Hidden Brains InfoTech

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a mobile and desktop platform that allows people to purchase items from third-party sites in the U.S. and in the U.K. through all parts of the world. We’re essentially a plugin that allows people to buy products and shop internationally. If you’re in Kenya and you want to buy something from Macy’s, you can use our plugin to complete the acquisition. I’m the founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hidden Brains InfoTech?

I have some development knowledge and I knew it was possible. We reached out to Hidden Brains with the idea for people in other parts of the world to be able to acquire products using local currency, being able to manage an account and the buying system and going through a whole purchase strategy online very easily using different languages based on where they live.

We also wanted to prevent fraud by creating a fraud alert and modification system. We needed someone to create a tool that does all of that very easily, something the customer can download, install, go through, and integrate with over 200 stores globally. It was a very big challenge.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We talked with them to map out the project. We had many interview calls to collaboratively finalize the scope documents. We looked at it, reviewed it, modified it, and worked together to build that out. Once the scope document was built, we then worked on the timeline together to make sure we were all on the same page as far as deadlines and resources go. We also looked at the backend. We needed to know if this would be a Microsoft or PHP platform. We also looked at code bases together to decide on that. Then we started the project.

They would build out different modules and design concepts, and we would simultaneously test them. We worked with the design team to make sure that the flow was easy to follow. While the design team was developing the cognitive architecture, the developers were developing the backend and testing.

After the design phase was done, we did several benchmark reviews and timeline reviews and tested the product. Then we moved on to various waterfall-type tests, followed by customer tests. Finally, we launched, and since then, they’ve been helping us maintain the product.

The product is both mobile and web. They developed apps for iOS, Android, and Windows. Back then, the Windows platform on mobile was still a big thing. They also worked on the Blackberry platform for us. For the web version, they did an app for us for both PC and Mac and they’ve done web apps for us for Chrome and Safari. They’re working on Firefox right now.

They have helped with strategy and branding. They’ve been very helpful in telling us how we can improve the customer journey with the code base we are using. They’ve been able to give us very interesting information on security and how it can secure our platform.

They created the logo for our platform and came up with our color scheme. They’ve also been helping us with branding, which has been amazing. The only thing they’ve done in the marketing space is making sure our platform is SEO-friendly. We’ve taken care of the other marketing internally.

What is the team dynamic?

The team has varied. In the beginning, there were about 35-40 people working on our project because we needed developers, designers, and project managers. That number has come down to about 20. We still have a head of design, a project manager, a project manager assistant, iOS developers, an Android developer, and developers for Chrome and Safari extensions.

How did you come to work with Hidden Brains InfoTech?

I did a Google search for Indian developers. I was trying to find a developer either in India or in Russia; those were 2 areas that I knew we could get some relatively fair-priced developers. I found some I was interested in and gave them tests. Out of the 10 companies,I tested in both Russia and India, Hidden Brains came out on top.

The reason I chose them was because of the way they wrote the code and the way they initiated conversation with us and asked questions. The test was somewhat simple, to create a very quick platform, but everybody writes code differently. I looked at the way they wrote the code, the simplicity of the code, and if they documented items within the code that follow some pretty standards rules, and they did that. They went above and beyond which was very nice. They actually did the whole design layer. They asked a bunch of questions that nobody else asked, and what they ended up delivering was nothing short of really good. It was a clear winner.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $1.3 million and $1.4 million since we started working with them. The initial project cost $450,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don’t have any metrics. We haven’t sent surveys or anything out to users or to our staff, but Hidden Brains has been phenomenal every step of the way. We’re very happy.

We’ve won a techie award for best app. We were just announced as a Drapers finalist, which is a highly coveted app award in the U.K. We’ve received five awards so far about how good the app is. We have over 100,000 downloads and the average rating has been 4 out of 5. The feedback has been good. The app has also won awards on cognitive architecture.

