Distinctly Designed. Brilliantly Built.
We developed our first mobile app in 2001. Since then, hundreds of companies the world over have trusted us to guide their vision, design innovative products, and deliver secure solutions. Adept in strategic consulting, design, cloud services, DevOps, web and mobile development, quality assurance, and software support, we help companies of all sizes and industries solve their most complex business problems at scale.
At our start, we partnered with a group of developers in Bulgaria, a country with an abundance of technical expertise. After growing to five offices across the country, we expanded outside of Bulgaria to a more global footprint that further serves our clients. Our entire global team of over 700 prides itself on open and honest communication. We’re deeply invested in our clients’ business challenges and bring innovative ideas to every project.
headquarters
other locations
Focus
Portfolio
AstraZeneca, Cambria, DTN, Edmentum, Foss Swim School, Graco, Jostens, Junior Achievement, Land O'Lakes, Royal Bank of Canada, Societe Generale, Trane, Unitedhealth Group, World Marrow Donor Association
Star Wars X-Wing Squad Builder
GOAL: One of Fantasy Flight’s most popular games is Star Wars: X-Wing, a tabletop miniature game that allows players to recreate the epic starfighter battles from the films. Fantasy Flight sought to create an accompanying app to enhance gameplay. The app gives players access to tools like a squad builder, game modes, and card databases to make the overall experience better.
ONE COHESIVE DESIGN CONCEPT AND UX PATTERN: A core piece of the look and feel meant pushing our animation capabilities to add subtle movements throughout the app. Taking design cues from the films themselves, we created a clean, usable UI that fits well within the Star Wars universe without distracting players.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: UX/UI Design, Web Development, Mobile Development, Quality Assurance
Torace
GOAL: Mentorship programs in both the K–12 and Higher Education spaces play a critical role in educational development, but managing these programs has historically been very challenging logistically. Torace set out to streamline the management process and vastly improve mentorship programs.
DESIGNING A COHESIVE EXPERIENCE: Every design decision we made was evidence-based and backed by our thorough research, journey mapping, and user flows. To elevate specific features and components within the greater experience, we designed a handful of small micro-interactions.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Strategic Consulting, UX/UI Design, Web Development, Cloud Services
DTN
GOAL: DTN sought a partner to help it unify disparate solutions and streamline future enhancements. To help, MentorMate assembled and scaled dedicated mobile and web development, quality assurance, and design teams to suit its client’s needs.
MULTIPLE ENGAGEMENTS: Our first engagement with DTN was to build an Android™ version of the existing DTN ProphetX iOS app. After its release, we then turned our attention to creating a feature-rich web portal for the product.
We also worked with DTN to create the free DTN Ag Marketplace iOS app. It removes common hurdles and allows producers to set goals, manage inventories, discover unique selling opportunities, and even conduct end-to-end grain sales.
As DTN has grown and acquired other companies, merging and navigating records has become a challenge. We worked to integrate the systems into one cohesive interface with data parity across the platforms.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Strategic Consulting, UX/UI Design, Web Development, Mobile Development, Quality Assurance
Junior Achievement
GOAL: Design and develop an entirely new version of the JA Finance Park simulation, a program that introduces students to topics like employment and income, budgeting, spending and saving, credit and debt, financial decision making, and investing and risk management.
IMPROVED TRACKING AND REPORTING: In addition to updating the look, feel, and features of JA Finance Park, we paid close attention to the CMS that feeds the back-end of the simulation. After cleaning up and streamlining the process for making changes to the data in the templates, we added a dashboard for volunteers, teachers, and staff to view student progress. This was something that was missing from previous versions of the program but vastly improves tracking and reporting capabilities.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: UX/UI Design, Strategic Consulting, Web Development, Mobile Development, Quality Assurance
Visana
GOAL: Bring to life Visana, a platform that provides those suffering from endometriosis and similarly painful chronic conditions access to best practice care through personalized digital experiences.
SCALING UP AND ENSURING HIPAA COMPLIANCE: Using an Infrastructure as Code (IaC) approach, we rearchitected the entire solution and built a secure AWS environment to process, maintain, and store personal health information (PHI). IaC ensures that the underlying infrastructure is auditable, repeatable, and scalable.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Mobile Development, Cloud Services, Quality Assurance
PocketWaters
GOAL: Bring an MVP app to the market that would enable fly anglers to locate fishing spots via location-based services; add angler reports for rivers and streams; connect with retailers, guides, and instruction; journal their angling activity, and share and connect with the fly fishing community in order to increase their success and enhance their enjoyment of angling.
