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Artkai is 80+ people design and development company, building digital products that make sense to business and people. Our human-centred approach helps to shape fresh ideas into useful, usable products that create and fuel spot-on user experiences. We make sure our clients' business objectives are fully aligned with technical possibilities and people's needs so that we can build predictably successful digital products.
Artkai in five bullets. We are best at:
- Establishing strategy, product roadmap through Research / UX/UI Audit / Workshops
- Launching MVP / Prototype / PoC at a quick pace
- Building human-centred products that bring value for business and users
- Delivering excellent service to both startups and enterprise-level clients (ERP, CRM, Marketplaces, SaaS)
- Vast Fintech expertise (30+ Fintech projects). From banking & investment to capital market & wealth management – we nail it all!
Locations
Ukraine
Kurskaya 13,
Kyiv,
kyiv
01000
+38 (098) 192-91-97
Focus Areas
Service Focus
- App Designing (UI/UX)
- Web Designing (UI/UX)
- Mobile App Development
- Web Development
Client Focus
- Small Business
- Medium Business
- Large Business
Industry Focus
- Financial & Payments
- Automotive
- Other Industries
Artkai Executive Interview
Kos Chekanov
CEO
Please introduce your company and give a brief about your role within the organization.
My company is called Artkai. We’re a customer-centric digital product Development Company based in Kyiv, Ukraine. We help entrepreneurs, innovators, industry disruptors, and established businesses shape and launch digital products using a human-centered approach. We’re keen on covering the gap between the users and the digital tool any business wants to build or enhance.
I set the vision and strategy for the company as well as communicate with clients of Artkai and internal stakeholders.
I set the vision and strategy for the company as well as communicate with clients of Artkai and internal stakeholders.
What is the story behind starting this company?
Together with my partner Art Tsymbal we used to work in several digital agencies. Around six years ago, we decided to launch our own company that would combine our knowledge of the digital world, design, and desire to be really customer-centric both with client service and the projects we wanted to create.
With the support of our third partner who used to be a partner in a well-known law firm, we founded a design boutique with only a few people in it. From 7 people and Upwork-based projects to the market-leading position and global recognition, we have come a long way to prove there is more to us than affordable rates and acceptable English. We might have taken a wrong turn or two along the way, but we have certainly got to the right place.
Small companies and large enterprises come to Artkai rather for expertise and counsel than for manual labor. Every day our clients trust us to solve complex problems, realize bold ideas, and build resolute products. We take pride in our talent selection process and, more importantly, in people who have managed to get through it. Make no mistake, we have the most passionate, hard-working, and ingenious odd-balls on our team. This is all we have ever wanted! Okay, it was a little too dramatic. Clearly, we want more than that.
Eventually, we're an end-to-end product development company that can bring value by shaping the strategy and understanding customers, and delivering value from digital solutions that are made under one roof.
Currently, Artkai is a team of 100 ppl and constantly growing. We are proud that our projects are used by dozens of millions of people, were recognized by Apple, Y-Combinator, Forbes, and helped our clients to raise more than $350 million of funding.
With the support of our third partner who used to be a partner in a well-known law firm, we founded a design boutique with only a few people in it. From 7 people and Upwork-based projects to the market-leading position and global recognition, we have come a long way to prove there is more to us than affordable rates and acceptable English. We might have taken a wrong turn or two along the way, but we have certainly got to the right place.
Small companies and large enterprises come to Artkai rather for expertise and counsel than for manual labor. Every day our clients trust us to solve complex problems, realize bold ideas, and build resolute products. We take pride in our talent selection process and, more importantly, in people who have managed to get through it. Make no mistake, we have the most passionate, hard-working, and ingenious odd-balls on our team. This is all we have ever wanted! Okay, it was a little too dramatic. Clearly, we want more than that.
Eventually, we're an end-to-end product development company that can bring value by shaping the strategy and understanding customers, and delivering value from digital solutions that are made under one roof.
