Yalantis

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Optima Curis which provides a patient engagement and collaboration platform called eCuris. We combine social networks with patient engagement technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Yalantis?

We were building an MVP version of the eCuris platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have built a sizeable platform application with Yalantis. This responsive web app works on desktop and mobile devices. It’s a Slack-like collaboration platform for the patient, their family, and the care team. It allows users to send surveys and other material for symptom tracking, quality of service, and patient satisfaction. The concept of social networks and moderated communities is meant to keep people informed and engaged on health topics and to connect with other people facing similar issues.

Yalantis developed and built the platform from scratch using custom technologies. The concept of the UI also started with them. We used custom technologies in order to have the right level of flexibility in the future. We invested in building an extendable foundation platform.

The UX design allows people to collaborate with each other. The app presents different information depending on whether it’s being used by patients or doctors. The design allows the same application to be used by different users of the system, but they get different experiences based on the data driving the app.

We’ve gone through pilots, and we currently have a live production version with paying customers. We have an extensive roadmap for our vision, and we are prioritizing additional features. Yalantis is working on designing, developing, and rolling those out. We have a single instance for the global customer base hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS).

What is the team composition?

Yalantis modifies their team composition based on current needs. This is one of the economics of outsourcing to them. The team has flexed from three up to 10–15 FTEs. We’re currently in the development phase, using a dedicated team of six people.

We’ve collaborated a lot on some of the designs with the requirements analysis people. We’ve also worked with the project and account managers and development specialists.

How did you come to work with Yalantis?

We found them through online research. Yalantis built apps that were featured in a top 10 best apps of the year from a UI/UX point of view. One of the reasons we chose them was for their reputation for creating compelling UI/UX designs.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost has been around $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The initial design discussions were started in September 2016. The minimal viable product took a year to complete. The work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve received very good feedback on the UI/UX, look-and-feel, and intuitiveness of the app from users and during demonstrations. Having a good user interface is important for the adoption of the product, which bodes well for the future of our product.

How did Yalantis perform from a project management standpoint?

We are very comfortable with their documentation process, templates, and technology used. They keep us informed and engaged if we want it to be, without making an unnecessary burden on us. We have a very good balance in terms of interactions.

There’s not a lot of overlap in our time zones. We have weekly calls and multiple calls per week during heavy design periods. We also communicate by Slack and email. We make the time zone difference work to our advantage, given that they work while we’re sleeping. We have an efficient way of working together.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The level of expertise within the team is very high. They’ve recruited and retained experienced people who are motivated to get the job done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Whenever we’ve asked them to take a different approach, they were responsive to us. They’re working exactly how we want.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

They are a straightforward company, and they do what they say they’re going to do. I recommend them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO for BodyBarista, a U.S.-patented fitness app for iPhone that helps users track their progress via image analysis and data calculations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Yalantis?

We started out developing our app with freelancers but they weren’t available as often as we needed them, so we decided to look for a dedicated development company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our first step involved discussing UI/UX design. I didn’t want to influence Yalantis too much at the outset, so I asked them to interpret the description of what we wanted the app to do and they came back to us with wireframes and sketches.

Once we had the vision for the final app, they started on the iOS development. We chose to build a native app because we needed so much integration with the hardware and the camera. They did a great job of structuring the app so the front- and backend functions synchronized seamlessly for a good user experience. Since this is a fitness results app, it was critical for us that the data was stored and displayed correctly, since those measurements serve as a user progress diary. They worked a lot on making it smooth and well managed.

After the app was ready, they spent a lot of time on QA, inputting test images and letting the algorithms analyze the data in order to spot any bugs. Since we put the app on the market, they’ve been helping us to update features and improve the design based on user feedback.

What is the team composition?

The team has around six or seven people in total, but my main points of contact are the project manager, designer, and then the front- and backend developers.

How did you come to work with Yalantis?

