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DISTILLERY

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Highlights Reviews Portfolio Verification Contact



NEARSHORE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT COMPANY

Distillery accelerates innovation through an unyielding approach to nearshore
software development. The world's most innovative technology teams choose
Distillery to help accelerate strategic innovation, fill a pressing technology
gap, and hit mission-critical deadlines.

We support essential applications, mobile apps, websites, and eCommerce
platforms through the placement of senior, strategic technical leaders and by
deploying fully managed technology teams that work intimately alongside our
client's in-house development teams.

At Distillery, we're not here to reinvent nearshore software development, we’re
on a mission to perfect it.

Distillery works with innovative brands like eBay, Carvana, City National Bank,
Rakuten and more.

For more information, visit https://www.distillery.com.

Read more...
 * Bronze Verified
 * $50,000+
 * $50 - $99 / hr
 * 250 - 999
 * Founded 2012
 * 2 Languages
 * 1 Timezone




2 LANGUAGES THAT WE SERVICE

 * English
 * Spanish


1 TIMEZONE THAT WE SERVICE

PST Pacific Standard Time (PST)
Average Review Rating
4.9

Total Reviews 9
Average Referral Rating 4.9 /5

Most Common Project Size $200,000 to $999,999



FOCUS

Service Lines & Focus
Service Lines
Focus
Industries
Clients
Services Provided Focus Industries Clients

Service Lines
No data have been added yet...
Application Platforms
Application Platforms
Frameworks and CMS
Mobile Focus
Mobile Platforms
Programming & Scripting
User Experience Focus
 * Custom Software Development 25%
 * IT Staff Augmentation 25%
 * Mobile App Development 20%
 * Web Development 20%
 * UX/UI Design 10%


LOCATIONS (4)

Headquarters
1500 Rosecrans Ave Manhattan Beach, CA, United States 90266

10 - 15

3107766234
Córdoba, Argentina
Humberto Primo 630 X5000

76 - 100

Ciudad de México, Mexico
Avenida Insurgentes Sur. No. 1431, Piso 9 03920

101 - 150

C1429BNS, Argentina
8620 Avenida del Libertador C1429

41 - 49

Show
© MapTiler © OpenStreetMap contributors
Headquarters
1500 Rosecrans Ave Manhattan Beach, CA, United States 90266

10 - 15

3107766234


OVERALL REVIEW RATING

4.9


 * QUALITY
   
   4.8 /5
   

 * SCHEDULE
   
   4.7 /5
   

 * COST
   
   4.7 /5
   

 * WILLING TO REFER
   
   4.9 /5
   

See all 9 Reviews

APP & WEB DESIGN FOR DIGITAL MAPPING COMPANY

Featured Review
 * Web Design
 * $10,000 to $49,999
 * Nov. 2017 - June 2018

5.0

Quality 5.0 Schedule 5.0 Cost 5.0 Willing to Refer 5.0

"I’m very satisfied and I’ll definitely work with them again."

Nov 26, 2018
CEO, Laniakea Continuum
Mikhail Somov
 * IT Services
 * 1-10 Employees
 * Phone Interview 
 * Verified

Distillery handled the design part of the project, delivering UI/UX designs for
both a website and iOS and Android apps. They also handled wireframing and
managed change requests free of charge.



The in-house programmer expressed much appreciation for Distillery’s involvement
and the ease of working with them. Their positive and responsive approach,
ability to adapt to a small budget, and ability to complete changes without
affecting the project’s timeline add tremendous value.



A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an
edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and director of Laniakea Continuum. With our app, users can
publish and post pictures of a location on a map and filter them. They can also
watch what people posted in the past and how a particular place changes over
time.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Distillery?

After traveling through different countries, I found it hard to find historical
pictures of several places, and Google Photos wasn’t helping much. I came up
with the idea of an app that could store user uploaded pictures and use them to
fill an entire world map. This way, when a user travels somewhere, they can open
the app, pick a year, and see photos of a certain place at a certain date. It
shows how a place has changed over the years. For this, I needed help with web
and app design. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I told them about the app and showed them the first version we had already
coded. They took on the design portion of the work and delivered the graphical
and user interface design for the website and iOS and Android applications. They
delivered wireframes and mockups as well.

What is the team composition?

I worked with one manager and one designer.

How did you come to work with Distillery?

I found them by contacting other bigger companies that didn’t work with small
budgets like ours and happened to partner with them. We received eight
recommendations, and I chose Distiller because they had an impressive website
and portfolio. I also liked the manager’s approach, their attitude, and the fact
that they could work within our budget.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $20,000–$30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2017 until June 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I didn’t have any problems with them. I’m very satisfied and I’ll definitely
work with them again. Our lead programmer was totally pleased with Distillery
and felt comfortable working with them.

How did Distillery perform from a project management standpoint?

They were always in touch with us, and though we changed a lot of things during
the process, they delivered everything on time. We used Skype to have weekly
conference calls with the manager and the graphic designer and were always in
touch via email. They responded within one to two hours whenever we contacted
them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They meet deadlines and the price was very good for the design they produced.
When I asked them to change something, they didn’t charge extra.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. Everything was great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend them.

RATINGS

5.0


 * Quality
   
   5.0
   
   Service & Deliverables

 * Schedule
   
   5.0
   
   On time / deadlines

 * Cost
   
   5.0
   
   Value / within estimates

 * Willing to Refer
   
   5.0
   
   NPS


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IOS DEVELOPMENT OF MAKEUP APPLICATION

 * Mobile App Development
 * Confidential
 * Jan. 2018 - Ongoing

4.5

Quality 5.0 Schedule 4.5 Cost 4.5 Willing to Refer 4.5

"The quality of code and the quality of engineering input is exceptional."