A PHASED APPROACH: Phase one features will drive user engagement and market validation, while phase two will capitalize on that to connect users to industry-side providers, such as retailers, guides, or charter services.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Mobile Development, UX/UI Design
Medibio
GOAL: Medibio came to MentorMate in late-2019 with a program of work which was required to scale one of their technology platforms, ilumen, migrate it to a new AWS platform, boost its security, and add some feature enhancements.
ADDING SECURITY WITH AWS: We took an infrastructure as code (IaC) approach while building ilumen and its underlying infrastructure. Using IaC to deploy and configure the needed AWS services makes the process visible, auditable, and repeatable from end to end. As we were building, we also kept the Well-Architected Framework in mind and addressed the Security, Reliability, Performance Efficiency, Cost Optimization, and Operational Excellence pillars.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Web Development, Mobile Development, Cloud Services, Quality Assurance
HB Healthcare Safety®, SBC
GOAL: An unfortunate side effect of healthcare organizations, like hospitals, that depend on people taking care of people is the inevitability of witnessing the impact of human error. Accidents involving the wrong medication or dosage, a delayed diagnosis, or a misstep during an operation can have dire consequences for patients and providers. Often the individual health care provider working in these faulty systems is blamed when these events occur, as opposed to fixing the broken processes and systems. This results in a cycle of shame and blame that does very little to fix the root of the healthcare system issues.
HB Healthcare Safety®, SBC (HBHS) identifies the system and process failures that create the vulnerabilities allowing unfortunate care outcomes and undesirable experiences.
FIXING VULNERABILITIES IN HEALTHCARE: HBHS developed the Safety Learning System’s® (SLS) Safeware® to guide, facilitate, and capture all possible opportunities for improvement identified during the standardized case review process. After parting ways with its previous technical partner, HBHS brought the Safeware® platform to MentorMate but it required some critical improvements to better achieve its intended goals. As soon as HBHS came to us, we conducted a code and architecture review to identify flaws and prioritize bugs.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Strategic Consulting, Web Development
AgJunction
GOAL: Design and develop the Whirl app to help farmers increase productivity and maximize their ROI.
A NEW APPROACH TO FARMING: Whirl is packed with easy-to-use features, from quickly setting up and calibrating a vehicle profile, including implement profiles, to creating an auto-steering path (straight A-B line, A+ heading, contoured, or pivot point) and saving it in the Whirl app for future use. The farmer can quickly select any saved path in Whirl and engage the Wheelman system to accurately autosteer the tractor along the path.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Strategic Consulting, UX/UI Design, Web Development, Mobile Development, Quality Assurance
Savage Kitchen
GOAL: A robust app that would not only act as a handheld identification guide for edible invasive plant species but would also provide GPS-enabled, crowd-sourced maps of foraging locations as well as recipes and preparation tips.
OFF THE GRID SOLUTION: One of the major features we added was offline, cached pins. Since foraging largely takes place in the wilderness, cell reception isn’t always reliable. We added the ability to store the data locally in the app and then upload it when cell reception is available.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Strategic Consulting, Mobile Development
POPS! Diabetes Care
GOAL: Develop a mobile app that empowers people to manage their diabetes on their own terms
SIMPLIFY HIPAA-COMPLIANT DATA SHARING: Our solution syncs the user's smartphone to a glucose meter through a mobile app interface. User data is shared with healthcare professionals through a cloud-based, HIPAA-compliant network. Users may choose to share their data with family members to reinforce the management of healthy habits in a holistic way.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Mobile, Web, UX/UI, iOS
Foss Swim School
GOAL: Ease class registration, survey completion, and enable a deeper engagement with customers with a new digital platform.
TOOLS THAT REDUCE BARRIERS TO LEARNING: Our experts collaborated with FOSS to design and deliver a robust web experience that supports communications between customers and staff. iPad-based questionnaires provide outlets for parents to share comments and concerns in real-time.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: backend, database, strategic consulting, UX/UI, iOS, AngularJS, .NET, SQL Server
Mobile App Development for Building Brave
GOAL: Create a digital platform for women to connect with mentors and grow both professionally and personally.
TAILORED ADVICE MEETS ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: MentorMate partnered with Building Brave to develop the second iteration of their mobile app. The team incorporated two unique features that set Building Brave apart from other mentoring apps. Based on their interests, Building Brave users join mentorship circles that consist of several mentors of whom they can ask questions — anonymously if they wish. Secondly, the app gives businesses the ability to create private communities within the Building Brave platform to support the career development of women in their organization.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: iOS, Android, UX/UI, QA
E-commerce Development for SafetyNet
GOAL: Give customers peace of mind by creating an insurance platform that pays out should a policyholder suddenly lose their employment.