I found them via online search and contacted them directly.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $40,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2016 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a lot of users and we’ve received a lot of positive feedback now that we’ve gone from being a pure camera app to being a measurement app.

How did Yalantis perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Skype and Slack to keep in touch and they’re very responsive. The project manager does a good job making sure I always know what’s in the pipeline for the next few weeks. I’m also able to contact the developers directly, which is a really nice second layer of communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Of all the iOS developers I’ve worked with, Yalantis is the best by far. The code is excellent, they keep it clean and structured. They’re responsive and they use the correct principles in order to make updates.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am one of the co-founders, in addition to my daughter, of Jet Journal. We are a small software startup building a lifestyle travel application to help people remember ideas, places, and recommendations, as well as to help with planning.

I have been handling the server infrastructure, APIs, and assist with the project management as I own a software company myself.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Yalantis?

Although we had the capabilities to complete the project, we were looking to outsource the iOS development for the application. At this time, we are just developing a native app for iOS. Our plan is to launch in the App Store shortly, gather some feedback from iOS users, do a minor update, and then begin work on an Android version of the app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Yalantis were in charge almost everything except for the API. We had the infrastructure set up in the cloud for hosting API servers. We had some rough mock-ups and wireframes, and some basic user stories, then Yalantis flushed it out and did some requirement gathering. Once the requirements were all gathered, the user stories were generated. The design team then came in and refreshed all the screens. After that, we went into development and QA.

Nothing was built from scratch; we repurposed old code, and pulled the imaging libraries off the shelf. I don’t believe we created anything that was unique. At the end of the day, the goal wasn’t to define a new user interface [UI], it was to pull together features from Instagram, Pinterest, and so on, and get them under one umbrella, working a little bit better. We wanted the user experience to be as seamless as possible throughout.

What is the team dynamic?

We have 7 people working on this project. There are 3 developers, a QA, a requirements analyst, a project manager, and a designer.

How did you come to work with Yalantis?

We found them online. I had found 10 mobile application developers around the world, and asked my daughter to take a look at their portfolios, their work, and websites. She narrowed it down to 2 or 3, and then we did in-person phone calls with them. After speaking with them, she wanted to go with Yalantis, who were my first choice as well.

How much have you invested in them?

Approximately $110,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2017, and the work is ongoing. They have done such a good job on this application, that I have asked them to work on a new mobile app project for my own software company.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have about 15 internal customers now and the feedback has been very good. The UI has gotten a lot of really good feedback so far. It’s very close to what we envisioned, and so much better. Their design team did a really fantastic job of taking our sketches and bringing them to life. There are a couple of things that can be enhanced, but it functions the way we want, and works fantastic.

How did Yalantis perform from a project management standpoint?

They are the best team for project management that I have ever worked with, no one even comes close. We use Slack to communicate, and I talk to the developers, project managers, and QA team all the time. They are super responsive and it is very easy to work with them. Their work is really top notch.

We did some contracting with a marketing team, and their schedule and project management is ineffective compared to what we get from Yalantis. From Yalantis, we get detailed user stories, and our estimates have always been very close. We have been mostly under budget on every sprint we have done. When you look at the original estimate, there is an overall 10% overage in the budget, due to change requests, but for the most part, we usually came in under the higher estimate they gave us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We have an account executive who always follows up with us at the end of a sprint. Everything has been fantastic. The team is good, and for the most part, they have really been great to work with. They are very thorough which meant they found a lot of small logic issues that I might have missed. They thought about all the nuances that can be detrimental to an application early on. They were great about identifying those things ahead of time, rather than doing a lot of development and then finding the problem. Out of thousands of user stories we went through, there was only one when we actually got it onto the app and noticed there was a security flaw.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I think they are one of the best teams I have ever worked with in over 20 years of being in the software business.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the co-founder and CEO of a software application.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Yalantis?

