Zarego

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder & CEO of a business services company. 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our company connects highly-talented software professionals with great companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Find and place a senior full-stack developer to work on one of our projects
• Find and place an HTML/CSS developer to work on one of our projects

SOLUTION

How did you find Zarego?

Referral

Why did you select Zarego over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit

How many teammates from Zarego were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

A US-based startup hired us to develop an MVP for a web platform that allows users to search and interact with 3D models, such as car engine parts and anatomy components. To accomplish this, we needed to build a dedicated software development team, including a senior JavaScript developer and an expert in HTML and CSS. Zarego played a crucial role by helping us source and place the talent we needed to complete our team and successfully deliver the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We delivered the features the end client needed on time and within budget.

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

They provided consistent support and maintained regular follow-ups.

What was your primary form of communication with Zarego?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

I was impressed with their great talent, shared values, and willingness to learn.

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

At times, the talent they provided struggled to set clear expectations.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Producto Owner of OpenLifter

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Technology partner of publishers in programmatic and Open RTB

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• OpenLifter wants to create a Programmatic Revenue / Real-time Bidding Platform called Lifty designed for publishers by using Google Ad Manager data.

SOLUTION

How did you find Zarego?

Referral

Why did you select Zarego over others?

• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Zarego were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The project involves several key technical developments and configurations aimed at improving system integration, automation, and monitoring. Below is a breakdown of the main tasks and deliverables.

• Establish a secure and efficient connection with the vendor’s API for data exchange and communication. 

API Integration with Vendor:

• Establish a secure and efficient connection with the vendor’s API for data exchange and communication.
• Ensure seamless data flow between systems.

Creation of Parameter Library:

• Develop a comprehensive library of parameters to standardize and facilitate system configurations.
• Allow for easy customization and future scalability.

Automated Value Modification Code:

• Develop code to modify values based on pre-set criteria automatically.
• Ensure the system dynamically adjusts values according to defined business logic.

Automated Command Execution Code:

• Create scripts that automatically execute commands based on scheduled tasks or specific triggers.
• Integrate automation to reduce manual intervention and improve efficiency.

AWS Service Configuration:

• Set up and configure AWS services to host and manage applications, ensuring scalability and security.
• Implement best practices for cost management and resource allocation.

Database Creation and Configuration:

• Design, create, and configure databases to store, manage, and retrieve data efficiently.
• Optimize database performance and implement backup strategies.

Creation of Alarms and Alerts:

• Implement monitoring tools to create alarms and alerts for system health and performance.
• Configure notifications for critical events to ensure quick responses to issues.

Ongoing Support:

• Provide continuous technical support for all systems developed and configured.
• Troubleshoot issues and offer improvements to ensure long-term stability.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project progressed based on monthly objectives, where tasks were estimated in terms of hours and focused on clear, binary outcomes (either the goal was achieved or not). Success was measured by completing key tasks within the allotted time and fulfilling the expected functionality.

Throughout the project, the main focus was on hitting milestones rather than tracking percentages of completion, as most deliverables were tied to specific technical goals. For example:

• API Integration: The API connection was successfully established with the vendor, allowing automated data exchanges. This was a critical milestone that facilitated other areas of the project.
• Automated Systems: Code for both automated value modification and command execution was delivered and integrated into the system, achieving the goal of reducing manual interventions.
• AWS Services Configuration: AWS services were configured according to specifications, ensuring a scalable and secure environment for the application.
• Database Creation: Databases were set up and configured as required, with optimizations to handle the data efficiently.
• Monitoring Systems: The creation of alarms and alerts was successfully implemented, allowing for quick identification and response to system issues.

While most objectives were met, there were also unforeseen deviations that required the team to focus on bug fixing and correcting failures. These issues often arose due to working in a challenging environment without a proper staging setup, which led to unexpected delays and additional troubleshooting efforts.

Despite these challenges, the team successfully adapted and maintained the overall project momentum.

