MOBIKASA

BACKGROUND

Koifee is a small privately owned company with an average of 10 employees. We’re based in Aurora, Ontario, Canada. Koifee's cloud-based platform allows small to mid-sized companies to create their own web and intranet as well applications. Content creation, management, and access are the key aspects of the platform.

I’m the founder and CEO as well as the chief strategist. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

The business opportunity is for small to medium-sized companies that are trying to make a transition to the next level where productivity gains are extremely important and availability of the latest company information at the right time is essential.

SOLUTION

Mobikasa carried out both consulting as well as a developing platform project based on the backend, which would automatically feed into a content management system of sorts. This system would create a website and an Android and iOS app for all devices. The platform was written using MySQL and hosted on Amazon Web Services. PHP was the language used.

Mobikasa collaborated with our guys here in Canada to develop this platform to help small to medium-sized engineering companies bring the efficiencies of content management, creation, and access to the day to day operations of any business.

For clients running an engineering company, we had issues where the controller wouldn’t update the exchange rates, which means it affected the content creator. If we didn’t have a means of posting that live, we would lose all the sales that occur or would gain on the sales that occurred before the information was updated by somebody else. So, how do we give power to the content creator in the business (e.g. financial services, engineering documents, etc.)?

This information is owned by the content creator, who publishes it on the backend. That’s what Mobikasa developed.

Also, whoever distributes the content is normally part of the corporate hierarchy, so my sales manager or application manager does not want to give all that information to all the application engineers—only the senior ones. Then, those documents would go to senior engineers in terms of access. So, who determines the content accessibility? That’s the programming on the backend—whether it’s a mobile platform that the person uses (iPad or iPhone) or the desktop, it will automatically show at the user’s end accordingly.

Basically, we try to put all the binders and files that exist in everybody’s offices and move them to a cloud-based platform. In small to medium-sized companies, people don’t know how to use email chains. Just because somebody is copied on something, he or she may assume that the sender is now giving the go-ahead. Emails chains become ridiculous, so we use the push notification protocol of the app to communicate more efficiently.

The entire platform is on a learning curve. We have 12 paying customers who are working with us, and we evolve this platform continuously. We have taken a year with Mobikasa and spent $150,000.

We met Mobikasa at the APP Expo in San Francisco. We selected them after interviewing two others—one in Poland, and one in India—that we were looking at working with. The one in India was a failure before Mobikasa came on board. We abandoned working with them. The one in Poland continued to help us with specialty things instead of this platform because they didn’t have the resources. It’s a quiet platform because we only want to work with 20 or 25 companies until the young blood comes to take over. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Mobikasa performed well. They did a good job. My only concern is that they don’t document very well. I think they didn’t understand the platform. We’ve taken over since then, so that’s fine now. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a startup based in New York City operating in stealth mode. We have developed a networking solution for corporate professionals. I am the founder of the company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Mobikasa?

I needed to develop my idea into an app. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Based on my initial ideas, I provided a PowerPoint mockup to Mobikasa. Their designers took those ideas to a much higher level and then engaged the developers. We did not spend much time in the design phase because we’re focusing on functionalities.

We've only developed the iOS version so far. After driving the adoption on this platform, I plan to build the Android version as well. We will definitely use Mobikasa for that. We've worked with a project manager, an iOS developer, a graphic designer, and a testing team from Mobikasa. I interacted with a total of 4 people.

How did you come to work with Mobikasa?

I looked for companies on Upwork and other sites. However, I wasn't very confident about that platform. Plus, I wanted to work with a company rather than individual programmers. I have dealt with development firms in Eastern Europe and other locations before. Since I value experience most of all, I chose Mobikasa based on a friend's positive experience with them. I was sold by the fact that Mobikasa had a process in place and had experience with development on both Android and iOS. Their pitch was very good, compared to the other firms I've used.

How much have you invested with Mobikasa?

The total cost of our project with Mobikasa has been between $7,500 and $12,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Mobikasa at the end of March 2016. The first version of the iOS app was launched at the beginning of July. It has gone through several iterations and testing cycles since then. Now, we're ready to submit a new version to the app store. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I'm 100% satisfied with the end product. There will be many changes made to it as we continue to drive users to the platform.