Currently, Artkai is a team of 100 ppl and constantly growing. We are proud that our projects are used by dozens of millions of people, were recognized by Apple, Y-Combinator, Forbes, and helped our clients to raise more than $350 million of funding.
What are your company’s business model–in-house team or third party vendors/ outsourcing?
Our business model is combining the best from outsourcing & outstaffing models for our clients. As sometimes they need the help of developers, designers whom they want to manage by themselves, in this case - we provide outstaffing. In other cases, clients want a one-stop-shop that will ensure both delivery and talent for their needs. I would tell you that we have 70% of outsourcing projects and 30% outstaffing. Sometimes it's an efficient mix of both. We can launch the product covering all tasks of the scope and after getting to the phase of staff augmentation of certain experts on later stages when clients grow their in-house team. We want to be sure that we comply with any demands that our clients have.
How does your company differentiate itself from the competition?
This is one of my favorite questions to cover with our clients. We used to be a design-only company. Then we started to cover part of development needs and now we are an end-to-end product development company that gets things done from strategy to execution.
Yet, I would say that our UX competence and Business Analysis are something that attracts the majority of our clients. We do them really differently and more professionally from other IT companies and many other IT vendors. We use the research-based approach and dig really deep into the business of our clients and in understanding their customers. We conduct Workshops, both online & onsite, we know how to understand users’ needs, audit competitors, get market insights, turn assumptions into facts/validate the hypothesis, and how to transform this knowledge into seamless customer experiences. Then, for sure, we pick the best suiting architecture and technology to launch solutions that make sense to business, users and our clients.
Yet, I would say that our UX competence and Business Analysis are something that attracts the majority of our clients. We do them really differently and more professionally from other IT companies and many other IT vendors. We use the research-based approach and dig really deep into the business of our clients and in understanding their customers. We conduct Workshops, both online & onsite, we know how to understand users’ needs, audit competitors, get market insights, turn assumptions into facts/validate the hypothesis, and how to transform this knowledge into seamless customer experiences. Then, for sure, we pick the best suiting architecture and technology to launch solutions that make sense to business, users and our clients.
What industries do you generally cater to? Are your customers repetitive? If yes, what ratio of clients has been repetitive to you?
We have a big focus on e-banking, we have a lot of clients from different sub-niches of Fintech, including capital market, wealth tech, loaning. Basically, we know how to deliver anything that is connected to using money online. The truth is that the financial industry is rapidly changing and moving the focus from the transactional model to concentration on the lifetime value of the customers. This means a radical focus on user experience.
Besides, we have plenty of complex e-commerce projects connected to marketplaces & shops, etc. We’re also actively developing knowledge of the healthcare industry & gaming/gambling. And we also have projects related to real estate, etc.
Most of our clients are repetitive and 50-60 % are those who come to us either by reference or are our long-term clients (2+years). We are proud of these numbers because they prove that we provide really high-quality services and delivery. Those are essential parameters for remote collaboration with high competition on the market.
Core industries:
- Startups
- Banking & Fintech
- Crypto/Blockchain
- E-Commerce/Marketplaces
- Real Estate
- E-learning/Education
Currently developing industries:
- Gaming & gambling
- E-health, Healthcare & Medtech
Core markets:
- USA
- Benelux
- Scandinavian countries
- Germany
- UK
- Countries of the GULF region
Please share some of the services that you offer for which clients approach you the most for?
Primary, clients come to Artkai to rapidly discover, shape, and validate ideas, turn concepts into predictably successful products, and continuously enhance customer experiences.
Here are the four main directions:
- End-to-End PoC/MVP development for Startups. Our approach based on discovery sessions and rapid prototyping allow us to assist clients in the quick launch of any digital product with reduced risks.
- Customer-facing applications for the Banking and FinTech companies. Vast experience in collaborating with traditional and disrupting financial institutions allows us to help our clients concentrate on seamless user experiences, performant front-end, and LTV(lifetime value) of their customers.
- Digitalization and digital product innovation for SMB & SME. Through workshops and service blueprints, we uncover gaps and insights that can be translated into online services/applications to boost any company's efficiency or create new revenue streams.