The initial motivation was getting a minimally viable app out there. We are not designers, and I only knew a little Swift code for the iOS side.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Yalantis helped make our app a fully fleshed-out product. Yalantis was thorough in terms of discovery. We started off with wireframes and design work (such as image assets and logos), eventually turning it into an InDesign prototype. They perfected what we gave them. We were satisfied with that they did, so we had them develop MVPs for two separate apps, which ended up merging into one.

Yalantis also handled some Swift work for iOS and illustration work for the app. We built the backend on our own.

What is the team dynamic?

We used Skype for video conferences at the end of their day and the beginning of ours. Email communication was the quickest and easiest. We also used Slack.

Yalantis assigned two lead iOS developers and one main graphic design person to the work. Others pitched in from time to time, bringing the total closer to five or seven.

How did you come to work with Yalantis?

We found them through oDesk before it was acquired, but contacted Yalantis directly.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent around $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Yalantis in April 2016, and we finished in September of that year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve had to take a break to do fundraising and finish out the backend scope of the app. For various reasons, we ended up not launching until a few weeks ago. There was a slight technical problem with Stripe, our payment processor, which had to be fleshed out. The past two weeks were our first in business.

It’s a B2C app, and we’re in the process of recruiting merchant partners. So far, the people who have seen it have been impressed and have given their verbal commitment to us. It’s now a task of onboarding them. It’s too early to give a final verdict.

How did Yalantis perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve worked with other dev shops, and Yalantis stood out through their attentiveness. We’re working in completely different time zones, but, if I had a question, it was always resolved by the next day. This is important, given that I’ve dealt with people who took several days or weeks to get back to me. There was also no language barrier with Yalantis.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re a bootstrapped company, so cost was something we prioritized. Yalantis did a great job with this, compared to a provider in the U.S. who could have been three or four times as expensive. Having that competitive advantage with the same quality was key.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’ve since expanded the breadth of what they offer, but we wanted more variety at the time. It’s a challenge for any startup or dev shop to stockpile many developers with different skills. Had we started this year, those issues likely would have been addressed.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

GrowFit is a healthcare and wellness company operating in India for about two and a half years.

Basically, we do three things. The first is we offer expert advice. People come on our app and give their body profile in terms of their body measurements, their weight, height, and whether they have any kind of medical conditions, and then we connect them with a dietician, nutritionist, or cosmetologist based on their profile. Then they chat and we give them a diet chart and a solution offering to help them to achieve their body goals.

The second thing is we have an e-commerce website where we sell functional foods including low-carb, high protein food such as staples, cookies, mixes, etc..

Third, we have a mobile app. We have a few players in the market who are doing chat commerce with a nutritionist and then the products are curated and specifically made to help people with their concerns.

I’m a member of the founding team and I am the head of products and marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Yalantis?

In India, there are a lot of Android agencies as well as developers, but it’s very hard to find a good quality iOS developing agency. We interviewed a lot of candidates, and nobody was even close to what we were thinking of in terms of maintainability of the code and good logic. At that time, we were planning to raise our next round of funding, and we needed something that was optimized and that we could scale for a large user base quickly.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

From the initial stage, Yalantis gathered the requirements and business insights very thoroughly. They reviewed every product we are using, and learned the business domain, how the apps work in India and how the market is and developed with the requirements for the app. While we were brainstorming, they came up with new features like appointment scheduling for the nutritionist, which was initially not a requirement. They were also involved in designing the entire app.

They did everything from the scratch. We had a version of iOS app already on the App Store. It was written in a different language, which was Objective C. We wanted them to do it in a certain code, but that was not usable so they completely scrapped the entire thing and began from scratch. They did everything from the wireframing on. It’s a native app.

What is the team dynamic?

There were eight to 12 people. There were two developers, one designer, and one head designer that consulted from time to time. There were two testers, a requirement analyst, an account manager, a finance support guy, and a program manager.

How did you come to work with Yalantis?

