Please describe your company and your position there.

I lead product marketing at a Series C Fintech start-up.

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

We were introduced to Novvum by a vendor that we were considering working with. Our goal was to rebuild our website using our current tech stack and in house designs but we needed to be sure the site was integrated with the vendor that we wanted to use to serve as a visual editor overlay that we could use once the new site was live. Our primary goal was to be able to deliver the new website as quickly as possible so we were looking for a web developer who could iterate with us as things moved along.

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

The vendor we were working with introduced us to 3 web developers - Novvum being one of them. What set Novvum apart was the extra time that they took to walk us through the process, educate us on our current tech stack and the strengths of continuing to use it, and overall impression that they left with us during initial meetings of being empathetic to our situation and willing to accommodate our needs throughout the process.

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

Develop a new website using in house designs using our current tech stack (Gatsby/Contentful) and integrating with a vendor provided visual editor overlay (Stackbit) Scope was approximately 6 weeks of work.

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

We had two assigned developers who were hands on throughout the entire process We had a senior developer/partner decked against some of the key deliverables that required additional coding We had a dedicated account manager to help run the project and keep us on track.

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

Novvum did an incredible job of meeting aggressive deadlines. They were able to bring Figma designs to life with very little deviation which is incredible. Everyone is thrilled with how the site came out and that is a testament to how the developers were able to code so closely to the designs.

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

We could not have asked for better partners for this unusual project. We had so little understanding going into this of the tech stack we were using and Novvum was with us every step of the way explaining how things work. Going above and beyond what would be expected of a dev agency. They were responsive and we never had to wait more than a few minutes to hear from someone when we had a question or when something was not working.

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

Novvum felt like an extension of our marketing team which is rare to find with an agency. It felt like they were with us every step of the way and were as invested in the outcomes of the project as we were. I have worked with many agencies and that is exactly the partnership I look for but they are hard to find. Really rare and I'm so thankful that we found Novvum.

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

Novvum bring such a unique approach to their projects which I love. It's hard to think where things could have gone better on their end. I think we could have done more on our end to make their lives easier. To that extent maybe something they could have done MORE of is ask questions when they felt like we were missing something or not doing something a certain way. More often than not it was simply that we didn't know what we were doing. Novvum was already going above and beyond in helping us on that front so hard to ask more more but I think it's just advice that when you work with people who don't know exactly what they are doing and something seems odd- don't assume that it's deliberate - just confirm if you can with the client that they are making a decision or taking action consciously vs. unknowingly ; )

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a founder and the CEO of Raizzz, LLC, a fundraising technology company.

What challenge were you trying to address with NOVVUM?

After years of plastic discount card fundraising for schools, we wanted to create an app that would allow our customers to utilize the benefits, convenience and popularity of digital community discounts and coupons.

What was the scope of their involvement?

NOVVUM took our basic ideas and concepts and designed a mobile app for iOS and Android that replaced our plastic discount card fundraising program. Our app combines the benefits of a discount card with the convenience of a smartphone.  It's a great upgrade for the sellers, the buyers, and the businesses that support it with community discounts.  

What is the team composition?

NOVVUM has provided us with a network of capable developers throughout our build, but we probably work with about 3 or 4 people closely.

How did you come to work with NOVVUM?

We spent 10 weeks searching for a developer, including looking on Clutch, and interviewed a dozen dev shops globally. We chose NOVVUM because they understood our vision and they were the best fit for our company.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our relationship with NOVVUM started in February 2017, and they continue to provide us with maintenance and support.

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

Even though our company has been in the fundraising industry since 1997, our new program is still very new, so we don't have many metrics to report as of yet. That said, we do have close to 10,000 downloads across iOS and Android platforms and the feedback from our end-users has been mostly positive. Our customer base has grown over 100% since the inception of the app and we are happy with the trajectory of the company. NOVVUM continues to do an excellent job of responding to our feedback and will be a major contributor as we start the process of building out version 2.0 of our app.

How did NOVVUM perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very responsive, organized, and instrumental in helping us achieve our goals.

What did you find most impressive about them?

In addition to being competitively priced, I like that one of their offices is only an hour away from our offices. The ability to meet with key members of their team from time to time really helped our collaboration. We've also had direct access to their top developers when needed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing significant. They are a motivated group of talented minds and I am glad we found them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Yes, make sure to interview as many developers as you can and then contact NOVVUM. You’ll be glad you did.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CTO of HyreCar, a car sharing platform.

What challenge were you trying to address with NOVVUM?

When our company transitioned from a full offshore team to a fully onshore partnership, we didn’t have the internal resources to renovate our legacy platform. We hired NOVVUM to convert our legacy system and build a new code base.

What was the scope of their involvement?