How did Mobikasa perform from a project management standpoint?

No tech project ever stays on budget, but Mobikasa was able to deliver the first functional version of my app in 3.5 months instead of 5. From that perspective, I was very happy. I give Mobikasa good credit for sticking to the schedule, especially since I've seen how this work can slip into 7 to 9-month runs. We used Microsoft Project for keeping everyone on the same schedule.

There were challenges in dealing with an international firm in a different time zone. Waking up to find new work can be a good thing, though. I can submit changes and find a new iteration the next morning. At the same time, for on-the-fly changes, communication is best done in the morning and evening. Mobikasa has an on-shore team that I connected with, but it was easier to deal with the project manager directly.

What did you find most impressive about Mobikasa?

Compared to the other companies that I've used for development work, Mobikasa provided a professional level of attention. This is because their owner used to be based in America and worked with local clients. Mobikasa constantly checked in with me to see if I was satisfied and to keep me updated. Beyond the overview on Microsoft Project, I received an email every couple of days, keeping me informed on the progress. Mobikasa is transparent and keeps a customer constantly at ease.

Are there any areas Mobikasa could improve?

I don't know how this could be managed, but having more US daytime interactions would have been an improvement. I couldn't call Mobikasa at 3 PM local time because their team was already out.

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

Mobikasa is great for clients looking to get a minimal viable product on the market while running on a tight budget. At the same time, they don't compromise on quality. Mobikasa has a good list of customers, which is reassuring from a quality control perspective. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are an exporter and seller of hardware and copperware home and kitchen items across the US. We operate through various online marketplaces, as well as our newly-launched website.

I am the Head of Operations and Business Development for the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with MOBIKASA?

We needed resources in order to develop our Shopify website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

MOBIKASA was in charge of the complete design, layout, and development of our website. They also handle SEO [search engine optimization].

How did you come to work with MOBIKASA?

We looked through various online portals. I had also heard about MOBIKASA through some friends who'd used them in the past. We started using MOBIKASA on that basis. They also had a slightly better offer than other quotes we received.

How much have you invested with MOBIKASA?

Our development package from MOBIKASA was roughly $35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with MOBIKASA a few months ago. Our website has been pretty much completed, but we do have various tweaks to make as we move forward. MOBIKASA has no issues in addressing our requests.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've received feedback from customers about features that they would have wanted to see on our site. For example, we received requests for a system which would notify users when a particular item is back in stock. We consulted MOBIKASA about this, and they went through a number of solutions, finding the best fit for our issue.

We are very happy with MOBIKASA. Given that we're new to the website game, we've made many changes across the project. We've worked with other developers, but I appreciated MOBIKASA's accessibility the most. Other agencies would disappear for 2-3 days after being given a task. MOBIKASA was always there for us, providing a solution to any change which we required.

How did MOBIKASA perform from a project management standpoint?

MOBIKASA has a very good, systematic working method. We've had a very smooth run with them overall. We've usually been the ones changing our minds and going from one idea to the next.

What did you find most impressive about MOBIKASA?

MOBIKASA has always given an opinion about what would be best suited for the products that we offer.

Are there any areas MOBIKASA could improve?

Nothing comes to mind. I'm very happy with MOBIKASA.

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

If they wish to save a bit of time, clients should do a bit of research on the type of website that they want, instead of always asking MOBIKASA for ideas. Changing the approach takes a lot of time.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a United States company that operates as a health and fitness blog helping people improve their bodies, making them lean and toned. and healthy. I've authored a book by the same name. which is currently available on Amazon.

What is your position?

I am the owner of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Mobikasa?

I needed help in creating my website.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

They've helped me in designing my website and developing its back-end functionality.

How did you come to work with Mobikasa?

My younger brother opened a different venture for which he worked with Mobikasa. I liked their design and decided to work with them.

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

The total development cost of the site has been around $3,000 to $4,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The website was launched at the end of January 2016. The project is ongoing. I plan to incorporate e-commerce functionalities into my website for selling my consultancy services.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I'm very happy with their work.

