If you come to them and still don't have an idea about your project, you might spend more money trying to figure out the best way to do things.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former director of hardware at a medical device company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Voler Systems?

We hired Voler Systems to help us with new product development. We had an opportunity to extend a product, and Voler Systems provided engineering resources that we didn’t have. We needed an embedded developer to work on a very small, integrated medical device.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us talk through the scope of the project, learned our needs, and provided us with two developers in a short time frame. They used microcontrollers and programmed in C. They provided project management support as well.

What is the team composition?

We worked with one developer at a time. When the scope of our project became full-time, Voler Systems reassigned another developer who could provide the time that the project required.

How did you come to work with Voler Systems?

I had worked with Voler Systems at a prior company because we were having a short-term problem with failure issues. They diagnosed the issues quickly and helped us design a fix. That initial experience was so good that I’ve continued to work with Voler Systems at many of the different companies that I’ve worked for.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $65,000 with Voler Systems.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Voler Systems on this project from December 2017–August 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to release our device right in line for a clinical trial 6–8 months after the engagement began, including two months of tweaks and tuning. I was very happy with our interactions.

How did Voler Systems perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was actually the biggest value I found in working with Voler Systems. They were able to provide us with resources and help with communication. They were really good at tracking time, run rate, and spending.

They’re actually very good at all of the things that they did, but their project management aspects made them especially easy to work with. We communicated with Voler Systems primarily via email, weekly video calls, and occasional phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Flexibility was the factor that differentiated Voler Systems. They had a great breadth of experience and the ability to respond quickly to needs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t recall having any regrets about the engagement. — Voler Systems provided good people and tracked the project well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Reach out to Voler Systems early to talk about your needs. They’re very quick to respond. They have a broad skill set and a lot of ability to help, so the earlier you bring in Voler Systems, the easier all that interaction will be.