I was an IOS developer myself, and I used to explore different kinds of libraries. I discovered them through a couple of libraries that they were doing like an object mapping, JSON conversion, and animation libraries. One of them was Koloda, which was swipe animation. I kept on exploring a lot of code, and that’s when I came across one of their GitHub codes. Since then, I was hooked onto them. Yalantis had a very good reputation and they were popular. I found them primarily through a Google search.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $25,000 and $28,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started talking with them in January 2017, but the work started in May. We released the first version of the app in the App Store, and we have been engaging with them for the release the second version of the app. It’s on hiatus now because we need more funding before we commence the work with them. Also, our backend work is not complete.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I went through the code myself. They have followed a lot of design principles, so the code is clean and it’s very optimized. The app size was not as big as we expected, and we haven’t faced many crashes so far. Also, the navigation of the app is pretty seamless. We are happy with the overall design. I am sure they will make it even better for the second release.

How did Yalantis perform from a project management standpoint?

We had a little bit of difficulty in the beginning, but it was managed pretty well. We are from different continents so the time zone and syncing up is always an issue. Our program manager helped us, and it was seamless thereafter. The program management is very professional. They communicate at regular intervals. They were there to answer all our queries. They even provide support during weekends when we had urgent releases to be done. They also worked overtime during holidays when a particular release had to be made for a bug fix. We are very happy with the overall support.

We communicated primarily using Slack and Skype. Emails were used for confirming any sort of urgent decisions that had to be made. For example, feature changes, feature requests, and new requests that involved some kind of additional budget management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Yalantis is the most professional bunch of people I have ever come across. These guys own up to everything they do. The quality of their app developers is exceptional. They code incredibly. If you go through the code, they stand out by far from any other agencies I have worked work in the past. Also, their design work is very nice; it was also very clean and it stands quite differently from the other apps in the similar healthcare space. They are a little bit pricey, but then it’s worth what they’re asking for. They did a fantastic job.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They are good on all fronts. Communication might be an issue in the initial phase mainly because of the language. I am saying that because that is one thing that I think that they can improve on from a feedback perspective. It was in no way a hindrance to our communication. I was able to communicate pretty well with them, but that’s one area they can improve on slightly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO and co-founder of a Swiss company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Yalantis?

I wanted to scale up the development team. I tried getting some offshore freelancers, but the experience was not very positive. It took time to find them, and the deliverables were not at the quality level I expected. At that time, we already had an in-house lead developer.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped develop our web application. I designed the process, screens, and workflow, while Yalantis’ developers implemented my designs. I usually handled the design work beforehand, which the developers had to replicate exactly.

The frontend work was short-term, focusing on several screens that will be released as an update to our existing application. They implemented these pixel perfect wireframes successfully.

What is the team dynamic?

So far, we’ve worked with three developers from Yalantis’ team. One of them has been with us since March. He now works with us on a permanent basis and provides backend Ruby on Rails development. The other two developers work successively on the frontend part of the web application using HTML and JavaScript.  

How did you come to work with Yalantis?

A friend of mine had worked with them before, so we tried them. The important thing for me was to have access to the workforce but not the overhead. I was not interested in paying anything for the managers since I planned to work directly with the developers.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, the cost has been around $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Yalantis in March 2017, and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The platform will be released in two weeks. However, it’s very difficult to showcase Yalantis’ work since they did not create the design, and users cannot attribute what they see to them. Other people who have been seen the application do not understand what it is exactly.

Fortunately, my lead developer and I are very happy with the backend developer. He respects deadlines and provides quality code. Aside from being open to criticism, he often comes up with proactive suggestions. This is the case with the two frontend developers as well.

Initially, we had an interview for the backend developer, but we don’t do this anymore. Since I trust Yalantis, I would usually go with the resources they offer. They’re close to Europe, so their work ethic and approach are similar to ours.

How did Yalantis perform from a project management standpoint?