How did Mobikasa perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team coordinated very well and gave me a manager who was in charge of maintaining deadlines and everything else related to their work. I communicated through that person and was kept in touch at all times. Any changes I requested for the design of the site were immediately implemented.

What distinguishes Mobikasa from other providers?

They adopted my project as their own, focusing their attention on it. Even though there were lots of less expensive options on the market, Mobikasa does great work and never overloads themselves with projects. They listened to me and nothing got lost in translation.

Is there anything Mobikasa could have improved or done differently?

I'm not a technical person but, from my limited point of view, I found nothing to complain about. Mobikasa have exceeded my expectations.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a management consulting practice.

What is your position?

I am the Chief Executive Officer and owner of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Mobikasa?

I needed resources for developing my software tool.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

They provide back-end coding for the software tool.

How did you come to work with Mobikasa?

I originally went through a request for proposal process. Mobikasa was the first company to really understand my requirements, namely to build something that would offer great flexibility going into the future.

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

The cost of our average project together is around $35,000. We tend to spend around $40,000 per year on development work.

What is the status of this engagement?

The solution is currently in the marketplace. We're now working on refinements for a second version.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

When working on mobile applications, it's common for companies to deliver a project that is within scope, yet doesn't satisfy the customer's needs. Mobikasa knows how to work in an Agile way. As we built the wireframes and developed the code for them, there were refinements which needed to be made. We work within a complex environment, building for multiple different platforms. Their team has stayed on top of the work and offered the level of quality that I would deliver to my own customers.

How did Mobikasa perform from a project management standpoint?

I've used other vendors in India for software programming and have not enjoyed the experience. All my work with Mobikasa has been great. They're on time, on budget, easy to work with, and produce a quality product.

What distinguishes Mobikasa from other providers?

The big issue when working overseas with a group of programmers is communication. They do a good job of letting me know what their progress level is and what they're doing. At the same time, Mobikasa is able to deliver the work in a cost-effective manner.

Is there anything Mobikasa could have improved or done differently?

Their quality assurance [QA] process could be improved, but my company is ultimately in charge of this. We're the ones that deliver the product, so QA has to come from us. This is ultimately an un-realistic issue. I would like for Mobikasa to know what I know, so that they could do what I want done, without me having to actually engage with their team.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

The company is an organic and natural beauty company. We sell products that include makeup, skin care, body care, and hair care.

What is your position?

I'm the founder and owner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Mobikasa?

They were responsible for creating our website, which came out far better than we anticipated. It's beautiful. It's responsive, and they're currently doing our SEO [search engine optimization] where we're definitely seeing traffic being brought to our site. We're actually seeing results from their work.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

They are currently just doing SEO. They've completed our website for the .com and we have a .ca site that they work with on organic search. They've also done graphic design.

How did you come to work with Mobikasa?

Our domain is hosted by Shopify and, based on some of the reviews, speaking with them, and seeing how responsive and professional they were, we decided to pick Mobikasa.

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

It was less than $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

It's ongoing work. I enjoy working with them and, as our business continues to grow, we will require their services. We plan to stick with them and grow with Mobikasa as a partner.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We actually just launched a month ago [September 2015]. Based on an analysis of our organic SEO rankings, we do see a lot of traffic coming to our site from around the world. I'm not too familiar with analytics, but I do check into the bounce rate, which was very high.

After they started incorporating a few things, I watched the bounce rate decline greatly. In terms of sales, there is an increase, and we can now see how many pages people are visiting and in what order. That valuable analytical data helped me to understand our visitors more as opposed to them just doing the work and not providing reporting.

How did Mobikasa perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a good job on this front. I think this is a strength for Mobikasa.

What distinguishes Mobikasa from other providers?

One thing that stands out is that they're a one-stop shop. They offer website development and design, SEO, marketing, and graphic design. They have a bunch of professionals who know what they're doing. They're very responsive and being responsive is something that stands out for me. You might have something that's time sensitive, and sometimes I've worked with other companies where they took a lot longer than they said. But, Mobikasa's team is constantly there when I text them, call them, or email them. They are very professional.

Is there anything Mobikasa could have improved or done differently?

I can't say there is. I'm very pleased with them. After working with other companies and them, I can say for sure that Mobikasa constantly surpasses all of my expectations.

