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Our first guest is Carl-Fredrik Linné, Technical Lead at Cure Media.
Cure Media is a Sweden-based influencer marketing agency. The company created a platform for influencers and advertisers where they find each other, discuss tasks, and deliver results. They use a unique data-driven approach and AI-based smart algorithms to provide the best customer experience for both influencers and people who are looking for marketing solutions.
In 2019 Cure Media became a Top Influencer Marketing Agency according to Business of Apps in the UK.
Q: Hi Fredrik. Could you please tell a few words about yourself and your company?
I’m called Carl-Fredrik Linné, I’m a Tech Lead at Cure Media. We are a social media marketing agency based in Sweden.
We provide a full solution in social media marketing. Our product has simplified the work our staff do and reduced the amount of time they have to spend on creating marketing campaigns probably about to 50%. And we still make improvements that make the whole process more efficient.
Q: Why did you decide to get a remote team?
We were in a decision where we needed to scale quickly. We didn’t have the time. We didn’t want to put resources into hiring HR staff to find good developers. So, we took a decision to get a remote team, to outsource the development procedures.
Q: What was your biggest concern about outsourcing?
Our biggest concern was communication and trust. To know that the company you hire will do their best in creating a good product.
Q: How do you check the quality of the outsourcing vendor?
First of all, it’s a portfolio. Then the after-interview and how the communication starts and what kind of ease there is with the partner. Usually, you start talking to the sales staff of the company and how honest they are in how they promote themselves.
Q: What were your criteria for an outsourcing partner?
Our criteria for an outsourcing partner were… They should be good in communicating. And also, have a high-educated staff with a lot of experience. And we found it in Devox Software when we started to communicate.
We actually tried another outsourcing partner before and it wasn’t as good as Devox. We had a lot of communication problems with them. They were not sincere in the procedures. And we felt that with Devox Software it’s a lot easier to communicate.
Q: How much time did it take to get your team?
They showed frameworks and they showed wireframes about the future product that we’re going to build together.
After we started communication with Devox Software I think it was maybe two days.
Yeah, very impressive actually.
Q: What was the process of hiring the developers?
When we were expanding the team with Devox I had an opportunity to interview the developers and check their CVs.
We started with part-time then we quickly moved over to dedicated developers. It was because we need to grow and increase the development speed so it was much better to move to dedicated developers.
I think about ten people who are involved in our product.
A team is more remote than it was before so managing a remote team is a lot like managing your in-house team. You have your daily calls so it’s about the same.
Q: Why did you choose Ukraine?
In Ukraine, there is about the same mindset as the rest of Europe. It’s a combination of the price for the Ukrainian developers and how easy it is to communicate with the Ukrainian companies.
Q: What tips can you give to a person who is hesitant about outsourcing?
What tips can I give? If you have questions, ask them. It’s not an easy question because there are a few bad companies out there. But you have to check portfolios, do interviews.
But don’t be afraid to get the leap to get an outsourcing partner because if you find a good company it will give great benefit.