Wegile

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.
I'm the founder and CEO of a camping services company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Wegile?

I needed support to build an educational platform and application for my year-round virtual summer camp.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?
Wegile has developed a website and an iOS application for our company. We initially provided Wegile with our business strategy, and they've worked on the plans that came with it. Wegile has also integrated our site with Shopify and WordPress for our blog.

What is the team composition?

I've worked with around 10 teammates from Wegile over the years.

How did you come to work with Wegile?

I found Wegile on Upwork.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent approximately $20,000–$30,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with Wegile in January 2018, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Wegile's platform meets my expectations, and we've been able to bring a fun and exciting virtual summer camp experience to kids all over the world. Our platform has had a worldwide impact, and Wegile is very good at pivoting as different challenges arise, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

How did Wegile perform from a project management standpoint?
Wegile has delivered all the requested work on time and on budget. The team provides a project manager who is in charge and is very capable. He communicates really well, and if there is an issue, even in the middle of the night, Wegile is always very attentive and provides 24-hour support.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

I want to highlight Sumit's (Chief Architect) work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I'm mostly impressed by Wegile's customer service; they're super hands-on and make clients feel important and taken care of.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Wegile can be more proactive in suggesting updates and development work to improve our site. It'd be great if they suggest new technologies to enhance the site's UX.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Future clients can trust they're in good hands because Wegile is very honest and will work to their business benefit.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.
I'm the CEO of Talk It, an agile social network based on the power of anonymous communication. We bring our users through a journey where they can connect to others on their campuses.

Our platform has an AI algorithm that connects different users based on their geographical location and various specific interests they might have in common. These users engage in anonymous one-on-one conversations. If the first connections are good, they can become friends, discover their identities, and continue communicating.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Wegile?
We already had a web development team, but our idea was to outsource the development work of our mobile app's first version.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?
We've worked with Wegile for the past two years as our outsourced development partner. When we initially worked with them, they developed the first version of our mobile app. Initially, we provided them with what we already had for our web app and a brief of what we wanted. Their team then came back with advice regarding the UI/UX and how to optimize the app, which was very valuable. Since then, they've become our outsourced development partners.

As for the technology stack, Wegile has built our app for iOS and Android devices. We've used MongoDB for the database, AWS Lambda integrations, and other integrations with two other third parties.
 
What is the team composition?
Our main points of contact are Sumit (Chief Architect) and Arvind (iOS Developer). Still, we've also worked with Wegile's designers and database engineers.

How did you come to work with Wegile?
We found them online. When we connected with Wegile, they were very reassuring in proving that they would be able to deliver a quality product on time, so we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?
We've spent over $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together around April 2021, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Wegile has delivered exactly what they've promised. They've become much more than a company to which we outsource work. They've understood our product, accompanied us, and given us excellent advice, whether it is for making technological decisions or improving the UIs we're creating. Now, our app has over 100,000 users.

How did the company perform from a project management standpoint?
Wegile delivers on time and within budget, and they excel at capturing a lot of information.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?
I would like to give a shout-out to Sumit.

What did you find most impressive about them?
Their team has organized everything so that we don't have any miscommunication issues.

Are there any areas they could improve?
There's always room for improvement, but I don't think they could do something better. Being companies from different countries, one of our main challenges has been understanding each other well. However, Sumit has been there to ensure everything is being done as we need it.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?
Express your needs and complement those with written requirements and designs. Once Wegile provides a project's scope, ensure that the technical details correspond to the features and intricacies you mentioned.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the owner of a merchandise and marketing agency. We work with brands and individuals to help them build their brands and develop e-commerce sites.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Wegile?
We needed an app development partner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?
Wegile has been our development partner for a long time. They've helped us develop several applications for about 10 projects, and we have a long-lasting business relationship. One of our projects has been developing a fitness mobile application. We initially gave Wegile the concept of what we wanted to achieve and some examples. 

Wegile has created rough drafts of the app's design and functionality, and after several revisions, the team has delivered a functional app built from scratch and hosted in AWS. The app can track users' data, including workout sessions, weight progression, and notes.

What is the team composition?

I've worked with 10-15 teammates from Wegile, including Sumit (Chief Architect), a lead developer, and a project manager.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Wegile in January 2021, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our app has grown over the years, and Wegile delivers great-quality work with top-notch coding. The team checks various important standpoints for our company and provides good recommendations. Wegile is an experienced development partner, and we like their support. 

