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Verified Profile
8allocate is a software development company, established in 2015 and headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, with R&D Centers in Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and LATAM. Specializing in providing top-class software engineering teams, we are deeply committed to driving digital transformation in FinTech, EdTech, and other high-growth industries.
Our primary goal is to empower businesses to bring their digital ideas to life, tailoring our services to companies of all sizes, from nimble startups and ambitious scale-ups to well-established enterprises and multinational organizations.
Locations
Estonia
Peterburi TEE 47,
Tallinn,
Harju
11415
+372 610 4251
Ukraine
Blvr Lesi Ukrainki, 26,
Kyiv,
kyiv
03000
+38 044 353 4902
United States
Bora Bora Way, apt 104,
Marina del Rey,
California
13856
+1 415 508 77 06
Focus Areas
Service Focus
- Mobile App Development
- IT Services
- Web Development
- Testing Services
- Software Development
Client Focus
- Small Business
- Large Business
- Medium Business
Industry Focus
- Financial & Payments
- Information Technology
- E-commerce
8allocate Executive Interview
Vlad Potapenko
CEO
Please introduce your company and give a brief about your role within the company?
I am Vlad Potapenko, the CEO of 8allocate. I am passionate about staffing innovative tech companies with top Ukrainian software developers. Along with our 6 years of experience, we come in with extensive expertise in the FinTech field, quick start times, straightforward onboarding process, and excellent attrition rates.
A role of a CEO is not constant, it depends on an organisation’s life cycle. Every stage needs different roles, even different psychotypes, and those things change as a company grows. When I first started I was a one man show so I was a salesman, an accountant, a financial operationist, a project manager, a marketing specialist. There are 10-15 functions in any company, so when we started as a CEO I was figuratively speaking wearing 10 hats at the same time, and had 5 more in the closet. But as Elon Musk said in his interview with Joe Rogan what makes a growing company successful is access to capital and talent. So when I decided to hire the first employee I also had to take on the responsibilities of an HR manager and a recruiter, but ultimately that first person took ownership of several functions. And after that the other talented people joining the team started to take my hats off my head and wear them themselves. Now I only wear a couple – strategic growth, development, hiring the right people, maintaining the company culture, and last but not least I still take part in the sales process.
A role of a CEO is not constant, it depends on an organisation’s life cycle. Every stage needs different roles, even different psychotypes, and those things change as a company grows. When I first started I was a one man show so I was a salesman, an accountant, a financial operationist, a project manager, a marketing specialist. There are 10-15 functions in any company, so when we started as a CEO I was figuratively speaking wearing 10 hats at the same time, and had 5 more in the closet. But as Elon Musk said in his interview with Joe Rogan what makes a growing company successful is access to capital and talent. So when I decided to hire the first employee I also had to take on the responsibilities of an HR manager and a recruiter, but ultimately that first person took ownership of several functions. And after that the other talented people joining the team started to take my hats off my head and wear them themselves. Now I only wear a couple – strategic growth, development, hiring the right people, maintaining the company culture, and last but not least I still take part in the sales process.
What was the idea behind starting this organization?
There were a few reasons I started 8allocate, some more idealistic than others. For one, I want to help develop the Ukrainian IT landscape, and unfortunately the ecosystem and culture of product companies is not quite there yet, and there aren’t many Ukrainian IT product companies that managed to successfully scale.
Being an outsource is currently the best match to the Ukrainian economic context.
On the other hand there are many companies on the Ukrainian outsource market that constantly undercut each other's prices, steal each other's clients, overheat the market, and drain the supply of tech talent. That’s why we aren’t only building an outsource software house but are building it in conjunction with GoIT, our software development school. Right as of this moment the connection between 8allocate and GoIT is not as strong as we would like it to be but strategically in 10 years we are striving to build an ecosystem that doesn’t only drain the talent market but allows us to teach our own developers, and place them in great international projects.
Being an outsource is currently the best match to the Ukrainian economic context.