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

The project management approach was well-structured, with monthly objectives and estimated hours for each task. Progress was also reviewed on a weekly basis, allowing for adjustments when necessary. If any deviations occurred, the team quickly coordinated new priorities and actions to stay on track.

There were times when the team couldn’t fully meet the original estimates, and delays happened due to unexpected bugs or errors. These issues were likely caused by the lack of a staging environment, which made testing and deployment more difficult, leading to some setbacks.

Despite this, the team was consistently responsive and proactive. They always addressed our needs and provided support at all times. Their communication was clear, and they adapted quickly to shifting priorities, ensuring critical tasks were handled promptly and efficiently, even under less-than-ideal conditions.

What was your primary form of communication with Zarego?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What I found most impressive about the company was the depth of knowledge and expertise demonstrated by the management team. Their ability to navigate complex project requirements and adapt strategies effectively, even under challenging conditions. The management’s approach to regular progress reviews and their capability to quickly address issues showed a high level of proficiency and strategic insight.

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

One area for improvement would be better alignment with time estimates. There were instances where the project didn’t fully match the original estimates. Improving the accuracy of these estimates and monitoring progress more closely could help manage expectations and reduce delays.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Devlights is a Dev Shop that provides Software Development and Staff Augmentation Services to startups My current role is CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We had to put together a team for a new client but didn't have enough developers at the beginning.

SOLUTION

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

Zarego & Devlights have been partners for a while now, we really enjoy working together.

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

The main idea was to create an online menu that can be accessed by restaurant clients by scanning a QR code on the table. The onboarding process was really straight forward. We started with one developer and inmediately added another one 2 weeks after for the next sprint. The technology stack was:

• AWS
• Python
• ReactJs

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

We used two people: 1 Back-end developer (Python) 1 Software Architect (AWS)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Zarego's crew did a really good job. They met every deadline established by the client

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

We had daily meetings every day to review progress and let the team know if there were any blockers. Also we had biweekly calls to make sure every task in the former sprint was fully developed and tested and to plan the scope for the upcoming sprint. We used Slack for communication and Git for version control

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

They really know whet they are doing. They exceeded client's expectations, always working with a really proactive and constructive attitude.

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

No major issues. I'd pick Zarego as our partner every time

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder/CEO of a digital product agency based in NYC.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed a near shore partner that could help us with a tricky web app project for one of our clients with a tight deadline.

SOLUTION

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

We had connected prior with Zarego and after reviewing their capabilities and pricing as compared to our other vendors, we decided to work with them on this project. Their affordable pricing and flexibility with project scope were key factors in our decision making process.

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

The project required building a custom 3-d based environment that was gated by a registration and login flow. The entire environment was made configurable by the development of a custom CMS that allowed our client to manage the environment. The web app was built using react.js, node.js and was hosted on AWS.

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

We worked with a lead full-stack engineer and a lead digital strategist/account manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to hit a very aggressive project delivery date that was tied to a live event and so we were very pleased that we were able to hit this deadline as was our client. We then provided ongoing support and did additional enhancements and improvements to the web app. These additional updates were also tied to specific tight deadlines which we continued to meet.

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

We mainly communicated via slack and daily standups via Google Meet. The project development was managed using JIRA. We provided project management and final QA from our end.

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

We really appreciated their flexibility and willingness to work with us on a tricky project. Having aggressive deadlines and lots of discussions to finalize scope.

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

When we first started the project we had some misalignment around expectations in regard to communication and meeting attendance. I would encourage Zarego to place some emphasis around these areas especially early on in a project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO & co-founder of Cinemad.tv. We provide solutions to help enhance performance of publications for others.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zarego?

We needed to have some software development done.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They are developing software for us, including formats and solutions. It is an out-stream format for video advertising which appears between two paragraphs in a site. The goal is to increase visibility of the ad by several players running at the same time. For example, if five players are running, the ad would increase from 1 in 100 to 5 in 100.

What is the team composition?

There are 2–3 people working with us on the project.

How did you come to work with Zarego?