How did Hidden Brains InfoTech perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been very good with project management. Deadlines and costs shift depending on what we’re doing. Right now, we have a certain number of resources we pay for every month. If we need to modify that and scale up or down, we can discuss it with them.

They’re very good at keeping to their timeline. The project manager is very communicative with us and keeps us in the loop on everything. We use Slack and a bug tracking system that they’ve created. They have their own proprietary bug tracking system. They test the product, and if there are any issues, they definitely get those bugs or issues taken care of and then we move on. We launch the product and then we move to the next project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I would say their communication and their keen sense of detail. They go all out when it comes to asking questions and making sure they’re very detailed on projects and assignments. They make sure they know the ins and outs of not just what we want to be done, but why we want it done. They question if we’ve thought of doing things another way, and in doing that we’ve definitely improved our product.

They ask these mind-boggling questions that make your company and your platform a better platform, because they think things through and ask you questions before starting to build, which is rare. Most people just do what you say. They don’t come back and ask you questions and give you different insights.

Another interesting thing they do is that they conduct a lot of research into competitors. They tell us what they notice about a competitor and ask if we have thought about doing something similar but adding a certain element to it. We have those kinds of deep conversations. They’re not just a development company, they’re part of the team and they want to make us successful. You get that sense from them, which is extremely rare.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Hiring more designers in the beginning, but they took care of that. We got more designers on our team. I can’t think of anything else; we’re very happy with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The business is called SimpleFund. We are a mobile fundraising technology platform that uses advertising dollars to raise money for nonprofits. We are based in Buffalo, New York and I'm the co-founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hidden Brains InfoTech?

We were looking for a mobile app developer and web developer. We needed an advantage for our startup so we wanted to do overseas development to cut costs.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built an iOS and Android application. It allows users to raise money for any US non-profit by consuming content within the application. We had a basic wireframe and general concept of what we needed.

We gave them a 20-page spec document. They came back with us with ideas on each point. They put together a proposal for us. They came up with solutions that did things that we wanted that were even better than our original ideas. They have done a ton of mobile app development so they were able to explain things better and provide better ways to do many things.

We had seven or eight SDK integrations with third-parties. That was a big part of the project and probably took the most time. They also built a back-end admin with controls and reporting functionality.

How did you come to work with Hidden Brains InfoTech?

I researched overseas development shops and picked ten that looked very experienced. I reached out to about ten total and provided a RFP. I narrowed it down to three or four companies. Hidden Brains wasn't the cheapest but also not the most expensive. They had a ton of experience in what we wanted and their price was in our budget. I felt the most comfortable with them.

How much have you invested with Hidden Brains InfoTech?

That information is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2016 and we are still working with them every day. The application was launched in November 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have about 50,000 users, which isn't necessarily because of Hidden Brains but we were able to build a valuable mobile application. Users are using it on a normal basis. 

Our ratings in the various app stores are positive. They always do what we ask, which is their job.

How did Hidden Brains InfoTech perform from a project management standpoint?

They are great. There is always a communication barrier between the US and India but for the most part, they have reduced this. We use Basecamp for project management and communicate over Skype.

What did you find most impressive about Hidden Brains InfoTech?

I think they truly want to do a good job. Their reputation matters to them.

Are there any areas Hidden Brains InfoTech could improve?

It's hard to say what they can do better. Communication is always the biggest challenge when you work with an overseas partner. That is always something to work on. Besides that, I have nothing specific.

BACKGROUND

I am the CEO of a financial startup that offers the first cryptocurrency social investment network. We are small but growing quickly and have a lot of development needs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

We have used other development companies in the past but needed help with our core product on iOS, Android, and desktop. We needed a firm that was affordable but also could work quickly and have a lot of varying expertise with different technologies.

I've tried other firms in the past but was looking for a stable company to partner with for years.

SOLUTION

We work with Hidden Brains for all types of development with many technologies. They have over 100 developers and are experts in many different programming languages. 

We have cooperated on many different initiatives since late 2015. We usually communicate via a complicated set of Google docs that they created for us to improve project management. 