INSURANCE REIMAGINED: MentorMate worked with SafetyNet to determine how best to bring this new insurance platform to life. The team built a Stripe-integrated, responsive website that could easily take secure monthly payments from customers. The website also has a built-in rules engine, the ability to create customized insurance documents in real-time, and an admin portal that SafetyNet’s customer service teams use to evaluate and pay out claims.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: iOS, Android, Web Development, UX/UI, QA
Web Development for World Marrow Donor Association
GOAL: Give doctors around the world the means to quickly and more efficiently match patients with life-saving bone marrow donors.
MODERN MEDICINE: MentoMate modernized WMDA’s database architecture and built a system that easily handles multiple data sets for their network of over thirty-three million donors spanning fifty-five countries. The data is housed in a web portal that doctors from around the world can access. A doctor simply inputs pertinent details about their patient and the portal returns any potential matches.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Cloud, Web Development, SQL, PHP, UX/UI, QA, Strategic Consulting
Homes for Heroes®
GOAL: Streamline payment processing and serve a growing user base with a modern digital platform.
SCALE PLATFORM AND IMPROVE PAYMENT PROCESSING: We built a custom responsive web application that combines content management, customer management, workflows, and a new payment system. The application securely increases engagement and improves the buying and lending experience for Homes for Heroes' real estate agents, lenders, home buyers, and home sellers.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Web, UX/UI, QA, PHP, Project Management
The Great Northern
GOAL: Promote cultural programming on a dynamic digital platform that flexes with a growing organization’s needs.
EVOLVE STRATEGIC MISSION WITH A FLEXIBLE PLATFORM: Administrators using The Great Northern’s new responsive web application benefit from a CMS that supports a high degree of customization and control so its digital presence remains fresh and engaging throughout the year. The Great Northern has a polished and flexible platform that can reliably support its evolving mission
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: UX/UI, QA, Cloud, Frontend, Backend, Web Development, Strategic Consulting
Kaviva
GOAL: Create a platform solution that improves health management, benefits awareness and enrollment by connecting insurance companies, providers and employers with members.
TARGETED CONTENT USERS NEED: The app allows employers, benefits companies and health plans the ability to deliver curated content users seek; with push notifications, banner ads, SMS or email. After a brief questionnaire, Kaviva automatically promotes well-being through gentle guidance, education and feedback.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Android, Backend, Database, iOS, Mobile, Software Testing, Java, Web
Adventium Labs
GOAL: Leverage technology to increase student-to-student collaboration and information retention in the classroom.
TECHNOLOGY INSPIRES COLLABORATIVE LEARNING: iNeuron, a collaborative app for iPads, offers expertly-designed, self-paced lessons in neuroscientific concepts via an interactive, learning-oriented game.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Mobile, iOS, Backend
Spok
GOAL: Create a customized HIPAA-compliant messaging system for providers and their teams.
COORDINATING CARE THROUGH INTEGRATED COMMUNICATIONS: We designed software that allows teams to customize their communication preferences so messages reach them on their preferred devices. Smartphones or tablets can be used to receive secure code alerts, view patient updates, check lab results, prioritized two-way administrator messaging and more.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Android, iOS, Microsoft .NET, Software Testing, UX/UI, Web
WeVest
GOAL: Put the computing and predictive power of a financial planner into the hands of consumers
PERSONALIZING INVESTMENT GUIDANCE: We partnered with WeVest to build a responsive web app and proprietary algorithms that provide recommendations to save against short and long-term goals.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Backend, Database, Financial, LAMP, Marketing, Software Testing, Strategy, UX/UI, Web
Twin City Outdoor Services
GOAL: Build a centralized, cloud-based solution to help property managers catalog and maintain their investments.
MANAGING WORK VISUALLY: We built an app and desktop tools allowing property managers to view a map of a given building and log Points of Interest, or problem areas, by touching the screen of their smartphone.
STREAMLINE COMMUNICATIONS: 1Spot is also designed to eliminate wasted time and simplify workflows. Using geolocation, site layouts and issues can be viewed at any given time.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Backend, Database, Microsoft .NET, Mobile, Software Testing, Web
OperaDDS
GOAL: Give dentistry professionals access to a communication dashboard they can access from a smartphone or a computer.
RAPID ON-DEMAND CARE: OperaDDS allows users to send HIPAA-compliant messages to their team members. The platform includes several components. The online collaboration portal, Chorus, enables secure email communication, patient progress tracking and lab data review. Chorus ensures team cases and conversations are always efficient and always available.