How did Wegile perform from a project management standpoint?

Wegile's communication is out of this world. We've worked with other development companies before engaging with Wegile, and the team has top-notch communication and transparency. We communicate using Skype, Slack, and phone calls. Wegile meets deadlines, too.

What did you find most impressive about them?
Wegile's communication and work quality are outstanding. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything for Wegile to improve.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?
Start a line of communication to find out how Wegile can help your company, and the rest will be history.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of a fitness app provider.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We sell membership-based fitness apps

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• app developement
• web development
• backend database programming

SOLUTION

How did you find Wegile?

Referral

Why did you select Wegile over others?

• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Wegile were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Key deliverables: Mobile app 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• App launched on time and was incredibly successful. 
• Over 25,000 downloads in the first week. 
• The app generated over $10,000,000 in revenue over a 5-year span. 
• The app remained stable through ongoing feature additions, connecting new backends, etc.

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

They worked hard to meet timelines. Most were hit, but some were not... but this is not necessarily due to their lack of ability - often, there was feature creep or unforeseen UX issues that required a pivot in the development of the features. When a pivot was made, the team quickly moved to take care of it.

What was your primary form of communication with Wegile?

Virtual Meeting

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

Although they operate from India, they will stay up at all hours to service our project at important times. If there were ever an emergency or issue, the team would be available no matter the time. They were very respectful and kind, and we developed great relationships.
Are there any areas for improvement or something Wegile could have done differently?

I do wish I had pushed for more optimization. We were so busy building features we didn't take a lot of time to clean up the code. However, that is my responsibility. If I had suggested it, they would have done it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

The name of the company is FitSpark Health.  FitSpark is an app that we developed to provide people with a quick, fast, effective workout to do at home or on the go.

What is your position?

I'm founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Wegile?

I have no background in technology at all. I’m a physical therapist by trade and really had no experience in anything in this way or this field at all. So though I had the ideas and pretty much laid out the wireframes before I came to Wegile they were the ones that technically had to put it together for me as I had no way of doing that myself.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Again, with respect to the technical components I really don’t know much about what happened behind the scenes there. The way I worked with Wegile was initially I was assigned a project manager.  She and I worked together on a daily basis for the first few months to refine the wireframes that I had brought to them and the flow of the app as well as come up with a design - actually the UI and UX of the app - as the final product before we actually then went to development.  She was integral in that and it was really the only communication I had with Wegile was through her. Then after we got to a point where we finalized the wireframes and flow of the app, at that point - about four months in - it went into development. At that point, it was mostly touching base with respect to testing and the fine points of design and whatnot.  We did both the iOS as well as the Android versions of the app so there was a little bit of going back and forth between the two versions. Initially, it was just Android that was completed or was worked on and then iOS came on pretty quickly. I think it was a few weeks behind Android and was basically working off the platform and a flow of Android algorithm design. About three-quarters of the way through the year the project manager ended up leaving, and I’ve been working with Sumit [Oberoi, CEO at Wegile].

How did you come to work with Wegile?

I initially just posted this as a project on Elance and pretty quickly, within the first 48 hours, I had more than 90 developers contact me begging to do the job. From that I shortlisted it down to five companies and from there we had Skype meetings and further shortlisted down to two companies. It was quite a difficult decision I have to say, as they were very similar in their approach, but it was Wegile’s persistence and the logistic depth of Sumit’s ability to kind of demonstrate that – they could bring things to the table beyond just developing the app. And that that did happen as the app ended up looking feeling very different than my initial concept of it. Whereas, the other company was going to do exactly what I’d asked them to do and in the end that would have been a different product, and not nearly as good, I should add.

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

It was around $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

From beginning to end it was 11 months to when we launched it, which I understand is not unusual in the tech world. I think for both of us, the developers and myself, the scope of the app was a little bit larger than we initially anticipated it to be.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

It hit number one in Canada in the health and fitness category in the App store, number 4 overall in apps in Canada. So we have had some ranking success that way there.  We were able to hit number one in the health and fitness category in three other countries as well.