On the other hand there are many companies on the Ukrainian outsource market that constantly undercut each other's prices, steal each other's clients, overheat the market, and drain the supply of tech talent. That’s why we aren’t only building an outsource software house but are building it in conjunction with GoIT, our software development school. Right as of this moment the connection between 8allocate and GoIT is not as strong as we would like it to be but strategically in 10 years we are striving to build an ecosystem that doesn’t only drain the talent market but allows us to teach our own developers, and place them in great international projects.
What is your company’s business model–in house team or third party vendors/ outsourcing?
We have 50 very strong in-house developers working on various projects, and a talented recruitment team that is dedicated to constantly growing our team. However after frequently encountering the urgent need for very specific skill sets that we might not have immediately within our ranks we have started to form a partner network that now includes 80 small specialised niche focussed Ukrainian software houses that share their uniquely skilled resources with us. So if we get a request for a very rare developer that is needed within a very short time frame we can augment our resources with the help of our partners.
How is your business model beneficial from a value addition perspective to the clients compared to other companies' models?
- Flexibility of engagement models - managed projects, ad hoc resources, oustaff, unlike competitors who often focus on only one model.
- Cheap but very talented junior developers from our coding school GoIT.
- We work in close partnership with our daughter company Pixready who can provide high quality 3D and marketing materials for our clients.
- A brand promise that within 72 hours your requested resource can start working on your project.
- It’s company policy to not take people off projects, and not to shuffle staff around, so if the developer was hired for your project they will stay on it for as long as you require their services.
- We mix working from the office with remote work (approved with the client) which allows us to access talented developers from all parts of Ukraine, not just the capital, and therefore recruit faster and cheaper.
- 100% of our developers speak English.
What industries do you generally cater to? Are your customers repetitive?
Our main industries are FinTech, Transportation, and HealthTech. We have made a strategic decision to focus on these industries, so when a new project comes in we have 5 years of relevant experience to draw from. Don’t take our word for it though, our customers are open to give us references.
Mention the objectives or the parameters critical in determining the time frame of developing software.
We make it a point to get to know our customers, their priorities, their constraints and concerns, and use this information to estimate the timeline of their project. For example, if a customer needs the project to be done in X amount of time and we don’t have enough developers on the bench we will go out and recruit the people we need in order to deliver what the client wants.
How much effort in terms of time goes into developing the front end and back end of software?
Depends on the project, always agreed upon with the client.
What are the key parameters to be considered before selecting the right framework for developing software?
We have different clients, some come with 150 pages of project documentation, and some come with an idea on a napkin. Regardless, we do our best to make the customer happy, listen to what they want, and use our experience to expertly advise them.
Which languages & frameworks do you prefer to use in development of software?
We use plenty of technologies. So as a company that follows all trendy languages and frameworks, we prefer the following:
- Python. It is omnipresent and used in many areas of software development, with no sign of slowing down. Besides, Python has a very active community and support. We can find Python libraries and frameworks for basically any task, from Enterprise Applications, to Data Science, to Artificial Intelligence.
- JavaScript. JS is really popular with developers worldwide, and our developers are not an exception, using SPA frameworks like React, Vue.js, Angular for front end tasks, and Node.js for the back end.
- Java. In our company Java is widely used for building enterprise-scale web applications. Java is extremely stable, scalable, and reliable, so if you plan for your project to grow you can’t go wrong with this technology.
Moreover, we have several teams that use the latest programming languages such as Kotlin, Flutter, and Go – we are always very excited to start a cutting edge project.
What are the key factors that you consider before deciding the cost of software?
Every project is estimated thoroughly based on our previous experience in the industry, and the expertise of our developers and consultants. We have been honing our skills in several key industries since the start so we like to think that gives us an advantage over the less focussed competition. The cost of software therefore is determined by technologies used on the project, the duration, the level of complexity, and many other factors. We don’t charge our prospective customers for estimates so anyone can come and talk with our Business Development team and find out how much it would cost to develop their project with us.
What kind of payment structure do you follow to bill your clients? Is it Pay per Feature, Fixed Cost, Pay per Milestone (could be in phases, months, versions etc.)