We send them development work and then we give them feedback so they can iterate and make improvements. We take feedback that we get from users and pass it to their team to constantly improve our core products.

Our work rate with them varies and fluctuates. Sometimes we have a ton of work for them and other periods, we have less. I would estimate that we spend $5,000-$7,500 in the average month.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

I like the Hidden Brains team a lot. They are flexible because they have a large team and manage the project well. The mobile apps that they have created have been received well in the market. We have over 4 stars on both Android and Apple from users.

Our CTO is more directly involved than me on the projects. He likes their technical skills although we have to ask for fixes sometimes. The work isn't perfect but it's very good and they don't miss deadlines. They compare favorably to other development companies that we've used in the past.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there

We developed an app for Autoclubamigo.com. I am the owner and I hired Hidden Brains for the development of this project.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hidden Brains InfoTech

The development consisted of a classified ads application for used and new cars sales, all types of maintenance services, auto insurance and it includes a fourth page that has other car components. Users are mostly buyers and sellers and we are able to connect them to develop new business between themselves. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

To develop this application they used technologies based on Apache server, MySQL Database, Linux, PHP and some other technology development tools.

What is the team dynamic?

I believe it was a 6-person team but I only interacted with a development engineer that maintained communications with me. We had meetings, conference calls and he constantly presented all of the development progress. Not really sure how many people participated directly aside from him. Perhaps one or two other developers, guided by the development engineer.

How did you come to work with Hidden Brains?

The first developers that I hired here in Mexico did not perform well. Then I hired some student developers from the University of Monterrey that abandoned my project and another firm in Guadalajara that took my money. None of them worked.

Then doing some internet research, I found Hidden Brains and connected with someone from their marketing team. I read some of their history, viewed their work portfolio online and then we started talking. They prepared a budget and sent a prototype. Once I approved the prototype, they started working and this first phase which lasted around a year.

What is the status of this engagement?

I’ve been working with them for 12 years. They provide ongoing maintenance and fine tuning.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app’s functionality has been tested and evaluated by other professionals. The reports say the technology is working well. The app doesn’t have any functionality problems. We have certified the app and its users feel confident with the tool. The app is ready and complete and it even has a payment portal. Now we have to do some marketing and SEO to help people find it and make it more widely known.  

How did Hidden Brains perform from a project management standpoint?

They used Basecamp, where all communications were reported. They presented their progress and models in it, and it’s still active. I’m able to see previous communications from a year ago. Everything was well documented. We initially signed a 90-page document that had all details of the project in it. I wasn’t able to find a local firm that provided the quality of service, money and time savings that I found with Hidden Brains.

What did you find most impressive about Hidden Brains?

Their work methodology made me feel confident about them. They created a prototype in 3 different versions. They let me revise this concept and once I authorized this model or prototype, they started working on the project. I was very impressed with their organized work.

Are there any areas Hidden Brains could improve?

I consider them to be excellent. At first I had doubts but before signing I did research on them. Everything worked well and their work structure was first level or top-notch.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm an entrepreneur with a small company that offers an online email system where businesses can target and deliver their sales promotion to virtual mailboxes that are matched to actual physical street addresses from anywhere in the world.

Let's say you are a mattress store and you want to target a certain zip code for customers. With our system, local consumers can receive promotions on whatever they want. Buyers can pick and choose promotions based on their preferences. It's very targeted for the businesses to find interested customers that want to buy.

The second stage of this product offering is for the service industry. We focus on electricians, plumbers, and other similar professionals. We retained the services of a company in Texas to customize their software for our customers.

The software allows our clients in the service industry to use a 3d tool to preview work done for potential clients. We want to make this offering easy for service industry clients.

The third part of the business that Hidden Brains works on is affiliate programs. We work with large retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, Amazon, Home Depot and Best Buy. Hidden Brains has created a searchable database for these clients.

The database allows buyers to search for certain products at many different local stores to price shop online. The retailers love the exposure and the customer targeting we provide.