That’s been a high point definitely since launching. Wegile has also been quite responsive to my queries and to my requests for different features to be involved.  Very rarely will they say no that just can’t be done. More often than not they’ll go back and say we can’t do this, but we can do this and this. They’ve actually brought more to the table I initially bargained for. This may have slowed down the process a little but overall, again, it’s a stronger product.

What distinguishes Wegile from other providers?

I think it’s their enthusiasm, and their willingness to bring new ideas to the table. As I said before the app that we ended up building was so much better than what I originally conceived, and that’s a hundred percent due to Wegile’s recommendations and their ability to bring ideas to life.

Is there anything Wegile could have improved or done differently?

I think because they have such a plethora of big ideas and good ideas, it’s a matter of sifting through what’s doable and what’s practical in the time that we have. Overall, it’s obviously great that they’re so creative, and care enough to want to improve your app, but there were times that it slowed us up. To that end, I think things were a little smoother when I was assigned a direct project manager, later on in the project when I was working with Sumit things were a little less smooth. While Sumit is obviously incredibly smart and really the driving force behind Wegile’s focus on creativity and making your project better, he wasn’t really my project manager per se. So we weren’t working together as closely as I would have liked.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Yaye is a health and fitness app for small groups of family and friends. The concept of Yaye is that you will be more likely to keep your fitness goals if you have friends and family who can track your progress and hold you accountable. We've just released the app about two weeks ago. We've been working with the Wegile team since May 2014.

What is your position?

I am a co-founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Wegile?

We are not technical by nature. So, we wanted to find a team who could help us turn our idea into a product. We met with a number of onshore and offshore developers and we finally settled on Wegile after searching for a while.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

It was mainly design and development on both the iOS and Android platforms. We came to them with some basic wireframes, but they contributed heavily to the design and completed all of the development. Unlike some offshore firms, they will helpful in providing feedback and new ideas as the project went on.

How did you come to work with Wegile?

I believe we found them on UpWork or Elance. We sent out a few RFPs [request for proposals] and one of their marketing people contacted us. We were initially highly skeptical of going offshore because everyone thought it would take too long, they're not as competent, and so on. We felt these feelings were somewhat justified as we were interviewing various developers and development teams, but then we spoke with Sumit [Oberoi, CEO at Wegile], and he blew us away. For one, his spoken and written English is very good; he has spent an extensive amount of time in the West, and very much understands the business culture here.

One of the caveats we set upfront was we wanted to interface with Sumit throughout the whole project. He added so much to the product in terms of design and functionality and was absolutely crucial to its success.

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

It was around $45,000. Initially, the scope of the project was smaller, and I think it was $30,000 or $35,000. In agreement, we changed this scope to include some more features, which increased the cost. For that cost, we basically got a dedicated iOS developer, a dedicated Android developer, a design resource, someone was project managing the whole thing, and then a couple of iOS resources as needed.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in May 2014. The actual development started in September [2014], and the launch was about two weeks ago [July 2015].

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Overall, we've been very happy with the product. We launched two weeks ago, now we probably have around 1,000 downloads, and that's without any meaningful marketing program. On the release, we were featured by Apple in the Healthcare & Fitness category as a new leading app to track your activity. So, for version 1.0, which was built offshore from two nontechnical guys, we didn't expect that but we're very excited.

How did Wegile perform from a project management standpoint?

The timelines they set always ended up being longer than they initially say, but I think you could take that with a grain of salt. In their defense, the quality was excellent, and the timeline that they ended up delivering on was reasonable. They just way underestimated how long it would take. In their defense, I will say Sumit was always available – any time – day or night. If you had a question, he was there to help you, and he really doesn't care about the time. Even in the follow-ups, we've really felt that too.

What distinguishes Wegile from other providers?

One thing that was really interesting was the post-production support. As part of the contract, once we released the apps and paid them the final installment, they also offered to give us ongoing production support of any defects that are identified. We had an issue in the first week after we launched, and those guys were unbelievable. Sumit called everyone in, and they were fixing bugs around the clock. I was skeptical about the type of support we'd get after we paid, and these guys were truly amazing. They went beyond what I thought we'd get.

Is there anything Wegile could have improved or done differently?

The only issue I would mention was the missed deadlines, which I mentioned a few questions previously.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Century Distribution Systems is a global logistics provider. Our primary business focus is managing product flow for retailers and importers here in the United States and in Europe. We're a wholly owned subsidiary of K-Line, a Japanese shipping company.

