NaNLABS

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an engineering manager for a cyber risk services startup based in San Francisco. The company has 100 team members including 40 full-time engineers.

What challenge were you trying to address with NaNLABS?

We needed additional resources because we had client projects to deliver in 3–6 months.

What was the scope of their involvement?

NaNLABS collaborates with our team to create solutions, including product architecture. Their team helped design, implement, and deliver a web app, which was built on Java Spring Boot and hosted on AWS. They supported quality control too.

What is the team composition?

Across the three-year collaboration, we've worked with 2–7 people from NaNLABS. We’re now working with four senior engineers and technical architects from their team.

How did you come to work with NaNLABS?

I had a successful engagement with them while at a previous company. I decided to engage them in this project because of their skilled, committed, and collaborative team.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, the total cost is $100,000 or more.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with NaNLABS in May 2018, and it’s an ongoing engagement.

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

NaNLABS produces top-notch work. Before working with their team, the quality of code and coverage was 0–10%. We increased those numbers to 85%–90% with the help of their engineers.

In the span of one year, we worked on 6–7 complex projects and had successful deliveries. We also adopted a lot of new technologies such as AWS Lambda, Serverless Computing, and Elasticsearch with the support of NaNLABS.

How did NaNLABS perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Jira to track the projects. We don’t feel a difference between our full-time employees and NaNLABS’ engineers. NaNLABS adheres to our guidelines better than many of our internal team members.

We work across countries, and NaNLABS proactively notifies us about upcoming holidays or times when their team will be unavailable. I have never had to check on them in that regard over the past three years.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Rather than just doing what we ask them to do, NaNLABS asks us questions and considers alternative solutions. They give us alternative proposals and after a proposal's finalized, their team completes the task. NaNLABS takes responsibility for projects, working hard to finish their tasks even if it's after hours. They’re flexible and contribute to our projects.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It hasn’t affected their deliveries but NaNLABS could help their team members improve their English language abilities. NaNLABS is providing English lessons to their employees, so they've improved.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

If clients make their process and project requirements clear, NaNLABS will deliver.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of MoxUnion. We’re a cyber insurance platform for agents, brokers, and producers that are selling commercial cyber insurance.

What challenge were you trying to address with NaNLABS?

I’m in a pre-seed phase of Mox right now. I’ve done a lot of working speaking with customers, researching in the market, and getting some of my mockups into high-fidelity wireframes. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

NaNLABS helped me complete my vision of going from wireframes to a React application that I could demonstrate in relatively high-fidelity. 

During the initial scoping conversations, we were both in line with the technologies we should use to develop the product. We used Node.js, React as the frontend, and AWS. They also agreed that if we did any future development together, we’d want to be very microservice-based with a cloud-native architecture. All of that was really nice. 

What is the team composition?

Four people were assigned to this project.

How did you come to work with NaNLABS?

I’d been looking at some firms to help me accelerate my interface design for some time. Earlier this year, I attended RSA, a big conference in San Francisco. I met a mutual colleague of NaNLABS that had done some work with them before, and they recommended them to me. I had an interview with one of the founders of NaNLABS, and it went from there.

It was awesome that I found them because they’d done work before in the cybersecurity industry. They weren’t the only firm I looked at.

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost about $9,000. It was pretty affordable for most folks. 

What is the status of this engagement?

This project began in mid-June 2020. We completed the initial scope of the project in mid-August 2020.

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

Their work has definitely allowed me to complete the story better when I give my demonstrations. Rather than having to use wireframes as my demonstration infrastructure, I now have an interactive React application.

The scope of the work was to make a demoable application, not an MVP, so there is very limited backend functionality. The interface design was great. I think this project went well because they’re a super competent team, but also because I provided them with everything they needed and had the scope of work pretty much pre-defined.

How did NaNLABS perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great; I was the one who didn’t hit all of my deadlines. They used Slack, Google Meet, email — they were willing to communicate in any way we wanted to. They also got on individuals calls with me. All of that was really helpful.