Feb 21, 2019
CEO, Cosmetics App
Anonymous
 * Beauty & Cosmetics
 * Los Angeles, California
 * 1-10 Employees
 * Phone Interview 
 * Verified

Distillery is helping to develop an iOS e-commerce app for a makeup company. Key
features include photo uploading, product tagging, and direct customer ordering
in one click.



Still in beta, the working app launched in the App Store and has received
positive feedback from key stakeholders. Distillery’s ability to adapt to and
communicate about ever-evolving specifications helps make their code relatively
bug-free. Responsiveness and expertise make them a valuable partner.



A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an
edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I’m CEO of a makeup company that’s building a sophisticated makeup and
e-commerce app. We've got the biggest catalog of makeup in the country with
users all over the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Distillery? 

The business has been around for about 3–4 years. We decided to rebuild the app
from scratch when I joined just over a year ago. We needed high-quality iOS
engineers to help build our app. They needed to be able to work within our time
frame and budget.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

We have a robust in-house tech team. We've got a full team of UX/UI designers
and visual designers. We did all the UX, testing, wireframes, and design
elements ourselves. Then we gave everything to Maria (iOS developer,
Distillery). She’s building the iOS app from the ground up. It's a collaborative
structure, so she provides a lot of input. We share the wireframes and don't
just hand over final designs. She identifies problems early in the process if
something doesn’t work.  

The app features consumer-generated content. Users upload makeup looks to the
app. They can also tag and share those looks. We’re adding the makeup catalog so
users can tag a variety of brands and products in each visual. Other users can
then buy individual products or an entire look with one click, which is truly
unique in the market. We brought on an additional Distillery developer to work
on the e-commerce piece. 

What is the team composition? 

Maria has worked with us for over a year. We engaged the second developer for
about three months. We requested not to have a project manager since I've built
other apps before. 

How did you come to work with Distillery? 

They were a word-of-mouth referral. We were interviewing engineers, and no one
met the timing, budget, or skill level that we wanted. A friend mentioned
Distillery, so I got in touch with them. 

What is the status of this engagement? 

The project started in January 2018 and is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We're still in the beta testing phase because the app is only now starting to
get to its core proposition. There's still a lot more we need to build. We
haven't really been marketing it yet or pushed AppStore reviews. The reviews are
mostly five stars, but there’s only a small number of them. 

One of our backend engineers used to be an iOS developer. He says the code and
the structure look great. The app’s stability is incredible. I’m prepared to
accept some bugs, especially if I push out a release in a rush. However, almost
every release has been crash-free. We’ve only had 1 or 2 releases that had
crashes. It's a very stable, high-quality app. 

How did Distillery perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve had stand-up calls twice a week since day one. We'll schedule a special
call if there's a need for it. Maria is awesome. She’s always available even
though we work in different time zones. She’s responsive, so it works well. Most
of the day-to-day communication is through Jira and some email. 

What did you find most impressive about them? 

Overall, their professionalism is what stands out. Maria is disciplined,
engaged, and committed to the project. The same goes the rest of the management
team, but obviously, I spend the majority of my time with the two developers.
The quality of code and the quality of engineering input is exceptional. I'd
love to work with Maria forever; I never want to let her go. 

Are there any areas they could improve? 

Initially, some of the communication was rough, especially in terms of cultural
nuances. My team is from many different countries. It's not Distillery’s fault;
it just took us all time to get used to each other’s way of working. Everything
else has been really good. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

The process we went through to select our developers was great. We got to look
at resumes and conduct interviews. We got to test the engineers. We gave them
code tests, and then we picked the ones that had the right experience and were
the right fit for our project. Also, be very clear in communication—particularly
at the beginning—until you get used to their way of working.

RATINGS

4.5


 * Quality
   
   5.0
   
   Service & Deliverables

 * Schedule
   
   4.5
   
   On time / deadlines

 * Cost
   
   4.5
   
   Value / within estimates

 * Willing to Refer
   
   4.5
   
   NPS

APP & WEB DESIGN FOR DIGITAL MAPPING COMPANY

 * Web Design
 * $10,000 to $49,999
 * Nov. 2017 - June 2018

5.0

Quality 5.0 Schedule 5.0 Cost 5.0 Willing to Refer 5.0

"I’m very satisfied and I’ll definitely work with them again."

Nov 26, 2018
CEO, Laniakea Continuum
Mikhail Somov
 * IT Services
 * Moscow, Russia
 * 1-10 Employees
 * Phone Interview 
 * Verified

Distillery handled the design part of the project, delivering UI/UX designs for
both a website and iOS and Android apps. They also handled wireframing and
managed change requests free of charge.



The in-house programmer expressed much appreciation for Distillery’s involvement
and the ease of working with them. Their positive and responsive approach,
ability to adapt to a small budget, and ability to complete changes without
affecting the project’s timeline add tremendous value.



A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an
edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and director of Laniakea Continuum. With our app, users can
publish and post pictures of a location on a map and filter them. They can also
watch what people posted in the past and how a particular place changes over
time.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Distillery?

After traveling through different countries, I found it hard to find historical
pictures of several places, and Google Photos wasn’t helping much. I came up
with the idea of an app that could store user uploaded pictures and use them to
fill an entire world map. This way, when a user travels somewhere, they can open
the app, pick a year, and see photos of a certain place at a certain date. It
shows how a place has changed over the years. For this, I needed help with web
and app design. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I told them about the app and showed them the first version we had already
coded. They took on the design portion of the work and delivered the graphical
and user interface design for the website and iOS and Android applications. They
delivered wireframes and mockups as well.

