Hive Exchange Technologies

Background

Introduce your business and what you do there

I’m the founder of Hive Exchange Technologies LLC.

Opportunity / challenge

What challenge were you trying to address with Gecko Dynamics?

We needed a partner to help us develop an app.

Solution

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created a platform trading app for iOS and Android. It serves as a marketplace that allows users to buy and trade different assets. Users can also collect data on sales, inventory, and market metrics. In addition to their development work, they created a logo that could be displayed in the apps. At this point, we’ve launched the deliverables, making tweaks and updates as needed.

What is the team composition?

At any given time, there were 8–15 people working on the project from their team. This included two project managers, front- and backend developers, and UI/UX designers.

How did you come to work with Gecko Dynamics?

I researched and interviewed several different software development teams, identifying the top five vendors from my findings. While narrowing it down, I was very aware of my company’s time constraints. We had a very stringent deadline that not every vendor would be able to meet. I made that a top priority in the interview, so Gecko Dynamics was up for the challenge. They were also transparent with costs from the start, which was encouraging.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $100,00–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

My company began working with Gecko Dynamics about 12 years ago.

Results & feedback

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

The deliverables are still in beta testing, but initial feedback has been good. We’d like to see improvement in the fluidity of swiping gestures in the final version. They’re planning to tighten that up a bit. Otherwise, the app functions wonderfully.

How did Gecko Dynamics perform from a project management standpoint?

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in development is miscommunication, so I was glad to not have to worry about it with them. I don’t have a technical background, so my vernacular is different from most dev shops. This was a learning process for me, but their team made it easy. Throughout the different iterations, they communicated clearly, translating technical aspects of the development into ideas that I could easily interpret.

Whenever I called, I got a response within six hours, even with a time zone difference. We primarily used email and Google Hangouts to manage the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The agility of the team was impressive. Halfway through the project, I realized that we didn’t account for factors that would present massive problems once we grew to scale. Once we alerted them, their team was able to come up with a solution on the fly. I also requested major design changes partway through the development. They were able to overhaul the whole design in about a week. Whenever we had a problem, they presented me with 3–4 potential solutions.

While I don’t have much insight into how the work was divvied up, I know they had to be working extremely efficiently to accomplish everything on time. They were spot-on with timelines, scheduling, and organization, especially since the project had to be overhauled twice.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’s hard to think of anything major. When I was thinking of a taxation solution for the app, I ran into trouble because of its complexity. I was trying to brainstorm, going out of my way to solicit their feedback, but it was challenging. It would’ve been helpful to have more initiative on their end because that was an area in which I lacked experience.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very clear in your communication and provide a thorough project plan. While being clear with your goals for deliverables is important, don’t be too ambitious. Stay patient with their team, because it’ll take a while to deliver everything. Once they complete, though, the results are excellent.