I am the founder and CEO. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hidden Brains InfoTech?

We didn't want to hire local developers. I have been burned working with developers in the US and Canada in past years.

I wanted a deep team of technical talent that could handle all our needs. It was great to find an overseas team with a large set of capabilities so I wouldn't have to hire multiple vendors. We worked with a company in the past to grow our concept but we needed a new team to build the affiliate program part.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In March 2017, they built the last portion of the system, which is the search engine for all of the affiliate programs that we work with. And now we're going to launch it in September.

They are focused on design and development. I'm not as concerned about support right now. They did the entire site from start to finish. They came up with wireframes and were professional throughout. I really think it worked better to let them do everything from the beginning. 

How did you come to work with Hidden Brains InfoTech?

I did online research and found them via their website. I interviewed a lot of their customers. They had really positive testimonials so I felt comfortable hiring them. They also have competitive pricing.

How much have you invested with Hidden Brains InfoTech?

We have spent about $80,000 in the past year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in June 2016. They completed the first phase of the system in December 2016. We then paused the work for three months but started again on the second phase in March 2017. They finished the second part in July.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

What they delivered was more than I expected and I would have never gave given them the second version if it wasn't great. I don't think I will ever switch my development team. I am so happy that I never plan to shop around for different companies.

How did Hidden Brains InfoTech perform from a project management standpoint?

We did a very refined analysis of what they built with a company based in Las Vegas. The analysis came back positive so we are very happy. We think it will be successful when we incorporate social media.

What did you find most impressive about Hidden Brains InfoTech?

As I said, we've tried working with local firms. I've worked with a company in the Toronto area because they are local. We've had very bad experiences. The process was a huge waste of time and we kept sinking in more money for nothing.

Hidden Brains has a different process. They usually take a week to start any work because they ask a lot of questions before they start to develop. They take the time to do their work properly at the beginning. They put all of their questions at the beginning on paper for the client. Then they made me sign off on all the work. They then asked me to sign off on the wireframes. That is the reason that the product has been delivered not only on time but earlier than projected. And the process will not change because they are so meticulous at the very beginning. 

Sometimes I need changes. They have not charged me any extra for that. Also, it has not extended the delivery of the system. That's the reason that it would be very difficult for me to go and work with another company.

Are there any areas Hidden Brains InfoTech could improve?

The only issue is the time zone. Sometimes I would need to work late at night or early in the morning to communicate with them. However, they were flexible and worked until midnight sometimes to give me time to give feedback. It really wasn't a big issue but I would love if they moved to Toronto.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our app is like Uber for real estate agents. We connect agents with contractors such as electricians or handymen.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hidden Brains?

We had our app developed locally, here in Virginia Beach, but we weren’t happy with the development firm we had used. We wanted to find another agency to complete the work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We sent them our code that the prior agency had done. They combed through the code to see how the app worked. They worked on both the front and backend. The app has third-party integration and payment processing. We had specific action items we wanted them to do such as hiding some details on the app screen and adding and removing things from the web services side. We’ve recently added some pop-up screens and a rating system. They’re currently working on the Android version of the app.

We initially had a quote-based model and an on-demand model, but we asked them to hide the quote-based model. We had a feature that would send the tradesmen a text every day, asking them to update their availability. We asked Hidden Brains to hide that as well, as it was too taxing for the contractors to keep updating their schedule every day. Instead, we asked them to add a feature in which the real estate agent could pick a day and time. That lead would then be blasted out to all the tradesmen in a given category. The tradesmen would get a job description and contact information for the agent. In addition, Hidden Brains worked on the geo-location for the jobs and a lot of smaller features, like putting a notes section to the job description. They also added a feature that allows people to upload pictures to share with the contractors.

How did you come to work with Hidden Brains?

We found them on Upwork. We chose them because their response time was quick, their pricing was fair, and their job description was good. It also helped that their English was very easy to understand. If we didn’t understand someone on the team, they found someone who could speak better English for us, which was great.