What is the team composition?

I worked with one manager and one designer.

How did you come to work with Distillery?

I found them by contacting other bigger companies that didn’t work with small
budgets like ours and happened to partner with them. We received eight
recommendations, and I chose Distiller because they had an impressive website
and portfolio. I also liked the manager’s approach, their attitude, and the fact
that they could work within our budget.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $20,000–$30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2017 until June 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I didn’t have any problems with them. I’m very satisfied and I’ll definitely
work with them again. Our lead programmer was totally pleased with Distillery
and felt comfortable working with them.

How did Distillery perform from a project management standpoint?

They were always in touch with us, and though we changed a lot of things during
the process, they delivered everything on time. We used Skype to have weekly
conference calls with the manager and the graphic designer and were always in
touch via email. They responded within one to two hours whenever we contacted
them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They meet deadlines and the price was very good for the design they produced.
When I asked them to change something, they didn’t charge extra.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. Everything was great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend them.

RATINGS

5.0


 * Quality
   
   5.0
   
   Service & Deliverables

 * Schedule
   
   5.0
   
   On time / deadlines

 * Cost
   
   5.0
   
   Value / within estimates

 * Willing to Refer
   
   5.0
   
   NPS

MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT FOR EDUCATION SAVING PLATFORM

 * Mobile App Development
 * $50,000 to $199,999
 * Apr. 2018 - Ongoing

5.0

Quality 5.0 Schedule 4.5 Cost 5.0 Willing to Refer 5.0

"They’re invested in our success and are as happy about launching and hearing
success stories as we are." 

Oct 23, 2018
Founder & CEO, U-Nest
Ksenia Yudina
 * Financial services
 * Burbank, California
 * 1-10 Employees
 * Phone Interview 
 * Verified

Distillery is building an iOS app with multiple fintech integrations: Quovo to
connect with user bank accounts and Stripe to enable billing capabilities. They
also identified 529 college savings providers.



Beta users praised the app for its attractive appearance. Distillery implemented
a professional design that waylays users’ security concerns regarding sharing
personal information. Distillery is open to feedback and takes part in regular
meetings to set upcoming tasks and present progress to date.



A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an
edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of U-Nest. We’re a mobile app that helps parents save
for their kids’ education with a tax advantage (529 plan). We’re a Fintech
solution.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Distillery?

We had another team make a prototype of the iOS app and the website, so we
partnered with Distillery for the actual execution. My background is business
and finance, so I needed a partner with extensive experience in Fintech
solutions. They needed to complement my skill set, add some technical expertise,
and help me execute my vision.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We looked at the prototypes and determined what would be a feasible scope for
our budget. I had to strip down several features to get it to the minimum viable
product (MVP). We agreed on the scope for the MVP and then they started working.

They began with a month and a half of extensive research and development to
understand the project. Afterward, they researched possible 529 providers and
identified third-parties we'd need to integrate the make the app workable. They
chose Quovo for bank account authentication, which allows users to connect their
bank accounts and make monthly deposits into them. Additionally, we use Stripe
for billing services.

What is the team composition?

We’re working with a project manager, one iOS developer, one backend developer,
and a QA specialist. My main point of contact is the project manager.

How did you come to work with Distillery?

We went through an extensive due diligence process before picking our partner.
My senior technical advisor and I talked to 10 different companies. We wanted to
ensure the company had a US presence and Fintech expertise, and that they could
deliver good quality for the price.

Distillery had already built a couple of other financial services apps. After
collecting references from other companies who’d worked with them, I talked with
five CTOs and CEOs that used to work with Distillery. These people were great
references and helped solidify our decision.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $50,000–$199,999 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since April 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The app is live, and I’m quite pleased with the results. We ran a beta test with
100 users and got great feedback. They thought the look and feel was slick and
that it was easy to use. The onboarding process only took five minutes, and
there weren’t many bugs for us to fix. There was one issue during the beta, but
that had to do more with Quovo, the third-party provider. Distillery helped me
effectively resolve the problem in a short period.

Since we launched, we’ve gotten a lot of installs. Because we’re asking for a
lot of private information (social security numbers, bank accounts), we have to
gain the consumers' trust. Our app looks solid and established, which makes that
much easier.

How did Distillery perform from a project management standpoint?

They perform well and respond quickly. When we did R & D, we realized there was
one piece missing from our team: a product manager. I brought it up, and they
immediately found a solution and brought on an additional resource.

We have a daily standup with either the whole team or just the project manager
where I can get updates, and we can prioritize together. They’ve also done a
great job dealing with the third parties and looking at the APIs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re responsive and react quickly to my business’ needs. The project
management is outstanding, and their iOS developer is awesome. They’re invested
in our success and are as happy about launching and hearing success stories as
we are.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They ought to identify the resource needs of the project upfront. It took us a
couple of weeks to realize we needed a project manager.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a conversation about what resources you possess and what resources you need
from Distillery before you start any work. Take your time to interview each team
member that they provide, because the quality of work will only be as good as
the person performing it.

RATINGS

5.0


 * Quality
   
   5.0
   
   Service & Deliverables

 * Schedule
   
   4.5
   
   On time / deadlines

 * Cost
   
   5.0
   
   Value / within estimates

 * Willing to Refer
   
   5.0
   
   NPS

MVP FOR LIVE STREAM AUDIO PLATFORM

 * IoT Development
 * Confidential
 * Jan. 2018 - Ongoing

5.0

Quality 5.0 Schedule 5.0 Cost 5.0 Willing to Refer 5.0

“Unlike other agencies, Distillery takes responsibility for their work, which
makes it easy to problem solve.”