SINGLE-TOUCH MESSAGING: The Pager functionality gives teams the ability to send single-touch messages. Members can customize their communication preferences and even select messages from preset options.
blackriver
GOAL: Create a tool to bring the data-driven and social elements of the cycling experience together
A PLATFORM TO ENHANCE EXPERIENCE: We worked with blackriver to design an app that helps users find, track and curate social cycling experiences. blackriver is as much a place to share photos and find cycling inspiration as it is a tool that facilitates connections between riders and the local shops they support.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Android, iOS, Microsoft .NET, Mobile, UX/UI, Web
Venture Solutions
GOAL: Increase digital relevancy with a white label SaaS solution.
A DIGITAL SOLUTION TO SUSTAIN PROFIT: We helped Venture Solutions modernize its business by developing a mobile compatible and web responsive software concept that gives end users access to financial planning features.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: UX/UI, Web
InboxDollars
GOAL: Build upon internal developers' capabilities to satisfy more users via mobile screens.
ENGAGE MOBILE USERS: Leading the technical strategy behind the InboxDollars mobile applications, our developers built and continue to refine application layout and design, security recommendations, SDK integrations, and their positioning on app stores.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Dedicated team, frontend, iOS, Android
EVINE Live
Goal: Integrate the streaming broadcast with online access for viewers seeking a complete shopping experience.
MULTI-SCREEN CONTENT ENGAGEMENT REALIZED: EVINE Live, wanted to facilitate multi-screen content consumption enabling viewers to watch, shop, chat about and share their purchases without jarring or distracting their customers. To do this we designed an interactive shopping portal that combined streaming and online media to create an integrated user experience.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Android, iOS, Software Testing, Strategy
NativeX
GOAL: Engage new users on mobile devices with a better platform.
CAPTIVATING IN-APP ADVERTISING: We designed a new advertising platform, several websites and apps with predictive analytics capabilities, helping NativeX make an impact and crack the mobile advertising market.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Android, JAVA, Microsoft .NET, Mobile, Web
Early Learning Labs
GOAL: Build a digital tool to optimize early childhood assessments and supports kindergarten readiness.
HARNESSING DATA TO SUPPORT STUDENT ABILITY: We developed a technology suite that improves student performance monitoring and helps educators and administrators can make more data-based decisions for classrooms and districts. Long term progress goals can be met and education practices can be better understood.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: LAMP, Mobile, Strategy, Testing, UX/UI, Web
Trane
GOAL: Building operators need to respond quickly to customer calls.
EVOLVING TO SATISFY TODAY’S CUSTOMERS: The Trane Tracer BAS Operator Suite mobile app we built transforms HVAC system management providing a platform for data-driven services for monitoring and high-performance buildings.
FULL-ACCESS REMOTE CONTROL: The Trane Tracer Building Automation System Operator Suite mobile app places the controls in the hands of building operators, allowing for quick and efficient adjustments, from monitoring equipment and temperatures to managing alarms.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Android, Java, iOS, Mobile
U of M IGDILab
GOAL: Use software to track literacy development and facilitate research initiatives therein.
CAPTURE DATA TO IMPROVE LITERACY: We worked with U of M researchers to build an application that measures young children’s literacy levels and language skills more effectively, but also equips teachers with data that can inform more effective lesson plans and assessment strategies. The software makes the work of research more efficient, as it supports more rapid and less costly testing of hypotheses.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Backend, iOS, Bluetooth, Mobile
Venture Solutions
GOAL: Design software solutions so consumers can easily manage multiple finances.
CONCEPTUALIZE, ARCHITECT A WHITE LABEL, MULTI-TENANT SAAS SOLUTION: We designed software to give users the ability to see and interact with mortgage statements. This solution allows users the ability to pay statements on a month-by-month basis or set up a recurring payment schedule. Users can also manage multiple mortgages at once, view their current month and historic months along with viewing escrow and tax payments.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Strategy, UX, Web
Little Peanut on the Go
GOAL: Create an app to organize childcare information and streamline parents’ ability to share it.
FULL-STACK MOBILE DEVELOPMENT: Little Peanut on the Go, available in Google Play and the Apple Store, allows parents to create profiles for each child including medication emergency contacts and necessary instructions. Parents can create packing lists and care schedules, then share those with caregivers as many times as they need. While parents are away, they can check the app to view status posts caregivers have left cataloging progress throughout the day.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Android, Backend, Database, iOS, Microsoft .NET Mobile, Software Testing, UX/UI, Web, Xamarin
Jostens SchoolWay™
GOAL: Simplifying school-to-home communications by transforming the smartphone into an updates and resource hub.
RELAYING SPECIFIC UPDATES OR CRITICAL FACTS: The Jostens SchoolWay™ app features real-time push notifications sent by administrators and a feed that gathers customized news for users. The statuses can be text-based but also support the distribution of multimedia content including photo galleries and documents.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Android, Marketing, Mobile, Software Testing, Strategy, UX/UI
READ THE CASE STUDY
Agile Frameworks
GOAL: Help multi-disciplinary engineering firms realize the benefits of the MetaField software program.