BACKGROUND

StreetLight is a start-up website and mobile application. For the hospitality industry, the product is an advertising platform to reach consumers nearby. For users, the product is a unique directory of local happy hours, specials, events, and live music. StreetLight will be launching in the Connecticut area with hopes to spread as our user base grows. The target market is largely the college demographic. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

StreetLight was founded with a challenge in mind. College students across the nation struggle regularly to plan their night. It is tedious to search through Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, and other listings trying to find out what is going on around them right now. Without previous awareness of an establishment, the issue is even further complicated. As a company, StreetLight believes we have an opportunity to connect the dots. 

SOLUTION

StreetLight had a mobile application for iOS and Android as well as a website developed. This technology was easily the most convenient and widely reaching media available to the market we are trying to reach. For that reason, we did not consider any other software or technologies. 

StreetLight met with five to 10 other developers before deciding to work with Mobikasa. They set themselves apart from the rest by challenging our idea. Mobikasa did not simply ask for instructions and complete the project. They worked with us in an effort to better our final product. As a result, they immediately earned our business.

The scope of the project included overall website and app design, development of an admin website, super admin website, iOS app, and Android app. Mobikasa assigned us a great project manager who we worked with us daily during the course of the project to manage each stage. The overall duration was about six months from start to finish. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

StreetLight will be live in the App Store and on Google Play in early October 2015. As a company, we thoroughly enjoyed working with Mobikasa. We do believe the technology will be successful but as a startup, only time will tell. If we could give any advice to someone considering a similar mobile app, it would be to spend the extra time when finding a developer. It was well worth taking the time to find Mobikasa in our situation.

Mobikasa was great throughout the project. Together, we worked out a design, scope, schedule, and budget. Once it was agreed upon, we were assigned a project manager who oversaw our project.

Overall, the process was seamless. Mobikasa was very flexible and accommodating when we ran into any errors or bugs within the app. We would certainly recommend Mobikasa to another company. 

BACKGROUND

We are a small jewelry design company focusing on wholesale accounts, but with 20 percent e-commerce sales.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

My online retail company needed to update our Shopify site with a new look and layout. We had to reorganize many of the collections as well as change the Shopify theme to work with our needs. It was not a major overhaul since I had the Shopify themes already set up. 

SOLUTION

Mobikasa was great at understanding my needs. They were strong with choosing the website color and theme. They understood the number of products to put on each page to be attractive and generate sales. They were strong with format for various collections and other content I added to my retail site.

Other companies I looked at wanted a lot of money even to look at my job, so Mobikasa was strong on price and attentive. Mobikasa had to change an existing Shopify theme and work with my needs, so it wasn't completely customized, but they did provide a great solution in the end for a great price.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Their timing was excellent. I was nervous about the programmers being in India, but it ended up working well since I could email requests, and they often had it done in the morning. There was some small communication problems over the phone, but with email, it was usually fine.

I was extremely impressed with Mobikasa's customer service and ability to figure out and change the Shopify theme to fit my needs. I am now thinking of using them for advertising and marketing since I thought their pricing was very reasonable for exceptional work. I have strong confidence in Mobikasa's services.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a small design and development foundation in New York City. We have had a variation of types of projects with Mobikasa. One of them was that we built a build-your-own-app website, and we have many projects that involve companies coming to us to build websites and apps. We pride ourselves in having very sleek and elegant designs and having nice user experiences and interactions.

What is your position and responsibilities?

I am one of the owners and the creative director. There are two other partner-owners here in New York.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Mobikasa?

We have been using Mobikasa as an ad developer outsourced partner and, in the last two years, they have developed almost 100 percent of our projects. They are wonderful partners for keeping a technical eye on everything, whereas we provide the design, direction, functional specifications, testing, and quality assurance. The goals for working with Mobikasa is different from project to project, but they have been our partners throughout the growth of our company.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

We started doing mobile apps development with them, but these days it is mostly web development. Back-end, front end – they provide the whole nine yards.

How did you come to work with Mobikasa?

