BEON Tech Studio

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Patriot List. We’re a secure P2P market platform that was created for members of the military and veterans who verify their identity through the Department of Defence and the Department of Veteran Affairs.

What challenge were you trying to address with BEON Tech Studio?

I needed a smart and capable development team that could understand my vision and build a prototype to get it out into the marketplace as soon as possible. That included both the web platform and the Android and iOS applications.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re my development team, with the work ongoing. They’ve built both our iOS and Android apps as well as the website and the full backend stack, including the full database architecture and everything else. I designed the application, so I work in conjunction with them to make those designs a reality. They amplify them and make them better.

Unlike in marketplaces that revolve around cash, BEON was able to integrate both Stripe and Braintree to develop a payment processed system that allows users that are buying and selling expensive things to have an escrow capability. If the money goes into the account, the seller knows that the money is legitimate. They can then make the exchange, and the money gets transferred. The buyer has 24 hours to get it checked out.

The team has recently built the website to be fully functional—with everything connected together. Previously, users could see it, but transactions were only done through the mobile app. All the databases and backend systems are connected now, and they branch off with access points to iOS, Android, and the website. We’re doing QA with the website at the moment.

What is the team composition?

I have a project manager and direct access to both of the founders of the company. I work with the developers who do everything from design to front- and backend development.

How did you come to work with BEON Tech Studio?

A good friend of mine introduced me to Damian (Co-Founder, BEON Tech Studio) and Michel (Co-Founder, BEON Tech Studio). I had looked at many different companies and decided that BEON was the way to go.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together on this project from 2014–2015. Since then, they’ve provided maintenance support and additional features.

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

Members of the military and veterans have never had a marketplace that was built just for them, that worked globally and was connected to their geolocation. This platform now allows them to make secure transactions within the community. We’ve had a lot of great support from our customers, and BEON were able to build the platform in a great, efficient way that became really user-friendly.

How did BEON Tech Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

I would 100% give them two thumbs up. We worked together on Trello which is the most efficient way to work with developers. They use it in their internal system to share updates and get everything built on schedule, then inform me when things are ready. They’re impressive people, and everything has been going smoothly so far.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to quickly understand what my customers want and then integrate, build it, QA, and get it to market. The speed has been amazing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, it’s been a great relationship and I have nothing but good things to say.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very clear with what you are trying to build. Make sure you have thought through the design, screens, and how the functionality should look. They’re expert developers and designers, but they need to have a clear understanding of what the outcome of the product should be.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of SpaceDerby, an Airbnb for parking and event spaces. Users can list and book any available parking on any given timeframe basis.

What challenge were you trying to address with BEON Tech Studio?

We needed someone to help with development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built our website, CMS, CRM, and booking capability. They took it from idea to transaction capability in a manner of a few months. It’s a web-based platform, but it accepts mobile bookings as well.

I did some outsourcing on some logo development, but they contributed as well. They created wireframes and scoped out UI/UX, user path and experience, and how many different web pages we would go through. They also did everything in terms of the original graphic interface. I sketched out some designs, but they took the idea and came back with a full UI/UX deployment. We did everything in a LAMP stack.

They came up with an inventory management system as a way for us to allow our partners to create inventory, list that inventory, allow for scheduling of when that inventory is available, and differentiate pricing based on time frames and dates. It also allows for the ability to change and amend pricing at a moment’s notice.

From a consumer side, it allows a customer to search and book available parking inventory from a number of different locations. It allows them to go through and see pricing and availability, and it offers segmenting for different types of vehicles. They managed all that inventory and managed a full CRM system. The system includes customer data such as name, address, license plate number, email, and communications between our company and the customer, as well as our company and the inventory provider.

They integrated processing and booking capabilities such as credit card processing, billing receipts, transaction data, etc. It’s a fully comprehensive system and multi-device capable in a way that has allowed us to continue forward.

They also created an initial set of mobile apps, which we opted not to use later for business reasons, not due to any issue with them.

What is the team composition?

I interacted with their two principals at least once every two days. I frequently interfaced with a developer, and their graphic designer also worked on the project.

How did you come to work with BEON Tech Studio?

They were strongly referred by a longtime friend of mine who was a CTO at a couple of companies. He had used them in the past and was happy with their work. After a series of interviews, I knew they were the right fit for the role.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March—June 2014.

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

We joke that it’s the 100-day platform because they did everything in about 100 days. We’ve been able to provide real-time inventory to what is typically a very chaotic experience. Their work has allowed customers to plan ahead and know where to park at an event with multiple lots at multiple prices. It was a real benefit for customers as well as a real benefit to parking lot operators because they were able to plan their inventory and manage against that.

One interesting use case was that one of the specific venues we service is at a race track. A lot of the patrons have special needs or handicap parking, and they appreciated being able to reserve a parking space in an area that allowed them to access the facility easily.