How much have you invested with Hidden Brains?

We’ve spent in the range of $5,000–$6,000 to date.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in November of 2016, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The iOS version was launched in November. We’ve had a lot of people signing up, but only a handful of transactions. Our main focus right now is getting more transactions, and we’re limited right now because the Android version isn’t launched yet. I think we’ll have better metrics within the next couple months when that is out. Their technical skills in accomplishing all the front and backend work have lived up to our expectations.

How did Hidden Brains perform from a project management standpoint?

The work has been great and communication is awesome. They’ve been flexible with payment because we wanted to pay as we go. We use Basecamp, which is very easy to follow, as well as Skype and email. They update us on what they’ve done each day. Meeting the timelines has been great. We talk to one developer on a daily basis and another guy on the support side for questions or concerns. There’s also a team leader who gets issues resolved quickly. We had problems with bugs, but they seemed to jump on it.

What did you find most impressive about Hidden Brains?

Their communication is good. It’s affordable to work with them directly, as opposed to someone here in the States who will farm the work out to them anyway.

Are there any areas Hidden Brains could improve?

I wish they had more access over the weekend because if we have an issue, we need it resolved quickly. They need a way to accommodate customers in emergency situations.

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

It’s vital to be in charge of your own project and know who’s working on it. I think direct communication with the developers is key.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Energy SCP, a game company. We manufacture games for families to enjoy during tailgate parties and similar outdoor events.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hidden Brains InfoTech?

We needed someone to build an app and website for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

After they built the iOS app, I was pleased with their work and decided to have them build our website from scratch. Aside from our e-commerce website, they also did some graphic design work. Hidden Brains then did the integration with our third-party service providers, including Tapjoy and social media. The app is linked to our website so we can do push notifications there as well.

How did you come to work with Hidden Brains InfoTech?

Hidden Brains was recommended to me by a friend who had just launched an application. We gave them a chance to give us a quote and then compared them to other companies in terms of price, project planning, and overall commitment. They met all three of our criteria, so they won the bid.

How much have you invested with Hidden Brains InfoTech?

We’ve spent between $10,000 and $50,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in December 2016, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have any metrics yet.

How did Hidden Brains InfoTech perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management is all done through Basecamp.

What did you find most impressive about Hidden Brains InfoTech?

Their response time has been excellent, and they’re very well managed from a project perspective. It’s good to have soft reminders that are not annoying. The specs were very documented and there was never a question as to what I was getting.

Are there any areas Hidden Brains InfoTech could improve?

We have now switched to using Skype to communicate. That could’ve been suggested earlier in the project, as it would’ve helped us get to know each other better.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We're a small to medium-sized web agency in London, primarily focusing on the design of websites and online marketing like search engine optimization [SEO] and social media.

What is your position?

I'm the Director of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Hidden Brains?

We've recently expanded our services to the mobile app space, which is where our work with Hidden Brains came in. We approached them in order to help out with the resourcing requirements we had as a small company which is just starting out. We've recently picked up a lot of clients who are interested in the mobile app space. We are not resourced enough to take on this volume of work and decided to outsource one of the projects to Hidden Brains.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Hidden Brains has been in charge of development for iOS and Android. They also took care of project management in terms of keeping track of timelines and milestones. They came up with a user interface design based on our requirements for coloring and branding. Our role was more as a mediator. After working with them for a couple of months, we became confident in the fact that they knew what they were doing and were quite good in terms of agendas and time keeping. My role is simply to make sure that invoices are up-to-date and that Hidden Brains has received the client's feed-back.

How did you come to work with Hidden Brains?

We originally found them on oDesk.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

This is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them for four to five months. Our project is due to be launched within the second week of April, 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Our client has been happy with all the demos and wireframes we've sent through. Hidden Brains has done good work. They were pragmatic in coming up with app ideas and understanding who the target audience was. They paid attention to elements of business analysis, which made them very good to work with.