- Scaling product engineering teams with the best hand-picked talents. We find, screen, and hire developers to help our clients reduce business operations costs and quickly fill gaps in any tech skill.
What is your customer satisfaction rate according to you? What steps do you take to cater to your customer’s needs and requirements?
I can tell that we have a really good track record with like 99% of clients and we get really good reviews from them. They agree to allow us to post case studies, which is a great deal since most of the clients are really cautious about that. A lot of clients even record video reviews. It means a lot as if you tried at least once you know how hard it is to negotiate with your clients to get a video review and we get a lot of them.
So, I can definitely tell that we are successful in satisfying our clients. If I would name steps that we take in order to meet customer's needs and requirements I would definitely tell that we pay huge attention to the culture in the company. We try to communicate from the first sales call to ongoing product development because the culture helps our clients to bond with our people. At the end of the day when you work mostly remotely and especially in 2020, it's so important to make sure that there’s good chemistry between your team and your client.
We pay huge attention to make sure that communication is clear, that we are fun to work with, and at the same time that we have very good work ethics. By that, I mean everything should be provided on time and all essential paperwork should be in place. At the end of the day, all clients want to be sure that everything is predictable.
So, I can definitely tell that we are successful in satisfying our clients. If I would name steps that we take in order to meet customer's needs and requirements I would definitely tell that we pay huge attention to the culture in the company. We try to communicate from the first sales call to ongoing product development because the culture helps our clients to bond with our people. At the end of the day when you work mostly remotely and especially in 2020, it's so important to make sure that there’s good chemistry between your team and your client.
We pay huge attention to make sure that communication is clear, that we are fun to work with, and at the same time that we have very good work ethics. By that, I mean everything should be provided on time and all essential paperwork should be in place. At the end of the day, all clients want to be sure that everything is predictable.
What kind of support system do you offer to your clients for catering to their queries and issues?
We set a high level of client service from the intro call. I personally get involved in a lot of initial conversations with clients and make sure that they can come to me personally if there is something they want to discuss or change.
Moreover, all of our projects have a delivery manager who takes care of communication, paperwork.
One of our core values is client satisfaction. Sounds cliche, but again, for a company that works remotely, it’s essential to ensure high communication standards and keep humor and fun in daily work.
Moreover, all of our projects have a delivery manager who takes care of communication, paperwork.
One of our core values is client satisfaction. Sounds cliche, but again, for a company that works remotely, it’s essential to ensure high communication standards and keep humor and fun in daily work.
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.)
So that's a very good question, and it depends on the occasion. In most cases, we have a T&M model. We also have an outstaffing scheme in which our clients pay each month for the workforce that they get from us. And for sure, there’s a place for the fixed-price contracts. In these projects, we need to be sure that both our client and us look at the scope similarly, and definitely, this is something that needs to be finetuned during the initial discovery sessions.
At the end of the day, it’s important to know all the restrictions. If the technology is feasible, and what resources are available. By resources, everybody means timing and money. We are always very attentive to building the roadmap with our clients to make sure that they can meet the deadline and they can exclude something that is not much needed in the first release. So, we do everything possible to make sure they can meet a deadline and budget restrictions. At the same time, we can add resources to make the delivery quicker when the money question is not that sensitive. It’s all about dialogue and you need to be agile and honest.
At the end of the day, it’s important to know all the restrictions. If the technology is feasible, and what resources are available. By resources, everybody means timing and money. We are always very attentive to building the roadmap with our clients to make sure that they can meet the deadline and they can exclude something that is not much needed in the first release. So, we do everything possible to make sure they can meet a deadline and budget restrictions. At the same time, we can add resources to make the delivery quicker when the money question is not that sensitive. It’s all about dialogue and you need to be agile and honest.
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?
The minimum budget requirements are around $10k. This is the amount of money we need to get together with the clients for the discovery session or three-five-day workshop. We provide huge value as this initial work saves tons of money on development. A lot of our clients get in contact with us to initially go through these discovery sessions and have a set of documents that eventually they will be showing to the potential investors or the board and get/approve the funding for the rest of the work.
