Leon Zinger, Front end consultant at Self Employed
Posted on Jun 26, 2019
Codica
1 Review
Verified
We build great web products with Ruby on Rails
Codica is a software development consultancy operating from Kharkiv, Ukraine. We are passionate about technology and innovation, and love creating reliable, robust and visually appealing Web apps using Ruby on Rails, Angular, React, Vue.js.
We specialize in Marketplace solutions development, Finance & Banking, Travel, and Real estate industries. We also focus on cutting-edge Cloud/SaaS, SPA and PWA technologies.
What makes us special?
We care about your project success and focus on your business and end users’ needs.
Our working process is built on 3 principles:
- transparent communication
- great code quality
- high speed of delivery
Ukraine
Stepan Bandera Avenue, 34B,
Kyiv,
kyiv
04073
+380977789031
$50 - $99/hr
10 - 49
2015
Service Focus
Focus of Software Development
- Javascript - 10%
- AngularJS - 10%
- Ruby on Rails - 70%
- ReactJS - 10%
Industry Focus
- Startups - 30%
- Automotive - 20%
- Financial & Payments - 20%
- Information Technology - 10%
- E-commerce - 10%
- Travel & Lifestyle - 10%
Client Focus
70% Small Business
30% Medium Business
Detailed Reviews of Codica
1 Review
- All Services
- Software Development
- Relevance
- Most Recent
- Rating: high to low
- Rating: low to high
Client Portfolio of Codica
Project Industry
- Other Industries - 50.0%
- Financial & Payments - 50.0%
Major Industry Focus
Other Industries
Project Cost
- $10001 to $50000 - 100.0%
Common Project Cost
$10001 to $50000
Project Timeline
- 51 to 100 Weeks - 100.0%
Project Timeline
51 to 100 Weeks
Portfolios: 2
Executive Interview of Codica
Dmitry Chekalin
CEO
Please introduce your company and give a brief about your role within the organization.
My name is Dmitry Chekalin and I’m CEO of the Codica company. I have 15+ years of experience in the software development business.
Since the start of my career, I have participated in developing and implementing many projects. Over different periods, I worked as a programmer, tech lead, project manager, and CTO. This gave me an excellent experience that became the foundation for starting Codica.
Since the start of my career, I have participated in developing and implementing many projects. Over different periods, I worked as a programmer, tech lead, project manager, and CTO. This gave me an excellent experience that became the foundation for starting Codica.
What is the story behind starting this company?
We founded Codica seven years ago. There were many companies on the market at that time. Many of them were focused on delivering simple services, such as website development or website design. Also, similar companies suggested developing undemanding solutions, such as creating websites with WordPress.
In contrast, we headed in a totally different direction from the start. We aimed at creating comprehensive software solutions that would be distinct in the market and serve both clients and end-users. So we suggested custom software development services to our clients.
Indeed, building versatile web solutions is challenging. It’s a far more complicated process than delivering a typical website. The fact is that many development companies can’t handle them as such projects depend on deep proficiency and relevant knowledge.
Therefore, thanks to the projects we mainly were delivering, our techniques matured into particular services: MVP development, Custom Marketplace Development, and SaaS Product Development. We have obtained significant experience in the above domains, so we’re both development partners to our clients and advisors. We have worked on many similar projects, seeing what option is better in a particular case.
In contrast, we headed in a totally different direction from the start. We aimed at creating comprehensive software solutions that would be distinct in the market and serve both clients and end-users. So we suggested custom software development services to our clients.
Indeed, building versatile web solutions is challenging. It’s a far more complicated process than delivering a typical website. The fact is that many development companies can’t handle them as such projects depend on deep proficiency and relevant knowledge.
Therefore, thanks to the projects we mainly were delivering, our techniques matured into particular services: MVP development, Custom Marketplace Development, and SaaS Product Development. We have obtained significant experience in the above domains, so we’re both development partners to our clients and advisors. We have worked on many similar projects, seeing what option is better in a particular case.
What are your company’s business model–in house team or third party vendors/ outsourcing?
Our team consists only of in-house developers. This approach allowed us to build a team that is expert in creating custom web products in such domains as insurance, finance, eCommerce, recruitment, and others. Our experienced in-house team is also the basis for our specialization in building custom marketplaces and SaaS solutions.
Thanks to their proficiency and accumulated expertise, our developers, QA, and DevOps engineers create high-quality and successful web products. Our design team takes care of the eye-catching and user-friendly look of solutions. And our project managers handle the communication between stakeholders and our company to facilitate the delivery process while meeting deadlines and ensuring optimized spending of resources.