They were recommended by a mutual connection.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $2,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together around July 2020, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They gave feedback when we shared our ideas. to help improve the solution. The process has been smooth. Results have been so positive that we have extended our engagement to continue working together.

How did Zarego perform from a project management standpoint?

They use Scrum methodology and are very organized. We have calls at the beginning and end of each sprint. They demo their work to us at the end of each sprint. They’re available whenever we call them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They don’t just create the ideas presented to them; they think about the bigger problem you’re trying to solve and make suggestions to create the best possible solutions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be aware that the research process takes some time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Einbock Academie, an education resource company that offers seminars, training, software, and books for engineers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zarego?

We only had a website that advertised the seminars, trainings, and books. We wanted to expand and build up an online learning platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Zarego developed our online learning platform. The platform enables engineers to do online trainings. They log in, pay a small fee, and they’re able to do online training. They used WordPress, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.

What is the team composition?

There was a key account manager who organized the entire project. There were two developers.

How did you come to work with Zarego?

I came in contact with the CFO. We had a small chat, a longer chat, and then some beer. Then we decided to do this together because our profiles were matching well. Their competency also matched what I had in mind for the project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested €2,000 (approximately $2,300 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July–September 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m very happy. I measure metrics by the amount of money I make with the online seminars, which I’ll know in about a month.

I also look at who signs up for the services. I’m satisfied with their work. The management and programming were both very good.

How did Zarego perform from a project management standpoint?

We worked in two-week sprints and met to discuss the work and next steps. It was a good process. I have no complaints with the project management. We had Google Hangouts meetings or used Microsoft Teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I liked that the team was open to my vision. I also liked that they documented all the stuff that they were doing so that I’m able to do it on my own next time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I’d have them improve. If they knew German, that’d be good, but not too big of a deal because we speak English.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have regular meetings to define the scope. Follow up every week or two weeks. Work in small steps.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director and founder of an investment hedge fund focused on blockchain technologies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zarego?

We’re working as market makers for centralized and decentralized exchanges in the crypto currency industries. We hired Zarego to help us build our own platform. We needed to create a very specific infrastructure to be fast enough to have our services work correctly.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They work in C# for all the infrastructure and intercommunications between all of the units on our product. We’re also developing on Python for machine learning optimization and backtesting. Finally, we’re using Solidity for smart contract interactions and executions of our strategies. We’re using AWS to host.

What is the team composition?

We work with five people from their team.

How did you come to work with Zarego?

I’ve known Matías (Co-founder) for several years. We needed a technical partner we could trust with certain aspects of our business. Since we have a personal relationship of over 15 years, that helped me grow in confidence with the company he’s handling.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2019, and our work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our measure of success is the time we have between when we present a new integration and when the deliverable is executed so we can use it. They were very responsive in making adjustments to products that were already launched and live.

How did Zarego perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done very well. Once the COVID-19 pandemic started, they started working much more than any provider because everyone was in their homes. The results were even better. They’ve worked late nights and weekends to get the job done.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The fact that I could mention problems that our business was having with scalability and they could resolve that in a timely manner was impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They are suffering what a typical growing business suffers in terms of human resources and scalability. If they could grow their team faster, it would be better. It doesn’t complicate the dedication they have for our project, though.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to have a product manager working with them. It’ll make it easier to generate a product plan and take advantage of their services.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of PontaMedia, a company that develops technology for the digital advertising industry. We started developing our product in mid-2013 and it was launched in the first quarter of 2014. We’ve worked with more than 100 brands over the last five years, including Fortune 500 companies. They’ve all chosen our company for advertising their services or products in a unique and innovative digital format.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zarego?

When the company was founded, we made a prototype of our BrandCAPTCHA product and managed to raise some money. We needed to take it to the next level, so we went to Zarego for advice and help with developing this service. Our company didn’t have a tech team or a CTO, so they’ve played this role while going through the transition from the prototype to the product we launched.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our product determines whether users are human or robots through the use of a captcha. This includes users interacting with registration forms, surveys, or anything else that requires validation. We came up with the idea for users to interact with advertisements, as opposed to traditional captchas that work with distorted words or letters. Instead of typing an ancient English word scanned from a book, they now have to type in the color of a car, the discount offered by the car company, or whatever the advertisement wanted to communicate to the users.