IMPROVE PROCESS & QUALITY: Agile Frameworks saw an opportunity to use smartphones on job sites to help reduce time and errors.
REAL-TIME DATA INTEGRATION: The app needed to interface with a variety of client systems, including accounting, CRM and project management. MentorMate teamed with Agile’s internal development staff and provided supplementary resources. Components of the solution included experience mapping, mobile application design, mobile application development, mobile app infrastructure integration, platform applications and back-end web platform development.
Escali SmartConnect™
GOAL: Integrate kitchen and bathroom management into holistic health regimens while keeping track of recipes and nutrition.
WELLNESS MANAGEMENT: Escali saw an opportunity to combine the proactive awareness of a smart kitchen scale with the ability to track results on a smart body weight scale in an app.
TRACKING + ANALYSIS: The Escali SmartConnect™ Body Scale allows you to track weight and BMI (Body Mass Index) with the same simple app. It also sends weight measurements to the Escali SmartConnect™ app, which analyzes 35 nutrients from a selection of more than 8,000 food items. Users can create a food journal along with viewing measurement conversions to better proactively manage health.
MyMeds
GOAL: Help patients remember, track and understand their prescriptions.
TRACKING PATIENT PRESCRIPTION INFORMATION CAN BE COMPLICATED: Patients are often hospitalized because they fail to follow medication instructions properly. This care and cost can be prevented.
IMPROVING DOSAGE ACCURACY WITH MHEALTH: The MyMeds patient medication manager available for iOS and Android devices with added web functionality allows a user to make up to ten profiles for themselves and family with customized medication reminders. All records are stored on a HIPAA-compliant server.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Android, iOS, Mobile Software Testing
France 44
GOAL: Customer loyalty is critical to liquor and charcuterie distributor France 44. The challenge is mirroring an artfully crafted customer experience in a mobile app.
BUILDING AN APP AND BRAND LOYALTY: We created an app that allows customers to explore the wines, spirits, and beers available at France 44, mark their favorites, write tasting notes and find recommendations based on personal tastes and preferred selections. Customers can create shopping and wish lists or organize their favorite drinks by style, mood, or occasion.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Android, Backend, Database, iOS, Mobile, LAMP, UX/UI, Web
MobCon
GOAL: MobCon US, a top mobile and strategy conference, needed a next-generation digital campaign and app to build community.
A MOBILE EXPERIENCE BUILT FOR INTERACTION: By selecting from a list of breakout sessions, users can create a personalized agenda and view the full list of available activities, sponsors, speaker bios, and session descriptions.
CONNECTING THROUGH NETWORKING: The app also includes a lead retrieval feature. Users can also connect their Twitter account and tweet directly from the app.
TECHNOLOGIES/SERVICES: Android, Java, Lamp, Mobile, Software Testing, Strategy, UX/UI
Reviews
the project
Outsourced IT for Mobile Advertising Platform
"They always work hard and work long hours to help us."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Please describe your company.
We are an advertising firm for mobile apps based in the United States. We help mobile apps sell and market their advertising space. We offer the leading mobile app advertising platform. We have about 100 employees.
Our job is to help companies monetize their apps. We have offered these services for 14 years or so, a very long time in this space. We have three offices in the U.S., but are based in Minnesota.
What is your role and responsibilities?
I am the CTO. I am responsible for leading the engineering group. I also oversee many MentorMate resources that staff different internal teams at my firm.
What was your goal for the work with MentorMate?
We needed to add staff members for a variety of different work teams we have. We decided to do the staff offshoring route for a number of reasons; the first is cost. Also, our business fluctuates every month. It would be difficult and costly to hire people since we don't always need a larger team.
MentorMate offered skilled resources at a lower cost since they are based in Bulgaria. They also have a tremendously diverse skill set and service line offering.
Please describe the scope of their work.
They do a lot of different things for us. At first, we gave them simple projects to assess their skills. After they completed those with ease, we decided to work with them as an ongoing partner on an indefinite basis. They provide resources for our BI team, software development, backend coding, and other groups.
They actually changed their office hours to accommodate our work. They start work at noon in Bulgaria, so we have four hours of overlapping work hours each day. This is a major engagement for both companies.
What was your process for selecting MentorMate?
We did a lot of research before we landed on MentorMate. We needed a very diverse team that could offer resources in mobile app development, BI, software, and many other areas. We also liked their pricing. They also have a large office in Minneapolis, near one of our offices.