With such a team, we provide full-cycle development services to our clients, starting from an idea to a final product. Therefore, we simply have no need in outsourcing or working with third-party vendors at the moment.
Thanks to their proficiency and accumulated expertise, our developers, QA, and DevOps engineers create high-quality and successful web products. Our design team takes care of the eye-catching and user-friendly look of solutions. And our project managers handle the communication between stakeholders and our company to facilitate the delivery process while meeting deadlines and ensuring optimized spending of resources.
With such a team, we provide full-cycle development services to our clients, starting from an idea to a final product. Therefore, we simply have no need in outsourcing or working with third-party vendors at the moment.
How does your company differentiate itself from the competition?
Our clients benefit from our extensive expertise in delivering the following solutions: minimum viable products, custom marketplaces, and SaaS platforms. These are our most demanded services, and we have honed our skills in developing such products. This allows us to quickly deliver high-quality solutions which users love.
We understand our clients’ needs, namely gaining a workable product within the intended budget and short period. That’s why we recommend our clients launch their products in the form of an MVP. It allows them to test how users accept their products by spending fewer resources.
As we have deep expertise in creating custom marketplaces, we also consult our clients on the best ways of implementing their projects. We advise our clients how their solutions can be distinct from their competitors and meet end users’ needs. In this way, we have marketplace platforms for such domains as e-commerce, automotive, travel, accommodation rental, service platforms, and others.
Also, we provide SaaS development services. We have cooperated with many SaaS companies, so we know the ins and outs of SaaS product building. Our vast expertise in this domain allows us to deliver secure, lightweight, and scalable SaaS solutions. Businesses of any size entrust us with creating their SaaS products.
We understand our clients’ needs, namely gaining a workable product within the intended budget and short period. That’s why we recommend our clients launch their products in the form of an MVP. It allows them to test how users accept their products by spending fewer resources.
As we have deep expertise in creating custom marketplaces, we also consult our clients on the best ways of implementing their projects. We advise our clients how their solutions can be distinct from their competitors and meet end users’ needs. In this way, we have marketplace platforms for such domains as e-commerce, automotive, travel, accommodation rental, service platforms, and others.
Also, we provide SaaS development services. We have cooperated with many SaaS companies, so we know the ins and outs of SaaS product building. Our vast expertise in this domain allows us to deliver secure, lightweight, and scalable SaaS solutions. Businesses of any size entrust us with creating their SaaS products.
What industries do you generally cater to? Are your customers repetitive? If yes, what ratio of clients has been repetitive to you?
As I already mentioned, we work mainly in the following industries: eCommerce, automotive, travel, insurance, and recruiting.
We usually recommend starting with a minimum viable product. On average, it takes us 3 - 4 months to build an MVP. After that, we create additional functionality and support the delivered solution.
Typically, our clients work with us for at least 1 - 3 years. And yes, our existing clients usually get in touch with us when they have a new project idea. And what’s equally important - they recommend us to their friends!
We usually recommend starting with a minimum viable product. On average, it takes us 3 - 4 months to build an MVP. After that, we create additional functionality and support the delivered solution.
Typically, our clients work with us for at least 1 - 3 years. And yes, our existing clients usually get in touch with us when they have a new project idea. And what’s equally important - they recommend us to their friends!
Please share some of the services that you offer for which clients approach you the most for?
When we established our company, the primary goal was to deliver stable, lightweight, and efficient solutions. As already mentioned, we specialize in building MVP and SaaS products, as well as custom marketplaces. We usually develop such solutions from scratch, providing full-cycle development services to our clients.
We follow a structured method for the development of each web product. Currently, we are using the model of the customer’s project journey. This helps us to deliver every project successfully.
We start the development with a product discovery phase. It includes discussions of the requirements with a client. Also, this stage clarifies the project objectives and scope. So, we create specifications and discuss the design and implementation of complex functionality. We proceed to the following stages only after getting the needed deliverables of the discovery phase.
Successful completion of the project discovery stage leads us to the development and implementation stages. This step includes creating a design and building the product. We use the best practices and our unique techniques that proved their efficiency in our experience. So, we develop solutions according to the existing standards and with code optimization.
When the solution has been built and tested, we continue with its maintenance and support. We take responsibility for further continuous work of the product delivered. For this, we detect and analyze its state, find possible errors, and check if the server’s work is stable. Corrections that we make are transparent. So, the client doesn’t need to worry about the product’s proper work.
In short, we care about our customer’s needs and provide full-cycle development and support services. Also, we use the best tech stack and approach to optimize the resources used for product delivery.
We follow a structured method for the development of each web product. Currently, we are using the model of the customer’s project journey. This helps us to deliver every project successfully.