May 14, 2018
CEO, Audio Platform
Anonymous
 * Arts, entertainment & music
 * Los Angeles, California
 * 1-10 Employees
 * Phone Interview 
 * Verified

Distillery developed a voice-activated software solution for Amazon Alexa and
iOS that enables listeners to search through a live radio database using key
terms. They currently continue to support development.



Despite only recently going live, Distillery’s apps boast an incredible number
of downloads with no reported crashes. The team outshines the competition with
their responsiveness, technical ability, and exceptional service, overcoming
time constraints to expedite the product launch.



A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an
edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of an audio platform that allows radio listeners to search for any
live broadcasts, including news, sports talks, informational podcasts, music, or
user-generated content. Our system indexes all spoken word in real time, which
enables users to discover broadcasts with keywords.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Distillery?

Initially, we were trying to create a speech recognition software on Amazon
Alexa. Although we had some in-house technical expertise, Alexa was still a
relatively new platform at the time. We faced the complex challenge of building
intent and creating a logic for our system. As a result, we needed resources to
develop a voice operated search engine solution for live audio, which also
involved an accompanying iOS app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They worked on the Alexa voice-recognition skill, developing the software from
scratch. In order to allow seamless voice-operated search, they connected about
three different APIs that we had acquired through licensing. The Amazon Echo app
responds to specific vocal commands; after giving an introductory tutorial, the
app allows users to search over 120,000 live radio stations in real time with
keywords. As for the iOS app, they used our provided wireframes and
documentation to develop the mobile platform, which has the same capabilities as
its Echo counterpart.

They’ve recently delivered full minimum viable products (MVP) for both apps, and
we’re currently live on Alexa and the App Store. We’re planning to engage them a
few more times for ongoing development work.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager for the Alexa software, an assistant project
manager for the iOS app, and about four developers throughout the process.

How did you come to work with Distillery?

We met their CEO when we joined a local media startup accelerator. He was a
mentor in the program.

What is the status of this engagement?

Their work began in January 2018 and is currently ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Although we’ve only just launched both apps, we’ve seen a thousand percent
increase in downloads. According to our Apple statistics, we haven’t had any
crashes so far, which is a testament to Distillery’s technical skill. We’re
excited about how clean and simple the iOS app looks. They’ve done a great job
of keeping the interface accurate to our original designs.

How did Distillery perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve managed the project well. While there have occasionally been conflicting
project deadlines, their team did everything they could to help us figure out
what was necessary for the release. Even if they couldn’t deliver on everything
in our wish list, we appreciated how they pushed things live in the App Store.
Their great relationship with Apple allowed them to get our apps lie on the same
day. In terms of communication, we talked mostly through email, Zoom, and in
person. We used Jira and Google Sheets to track our work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their professionalism separates them from the competition. I’ve previously
worked with a lot of development teams where I’ve had to be upset to get the
desired results. There are a lot of little things that an inexperienced team
won’t do or don’t think to do, and I have to explicitly instruct them through
the process.

Unlike other agencies, Distillery takes responsibility for their work, which
makes it easy to problem solve. They take care of any little details to smooth
the process without batting an eye, responding promptly to fix any bugs. The
team is just so matter-of-fact. Without a doubt, they’re the best team I’ve ever
worked with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to reach out and speak to their CEO because he’s easy to work with.

RATINGS

5.0


 * Quality
   
   5.0
   
   Service & Deliverables
   
   "They were exemplary."

 * Schedule
   
   5.0
   
   On time / deadlines

 * Cost
   
   5.0
   
   Value / within estimates
   
   "They were the most valuable."

 * Willing to Refer
   
   5.0
   
   NPS

IOS PROTOTYPE DEV FOR CONSUMER APP STARTUP

 * Mobile App Development
 * $50,000 to $199,999
 * Jan. - Aug. 2017

5.0

Quality 4.5 Schedule 4.5 Cost 4.0 Willing to Refer 5.0

“They’re good at responding to problems.”

Dec 4, 2017
Founder, Staffing Platform
Anonymous
 * Consumer Products
 * Qatar
 * 1-10 Employees
 * Phone Interview 
 * Verified

Distillery participated in a thorough MVP phase and developed a custom iOS
application which allows users to browse, communicate, and make appointments
with employers.



Feedback from beta testing was positive and merited display on the company’s
landing page. Distillery was responsive and quick to remedy problems, and the
team formation remained consistent. The CEO’s availability was also significant
in regards to their overall proactive approach.



A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an
edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re providing a platform for college and university students to seek
employment opportunities, mostly part-time and internships.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Distillery?

I had an idea, and looked at a few outsourced development companies.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Before the kickoff call, we had a two-hour meeting during which we discussed
what I wanted, and then built out the idea. We continued the process afterwards
with the intention of creating a MVP [minimum viable product]. The brainstorming
lasted for three months after that call in January. By mid-April, we had a clear
understanding of what we wanted to do.

The product is a custom-built iOS application with six categories: business and
finance, homes, services, education, media and tech, and shopping delivery.
Users can choose whichever they like, browse through job posts created by
employers, and then apply for jobs. They will then have access to a
communication section within the app through which they can speak, set up
times/dates, and meet with employers in order to complete the task.

What is the team composition?

The team stayed largely the same, with only one or two alterations. I’ve been in
constant contact with the development team in Russia, as well as with a couple
of people in California who handle marketing. They assigned a project lead, too.

How did you come to work with Distillery?