Can you give us a sense of the size of the initiative in dollar terms or personnel work hours?
I cannot give a dollar figure. I can share that the resources are scaled up and down depending on demand. Some months, we have $100,000 in business for them, but some months less.
How has MentorMate performed so far? Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement?
They have performed very well. Most of my feedback comes from other employees here. They all like working with MentorMate resources in the U.S., and the Bulgaria-based team as well.
We don't really track metrics like ROI or anything like that. I know that they are professional and skilled and can complete all of our projects on time. Our working relationship is strong, and we have grown with them as partners. They are more than a vendor at this point.
What is unique or special about MentorMate compared to some other companies that you may have worked with?
They are professional and skilled. They always work hard and work long hours to help us. They don't let the time difference affect their deliverables or timeline. They also are great about expanding their service lines. They know how to recruit the best developers that graduate from Bulgarian universities.
They even put their new hires through a boot camp of sorts. They want to make sure that all of their new employees can handle typical projects. They are great at producing new talent for mobile app development and .NET programming. They have a really strong pipeline of talent overseas. They keep adding quality resources.
Looking back on the project, is there anything that you think MentorMate could improve upon, or something you might do differently?
I am trying to think of something, but I really cannot. They seem to be competent in every aspect. Of course, they are not perfect but I am really satisfied.
the project
Healthcare Communication Mobile Software
"They worked with us as true partners to ensure that we delivered a quality product on time."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Could you give a little background on your company? It appears to be mission critical communication for healthcare providers?
That is correct. We’re really focused on ensuring that we get the right information to the right individual at the right time on their preferred device. We have multiple modalities in relationship to communication strategies. A key area of that is mobile, and that is something that we have partnered with MentorMate.
What is your position within the company?
Vice president – product strategy and development.
Before you started working with MentorMate, what were your business goals or reasons for undertaking this type of project?
We historically have communicated with our customers on pagers via texting and other methods. If you’re looking at more mobile, we received quite a bit of feedback from our customers in relationship to wanting to have secure messaging smartphones, and so we needed to develop a smartphone messaging application that interfaced with the existing secure and robust solutions.
What was your process then for selecting a developer to work with?
I actually had a very rigorous process in relationship to looking at partners. We essentially had a set of criteria that we evaluated including who they were how long they’ve been in business, and what type of experience they have that was similar. We looked a lot at whether or not there was going to be a cultural set between resources. We utilized an agile development methodology look. We want to do embed resources within our team as opposed to simply sourcing something out. There’s multiple methods to interface, and that was something that they were supportive of until we went through and looked at all the criteria. I had a shortlist of three. I took all three through the same process. We actually not only asked them to respond. We gave them a definition in regard to the product we are looking to create. We asked them to give a response in regards to product architecture and directional guidance, we evaluated all of those responses, and then we did determination to go with MentorMate.
What set MentorMate apart from the other candidates? Was it mainly the factors you listed there?
Yes, and quite honestly for me, one of the other factors was that there was a core value alignment between our organizations and that there was a trust factor in relationship to they were going to say what they’re going to do what they said what they’re going to do. That they were going to fulfill the commitments that they made to the organization, and they absolutely have done that.
Could you talk a little bit about the scope of the project?
We have actually partnered with them across a number of projects, so we’ve been working with them for more than 18 months. The more mobile-oriented solution offering was something that they stepped into when we were partway through the process, but needed to ensure that it was an enterprise level architecture. It is a set of mobile applications that’s been the iPhone platform, Android platform and Blackberry platform. There’s a backend server. That backend server – actually, there’s two pieces. There’s a backend posted component, and then there’s a backend premise base server for our customers. They were involved in all of the components of the solution.
Do you think you could give me a sense of the size of the project in terms of the overall cost?
Well, that can be difficult. That’s both internal and external resources, and so we started developing this in 2009 when we looked at the net total investment. It’s more than $1 million.
You said that you used Agile development throughout the whole process?
That is correct.
It also sounds like they collaborated with a team you had in-house?
That is correct.
How satisfied are you with the results of the project?
We are very satisfied with the results. They have not only executed on what we’ve asked them to, but they are proactive when they look for areas of improvement. They will actually make those recommendations, and then work with us to implement those.
Do you by chance have any stats or metrics about improvements from the project?
I can pull those from the team potentially, but it was an immature product that we hadn’t released to market when they got involved, so it’s hard to do a before and after. Not only that their team members are they comparable but, in many cases, they actually exceed the velocity of our team members. When I look at overall quality, what I would say is that the quality of deliverable is on par or better than our own internal resources as well. The defects per feature and things like that are overall very low. They have worked with us very comprehensively to introduce unit testing to improve the overall quality further, and we’re not on the cusp of adding some additional automated test them to the overall solution offering.