We start the development with a product discovery phase. It includes discussions of the requirements with a client. Also, this stage clarifies the project objectives and scope. So, we create specifications and discuss the design and implementation of complex functionality. We proceed to the following stages only after getting the needed deliverables of the discovery phase.
Successful completion of the project discovery stage leads us to the development and implementation stages. This step includes creating a design and building the product. We use the best practices and our unique techniques that proved their efficiency in our experience. So, we develop solutions according to the existing standards and with code optimization.
When the solution has been built and tested, we continue with its maintenance and support. We take responsibility for further continuous work of the product delivered. For this, we detect and analyze its state, find possible errors, and check if the server’s work is stable. Corrections that we make are transparent. So, the client doesn’t need to worry about the product’s proper work.
In short, we care about our customer’s needs and provide full-cycle development and support services. Also, we use the best tech stack and approach to optimize the resources used for product delivery.
What is your customer satisfaction rate according to you? What steps do you take to cater to your customer’s needs and requirements?
Our team’s statistics show that our customers’ satisfaction rate is consistently high. We achieve this result thanks to our approach to developing solutions.
First, we hold product discovery sessions before launching each project. This helps us clarify the client’s project requirements and remove unnecessary features when creating the project specification. This is where we use all the expertise that our team has accumulated while building other similar products.
So, our team acts as trusted advisors in product development. If we see that the client’s requirements will not lead to a successful product, we don’t engage in this project. And we advise our clients to either rethink or give up their idea, as they may lose time and resources.
Thanks to this approach, each project that we work on reaches its goals in terms of technical implementation. We also manage a high product success ratio and customer satisfaction.
First, we hold product discovery sessions before launching each project. This helps us clarify the client’s project requirements and remove unnecessary features when creating the project specification. This is where we use all the expertise that our team has accumulated while building other similar products.
So, our team acts as trusted advisors in product development. If we see that the client’s requirements will not lead to a successful product, we don’t engage in this project. And we advise our clients to either rethink or give up their idea, as they may lose time and resources.
Thanks to this approach, each project that we work on reaches its goals in terms of technical implementation. We also manage a high product success ratio and customer satisfaction.
What kind of support system do you offer to your clients for catering to their queries and issues?
Upon completion of a project, we always provide support to our clients. We monitor the state of health of all website subsystems and, in case any issues arise, we eliminate them as soon as possible.
We also assist in developing additional product functionality for our clients.
Many of our clients start with an MVP and then work with us again when they need to further scale their products.
We also assist in developing additional product functionality for our clients.
Many of our clients start with an MVP and then work with us again when they need to further scale their products.
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.)
At the beginning of a project, there is a fixed prepayment. Then we issue Pay per Milestone invoices after the end of each month. Such invoices are based on timesheets that we provide to our clients every week. After the project completion, we deduct the prepayment from the last payment.
During the support phase, we issue invoices after the end of each month.
During the support phase, we issue invoices after the end of each month.
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 of a project that we would undertake is $25,000.
What is the price range (min and max) of the projects that you catered to in 2021?
In 2021, we delivered the projects that cost between $27,000 and $210,000.
Where do you see your company in the next 10 years?
On the 24th of February, our country, Ukraine, faced an actual war started by the Russian dictator Putin. Our team needed to adapt to such a situation.
Our company was entirely based in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Almost all members of our team left Kharkiv with their families and relatives. Currently, our team members settled down in the western part of Ukraine and the countries of Europe.
We have fully switched to remote work and efficiently provide services to our clients.
The war has completely changed our lives. So, 2022 will become a year of radical change for us, other companies, and the Ukrainian people.
Our company’s task is to adapt efficiently and continue its growth even under such conditions.
In the next 10 years, we see two directions for our development. The first one is developing and further establishing our company in the MVP, Marketplace, and SaaS development niches. Also, we want to start providing new services, such as mobile app development and others. The second possible direction is to join a more powerful company and organize a fruitful partnership with it.
Our company was entirely based in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Almost all members of our team left Kharkiv with their families and relatives. Currently, our team members settled down in the western part of Ukraine and the countries of Europe.
We have fully switched to remote work and efficiently provide services to our clients.
The war has completely changed our lives. So, 2022 will become a year of radical change for us, other companies, and the Ukrainian people.
Our company’s task is to adapt efficiently and continue its growth even under such conditions.
In the next 10 years, we see two directions for our development. The first one is developing and further establishing our company in the MVP, Marketplace, and SaaS development niches. Also, we want to start providing new services, such as mobile app development and others. The second possible direction is to join a more powerful company and organize a fruitful partnership with it.