I shortlisted 5–6 candidates, including Distillery. They sounded as if they
could deliver my idea, so I chose them. Some of the research was online, but I
also found a couple of groups through a friend’s recommendation. None of them
were local—most were based in the U.S., while one was from India, and the other,
Australia.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent close to $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in mid-January 2017, and the development is
complete. We will launch some time in mid-January 2018. I plan on releasing an
Android version, but I’m unsure if Distillery will be involved.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We’ve begun beta testing, and the website is online. We’re inviting people for
early access and collecting reviews. The social media pages are also ready, and
we have a lot of content there.

We’ve had positive reviews, some of which we’ve posted on the landing page of
the website. We come from a nontechnical background, so Distillery handled
anything that went wrong.

How did Distillery perform from a project management standpoint?

Whenever there was a problem, I could send them an email and have them handle
it. They’re good at responding to problems.

We used Basecamp for project tracking, and communicated via email, GoToMeeting,
and Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

This is my first development startup, so Distillery is the first company I’ve
used. I’ve worked with others, but only for marketing purposes. Distillery is
quite similar in comparison.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’ve been sufficient so far. Every time I raised a query, they dealt with is
quickly. There have been a couple delays due to the development team being in
Russia, and the other resources being in California. There are huge time
differences, which can lead to a lag in responses from both sides.

They could’ve reduced development time. There were instances when I might have
been late in approving decisions, but I would’ve wanted the timeframe to be
smaller.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients have to do their research and talk to the development team. Someone only
willing to visit websites and go with the first software house they find is
basically planning to fail. I liked that I was able to regularly talk with
Distillery’s, because other development companies were shy about facilitating
this. People in my position should research thoroughly, especially if they are
on a tight budget, if they want to find a partner who has the optimal proactive
approach.

RATINGS

5.0


 * Quality
   
   4.5
   
   Service & Deliverables
   
   "I would like to have seen some minor improvements."

 * Schedule
   
   4.5
   
   On time / deadlines

 * Cost
   
   4.0
   
   Value / within estimates
   
   "They are on the costly side."

 * Willing to Refer
   
   5.0
   
   NPS

STAFFING ARRANGEMENT FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES STARTUP

 * Mobile App Development
 * $200,000 to $999,999
 * Aug. 2016 - Ongoing

5.0

Quality 4.0 Schedule 5.0 Cost 4.5 Willing to Refer 5.0

"They’re very responsive to our project leads and embedded into our process."

Jun 27, 2017
CTO, Finance Company
Anonymous
 * Financial services
 * Santa Monica, California
 * 51-200 Employees
 * Phone Interview 
 * Verified

Distillery augments a quickly growing fintech team on both the frontend and
backend of their main product, a data-driven Android app.



Distillery is responsive and reliable. Their developers can closely collaborate
with internal teams to speed up timelines and help stabilize mission-critical
projects. They’re a valuable addition, and their work contributed to successes
like meeting funding goals and doubling number of app users.



A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an
edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a startup that provides credit to people in emerging markets, specifically
people who don’t have access to credit (typically underserved users), and we do
that through various technologies. We determine people’s credit ratings or
credit scores via information from their phones. Today, we’re in a couple of
countries including Kenya, Tanzania, and the Philippines. My role here is the
CTO. I’m responsible for a couple of teams, specifically engineering, data
science, data analytics, and product.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Distillery?

There’s been a big crunch in getting engineering hires. Our company has been
growing rather quickly, and we couldn’t meet our hiring demands. We decided to
get some additional support from contract engineering jobs. That’s how we
decided to go with Distillery.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have Distillery team members on both the frontend and backend of the product.
Our frontend is an Android application, and it talks to our backend for various
features, such as how we send the data across the phone and what kind of
treatment to give the user once they’re within the app.

We employ a model where we have their team members embedded within our team’s
development cycle. We had one or two of their developers work collaboratively
with our developers, so they would work on projects together. It wasn’t
secondary tasks—it was very important, all mission-critical engineering
development efforts that the Distillery team members helped us with.

The developers working on it from the Distillery side have been a stable team.
The size of the team working with us today is about four developers. There’s no
project lead on their end. The way we run our projects is we have our own
internal project leads, either from engineering or product, and those leads
would lead the entire squads.

How did you come to work with Distillery?

It was a referral. One of the biggest deciding factors for choosing Distillery
over the competitors was one of our engineering leaders here had previously
worked with Distillery and vouched for their work. Cost was not a huge factor.
It really came down to quality.

How much have you invested with Distillery?

Somewhere between $150,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together about a year ago.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of
work, or the impact of the engagement?

In terms of our business growth, if you want to use a milestone, our company
successfully raised its next round of funding during our engagement with
Distillery. That was a big milestone. In terms of user growth, we’ve doubled
since working with Distillery. Those were the two big ones.

In terms of productivity and ease of supervision, unfortunately, I don’t have a
point of reference there to other vendors.

How did Distillery perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re pretty reliable. They’re very responsive to our project leads and
embedded into our process. I’m generally pretty satisfied.

We use project management tools such as JIRA, and Slack for communication. We do
video conferences as well. We’re in contact pretty regularly.

What did you find most impressive about Distillery?

What I like about their model is that the developers initially come on-site and
work with us for three to four weeks to learn our process and system before
going back to their home country. I like that part because it really helps with
the onboarding process and getting them ramped-up.

Are there any areas Distillery could improve?

In terms of improvement, it’s due to our own capacity. Sometimes, if we need
more developers, they just don’t have enough. I guess it’s because they have a
lot of other clients as well. I would like a more formal feedback group. If we
can provide it to them or they can provide it to us, I think that would be
helpful, but it hasn’t really been a major issue.