Compared to the other people you worked with, is there anything unique or special about MentorMate?
They have created a great environment and culture where they partner very strongly with their customers. They are very open in the relationship to talking about where their areas of expertise are, and where they may not have as much experience, which is unique. They are very dedicated to the successful outcome, so they’re in most times when we got close to a deadline, and their folks rolled up their sleeves as much as our folks rolled up our sleeves, and worked with us as true partners to ensure that we delivered a quality product on time. All of those are differences from other organizations that I’ve worked with. The other piece of this is they have such a strong mobile presence and mobile practice that they are exceptional at helping with user interface, layout, and design. One of the things that they have done all the way along the way is when our product owner says, okay, I need a new function to do X, they’re actually able to help us determine the appropriate strategy for implementation amongst the different mobile platforms.
The other side of that then would be maybe being overly critical but, looking back on the project, do you think there’s any area that they might be able to improve a bit, or you’d do differently?
What I would say is that early on, they were very respectful and polite of our team members, and when we had strong advocates for one design model or implementation approach, they would sort of very politely say, “Hey, you might want to consider something else though.” The course of our relationship they are in now, they are more confident and willing to be a bit more assertive in regard to leveraging their expertise. So, they do this day in and day out. Just to sum it up, they didn’t push back quite as much at the beginning, and they’re doing more of that now. So in some situations, I would approach it such that I was giving them the confidence and assurance that that was something that was not only acceptable. It was appreciated by our organization.
the project
Local News Mobile Development
"They are a great group of people [who] produce excellent results."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Can you give an overview on what your company does?
We are a mobile application development company that has been focused on developing solutions in the healthcare, real estate and news industry. We are the largest delivery of news for mobile, and also for real estate in the market today.
What is your position within the company?
Chief executive officer.
What was your company’s business goals for undertaking the development project?
One of the reasons was, obviously, proximity. We knew people had used them before, so we knew of them from a reference standpoint and their ability to scale up. Their level of quality work very good. Capacity was the majority issue, but they did us some things outside of our organization that was beneficial. That wasn’t the main reason. The main reason was definitely to scale up quick.
What was your process for selecting a partner?
Word of mouth. We had reviewed other groups that were overseas, and were not real happy with what their outcomes were, so we decided to find somebody who had a reputable background.
Could you just tell me about the scope of the project?
Pretty large scope. We deliver tied to infrastructure and backend. It’s really a platform, so there was a pretty large scope to this. There was probably about a four- or five-month intense development process and they’ve been still doing work with us for the last year and a half, so it’s ongoing.
How many developers are you normally working with from MentorMate?
Initially, we had probably nine. Now, we’re down to three.
Is there a specific model that you use, such as Agile, Scrum, or Waterfall?
We are a Waterfall. We square around the Waterfall approach.
With the projects they did for you, what were the main technologies used?
The iOS platform, Java, backend API stuff and RESTful APIs.
How happy are you with the results of the project?
Very happy. They’re a great group of people, and produce excellent results.
Compared to other developers you may have worked with in the past, do you find anything special or unique about MentorMate?
Better design effort and capacity to do more advanced features going beyond the standard SDK stuff and that was really what we needed. We need somebody of that nature versus somebody who just does standard SDK type stuff. They know IOS platform, so we’ve been very blessed in that regard. That was the main reason. I have some guys – European developers – who can do it also in the United States, and both of them understand. The other thing is it’s easier for us to deal with them on a management standpoint vs. some groups that just don’t have that. Understanding our goals and accomplishments and they’re able to meet those needs without us having to repeat it 55 times.
Is there any area that you could see MentorMate might be able to improve or do slightly better in?
I think probably sizing the per-pricing model is a little better, and that’s always a tough gauge because you’re trying to gauge the requirements pricing. That, and just real date expectations and implementing some more test time, such as a pressure test. But, I probably think that worked. We worked through those now but I think, at first that was a little tougher.
I assume you’re continuing to work with them on other projects?
Absolutely. I love them. I couldn’t give them a perfect score just because of the timing of the first one. That’s something they’ll learn from, but since that made them great. I’d recommend them to anybody.
the project
Web Development for Freelance Web Designer
"They always asked for feedback after every single milestone."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I'm a freelancer and I provide website designing services
For what projects/services did your company hire MentorMate, and what were your goals?
One of my client's websites was created recently, and we hired them to make their website.
How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?
Someone recommeneded them!
Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.
We had a meeting together, and we decided the project milestones.
How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?
A project lead was the main point of contact
Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?
The website was good and interactively designed.
Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.