How did BEON Tech Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

They delivered according to requirements on a tight schedule. They’ve been very open in terms of communication. I can always get in touch with them when I need to. They also were very responsive when we launched the platform. They were quick to fix any bugs that arose. It’s almost like they’re a part of the internal team. They’ve always been very professional in that regard.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have the ability to drill down and really understand the use case and the desired result. They weren’t there to arbitrarily throw tech at us. They really wanted to understand the business case and the customer experience before they made any recommendations on the platform. They were well-versed in multi-modal formats. They don’t specialize in mobile or specialize in online applications—they do it all. The fact that they were able to come at that from a comprehensive and experiential standpoint is what made a big difference.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’s a matter of educating a customer on what to expect after they’re done, whether that’s ongoing support from BEON Tech Studio or instructions on operating the platform after they’re done. However, they were still pretty diligent about sharing a lot of things in that regard.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Really talk through the use case and what the desired customer experience is. That will help them flush out not only the types of technologies and applications that they might apply to the project but also which staffing they will apply. They have a number of different experts across different verticals and technologies. It’s really about just being as comprehensive as possible so that they can apply their best people and their best recommendations.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product designer for Succulent Studios, an online subscription box company that ships succulents and cacti all over the U.S. 

What challenge were you trying to address with BEON Tech Studio?

I needed a partner to develop my platform using a specific technology stack. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

We do marketing, fulfillment, shipping logistics, and inventory control internally, so BEON Tech Studio needed to create a platform that let us do that easily and efficiently. I provided creative direction, and they developed and designed the website, landing page, and other platform components using a MEAN stack. They also set up our tracking and analytics, including the subscription piece of our service that rebills anyone on their anniversary. Through the platform, we can print labels and add and issue shipments.

What is the team composition? 

We have about four full-time developers and a designer who comes on as needed.

How did you come to work with BEON Tech Studio?

I met BEON Tech Studio’s founder when he worked at a different development company. He did good work, so when he reached out to me about his new company, I hired them.

What is the status of this engagement?

This project began in March 2017, and the work is ongoing.

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

They build out our stack exactly as we need it. 

How did BEON Tech Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re fantastic at project management, using email, Slack, and Trello to communicate. We talk every day, and their developers are like part of our internal team. I’ve worked with them on numerous projects, and the team never changes much, which I appreciate. It allows us to work well together.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with tech startups for 20 years, and I wouldn’t do any projects without BEON Tech Studio. They’re consistent and do high-quality work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I've seen. 

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Your partnership will work the best if they integrate themselves with your team and aren’t siloed off.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of aPrintis, a media company that helps small communities publish magazines and newsletters.

What challenge were you trying to address with BEON Tech Studio?

Our website was functional and included a quote request feature, but did not have pricing information on it. We hired BEON Tech Studio to convert our site into a platform by developing a price matrix and functionalities for PDF review and feedback.

What was the scope of their involvement?

BEON Tech Studio designed and developed the platform. They implemented our requested functionalities.

What is the team composition?

The team includes a project manager, developers, and designers.

How did you come to work with BEON Tech Studio?

One of my former mentors at a marketing services company recommended BEON Tech Studio. He’s selective with referrals, but mentioned their team because they could accommodate my needs.

I then had a long conversation with Damian (Co-Founder, BEON Tech Studio) about my business; I got the sense he had a comprehensive development approach. His team had a flexible working model, which I quickly felt comfortable with.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $130,000–$150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working them in July 2018 and the partnership is ongoing.

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

The platform has a low error rate with virtually no mistakes or bugs. It has boosted our business by handling a range of obstacles and functions. Currently, we’re rolling out new products and expect to see a financial impact in 4–5 months.

How did BEON Tech Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re happy with BEON Tech Studio’s output and productivity. The team stays on top of their work and provides timely warnings if they may not hit a deadline. We have 2–3 calls per week and use Trello to track progress.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Although the team doesn’t have deep insight into our industry, they created designs that matched our vision for the platform and the customer experience. Their ideation and execution exceeded our expectations. They think not just in terms of features, but also technology, productivity, efficiency, and ease of use.

What’s more, the team has a versatile range of skills. They allocate resources as needed for each phase. Initially, I thought that their pricing was a bit high, but they’ve been flexible with cost.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything. They’ve met every goal.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should explain their challenges in as much detail as possible—not just the development requirements. The build quality will be much higher as a result.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of Candy Club. We were a direct-to-consumer subscription and e-commerce company, but we’ve recently ventured into more omnidirectional channels like retail and wholesale. We’re in the confectionary industry.

What challenge were you trying to address with BEON Tech Studios?

Our original Magento platform had a lot of problems and limited customization options. We brought in BEON Tech Studios to build out our proprietary e-commerce system.

What was the scope of their involvement?

BEON Tech Studios took over the whole project, rebuilt the platform from scratch, and improved our customer’s shopping experience. They developed our website using the LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP) architecture stack. We’ve since redone the frontend with AngularJS and created customer dashboards within the platform. It hosts all our products and third-party integrations. They’ve been our partners for the last three years.

What is the team composition?

