WesternTech

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and creative director of Fertilizer, an e-commerce company. We also have a streaming platform section and an editorial page.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Tofanist?

I wanted to build a user-friendly e-commerce website that would have features of a streaming platform and an internal platform. As a result, I looked for a company that would be able to understand the functionalities that I wanted.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I had an in-house graphic designer who came up with our website’s mockup. Tofanist looked at the mockups and coded them using Webflow and other external methods. 

The first part of our project and one of our website’s big elements was the gradient work. When our end-users scrolled the home menu, it would fade to black and the designers that we carry on our website would be featured. They also ensured that the interaction and animation on our landing page were good so that when end users clicked on something, colors would change and a text would appear.

The second part focused on the menu. The team made sure that whenever users clicked on something, they’d easily know what section they were looking at. For example, when they clicked shop men, a black gradient and a gray area would move. A similar thing would happen to all the other sections.

The third part was the streaming page which enabled our users to access a video player when they’d click on the first link. That was also challenging because Webflow didn’t have an in-house player that didn’t need to be linked to YouTube or another video app. Since I didn’t like YouTube’s video player design as well as their ads, Tofanist built an in-house video player from scratch. They also integrated glow effects around the video player. On top of that, they created a search bar and our end users could put whatever keyword they were looking for. 

The team continues to work on our project as our platform evolves. We also reach out to them whenever we have new projects or contracts.

What is the team composition?

We only have one point of contact, but I'm not sure if there are more people working on our project.

How did you come to work with Tofanist?

I reached out to many companies and some of them were honest and told me upfront that our project was too complex for them. Others told us that they didn’t have time to do it. I then found Tofanist on Upwork, and we liked that they were willing to give our project a try. 

When I mentioned our one-month deadline, they told me it was not realistic considering the project’s complexity. After that, they told me that if I could be patient and extend the deadline, they’d figure how to accomplish our project. In the end, we chose Tofanist because they were transparent and willing to make things happen.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent less than $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership began in November 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our basic needs have been met. They’ve also delivered what we wanted, specifically the streaming platform that has a video player. Whenever I show the website to our third-party stakeholders, they’re always impressed with our platform and that has been our success metric.

How did Tofanist perform from a project management standpoint?

We use the Gantt chart as our project management tool, and our internal project manager tracks it. Our communication has been good, and they’ve been open to our meetings and calls. I also appreciate that they’ve been very honest and transparent. Whenever I reach out to Tofanist, there’s always someone who gets back to me within a maximum of eight business hours. 

In addition, we have clear deadlines, and the team tells me if the timeline I suggest is not feasible. They’re also open to feedback, and they meet all of their deadlines. If for some reason they can’t make it in time, they reach out to me and they state their reason. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their prices are one of the things I’m happy with. I also like that they want to be involved with us for a long time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They can improve their research skills. During the engagement, they’ve told me some things weren’t possible. Since I’m an expert in my field, I’ve mentioned to them that I saw what I’ve requested on another website.

After that, they’ve mentioned that they hadn’t seen something like that before and that they’re going to work on it. In connection with that, they need to do deep research on their client's specific field to get a general idea of how things are done.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be patient and have a mutual understanding that anything can be done if you’re willing to put your time into it. Don’t just dump the project on them, you need to have a working relationship where you’ll have the chance to be very collaborative.