They leveraged ClickUp, which is a pretty popular project management standpoint. They also used a tool called Storybook, which was nice for documenting the element of our React application.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Something I like about the NaNLABS team is that they’re open to new concepts. They’re from regions outside of the US; the founder I spoke to lived in France, and the team I worked with worked in South America. Everyone was bilingual, which was a benefit. They came in with open minds because we were from such different regions. The team was very proficient and technical. If you can put what you want into words, they can deliver to that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If I need to do another project like this, I’d probably use them again. I think that they could probably get more business if, at the end of every project, they gave a short writeup of where the partnership could go from there and present their vision of working together again to the client. I’d love to see them own the ‘problem’ by making suggestions for the next round.

Any advice for potential customers?

I gave them as much as I possibly could. When working with NaNLABS or any company like them, the client needs to have their stuff together and know what they’re looking for. I was able to provide them everything they needed, as well as go into architecture and technical conversations. Being prepared and giving them information is what allowed them to hit the ground running.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of an AI company. We automate expense reports.

What challenge were you trying to address with NaNLABS?

We wanted to automate the process of corporate expense reports.

What was the scope of their involvement?

NaNLABS is our development team. They built Android and iOS apps to automate our corporate expense reports. They did all of the integrations that we needed with Google Calendar, a phone’s photo reel, and a lot of the data science matching of receipts to calendar. They pretty much handle all of our development. 

What is the team composition?

We work with four team members.

How did you come to work with NaNLABS?

We were looking for a company that could develop not just a prototype or MVP, but an app that can be used by thousands of people. We went through our network, and NaNLABS came highly recommended by a few people.

At the time, they were going back and forth between South America and the US, so we got to meet them in San Francisco. That has changed with COVID, but their talent is exceptional, so their location doesn’t make a difference to me.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $50,000–$100,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together for about a year. We’re still actively working together, and we highly recommend them.

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

They’ve done a fantastic job, and we’re delighted by their work. The results are a happy customer and a great product. 

How did NaNLABS perform from a project management standpoint?

I give them an A+ across the board. They’re great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We had a very complicated task, and they’ve done a great job solving everything. I recommend them for both simple and complex work. I think most companies ship iPhone only, so they’ve excelled in shipping something that can be used on both Android and iOS platforms.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president and head of production at Tongal, a studio-on demand platform.

What challenge were you trying to address with NaNLABS?

We hired them to build a website for one of our clients. It’s a place to open source creative ideas for a large toy company.

What was the scope of their involvement?

NaNLABS is building a new platform with new technologies. The team is doing the front- and backend and adding flexibility. They're including notification systems, payment platforms, and ways for the community at large to work together on creative ideas. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working with five full-time developers, and we’ve also had two consultations with their co-founders. 

How did you come to work with NaNLABS?

We did an extensive search first to find a partner. NaNLABS was then recommended by the head of product whose friend had worked with them and sung their praises. They came out as the clear frontrunner because of their services, experience, and what they were offering for the price point.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $67,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in January 2020, and our engagement is ongoing. We’ll be working on this project till the end of September 2020, and we’re talking to them about updating our codebase.

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

We went through rigorous data testing where we had about 250 data testers. The feedback has been overwhelmingly fantastic. What’s been great about our partnership with NaNLABS is that we’ve been able to address feedback and make changes quite quickly.

We’re aiming to go live in August 2020. The technical work has been exceptional, and our internal tech team has become a better team because of NaNLABS’s experience. It’s been a very collaborative environment. We like them so much that we may continue working with them to update our own technologies. 

How did NaNLABS perform from a project management standpoint?

They are fantastic about meeting deadlines. We talk with them every week and we have a biweekly retrospective on our work. The team is also integrated into our Slack, Jira, Asana, and Kanban Boards.

They communicate very well in English, and we haven’t had many issues with things being lost in translation, which is impressive. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their integration and collaboration are impressive. They integrated well with our tech team, which has been invaluable for this collaboration. They’re quick and clean in their development, which is great. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I have no suggestions. Anytime something has come up, the team has been able to help us to problem-solve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Lean on their experience. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at a venture capital firm that focuses on real estate and construction technology. Specifically, I work on business development opportunities with the firm.