How did Hidden Brains perform from a project management standpoint?

Their turnaround time has been quite fast. Hidden Brains has met all of the timelines they've set for themselves, and has also been proactive in identifying bugs and areas in which the app could be improved from a business continuity sense. They've been attentive to detail and adept to suggesting fixes and improvements, which took a lot of pressure off of my team.

What distinguishes Hidden Brains from other providers?

Their integration with WordPress particularly sets them aside. We've only used Hidden Brains for one project but we know that they develop web services and APIs for the platform. This can be quite challenging, as it's not quite as open-sourced as Drupal. They've found ways around this and developed certain API services themselves. This branch of their work has been quite good.

Is there anything Hidden Brains could have improved or done differently?

When working across time zones and with different cultures and languages, there can be a communication issue. I wouldn't put this down to Hidden Brains. A lot of the time, we receive bad signals from a language point of view. This is definitely an obstacle in this type of relationship.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Our company is an online legal encyclopedia and research website.

What is your position?

I am the founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Hidden Brains?

I needed to set up a website that would serve as a database in which I could enter articles and that would also provide all the other features necessary for interfacing with a consumer. The database was the main focus.

The website would essentially be the beginning point of my company. The first part of my plan was reaching out to Hidden Brains. My biggest challenge was basically that we were starting from zero.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Hidden Brains developed my website using Wordpress. We chose this platform due to budget constraints, but they also gave me the option of creating it from a blank slate.

Wordpress presents a few challenges in terms of what can be done through the platform. Hidden Brains was very good at making sure that everything I wanted could be done. Our collaboration was a back-and-forth process.

My website is more or less typical, consisting of a homepage and a database (which was the most important part for me). The site is mobile-friendly, but otherwise there aren't a ton of features on it, e-commerce or otherwise. The elements which are important to me may not have been important to many other people interested in web development. While a regular site would simply have posts and a comment section, I wanted to easily add citations and footnotes for the information on it, since this is a legal site. I learned that it was actually a bit complicated to implement these features, but Hidden Brains was able to do it successfully.

They offered me search engine optimization [SEO] services, but this wasn't something I could have started before uploading the actual content on it. When it went live, I only had a few articles available. It wouldn't have made sense to start any SEO work on it before I could have the chance to add some articles.

How did you come to work with Hidden Brains?

I put up an ad on Elance. I had interviewed a lot of people already and came to the conclusion that I could either pay a lot of money for a US developer, or choose a company abroad, where there could be a communication barrier. I often explained the idea behind my project four times before making myself understood.

One of the sales people from Hidden Brains called me. They spoke perfect English and were able to understand what I wanted. They also have a project manager who has some engineering experience. She was my main point of contact, also speaking perfect English and perfectly understanding what I wanted. I did speak to the engineers themselves once in a while, but she was my main contact person. The engineers spoke good English, but the project manager made the biggest difference.

I had three reference calls with previous companies Hidden Brains had worked for. They proved to be the best option in terms of cost per value.

I drafted some wireframes for what I wanted the website to feature. I had a few phone conversations with Hidden Brains and thought that they were adept in understanding what my needs were and asked the right questions, which was the main reason for hiring them. Initially, I wasn't sure I'd want to work with a team outside the US, but Hidden Brains changed my mind.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total development cost was under $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Hidden Brains in November of 2015. The project was completed at the beginning of January of 2016, despite a two-week period in which I was on vacation.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I thought that Hidden Brains did a great job. I'm still in the process of building the site's content, so I'm not currently showing it to a lot of people. It's a legal encyclopedia, so even 30 articles would be too little content for it. It needs a base of hundreds of articles before it can be marketed. The site is randomly accessed each day, but traffic isn't yet relevant.

Overall, everyone who has seen it has thought that it's a high quality site and said that it looks nice. The homepage was built from a basic wireframe of features. Hidden Brains was very good in making the site's design. Everything that I requested through my original wireframe was included.

How did Hidden Brains perform from a project management standpoint?