RATINGS

5.0


 * Quality
   
   4.0
   
   Service & Deliverables

 * Schedule
   
   5.0
   
   On time / deadlines

 * Cost
   
   4.5
   
   Value / within estimates

 * Willing to Refer
   
   5.0
   
   NPS

CUSTOM IOS DEV FOR CONSUMER PRODUCT STARTUP

 * Mobile App Development
 * $200,000 to $999,999
 * Jan. 2016 - Ongoing

5.0

Quality 5.0 Schedule 4.5 Cost 4.0 Willing to Refer 5.0

"I’m impressed with their ability to identify and adapt to possible issues."

Jun 21, 2017
CEO, Consumer Product Company
Anonymous
 * Software
 * Roanoke, Texas
 * 11-50 Employees
 * Phone Interview 
 * Verified

Distillery created a family scheduling app (iOS and web) from scratch, designing
and developing an MVP with calendar, shared lists, and messaging capabilities.
They’ll start work on an Android version shortly.



The initial product finished ahead of the launch schedule, thanks to
Distillery’s flexible reactions to different delays and changes. The team’s
high-quality deliverables, attention to detail, and family atmosphere continue
to promote success.  



A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an
edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a company that offers an iOS and web-based family scheduling app.
The product is a shared family calendar organizer for both scheduling and
sharing events. The app also offers shared grocery and to-do lists. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Distillery?

When we formed the company, 2 of my family members came up with the product
idea. They asked me to partner with them to get the product developed. None of
us are programmers or engineers, so we needed a third-party to build the first
version of our platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were a brand-new startup and just had an idea. We met with Distillery to
outline what we were trying to achieve as far as functionality. After that
in-person session, they spent a couple of weeks laying out an MVP. We started
working on the design, and they gave us a full series of different design
choices. We tweaked our selection until we got the right look and feel. After
finalizing our approach, we started the building process.

The product needed to have full calendar capabilities, with scheduling
functionality for a family as well as shared grocery and to-do lists. Distillery
shared their insight as far as which functions would add value to the calendar
and scheduling platform. The app also allows a family to share scheduled events
with others, such as a grandparent or babysitter. A key part of the platform is
that we could keep the family up-to-date with regards to the details of upcoming
events.

The app also includes a messaging function. Users can message inside an event,
and that message streams live with the event. We didn’t integrate with other
social media networks or payment services. We’re about to begin developing the
Android version.

We had a 9-person team from Distillery and interacted with probably 5 of the
team members—2 or 3 of them on a daily basis, and 5 on a regular basis. We’ve
interacted with all the team members at some point. We have a steady project
manager who handles all the high-level stuff.

How did you come to work with Distillery?

We did online searches for development companies and requested pitches. We
interviewed about 7 different firms around the country to see if they’d be a
good fit for the project, ultimately settling on Distillery. Since our idea was
for a family-based product, we were looking for a firm that had a smaller,
family atmosphere. We wanted to get to know the people involved in the project
and work closely with them on our overall vision. Several of the groups we met
with were really big firms with lots of people. Distillery is a mid-sized firm
and has a lot of expertise in all the right pieces.

We’ve been working with Distillery every day for about 18 months, and they’ve
become part of our family atmosphere. We talk every day and are involved in all
the planning. It’s been a great relationship.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership began in January of 2016, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of
work, or impact of the engagement?

We don’t share the specific statistics, but we’re ahead of schedule and have
performed better than expected.

How did Distillery perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve really stayed on schedule. As with any project, hurdles came up that
either delayed the work or changed our direction. I’m impressed with their
ability to identify and adapt to possible issues. They always communicate the
reason for a delay or potential future issue.  

We had full access to JIRA, where we could monitor their daily activity. We were
involved in the development team’s Slack channel. We also had weekly Skype calls
and daily email and telephone conversations. We visited them in Santa Monica for
meetings probably a dozen time over 18 months.

What did you find most impressive about Distillery?

I was impressed by their ability to respond to hurdles. They have a strong team
atmosphere. I felt they really took our feedback, advice, and input seriously.
They caught on to our vision and did a great job in fulfilling it. Distillery is
the only firm I’ve dealt with, so I don’t have anything to compare, but I’ve
been happy with their work.

Are there any areas Distillery could improve?

Nothing comes to mind. We’ll continue to work with them for the foreseeable
future. Any problems and issues that arose were corrected, so I don’t have
specific feedback about improvements. They’re fairly priced relative to the
other groups we interviewed. They were timely in their output, and the product
has performed as described.

Do you have any advice or suggestions for potential clients?

Don’t hire the first group you meet; instead, really invest in speaking to
several different firms. They all have advantages and disadvantages, but it’s
important to get to know a provider well before making a big commitment that
could determine your success or failure. 

RATINGS

5.0

"It’s been an enjoyable partnership."

 * Quality
   
   5.0
   
   Service & Deliverables
   
   "Minor bugs and changes pop up in every project, but the overall product has
   performed as expected."

 * Schedule
   
   4.5
   
   On time / deadlines
   
   "We met deadlines most of the time. When we didn’t, I was notified in
   advance. They always had a plan to handle the delay."

 * Cost
   
   4.0
   
   Value / within estimates
   
   "We’ve spent a lot of money, but I think we have a fine product."

 * Willing to Refer
   
   5.0
   
   NPS
   
   "I’ve had a very good experience and would recommend them to friends.

PLATFORM DEVELOPMENT FOR ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY

 * Custom Software Development
 * Confidential
 * Nov. 2015 - Sep. 2016

5.0

Quality 5.0 Schedule 5.0 Cost 5.0 Willing to Refer 5.0

"It all comes down to how talented their people are."