What is your position and responsibilities?

I am vice president of information systems for the company. I'm responsible for IT [information technology].

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Wegile?

We needed to make smartphone application available for our customers. We do have our own development team that builds products for our customers, but they don't have a mobile background, so we decided to outsource the job.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

They handled all the design and development. We came to them with a concept, and we worked back and forth with them to come up with specifications. Then, they worked through the development and delivery of the product.

How did you come to work with Wegile?

I found them through Elance. I put a job out on Elance and probably got about 75 responses back. I narrowed that down to probably about 10, did some more analysis, and finished with video interviews of the three finalists. I selected Wegile based on their presentation and because they were one of a few companies that took the time to understand my business requirements and what my business was, before trying to solve my problem.

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

It cost $10,000 to $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project took probably six months from start to finish. Any delays were caused internally, as we had built all the data integrations to get information over to the smartphone app, which took some time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did Wegile perform from a project management standpoint?

It was an excellent project. The Wegile project management team was fantastic. They led us through daily calls on what needed to be done. The senior team at Wegile was able to redirect me at times when I thought I knew what I wanted to do, but they had a better solution. Their recommendations changed my focus a bit and ended up working out better in the long run. I take it this sort of give and take consultation can be rare when you're outsourcing.

We've got an in-house IT team here that had to do some work along the way, but Wegile was the one leading the charge through the whole process, and directing what we needed to be doing, which made our job easier. They had specific technical resources in each of the different categories, whether it was in the iPhone app portion, the Android app portion, the business integration layer. They had the project manager bringing all of those resources together.

What distinguishes Wegile from other providers?

The difference was that Wegile was willing to understand my business first before they tried to solve my problem. I think that really went a long way in delivering the solution. Then, they were also extremely flexible. There were a number of times along the way where we had to change course slightly because we hadn't thought of something, or we wanted to add something else into the first release that we hadn't thought of originally, and they were very accommodating to us.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve, or things you might do differently?

I really don't have any. It's been one of the best experiences I've had with any of my outsourcing projects.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We had an idea for a mobile app that would essentially digitize high school sports. We wanted to be able to take all of the information that is generated by an individual school, and put it at the audience's fingertips, whether it be a parent, coach, volunteer, or student. The app would provide schedules, location, a message board for posting highlight videos, updates, and articles.

What is your position?

I'm a cofounder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Wegile?

We had the idea for the app, but lacked the technical skill to make it happen.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Wegile took our concepts and our ideas and brought them to life. They essentially designed and built the entire app. Since its completion, we also continue to work with Wegile on updates and bug fixes.

What was your selection process leading up to your work with Wegile?

We looked at firms here in the U.S. that my partner, and I had various connections with, but we just really didn't find one that fit our needs. It didn't have anything to do with the price, it was more just the concept and how we envisioned the development process going that never really aligned with the U.S. firms.

We decided to put the project out for bid on Elance and, of course, immediately got a lot of responses. We ended up narrowing it down to five, and having phone conversations with each of those five. Wegile just understood – they got it. It seemed like they really knew what they were talking about, and everything they said made sense. They weren't the least expensive. As a matter of fact, they were the most expensive, but we knew they would deliver the best product.

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

They were probably in the ballpark of $75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in September or October of last year [2014]. We had a finalized product around February 1 for the school app, and around the end of May for a version of the app that focused on sports tournaments. The work is still ongoing, and we've contracted them for the next year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What have been the results of the project?

We haven't fully gone to market. We're still in a prelaunch phase, but the technology is exactly what we envisioned. Obviously, there are tweaks, and we're making changes as we go to market and get feedback on it, but it does everything that we envisioned it would do, and the feedback we've received from high school parents and coaches has been very positive. The main challenge now is introducing people to a relatively new concept

How did Wegile perform from a project management standpoint?

They have a great ability to communicate, provide constant ongoing work. I could reach them literally 24/7.

What distinguishes Wegile from other providers?

Obviously when you're outsourcing, communication is the biggest challenge. It's also the area where I was most impressed with Wegile. They did their best to  make sure we were always on the same page in terms of requirements and specifications. They were very proactive about minimizing the number of versions required for us to be happy.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve, or things you might do differently?