They have a good team that is broken up into different roles, which makes them efficient. I received daily reports showing me the current progress. They answered any of my questions, and vice versa. Hidden Brains is very good in terms of communication.

What distinguishes Hidden Brains from other providers?

There were some features which they initially thought couldn't be implemented through Wordpress, but they pushed hard to deliver them nonetheless. They were a good team, delivering what they promised in a cost-efficient way.

Is there anything Hidden Brains could have improved or done differently?

My only issue was with their time zone. They're based in India, so their work cycle was exactly opposed to mine. By the time I could respond to an email, they'd be unavailable and, by the time they responded to my emails, I was about to go to bed. I raised this issue with Hidden Brains and they offered to make resources available on flip hours in the future.

Otherwise, they delivered what they promised. They were on time and their quality of work was high.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Clickin.com is a marketing relationship enabling website that helps agents and businesses collect digital contact information in ways that are currently not possible for them.

What is your position?

I am the owner of Clickin.com.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Hidden Brains?

I hired them to create a website for my project.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

I had initially hired another developer who came up against something he couldn't accomplish. Basic pages and coding had been made for the site, and Hidden Brains took over from there. The site is mobile-responsive right now, working on various device sizes. The next step of the work will involve building e-commerce capabilities.

How did you come to work with Hidden Brains?

I posted a job on a specialized platform, possibly Fiverr, to which they responded.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total development cost has been under $10,000. Their pricing was one tenth of what I would have paid for a local firm.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August of 2015. The first build of the project was completed recently. The e-commerce portion of the site remains to be built.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Hidden Brains produced exactly what I was looking for, down to the letter. It hasn't been released on the market yet, so I have no user metrics.

I can say that the bug count during the development phase has been better than the average output I've encountered from other developers.

How did Hidden Brains perform from a project management standpoint?

There seems to be something missing in the working method of most developers. They tend to trust their code more than they should, which leads to lack of rigorous testing. This sometimes created delays, due to having to send the work back.

Another issue I've encountered is lack of information from the developers. They might create a log-in, but not send the data for it every time, or they might create a new feature and not explain how it ties in with other features connected to it. Projects are not documented in a way that would help a non-developer save time and not have to figure things out for themselves. This is something I've told Hidden Brains: they should consider employing someone to go through their work orders, compare that information to the outcome, and create documentation stating how features work. This kind of approach would elevate any developer's quality of output.

What distinguishes Hidden Brains from other providers?

I've operated websites since 2006. Back then, they were simpler, of course. I've worked with a few developers for them. I had the opportunity to hire someone from India in 2010, but didn't do it because I perceived a lack of accountability on their part (both in charging me for incomplete work and fixing issues that could come up), and the time differences could be difficult to work with. It was a leap of trust for me to work with someone that far away.

The current site was brand-new, and wasn't worth anything before I had it built. I was able to take a chance with it, and I'm overall happy that I did. First of all, I was able to save a lot of money. Secondly, the outcome was generally less problematic than normal in terms of bugs found.

I worked with one developer from Hidden Brains. They didn't hand me off to whoever was cheaper, which is a real possibility with other firms. I also worked with the same coordinator. She sent work orders out to the developer and to the designer. There was good continuity in terms of how they communicate. There was one person I could go to, whether I needed to add something new, needed to check the work being done, or wanted to do some design work.

Is there anything Hidden Brains could have improved or done differently?

Even though they charged very little for what they did, I would have preferred the development hours spent to have been better accounted for. They communicated tasks in terms of something taking 2-3 days and costing $400. I have enough knowledge about programming to know that no task takes that long. Working an 8-hour day, you can achieve a lot. Again, they charged me $400 for a particular feature that I knew would cost me thousands locally, so I couldn't complain.

If they really wanted to up their accountability, they could use freelancing services that actually show screenshots of the person working, along with time stamps. Even though a good programmer could circumvent that easily, it would give the person paying the bill some sense of value for their money.