What challenge were you trying to address with NaNLABS?

We raise capital from large corporations, primarily in the real estate industry. We needed a systemized platform to share the range of companies in which we could invest.

What was the scope of their involvement?

NaNLABS built the platform from scratch and connected it to several APIs. The team developed the backend and scraped data from other platforms that we used daily.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people.

How did you come to work with NaNLABS?

A colleague introduced NaNLABS to our team after working with them. I had spoken with other developers, but NaNLABS was the first vendor to promise a quick turnaround. The team was reasonably priced and also had the benefit of an endorsement from someone I trusted.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent just under $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in November 2018 and development wrapped up in February 2019. NaNLABS is still doing maintenance on the platform.

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

The project was a resounding success because NaNLABS delivered what we had promised to our limited partners for a very long time. Currently, the platform as close to 60 C-Suite users from major corporations that use it daily, if not at least weekly. Although there’s potential to reach out further to the real estate industry, we’ve chosen to keep the platform in-house due to its proprietary nature.

How did NaNLABS perform from a project management standpoint?

The team brought technical expertise and valuable insight to the table. They had quick turnaround sand demonstrated impressive flexibility. Likewise, the iterative workflows were always timely.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were clearly invested in the project from a time commitment perspective. Passionate and helpful, NaNLABS always came from a place of yes.

Are there any areas they could improve?

NaNLABS delivered on their promises in a timely and professional manner. We would use them again.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the co-founder and VP of digital experience and operations for Tesloop. We’re a long-distance ride-share mobility service using Tesla electric cars. We provide transportation from Los Angeles to destinations such as Las Vegas, Palm Springs, and San Diego.

What challenge were you trying to address with NaNLABS?

We needed to create a new web application to allow our customers to book seats in our cars. In the prior versions of our booking website, customers had trouble navigating through the workflow of booking a trip.

What was the scope of their involvement?

NaNLABS developed the frontend of the web app using React, as well as Redux for handling data. One challenge was that we were already using a Django open-source web framework to manage the database. They had to work very closely with our internal architects and backend engineer to create the API endpoints required for the new frontend.

The web app allows users to book as many or as few seats as needed. Our vehicles run at a pre-scheduled time but not on a predefined route. Users choose from many available pick-up and drop-off locations. For example, a vehicle traveling from Los Angeles to Palm Springs can make stops along the way to pick up or drop off in over a dozen cities.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two frontend developers and one backend developer. We also worked with a UI/UX designer.

How did you come to work with NaNLABS?

They were referred to us by a product consultant who was helping us with our information architecture. We’d been working with a development shop in Ukraine, but it was slow going. We decided to switch to NaNLABS on the strength of his referral. We also liked that they were willing to work with our existing technologies, and they even learned new systems as needed.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent in the range of $100,000–$150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them on this project from April–September 2018.

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

Our company made a business decision to undergo a pivot, so we don’t have many metrics for this web application. However, we did do both internal and outside user testing. The web app performed exactly as designed. The quality of their work was evident. There were no dead ends or bugs that could cause users to get stuck and not be able to proceed. They helped us to rethink some of our UX choices, which resulted in a more cohesive user experience. We're even using some of their developers on our new project.

How did NaNLABS perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication was excellent. This was the first time I've worked with an external development shop that didn't have a dedicated project manager. I actually found that their system worked better. They had a lead developer handle those duties, which meant there was no extra layer between our teams. We had direct communication with their team, and that was more effective.

They adopted our product management tools since we were already using Pivotal Tracker. We appreciated that they were willing to embrace our technologies in order to give us the stack that we wanted. They were highly organized and diligent about setting expectations in terms of deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They delivered world-class results while dealing with our constant iterations. The results would still be impressive if we’d given them a highly-detailed spec right from the start. We instead made real-time decisions based on user feedback, which created a highly agile environment.