Emails for communication and spreadsheets for work progress.
What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?
Their polite behaviour towards thier clients.
Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?
They always asked for feedback after every single milestone. This way, the project was welly managed without any failures.
the project
Web Development for Social Benefit Corporation
“They’re truly invested in our project, so we call them our partners. They believe in what we’re trying to accomplish.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the COO of a social benefit corporation that helps people with their processes and system failures. We have a methodology that can help identify where the system is failing and work on quality improvement, categorize and work on quality improvement projects in healthcare. We’ve recently started expanding into other industries.
What challenge were you trying to address with MentorMate?
We needed a piece of technology to build a product that would record and capture the process and, over time, help learn from failures. We worked with another vendor first, but it didn’t meet our expectations. So we asked MentorMate to help us make the product what we needed it to be.
What was the scope of their involvement?
The product itself was developed on Ruby on Rails. It’s a cloud-based product hosted on AWS. Now the project has been extended to understand compliance rules and regulation around health data privacy and move the platform to a government cloud environment.
The platform has high-security access, and entire system administration and the tool for the end-user supports workflow management and case management. In addition to that, it has analytics, reporting, some bells and whistles for communication amongst users, and some document storage for learning.
What is the team composition?
We’ve had about five people on the team. Some come and go depending on the expertise we need. We’ve worked with a project manager, a system architect, programmers, and information security expert.
How did you come to work with MentorMate?
We initially reached out to them for this project, and they declined to work with us because we were a startup. After working with the other vendor, we went back to MentorMate to ask them to reconsider.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent about $750,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working with them in 2018 and it’s ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
The project is ongoing, but we’ve been able to see the value of their output in a quick and iterative way.
How did MentorMate perform from a project management standpoint?
We follow an agile methodology. We needed a very flexible project management in that we needed a project manager that could ebb and flow, but yet keep track of all of that change. And so I think from a standpoint of doing change, management is an absolutely phenomenal. They’re flexible when we make changes, and they’re still able to stay organized and keep going.
What did you find most impressive about them?
I appreciate that they stay current in our space. They’re always presenting me with options and they do challenge me. Sometimes I think I have the right solution, but they’re able to help me if there’s a more modern solution.
They’re truly invested in our project, so we call them our partners. They believe in what we’re trying to accomplish. We’re in a challenging industry during COVID-19, and they’re always there to work with us.
Are there any areas they could improve?
There isn’t a whole lot. They continue to improve their understanding of security features.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
They don’t just dump into the technical. We always explain our thought process, which has made it a seamless relationship. They’re willing to listen, and that prevents thing from going wrong.
the project
Mobile App Dev for Agricultural Technology Company
"MentorMate provides better communication than other agencies."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the CEO of a company that develops a flexible module for automation of farm equipment.
What challenge were you trying to address with MentorMate?
We hired MentorMate to assist us in the development of a mobile app for iOS and Android.
What was the scope of their involvement?
MentorMate works closely with our onsite development team to build the product. Their team helped to develop the app’s UI and functions. They created an interface with our cloud backend and linked the product with our electromechanical controller. Their team also provided assistance with the development of our website’s UI.
What is the team composition?
The number of teammates from MentorMate who support us varies. We’ve worked with up to 15 people. Lately, around 5–6 people from MentorMate are assigned to our project.
How did you come to work with MentorMate?
We found MentorMate through a referral. We liked their thoughts on the app’s direction and UI. We engaged them with a longer-term development contract.
How much have you invested with them?
In total, we’ve spent probably $700,000 with MentorMate.
What is the status of this engagement?
Our collaboration started in 2017, and it’s ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We track sales and user feedback to measure their team’s success. So far, the user feedback’s positive. Sales continue to go up month over month.
How did MentorMate perform from a project management standpoint?
MentorMate works following Agile methodology. Their team uses tools that allow them to collaborate with our onsite team successfully. They document and communicate the scope well. They interacted with our team effectively to define an executable schedule. They look forward, so the engagement’s fantastic overall.
What did you find most impressive about them?
MentorMate provides better communication than other agencies. As well, they’re more flexible when working with an integrated team. Other providers prefer to have a completely separate scope rather than working with our engineers.
Are there any areas they could improve?
They could increase their team’s skill sets. We would expand our use if they had engineers with more backend infrastructure capabilities or regional support.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Go through their ideation session and define their requirements upfront. The more time that you put in to bring the MentorMate team up to speed and set the sprints forward, the faster their team will work and the better the outcome will be.
The firm appreciated MentorMate’s developers in both the US and Bulgaria, who are put through a post-hiring boot camp to ensure their ability to deliver excellent quality results. The development team also accommodated the time difference with flexible hours.