We work through two-week iterations with the Ruby on Rails developer. I prepare the different tasks for him at the start of an iteration and he implements them. After my other developer reviews the code, they make technical decisions together. Finally, we test and deploy the results.

We have Skype meetings once a week and use Trello the rest of the time. We understand each other quite well because they all speak good English.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We have a one-hour time difference, which is an advantage. They offer a good balance between price and work quality. If the same developer came from our country, we would be paying five times more. While we could also pay five times less using someone from India, I’m not sure about the quality they could deliver.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I had around three points of contact in the beginning, which made it hard to determine whether I was talking with salespeople or project managers. It got messy at some points, but it became much clearer once I told them about it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder of an iOS mobile app focused on booking events. We created the business about a year ago and currently have three employees.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Yalantis?

We started working with a different developer last fall, and this past spring, we made the change to work with Yalantis due to their much lower costs. Our former developers were great, but they were much more expensive comparatively.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app was already developed and launched on the App Store, so we had them start with initial bug fixes and smaller updates we needed to make. Everything went well, so now we’re currently in the process of rolling out some new feature updates, which should be completed in the next couple of weeks. We will be implementing a calendar in the app so that will let users book events that aren’t just for that night but in the future.

What is the team dynamic?

The number of people we’ve worked with has varied because we’re doing a little bit more work now. We started with four or five people, and now it’s five or six.

How did you come to work with Yalantis?

I learned about them last summer before we started working on the app. When it came time to look for new development help in terms of a lower cost alternative, we used Clutch and found them, among others. We reached out to a few firms in the Ukraine and South America. We got a similar impression from all the firms we spoke with, but Yalantis was a gut instinct for me. They are very, very kind and accommodating toward anything, and that was pretty obvious right away. That was the key factor that made me decide between them and the others we were looking at.

How much have you invested with them?

About $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The work began in May 2017 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There was a bit of a problem with the app not functioning in places outside the U.S. due to some time zone bugs, but now people who aren’t just in the U.S. can use the app, so that’s been great. Other than that, we haven’t had a solid difference in terms of numbers because the changes they made weren’t that large. They have mostly been just little performance optimizations and big fixes so far.

How did Yalantis perform from a project management standpoint?

Very well. We have communication with them almost daily through Slack and Skype if it’s a video call. I’m someone who wants to be in the loop about what’s going on every single day. With them, you can have a hands-on or hand-off approach, and I wanted the most hands-on, and they were able to do that. They’ve been great. We’ve had no problems in terms of any major or even minor bugs with any of the two updates we’ve issued with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

With our past developer, we only got to communicate with a product manager and account manager, and we had no communication with the developers and designers. With Yalantis, we can easily communicate with absolutely everyone on the team, which is something I really like. It’s much easier than having to talk to one person for that one person to relay the message to someone else and then get back to me. It’s nice to have direct communication with everyone.

Are there any areas they could improve?

With our last developer, we would get a specific number for a project estimate, and that’s the cost it would be. Any of the hours that were not used were credited toward future work, so that was really nice. With Yalantis, we get a high and low estimate for a project, which can range fairly significantly. For example, we could get a low estimate of $15,000 and a high of $23,000, and that’s about a 50% difference, which is pretty huge. Either tightening the estimate they provide or offering a specific number would be helpful.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the PR and Marketing Manager of Wapo Wapa Limited. We are an app developer, and currently, we have two dating apps designed for the gay and lesbian community.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Yalantis?

We were looking to redesign both of our apps.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Yalantis redesigned all aspects of our apps. They worked on everything from the user interface design right down to the color scheme. Yalantis conducted research within our app to find out exactly what the user wants. They compared competitor apps, and then came to us with a brand new design and features for both apps for iOS and Android devices. We have been extremely pleased with their work so far.

What is the team dynamic?

We had approximately six people from the team working with us.

How did you come to work with Yalantis?