Oct 11, 2016
Founder & CEO, Entertainment Company
Anonymous
 * Arts, entertainment & music
 * Los Angeles, California
 * 1-10 Employees
 * Phone Interview 
 * Verified

Distillery developed an on-demand video streaming solution for web/iOS. They
also performed QA testing and resolved all discovered bugs. 



One key highlight includes access to exceptional design/technical talent but
streamlining communications was one area for possible improvement. 



A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an
edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We offer a video-on-demand platform specializing in film and video game
trailers, as well as videos about lifestyle and tech product launches, and live
events such as concerts. We offer a video-only experience for previews. I am the
founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Distillery?

Each developer has different types of incentives and agendas in terms of nudging
the client towards certain packages and development approaches. One firm may
have a focus on HTML5, so they will steer towards hybrid development, while
others may have good iOS or Java developers, and so on. I had done a
smaller-scale project using a competitor of Distillery, who wanted to nudge me
in a direction that I didn't care for. I searched for a better fit and found
Distillery.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked with Distillery to build our platform on iOS and the web, and they
also provide occasional bug fixes. We don't have any in-house developers, so all
the work is done by Distillery. Although they're not cheap, the advantage of
choosing a premium development shop is the guarantee of working with good
talent, instead of bringing in mediocre in-house resources. This is a good
solution, depending on the circumstances. We've had an overall professional
experience with Distillery.

I brought some work done through my previous engagement with another firm,
thinking that it could help save time, but Distillery pretty much started from
scratch, redoing everything. The final product was much better, especially given
that the previous engagement was much smaller in scope and had to be rushed.
Distillery has a very high in-house standard.

I worked with 2 product managers, one product owner, one UX [user experience]
and one UI [user interface] designer, a full-stack developer, and a number of
backend developers who were probably offshore. In terms of senior,
decision-making personnel, Distillery assigned 6-7 people to my project, on top
of the main resources writing the code. I met with Distillery's team every 2
weeks, which is how long our sprints were. We would set milestones, have reviews
(usually at their office), write detailed critiques, and go from there.
Everything went through Distillery's project manager and product owner, but I
also interacted with the UI and UX designers.

How did you come to work with Distillery?

I looked up some of the best firms in LA through Google, looked at portfolios,
and spoke with them, talking about budgets and types of development. Reputation
was a factor. Some firms are known to outsource much of their work to certain
countries with a less-than-great reputation, while others made promises which
they couldn't likely keep. Since I couldn't just use places like Yelp, much of
the process consisted of going to meetings, feeling them out, and moving on from
there.

How much have you invested with Distillery?

The cost of Distillery's services has been around $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Distillery in November 2015. Our main engagement ended
in April 2016, but we had another minor project in the fall of this year, for a
couple of weeks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of
work, or the impact of the engagement?

Distillery has an emphasis on hiring talented people, who aren't afraid to
suggest things that push back against the client's wishes. Many of these turned
out to be much wiser decisions, mainly because, as a client, I lacked industry
insight. I was often pleasantly surprised by the deliverables.

How did Distillery perform from a project management standpoint?

There was a bit of a communication issue with our first project manager.
Distillery nipped this in the bud, terminating that person. He was probably a
recent hire being tested out, and Distillery let him go when it was discovered
that he wasn't communicating properly. From there, everything was smooth.

Distillery isn't the right firm for people with a tendency to micromanage. Other
shops encourage active daily client involvement for every step of the process.
In the case of Distillery, I trusted that they have talented people, and only
gave broad strokes, empowering them to fill in the rest. Critique can be done
afterward, changing things in the next sprint, but the overall experience isn't
as hands-on as some clients would want.

What did you find most impressive about Distillery?

I can't think of anything in particular for Distillery. Many shops have gimmicky
marketing products, but it all comes down to how talented their people are.

Are there any areas Distillery could improve?

In terms of communication, there could be more expedient processes than email.
Distillery could use Slack or something else which could prompt immediate
responses. It's understandable wanting to favor using email, given that there
will always be times when they won't want to get back to the client right away.

RATINGS

5.0


 * Quality
   
   5.0
   
   Service & Deliverables

 * Schedule
   
   5.0
   
   On time / deadlines

 * Cost
   
   5.0
   
   Value / within estimates

 * Willing to Refer
   
   5.0
   
   NPS
   
   "Much of this stems from the top-down approach that Distillery's owner has.
   He's an honorable businessman and his management style is seen at every
   level, applying to the entire development process. I would highly recommend
   Distillery.

LONG-TERM RESOURCE ARRANGEMENT FOR COMPUTER SOFTWARE COMPANY

 * Custom Software Development
 * $200,000 to $999,999
 * Jan. 2016 - Ongoing

5.0

Quality 5.0 Schedule 4.5 Cost 5.0 Willing to Refer 5.0

"They offer uniform quality across the board."

Oct 5, 2016
Founder & CEO, Sixgill
Phil Ressler
 * Software
 * Los Angeles, California
 * 11-50 Employees
 * Phone Interview 
 * Verified

Distillery was first hired to supply ad hoc dev resources and their superior
performance led to ongoing project involvement. 



Pros include access to a wide range of creative, strategic, and technical
resources, with no adverse effect on deliverable quality or project completion.



A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an
edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Sixgill provides proximity data services to enterprises operating mobile
applications on their employees' phones and other devices. We also allow clients
to track assets in their IoT [Internet of Things] infrastructures, detecting
when proximity conditions exist and triggering a response. We're based in Santa
Monica, California. I am the chief executive officer of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Distillery?