We needed to accommodate the increasing demand of ads we were receiving. We had big opportunities with telecommunications companies and banks using BrandCAPTCHA, so we needed to go from a hundred thousand to a hundred million captchas per month. Zarego took a few weeks to see the big picture and finally told us to start over from scratch since the prototype wasn’t ready to be transformed into a real product.

They recommended using AWS for the scalability it offers as well as its other useful features. We started creating an architecture there that could handle all the volume we would be having with the telecommunications companies. Zarego was very involved from the first moment they took the project on. They didn’t just think about solving the present problem but rather approached it as a long-term vision and solution.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four of them in the beginning. A few developers left the company, so I believe we were working with 2–3 of them towards the end. Zarego handled all project management. They acted as our CTO for the first year and we outsourced everything technology-related to them.

How did you come to work with Zarego?

One of our partners—our first seed investor—knew them from years ago and considered them capable and trustworthy. He told us that we needed to give this project to a company that could take it to the next level. We met Zarego in 2013 and we trusted them from the beginning.

How much have you invested with them?

I would say we’ve spent $70,000–$100,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Zarego in September 2013 and wrapped up around July 2015. We later took all the work in-house by hiring a CTO and a senior software engineer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In our first year, we had close to 100% uptime. We went from 100,000 captchas served in that time to almost 10 million. More than 20 million people have interacted with our captchas since we started and we’ve run more than 100,000 campaigns on the platform Zarego created, with more than 100 brands. We currently have almost 100 million impressions every month.

All of this was built on the foundation Zarego provided. The architecture is still on AWS and we’re working with the servers we procured back then.

We had a nonverbal service level agreement with them stating that they would intervene whenever we had a bug or a small crash. We didn’t have any problems in the first years, but if something happened, they had different response times depending on the level of importance. Since we didn’t have an in-house CTO, we needed them to give us solutions fast. Their team always responded very, very quickly. They knew that if we wanted to run a campaign for a client, we couldn’t take a week to solve a problem, so they were always available for us.

How did Zarego perform from a project management standpoint?

Zarego did an excellent job. We were very happy with them and we still meet with their team every now and then. We started working with them in 2013 and we’re still looking for new projects to do with them five years later, which speaks for itself.

We didn’t use any project management platforms, only Google Drive, email, and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were sincere and straightforward when providing solutions, but they also listened to our opinions. They know where their strengths supplement a client’s lack of skills. When I explained to them how something on the platform should be developed, they’d kindly tell me what the best way to do it would be based on their experience.

Since I’m not a technical person, I didn’t get involved in the details of the development but rather let them do what they did best. Furthermore, I’ve always appreciated that they were sincere with time estimates and provided precise timelines. They didn’t promise to complete a task in one month if they knew it could take three.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any specific criticisms. I believe the company needs to grow and offer their services to more people, but it’s their decision whether to expand or continue being a boutique software development company. I know that they’re skilled in what they do and they’ve worked with a lot of clients.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should just talk to them; they’ll see that Zarego has great skills for transforming an idea into a product. Their team will work on as if they were part of the company, not just a service provider. Go ahead and start working with them as soon as possible!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CIO of Genesis Bank

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Community Banking Services

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Front end development of Online Account Opening project
• Integration with third party via API

SOLUTION

How did you find Zarego?

Referral

Why did you select Zarego over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Zarego were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Built the frontend for our cusomers to create an account, go through the steps of applying for an account and recieve the information needed for a smooth process.  Integration with our KYC vendor to verify identity and address and perform ofac checks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Successful flow of process and response either way of pass or fail 3rd pary verification.

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

Very fast.  Met weekly and very good testing contstantly

What was your primary form of communication with Zarego?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They had good ideas and a fast response time.  Clean work.

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

no