It’s spectacular that they were able to deliver such high quality given the rapidly evolving requirements and design direction. Their team really took the initiative to explore and understand our business challenges and specific operating quirks. They really got to know our business despite not being able to directly observe our operation.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We tried to share some of the backend workload in order to increase our throughput. Ultimately, we found that that didn't work well. For their part, NaNLABS recognized that they weren't able to fully integrate and deliver at the same velocity on this part. They discounted that work for us, so we didn't pay for anything that wasn't up to their standards.

Any advice for potential customers?

The more that you have your internal processes and procedures well-defined and mapped out, the easier it is for them to adopt. They’re willing to take on any project management tool and follow any procedures you already have in place. It will make the process quicker if you have that information well-documented. We’ve done that now, so any additional developers that we add in the future will have an easier time getting to know our process without having to ask a lot of questions.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the E-Commerce Director at Open Sports, a retail company focused on the sports sector.

What challenge were you trying to address with Nanlabs?

We needed someone to develop all the online platforms for one of our brands.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They worked in PHP and with SQL to create a customized Magento site. They also expanded our product catalog, improved our ordering process, and integrated various payment and shipping modules. They also created some custom developments for our catalog regarding image visualization.

We’re currently working on a project to incorporate various features and improvements in our shopping cart and check-out process. We went through our developments with an eye towards our target audience – millennials in particular – so we made sure that the site was mobile responsive.

What is the team composition?

At the beginning there were three people involved in the project, but the number increased once we got started.

How did you come to work with Nanlabs?

I know one of the company’s SEO resources, so I’ve been familiar with them since they began. We had a bad experience with a previous provider, so we wanted to find another partner. We decided to work with a local startup because of the proximity and our knowledge of their work.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent $30,000 on the first phase of the project, but now, we spend between $5,000–$7,000 every month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since July 2017.

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

They reached all of our goals and delivered everything on time. The site is scalable and they fulfilled all of our design and UX priorities. Site performance has been great since the launch, as has functionality.

How did Nanlabs perform from a project management standpoint?

They explained their ticket system to us, which we found to be a good and transparent tool, especially so for our non-technical team members. They used Trello internally and their response time on incidents that arose was very quick.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re our technology ally, showing us new ways of doing things and making their own proposals. They commit to excellent performance. They generate budgets and solutions quickly to show you the best option.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We don’t have any complaints at the moment.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re experts on giving you solutions as long as you effectively communicate effectively what your goal is.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Keep A Breast Foundation.

What challenge were you trying to address with NanLabs?

We needed help with app development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed an iOS and Android app for us. It’s a self-check tool for breasts and is in six languages. It’s a simple app that shows you how to do your own examination. It has a feature to send an automatic reminder. We’ll add future features in the future.

What is the team composition?

I’m not sure how many people worked on the project. I was in touch with Julian [Web Solutions & Co-Founder, NanLabs].

How did you come to work with NanLabs?

They were highly recommended by a good source that we work with. They were really nice and affordable.

How much have you invested with them?

$7,000 this year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from 2015 until 2017.

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

We were able to greatly increase the users of the app. We just reached 50,000 users.

How did NanLabs perform from a project management standpoint?

They were really fast and really easy to work with, and were great communicators throughout.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It can be a challenge working with people in other countries, but with them, it feels like they’re next door.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CEO of Loquatree Ventures. We are a recently launched parenting website for parents with kids who have a range of issues that need assistance and support. The site is to connect parents, practitioners, and educators for these children. We have 5-10 employees and are based in Oakland, California. 

What challenge were you trying to address with NaNLABS?

We wanted help developing our platform. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a rough idea of how we wanted the site to look and feel. We had built a functioning prototype. Along with my partner, who is a design expert, we rebuilt the site based on preliminary feedback. NaNLABS did a redesign and complete overhaul of the web design.  We outsourced the entire project to them. Building the site, maintaining the site, operating the site, and they could do it all. It wasn’t just a little module.

It’s a relatively complex site with user log-ins, credentials, accessing other members, reading data reviews, articles, etc. They also helped the site be accessible and responsive to mobile devices, email services, reminders, and other tools. They essentially were our project manager for the site development, as well as the engineers that developed it over the 2+ time frame.  We just launched the site with all the necessary features we had wanted. We plan to continue expanding other capabilities such as a downloadable app next year with them. 