We are quite flexible, and always try to work with the customer to try and find the solution that will work best for both our companies. For nearshoring / outstaffing services we charge our customers monthly. For projects we prefer working on the Time & Material basis, however we can work for a Fixed price, Pay per Milestone, etc. Of course, if we agree on a Fixed price we put in a buffer in time estimations in order to ensure staying within the budget and time limits.
Do you take in projects which meet your basic budget requirement? If yes, what is the minimum requirement? If no, on what minimum budget you have worked for?
Our normal budget cut off is $10 000. At the same time we are open and entrepreneurial-minded so if a great project comes to us with a small budget and makes us believe in it – we take it on.
What is the price range (min and max) of the projects that you catered to in 2019?
Last year we charged from $10 000 to about half a million dollars.
8allocate Reviews
3 Reviews
- All Services
- Software Development
- AR & VR Development
- Relevance
- Most Recent
- Rating: high to low
- Rating: low to high
Rahul Dhruv , Manager at NDA
Posted 8 months ago
The teams of 8allocate are highly potent and offer great service within budget.
Review Summary
We provided them with all the necessary data and requirements which were held in 3 meetings. We used to get regular updates on the project after that. The team is technically sound and makes sure that everything is as per clients' requirements. We were informed multiple times about minor changes which were great, with their suggestions we could fulfil the requirements better.
Describe your project in brief
For the next award ceremony of the company we booked a grand space that had multiple exits and entries with stays which could potentially confuse guests. We needed an AR Application to guide guests through and consist of all the major and minor updates of the event.
What is it about the company that you appreciate the most?
The team was in constant communication about progress, specifics, and issues, which allowed for seamless progress.
Working with their skilled team provided unrivalled industry and technical understanding.
What was it about the company that you didn't like which they should do better?
Working with them was absolutely amazing. We faced no issues whatsoever.
Yuriy Roshchenko, Deputy Head of Delivery at RR
Posted on Nov 12, 2019
8allocate, reliable tech talent provider and a co-creator
Review Summary
We’ve worked on 2 development projects with 8allocate, and we are very happy with the quality of delivery on both of them. In particular, 8allocate provides us with highly-qualified pre-vetted talent to help build a custom multi-tenant eCommerce platform for pet foods and drugs and a billing system. They are not only providing talent but also help building product and advise on architecture and infrastructure needed.
The developers are of high quality, managers and recruiters are exceptional when it comes to speed and quality of hiring, which makes 8allocate a reliable vendor we can use as a one-stop shop for our software team needs.
I'd highly recommend them to anyone looking to bridge skill gaps on their teams fast and cost-effectively without any compromise on quality.
The developers are of high quality, managers and recruiters are exceptional when it comes to speed and quality of hiring, which makes 8allocate a reliable vendor we can use as a one-stop shop for our software team needs.
I'd highly recommend them to anyone looking to bridge skill gaps on their teams fast and cost-effectively without any compromise on quality.
Amit Golan, CEO & Co-founder at Trip Sciences
Posted on Nov 11, 2019
8allocate: a true partner
Review Summary
As you probably know, there is an endless pool of outsourcing services companies out there. While you definitely can conduct a "race to the bottom" around price, there are other equally-important criteria to consider.
When augmenting our own R&D, the ability to trust who we work with on our IP (read: business) is paramount - and in that 8allocate never failed us. We knew that they will work should-to-shoulder with us, and if & when there was a problem, they would own it and see that it is resolved. Everyone we worked with, from the top down, was nice, helpful, and cared about our joint success. I have personally recommended them to multiple fellow founders, and will continue to do so.
When augmenting our own R&D, the ability to trust who we work with on our IP (read: business) is paramount - and in that 8allocate never failed us. We knew that they will work should-to-shoulder with us, and if & when there was a problem, they would own it and see that it is resolved. Everyone we worked with, from the top down, was nice, helpful, and cared about our joint success. I have personally recommended them to multiple fellow founders, and will continue to do so.