We researched firms online and came across Yalantis. From our initial contact, we were very satisfied and hired them to complete this project.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent approximately $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement started in around April 2017, and the project concluded in July 2017. We have plans to work together in the future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We plan to launch the interface in September. Currently, we are working on integrating the new interface with the app itself with our internal developers, as there are a few changes and new features.

How did Yalantis perform from a project management standpoint?

Yalantis integrated very well with our company and essentially became part of our team. I didn’t expect the project to be such an easy process. The communication was very good, and we mostly used Slack to chat with the whole team.

The quality of their work has been excellent, and we are very pleased. We have already been in touch with them about beginning work on some other projects as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Communication was an area that was really impressive to us. Communication between the client and the customer is so important, and they really are brilliant. They are very professional, easy going, and they act very fast. Whenever they were asked to work on something or to create something specific, within half an hour they came back to us with an idea.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We are very pleased with them. It is very difficult for me to say that they need to improve in any area as there isn’t anything they worked on that we haven’t been pleased with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder of HomeSway, a new real estate tech startup. HomeSway is an app for home showings. An agent invites their client, buyers, or sellers to the app, and they do an online search on real estate websites. Once they decide that they would like to schedule showings or tours of homes, that’s where HomeSway comes in. The agent or the buyers add the homes that they would like to see into HomeSway. Agents make the appointments. When they go out to tour the homes, we help them organize and remember everything that they’ve seen.

Within HomeSway, we have the list of homes. You order them by appointment times, and then once you are physically at the property, you click “Begin Tour” and with each room that you’re in, you can drag and drop icons to say what you like and what you don’t, take photos, and also take notes which can be tagged by the house and by the rooms.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Yalantis?

The original business challenge we were trying to overcome was how to take a complex process and simplify it with a tool that was very basic and simple that could be used by anyone, a 5-year-old or a 70-year-old. Simplicity is hard. I had some design requirements and I needed somebody to execute those.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired a local design team out of Austin. I had created the design and I had them perfect it, and then we were looking for somebody to actually execute the development of the project. We had some complex things that we needed to do, one being the interactions of the drag and drop icons. We also needed the interaction done for the multi-select dropdown list, which is my nemesis, which let people select priorities of what a user is looking for in a home.

We did some design things that I haven’t seen in many other apps. The main challenge with these features was making it simple, but also delightful. Yalantis built both iOS and Android native apps. The MVP [minimum viable product] for iOS and Android is completed and we have a web version that’s coming next, once we secure funding.

What is the team dynamic?

There were 4-7 people on the team, depending on where we were in the project.

How did you come to work with Yalantis?

My advisors and I were searching for a development team offshore and did some research on multiple sites. Clutch’s reviews helped make the final decision that we needed to contact Yalantis.

We also looked on some other sites for some of the work. There was actually a prototype they’d done that had a similar look and feel of the drag and drop function we needed. Seeing their work on multiple sites is how we ended up reaching out to them.

In terms of the experience after the initial call, they asked smart questions and took the time to really understand the market that we were playing in, and what the business process looks like. They then took that and wrote up the proposal. There was a lot of pre-work done and a lot of questions asked to make sure they were the right partner.

How much have you invested with them?

About $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together March 2016 and work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We just finished Android at the end of April. In June we did some user testing, and there are some tweaks that we need to make. So, we just started talking to people about the app. We haven’t actually launched into market yet.

How did Yalantis perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been excellent. Their project management and the communications from the project manager were top-notch. We communicated mostly through Slack and video chats as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re professional and willing to learn. They’re willing to acknowledge if they’ve made a mistake and own it. If there’s miscommunication in the process or if delays happen, they manage that well. I couldn’t have asked for a better response or better professionalism.