Except for an internal CTO, BEON Tech Studios is our entire technology team. We have no engineers or QA internally, so it’s all managed by them. Luckily, they’ve been able to accommodate our needs by assigning the proper resources. We work with 3–8 people depending on the project’s requirements.

How did you come to work with BEON Tech Studios?

They were brought in by a previous CTO.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent above $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with BEON in 2015, and it’s an ongoing engagement.

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

We track various e-commerce metrics, and while BEON Tech Studios has no involvement with how many visitors we get, the conversion rate is something we keep a close eye on. We always look to their insights concerning user retention, the long-term value brought to customers, and how we can improve the platform’s UX. They’ve worked with a lot of different clients across e-commerce, so their knowledge is valuable. They go beyond the functions of an engineering team in that regard. We also appreciate their input into the initial planning and crafting of projects. Overall, we have a successful relationship. They’ve risen to the challenge, and it’s been great.

How did BEON Tech Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re heavily engaged with our day-to-day operation despite being a remote resource. They do a great job of staying on top of things. We meet a lot to go over feedback, and they make adjustments based on our comments. It’s been a good relationship over the years, and it’s nearly optimized. BEON Tech Studios is a great team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I haven’t worked with other providers in this kind of setup before, so it’s hard to provide a fair comparison. I will say that they’re incredibly responsive and, in addition to executing what we ask of them, they’re good at giving feedback on how we can change things for the better.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We address things as they come up. There’s a reason they’ve been with us for almost three years. We’ve had to change the team size and dynamics along the way, but they’re flexible enough to do that without much difficulty. We’re incredibly happy with everything they’ve done for us.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I encourage future clients to strive toward in-person meetings. It’s easier to communicate over Slack, but there’s a lot of value in meeting face-to-face. Those interactions facilitate brainstorming and make them feel less like an outside resource.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm am the Head of Ops for a startup based in the US.

For what projects/services did your company hire BEON Tech Studio?

BEON sourced and hired an engineer for us. This talented resource works for us 40 hours a week and is managed through BEON, which takes the responsibility of operating in a foreign country out of the equation.

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

We used a variety of sourcing tactics and BEON delivered the highest quality the fastest.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We needed a back end engineer to help take our product development forward.

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

We discussed our needs with an account manager, reviewed resumes they sent to us, and interviewed the candidates that we thought were a great fit for Trend based on their skills.

Can you share any outcomes from the engagement that demonstrate progress or success?

We hired one engineer through BEON and each time that we need to source more engineers, we go through BEON. We currently only have 1 resource through them but are open to hiring others through BEON.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow is pretty hands off which is appreciated as a startup. Simple comms through Slack connect. Mostly async work.

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

They do a great job sourcing quality candidates.

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

Nothing immediately comes to mind.

Please describe your company and your position there.

QCarePlus is a healthcare software company focused on delivering care to the LGBTQ+ community. I am the Chief Executive Officer

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

The BEON team has help expand our platform experience for both our patients and providers. We are currently building our next generation platform in which BEON plays a critical role in

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

The BEON team is the most experienced team that we reviewed and their professionalism match their capabilities

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

This work is ongoing with and consist of work within PHP, Redis, React and Python

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

5 contractors full time within the development team

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

The team has produced great work thus far and have met the timelines of these projects

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

We do daily stand ups . Jiri and Slack are tolls that are used everyday for communication

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

They are committed to making sure the work is done timely and with quality workmanship.

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

NONE

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CTO of Banyan, a fintech startup.

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

Beon has helped us find talented software engineers to work with on a flex basis as our software development roadmap has expanded, to augment our in-house staff in a challenging hiring environment.

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

Beon was recommended to us by an investor who leveraged them for a prior company's development work. They were impressed with the quality of work, and the product spoke for itself, which made the decision quite easy.

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

The developers in this staff augmentation have been an embedded part of the core development team, and participate in sprints. They are skilled in Golang, AWS, Google Cloud, and Javascript.

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

As many as two senior developers have been with the team for now.

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

Beon's team members are flexible. They fit perfectly within our agile sprint environment, and do a great job of collaborating within our Slack/Zoom/Github/Asana context.

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

We like their positive attitude and high level of collaboration of the staff in a rapidly changing startup. They combined this with their ability to quickly learn new technologies has been great to witness.

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

No concerns from our end.

Please describe your company and your position there.

A leading marketplace for creatives to rent/buy/sell creative gear.

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

We hired a contract through BEON for a complex tax calculation project, as well as a supporting role on an internal tool project.

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

Engineer led and good clear communication.

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

We evaluated and integrated 3rd party software APIs, and built custom logic to handle our unique use case to deliver a taxation feature on our marketplace. Both front-end and back-end technologies were employed.

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

Just one engineer from BEON, plus occasional PM.

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

The project was delivered on time and relatively bug-free by the engineer.

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

Good proactive check-ins and reviews.

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

Engineering led, clear communication and honest in business.

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

So far so good!