So I would definitely tell you that you can get to us if you have a budget of $10k and then eventually we will help you to understand what will be the full scope of the project. If I would name the average price of the project it will go from $60k to $100k for MVP and go up if you're talking about something bigger and more complex.
So I would definitely tell you that you can get to us if you have a budget of $10k and then eventually we will help you to understand what will be the full scope of the project. If I would name the average price of the project it will go from $60k to $100k for MVP and go up if you're talking about something bigger and more complex.
What is the price range (min and max) of the projects that you catered to in 2020?
I would tell that in 2020 we had plenty of projects. The cliche joke tells COVID is the number one reason for most companies to digitalize. Fun, but true and my company is an expert who helps a lot of clients to go through meaningful digitalization and by meaningful I mean customer-centric.
So, in terms of the price range, most of the clients who came to us are spending from $50k to $100k for their initial release of an application, but there are also companies who are spending $150k to $250k and even $500k for something bigger than reduced MVP and bigger engineering team. It depends on several things and we help our clients to understand what is the best way to launch an app/service/solution for them.
If the competition is really high in the niche, it definitely makes sense to launch something that would be outstanding from day one. If the competition and the idea are unique and you need to check the hypothesis, even a clickable prototype would be a great idea to start with. In this case, the price would be around $20-30k. So, it all depends on your needs and so we are pleased to help all the clients identify this need before spending a lot of money.
So, in terms of the price range, most of the clients who came to us are spending from $50k to $100k for their initial release of an application, but there are also companies who are spending $150k to $250k and even $500k for something bigger than reduced MVP and bigger engineering team. It depends on several things and we help our clients to understand what is the best way to launch an app/service/solution for them.
If the competition is really high in the niche, it definitely makes sense to launch something that would be outstanding from day one. If the competition and the idea are unique and you need to check the hypothesis, even a clickable prototype would be a great idea to start with. In this case, the price would be around $20-30k. So, it all depends on your needs and so we are pleased to help all the clients identify this need before spending a lot of money.
Where do you see your company in the next 10 years?
It's hard to predict something for ten years, considering how actively the landscape is changing. We have a lot of disruption in all industries, not to mention COVID again.
I always tell my colleagues that we are striving to become a leading product development company that helps companies from Fortune 500 to become more customer-centric. Our mission is to build digital services that everyday help people solve their problems better and faster. And, by working together with bigger companies, we’ll be able to impact more people.
Many companies are facing this goal to create something online, to create something digital but now when people face more and more delightful experiences online in their mobile phones and the applications they use every day they want to have a similar level of experience everywhere. And, it's really essential right now for businesses to make sure they can deliver it. Artkai is and will be the company that creates this bridge between companies and customers creating top of the notch experiences that will be benchmarks for the whole industry.
I always tell my colleagues that we are striving to become a leading product development company that helps companies from Fortune 500 to become more customer-centric. Our mission is to build digital services that everyday help people solve their problems better and faster. And, by working together with bigger companies, we’ll be able to impact more people.
Many companies are facing this goal to create something online, to create something digital but now when people face more and more delightful experiences online in their mobile phones and the applications they use every day they want to have a similar level of experience everywhere. And, it's really essential right now for businesses to make sure they can deliver it. Artkai is and will be the company that creates this bridge between companies and customers creating top of the notch experiences that will be benchmarks for the whole industry.
Artkai Clients & Portfolios
Artkai Reviews
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Emilio Lando
Posted on Aug 11, 2020
Very professional and easy to collaborate with..
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Adverty
Jens Martinsen
Posted on Aug 11, 2020
Discovery phase was very well executed.
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Tethub
Mike Taratuta
Posted on Aug 10, 2020
Extremely talented and skilled professionals.
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Kiriaki Akia
Kevin Byrne
Posted on Aug 10, 2020
Designed and build best innovative solutions.
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BeverageX
Judah Musick
Posted on Aug 10, 2020
Strongly recommended to everyone.
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Red Rocks