One thing I want to note is that Yalantis is not just an outsource company that’s writing code for you. They truly take on the role of a partner and understand what your motivations are, what your obstacles are, and what you’re trying to achieve. They take the time to understand that. That’s why we worked so well together. The things that I cared about became the things that the team cared about—things like timelines and shuffling priorities so that we could share progress with advisors and folks that are interested or investing. So they really took that to heart.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We had great conversations around understanding the process, but maybe just early on, they might be able to improve on asking more questions. I’d hate to even say that’s something that they should improve on, though. There’s a huge difference between real estate in the United States and real estate all over the world. There was a bit of a learning curve to understand what that process looks like in the U.S.

They did a great job asking the questions. With some of these things, you just had to dive in and really start building the tools to really understand what the nuances are. They did all the right things, which is why we stuck with them and gave them the Android version as well. There wasn’t too much that I would say they need to improve on because the communication, which is key when you’re managing an offshore, was top-notch. There was never a time when I felt like communication wasn’t flowing.

What advice would you have for people who are considering outsourcing?

If you’ve never outsourced, it can be difficult. I recommend that you find somebody that you trust who has experience with doing outsourcing and bring them along with you. Secondly, ask a ton of questions. Yalantis had done some work in the real estate space before, but it was kind of different. Ask smart questions and then, the key indicator is if the folks that you’re interviewing are asking smart questions as well, because the communication is going to be what makes or breaks your project when it comes to offshore.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Boothapp is a social shopping platform that provides payment gateway and delivery-related for small businesses in the Middle East, making sure that online transactions are friction free. I am the founder and director of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Yalantis?

I was looking for WordPress app developers based in the Middle East. We couldn’t find any in the Middle East who could match what Yalantis can do.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Yalantis built my iOS app, and we’re awaiting approval from the App Store. There are many features we still want to implement, but we’re waiting until the later versions. There are also plans for Yalantis to build Android and web versions as well.

We used many native functionalities, but also added other elements. The initial idea was quite different and a bit unrealistic. Yalantis helped improve it, working on a design that would best suit the functionalities I wanted to implement.

The platform currently works only with Kuwaiti dinars and U.S. dollars, as to not complicate it. We will incorporate other currencies after we’ve expanded to other regions.

The blend of social media and e-commerce is what makes our platform special. This will drive traffic and keep it within the app. If someone wants to buy something online, they would typically only go to the store after they’d decided on it, but people in the Middle East spend, on average, more than eight hours a day on social media. Unless products are sold directly within such an app, transactions are more difficult.

What is the team dynamic?

The team was made up of 8–10 people, including a quality engineer, three iOS developers, two back-end developers, a project manager, and a small marketing team.

How did you come to work with Yalantis?

We started from the ground up. After I came up with my idea, I researched online to find a company to execute it and turn it into a reality. I found Yalantis’ blog and it spoke to me. I decided to contact and visit their team to see how everything was run. I fell in love with the company, so I decided to start the project.

How much have you invested with them?

The development cost for the iOS app was between $150,000 and $200,000. The payment was done in installments.

Yalantis’ prices are good, but I kept making changes until we reached a point I was satisfied with it. This resulted in excess development costs, so I think the Android version will be a fraction of the price.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2016 and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app is not a new concept overall, but it is new to the region. People have welcomed the idea, and we are already in the pre-launch stage. We have contacted over 30 shops and given small presentations about the app. They’ve tried early versions of it and have been satisfied.

How did Yalantis perform from a project management standpoint?

I admire their communication. Yalantis was always available during weekends and at night. I am the type of person who thinks out loud, and I want to discuss my ideas. We communicate over email, Skype, and Slack. Yalantis has always been there for me, and they’re very patient.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I haven’t interacted with other companies since Yalantis were my first pick. I may have been lucky, but based on what I’ve heard from other people in the region who have gone through app development, their results weren’t even close to what Yalantis provides. They went for the cheaper choices and had all kinds of problems, such as inefficient coding.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve their coverage of the region. Yalantis should take the Middle Eastern market more seriously.