What is the team dynamic? 

We had a project manager and 1-2 engineers depending on the project’s phase. 

How did you come to work with NaNLABS?

We found them through a referral from another small startup we knew through a friend. They felt their experience was quite positive based on a short-term project they had used them for. So, I reached out to NaNLABS and the founder, Matias [Creative Solutions & Co-founder, NaNLABS]. We started discussing our project. Even though they were a very early stage company, they seemed like a group of smart people who could do an impressive job. 

We were looking at various development alternatives. We didn’t want to hire an in-house engineering team. We wanted to keep our staff focused on design, outbound communications to our customers, and marketing. We were looking for an outsourced company. We looked at several locations across the globe mainly for a lower cost structure and experience building similar sites. We looked at options in southeast Asia and eastern Europe. We eventually picked Argentina because of the minimal time difference. It was only a 4-hour time difference from the California, where we are based. We looked at a few firms in Argentina and quickly honed in on NaNLABS. They were the best fit for what we were trying to do. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $150,000-$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2014 and the work is ongoing.

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

They were much more than an engineering team. They really engaged with the project. When we came back with designs and requirements, they would offer us multiple alternatives. They gave us feedback on why they thought something might work better than what we had envisaged. They were collaborative, which is one of the reasons we really enjoyed working with them and will continue to do so. It was really better than I ever thought it would be.  They’re an impressive team overall.

How did NaNLABS perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated on GitHub, Jira, and Slack. The team is very efficient on each platform and we communicated daily. We were doing sprint based developments. Every 2 weeks we would have a new release. We knew exactly what was going to be in every release. We also knew what the next releases would include. We worked with one project manager, Sabine [Business Development, NaNLABS]. I can’t speak highly enough of her; she’s incredibly organized, with top-notch communication skills. She’s detailed, thorough, and gave weekly updates. When she took over as project manager, she ran a very tight project. It was really impressive. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were flexible when we had different ideas for implementation. They did a really good job of researching tools online. Even if they weren’t aware of a certain kind of toolset or engine or library, they researched them quickly and were able to incorporate them. They have a very high learning skill level. When we came across something they had not done before, it wasn’t an issue. They covered the gap within days.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing stands out. They’re based in Argentina. It’s a foreign country and for payments, you have to do an international wire transfer. It’s little details like that. That’s not a problem, but if they had a U.S. entity or some sort of mechanism to work within the U.S., that would be a little easier.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a company that makes virtual reality tours for real estate.

What challenge were you trying to address with NaNLabs?

We needed outside engineering help across a broad spectrum of skills, but especially for full stack web app development. Instead of hiring 5 different people in-house, it made sense to go through an agency.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did a cross section of backend and frontend engineering. They used HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Ruby on Rails was the backend. They also used WebGL.

What is the team dynamic?

I've spoken to at least 4 different folks. Our needs have gone up and down over time, and they've adjusted to it.

How did you come to work with NaNLabs?

An agency in Los Angeles we had worked with highly recommended them. They suggested NaNLabs because they'd worked with them and one of the lead developers was well known in the development community.

How much have you invested with them?

Around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January of last year, and the work is ongoing.

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

We still work with them. I can’t speak more highly than that. They’ve been an integral, essential, and appreciated partner in our everyday workflow. It was a complete success, and we're continuing to build this company. I couldn’t be happier with their service.

How did NaNLabs perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication is good; they use Asana. They've been willing to work evenings and weekends as deadlines have demanded it. Any time I’ve wanted something changed with the project management, they've done so. It’s been great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What we wanted was very non-standard. It was a combination of a technical and specification challenge. If you’re doing something that hasn’t been done before, its specifications tend to be loose and dynamic. We now have the best web-based VR tour player on the planet, and we have them to thank for that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If I could have them for the same price but with the client-facing perks of a larger agency, I would. But that's one of those tradeoffs. It’s not a product they sell, and they price accordingly. I’m quite happy with it.