Sometimes, we've had an issue with setting realistic deadlines. They've said something will take two weeks, and instead it takes three. It doesn't really bother me because the quality of the work is such that it should take three weeks to complete. However, they need to be better about just saying that up front.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Our company produced a mobile app called Juicagogo for people to find fresh juice bars on the go easily. We have more than 5,000 juice bars registered on the app. People can use filters to find specific bars like ones that offer cleanses, or are GMO [genetically modified organism]-free, for example.

What is your position?

I am the CEO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Wegile?

I knew the problem I wanted the app to solve, I just needed to find the right development team to help me bring it to life.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

Wegile really helped me in all aspects of development, starting with my original sketches. They essentially did all of the design, and definitely did all of the development of the app. In addition, they helped me develop a marketing strategy for publicizing the app.

How did you come to work with Wegile?

I put out my initial idea to bid on Elance and I had hundreds of proposals that came back to me. I went through, looked at the different proposals, and weeded out most of them. I narrowed it down to 20 companies, and Wegile was one of the top companies from the beginning. They provided recent contacts of some of their previous customers to give me confidence in their services. They shared some examples of their work with me, and some ideas of what they could do with my app. They just seemed to be very helpful and knowledgeable.

What was the timeline of this engagement?

The project started in October 2013, and we launched in July 2014. I was satisfied with their schedule and timeliness.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What distinguishes Wegile from other providers?

They were incredibly responsive. Whether it was me asking questions, or just sharing an idea or concern if something didn't seem to be going the way I had envisioned it, they were always available and cleared up the confusion right away. Their English is great, and they would always respond within a few hours. They gave me innovative ideas and I was impressed by their design process. Overall, I had an incredibly positive experience with them.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve, or things you might do differently?

No. I really don't have anything negative to say. Any time I felt like there was an issue or challenge, we communicated, and it was quickly fixed, so I don't really have any negative feedback.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We have designed a new groundbreaking education app for use within schools in the U.K.

What is your position and responsibilities?

I am a co-founder and the technical lead. I've been writing iPhone applications for six years myself, but I have very little Android knowledge and have very little time at the moment; hence, our decision to outsource.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Wegile?

I could have done the iOS part myself. However, I wouldn't have a clue of how to do the web back-end and the Android part. It's just quicker to get them to do everything because it keeps everything consistent.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

They did iOS, Android, front-end, back-end, design, development, and web development for us. I think they were using Cake PHP for the back-end, and MySQL.

How did you come to work with Wegile?

I think we found them on Elance. I put up an RFP [request for proposal], and we initially got a hundred-or-so responses, some of which were absolutely terrible. It was quite a difficult and stressful process, narrowing them all down. In the end, we narrowed it down to about three different companies, and we spoke at length with each of them. I saw Wegile's portfolio, and I think they were the most understanding of what we actually wanted to do and achieve.

Having had experience with using offshore developers before, and a reasonable grasp of the work involved, I knew Wegile had estimated around the right mark and that they would do the work well because they understood our needs.

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

It was around $28,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around September 2014, and initially they said it would be ready by Christmas, which I knew was an unrealistic expectation. We ended up getting everything finished by May [2015]. Part of the delay was due to their unrealistic timeline, and part was due to our feature enhancements.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I personally am very happy with what they have provided. There's a couple of little things that I've had to change, especially on the iOS version. The Android version was absolutely great, and the back-end has been brilliant. It has exceeded expectations, and the clients love it. The feedback we've gotten has been overwhelmingly positive. It may have taken a lot longer than we were led to believe, but I think it's been worth it. I knew it was going to take a long time anyway. There's no way I could have coded it inside two years.

How did Wegile perform from a project management standpoint?

They had a project manager. The process went smoothly, but he started making a lot of excuses at one point, instead of just owning up to delays, which would have been fine.

What distinguishes Wegile from other providers?

Ultimately, you kind of get a real affinity with their programmers. They're always available, and they take your calls while they're at home. No matter what time of day you think it might be in India, they're just always available for you. You feel bad about contacting them sometimes, but they're incredibly helpful. Their programmers will bend over backwards for you.

Is there anything Wegile could have improved or done differently?

Like I mentioned, they have far too optimistic timelines. I knew there was no way they'd be able to make them, but they said, 'Yes, we'll be able to hit them.' A bit more transparency maybe, and a bit more honesty up front.