NOVVUM spoke with our customers to identify missing pieces on the frontend. The team aimed to adjust the user experience and upgrade backend functionalities from scratch. They then developed a custom backend on GraphQL and admin screen, which we used to manage customers alongside a third-party CRM. The team used React for the frontend and then migrated all data on to the new system.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people including the project manager.

How did you come to work with NOVVUM?

We considered multiple vendors, but NOVVUM stood out. The team understood our business needs as a startup. They also possessed an impressive degree of technical knowledge.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2017 and the partnership ended in December 2018.

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

NOVVUM eliminated nearly all the outages we experienced on the legacy system. Downtime is now almost nonexistent. We also received positive feedback from users and internal stakeholders.

How did NOVVUM perform from a project management standpoint?

Rather than jumping in blind, NOVVUM dedicated time to learn about our business. This strategy enhanced the team’s performance.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I have worked with a few agencies, but none has cared about the customer as much as NOVVUM. The team successfully took on challenges that our business team hadn’t initially thought through because they understood the nature of our product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

NOVVUM is a small team that uses cutting-edge technology. They are up to speed on the latest trends in mobile development.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder of College Path, a two-person company that provides college admissions advice to middle and high school students and their parents in preparation for the college admissions process.

What challenge were you trying to address with NOVVUM?

With Novvum, we were trying to figure out how to create a product that takes human interactions, that are very expensive for people to acquire, and open it to many more people while still providing the same great advice that we're used to giving in person.

I wanted people to understand my business and to create something that was efficient but engaging.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were responsible for creating a software program that is transforming our business from person-to-person interactions to a program that provides some of the advice.

They also help with search engine management and search engine optimization.

Together we built a program that's is the first virtual advisor of college admissions advice. They created a program that delivers custom admissions information to subscribers based on their own unique interests and goals. They used my existing content to create a program that guides students and parents through the admissions process.

What is the team dynamic?

I worked with a team of approximately four Novvum staff. We would communicate either in person or over the phone for one extended conversation per week with e-mail, text or phone call support as well.

Novvum created the team but they worked with me to make sure that it was a good fit.

How did you come to work with Novvum?

I started from scratch with them.

I scoured the web. We are both located in Orange County, California, so that's how I came to know them. I interviewed probably a dozen development firms throughout the world and ultimately decided to work with Novvum because they understood my business and what I was trying to accomplish. That meant a lot to me.

It was hard to find someone that I could trust apart from them and that understood what I was trying to create for the end user. They really had an appreciation for the user as the driver of success for this product. I can't say how appreciative I am for that perspective

How much have you invested with them?

Approximately $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

It’ll be December through July 2017.

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

Our feedback on the user interface has been extremely positive. I cannot stress that enough, that the feedback has been very positive.

How did NOVVUM perform from a project management standpoint?

They were satisfactory. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I think it was their ability to get to the purpose of why we're building a product and that's I think their greatest skill, that they understand the business.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, at this point, I'm satisfied with the process.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company is an early stage software as a service platform focused on food and beverage incentives for salespeople. I’m the founder.

What challenge were you trying to address with Novvum?

I needed a vendor to develop an MVP [minimum viable product] launch of my platform so that I could grow the idea and turn it into a successful business venture.

What was the scope of their involvement?

It was 99% development. There was a small amount of design work that we paid for, but mostly it was development. We’re using Algolia, Zapier, and GraphQL. Those are the types of services that we are using in the backend. We’re building a top, next generation web services to bring it to market as cheaply as we can.

How did you come to work with Novvum?

I met them at a co-working space, and we talked. I got competitive bids from a more standard app development company and talked to them too, so I didn’t go in totally blind. But as far as how I met them, it was a handshake, and then I went and did a little bit of research to see, from a cost standpoint, how they’d fit in.

How much have you invested with Novvum?

We’ve spent about $50,000 with Novvum.

What is the status of this engagement?

The timeline is roughly 6 months. They’re no longer the lead, but we’re still working on a piecemeal basis with them.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

It’s early days so not really.

What did you most impressive about Novvum?

What is unique about them is they are very good at taking a concept that is not fully hashed out. They’re very good at taking an idea and bringing that idea to something that’s real and that I can actually touch. I think Novvum has done a good job on that. That’s what I think their skill set is.

Are there any areas Novvum could improve?

I would be more critical to them than it’s fair for review because, in general, I think they have done a very fantastic job. It’s my nature to nitpick on that type of stuff. If I had to give them one high-level piece of advice, they are very good developers, but when a business is coming to them, part of what they are looking for is making sure you are comfortable with the people you’re working with. Part of that is having proper management in place. I’m not sure how to say that without coming off overly critical. I think they have done a nice job as far as being the young, entrepreneurial type of people, but I do think they need to shore up the project management side of their business.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Novvum?

Put some time into a well-crafted project brief.