We interviewed many different design firms based in New York, and no one was willing to work on development with partners who do their own design. They were recommended to us by a wonderful design firm in New York. They said that they often outsource to them because they are really reliable and fair, and they have great English-speaking team leaders who do a good job of project management. That is how we ended up finding them. They have two principals who are based in New York, so they just came into our office and had a nice meeting, and we decided to move forward.

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

It is in the $10,000 to $50,000 or $50,000 to $200,000 range usually, depending on the project. For example, the project we are doing now, we are paying Mobikasa $50,000 and receiving a much higher fee from our client.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with them for the last four years [since 2011]. This is an ongoing relationship and we have no plans to stop working. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I don't think I could divulge specifics.

What distinguishes Mobikasa from other providers?

I am very satisfied with their work. Mobikasa is very reliable and sticks with the job even when things go wrong. Things going wrong is to be expected when you are not sitting in the same room with somebody, and when there is occasionally a language barrier. Usually the results have been good. We have definitely run into a road bump or two around having a clear set of instructions followed for certain projects. But, then, they are always very willing to get it right and not charge us for anything that seems not to go right the first time.

They are very kind, lovely people to work with. All the technical leads that I have worked with are incredibly smart. Sometimes, as a designer, I am trying to think of ways for the user experience to be better, so I will ask them and they will come up with many great ideas.

Is there anything Mobikasa could have improved or done differently?

A couple of our projects we are already trying to improve on by starting to take more of an approach where we get smaller portions of the project right before moving forward to a bigger project. That was definitely something we didn't do in past projects. Before, we would hand off a huge functional specification document, and then wait while the project was in the incubation period. Then, it would come out and there would be many different things not so good with it. For instance, the quality assurance process was pretty painful. Taking it step-by-step now, which is good for any development company, has definitely improved our workflow and our product. This decision came from our end, and they were completely willing to do it this way.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

The company is a major floral arrangement online retailer, which is the category leader in the gifting space. It's a publicly traded company.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I’m the senior manager of mobile and marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Mobikasa?

Mobikasa helped us on a variety of initiatives, one of which is a site called Florists.com that we run. Mobikasa championed our effort on not only the design, but also the development of the sponsor site for Web, mobile, and tablet. They have three strengths that come to mind: Speed, quality, and innovation. They’ve been able to get us up and running in an efficient manner to do all our changes on the different platforms. They keep an eye on quality and doing things the right way and in an innovative way.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

For this eCommerce site project, Mobikasa's scope was to create a responsive design. They had to understand our business since e-commerce is a complicated space. They created designs in line with the correct user experience and feature set. They did the mocks and wireframes, and they worked with us toward the implementation. Of course, they train us on the back end and perform post-go-live support for us as well as future development.

What was your process for selecting Mobikasa?

We looked at a variety of different development shops. We started off with a different developer and were originally working with two other development shops. They were either very expensive, slow, or the quality of the work wasn’t there. Out of frustration, I had to change the development firms. Now, we're extremely happy with Mobikasa.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

The cost range was between $50,000 and $100,000.

When was the latest milestone completed for that work?

The work is ongoing. E-commerce is never-ending. Phase 1 was completed last month, and we're in Phase 2 right now, which will be another month. It will continue as long as we need.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

The work had a positive effect on the company in many ways. We spent a lot of money on search-and-display marketing as well as the design aspects. We had decreased bounce rates and decreased cart abandonment. We implemented a number of different optimizations, which increased our ROI [return on investment]. If I had to quantify our ad spend, our KPI [key performance indicator] is ad spend over revenue. That has been coming down. We have been able to test new concepts rapidly. The speed of execution is so fast that in a week, we can test multiple concepts.

How did they perform as a company?

They performed very well. We are very pleased and continue to give them more work, even in different areas. One of Mobikasa's key strengths is their large team size with a variety of skill sets. No matter what the requirement is, they are able to help correctly fulfill the project to completion.

Is there anything unique about Mobikasa that makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

We work with many companies and spend millions of dollars. Overall, we are very pleased because of the speed, quality, and innovation that Mobikasa offers. An example is their willingness to service the client and get the job done. They use a custom methodology that is based on Scrum method. Once a team is dedicated, they are able to turn it around very quickly.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

There is always room for improvement but, so far, it's been good.