After acquiring the company and rebranding it, I came to act as the founder of
the business that exists today. We were getting started on a redirection of our
business from consumer end-play to enterprise B2B [business-to-business] and had
to create all-new digital assets. I needed an app-building partner to provide
initial and ongoing code development for our website, given that we only have
back-end expertise. Out of all companies within our time zone, Distillery had
the best combination of software development, data science, design, and product
management skills.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We've used Distillery on multiple projects, and have had 4–6 open ones at any
given time. Our open-ended projects have been the most challenging, given that
we never know when they're done.

Distillery provided crash development for a website with a mixed codebase,
migrating the old version to WordPress, optimizing its SEO [search engine
optimization], and performing graphic design. We continue with monthly evolution
projects for it on an open-ended basis.

We had a large repository of migration data collected from 4 million people
during the course of 5 months. From a software standpoint, we have a
process-oriented and transactional approach. In the long run, the work will have
strong analytical implications, and provide a revenue opportunity in this sense.
To get started on understanding on what we could offer analytically, I needed to
have a data science view of the information that we collect. Distillery has a
highly qualified and affordable data science team that has provided the analytic
possibilities for the data that we've collected on the migratory patterns of a
population as well as their proximity instances.

Our data science project involves 5 people at any given time. The ongoing
development project has had a fluctuating team of graphics, UX [user experience]
and UI [user interface] designers, coders, a project manager, and a product
manager from Distillery. It ranged from 3 to 10 people. We use the project
manager on our side to interact with the one from Distillery. Most firms like
theirs don't have product managers, but Distillery has a primary software
vendor-grade resource onboard.

How did you come to work with Distillery?

I met one of the senior staff members at a networking dinner in Los Angeles
three years ago.

How much have you invested with Distillery?

The total cost of Distillery's services has been more than $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I began referring people to Distillery 2 years ago [2014], but our own
engagement with them only started in January 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of
work, or the impact of the engagement?

Our involvement with Distillery is somewhat different than their projects with
more traditional customers. There is no measure of whether or not our website is
successful because we're still a startup. Distillery did a great job of
packaging our use cases, brand marketing, and product marketing, giving us a
coherent design language, packaging our offering in a website that showcases our
digital assets to potential customers.

On the data science aspect, Distillery was tasked with telling me what I didn't
already know. I can't say what that entails, prior to receiving Distillery's
reports.

One of the business offerings from Distillery is a rent-a-developer service with
a staff of engineers in the United States and Russia, available to companies on
a monthly basis. They're high-quality coders that are affordable and readily
available. They can be secured for either long- or short-term engagements for
companies having trouble finding or can't afford local talent. Distillery's
other offering is referred to as app-enabled business services. A founder can
have an idea for a mobile or web app-based business, but they don't have the
engineering team to build it. Distillery can take that person's idea and work
with them in order to develop a product spec, engineering schedule, and full
agile development sequencing. They manage those and go from an idea to a
post-beta deployed product, typically in around 13 weeks, unless the project is
larger, and needs more development cycles. Distillery offers full
product-managed projects, with the same engineering resources and project
management available from a primary software vendor, at a price that someone
with seed funding can afford.

I haven't used Distillery for this, but I've seen the results that it can bring,
and they are outstanding. We partner with clients who don't have the means to
build a solution themselves. We supervise the process and use Distillery as a
development partner. I've seen the quality of work that Distillery can give to
people I've referred to them, and this tells me that I can use them for Fortune
10 companies that need an application for connecting to our proximity services
back-end. This work will be fully credible and accepted.

How did Distillery perform from a project management standpoint?

I am a bit removed from the project management process, but I know that
Distillery uses JIRA and GitHub. They also use Flowdock for light project
communication.

What did you find most impressive about Distillery?

I appreciate the scope and combination of services provided by Distillery. They
offer uniform quality across the board. Vendors like Distillery will usually be
mediocre in terms of coding if they're great at design, and vice versa. The
project management may also be a little loose. Most agency businesses like
Distillery also don't have the same level of quality and conduct management.
Distillery's work is not sharply differentiated with respect to individual
components, but the combination that they offer, with a uniform quality level
and accountability, makes them especially recommended.

Are there any areas Distillery could improve?

From what I know about Distillery's business and market, I would say that they
could make further progress on recruiting a broader scope of engineering skills.
If someone wanted to develop a project using the Go technology, Distillery would
need to find those developers before taking the job. It can be done, but it
takes a bit of time. For what Distillery's business is, and how they define it,
the opportunity for growth would come from expanding the capacity for the same
work and keeping the quality level at the same degree. Small companies can offer
a uniform level of quality but, as they get bigger and need to expand the talent
pool, the quality of individuals available starts to decline. Distillery has to
demonstrate that they can navigate that challenge.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood
of success with Distillery?

Nothing comes to mind, but Distillery has the ability to make these
recommendations through their sales pipeline.

RATINGS

5.0

"Distillery is very responsive."

 * Quality
   
   5.0
   
   Service & Deliverables
   
   "I haven't seen any practical deficiencies relative to what Distillery
   promised."

 * Schedule
   
   4.5
   
   On time / deadlines
   
   "Distillery has occasionally missed deadlines, but it was almost always for
   quality reasons, wanting more time to deliver something correctly. This is
   fine with me."

 * Cost
   
   5.0
   
   Value / within estimates
   
   "I have no issue whatsoever with the value for money. Distillery is more
   expensive than other companies, but I am interested in the value of the
   result and can pay more for better."

 * Willing to Refer
   
   5.0
   
   NPS
   
   "I have no reservations about recommending Distillery.

Showing 1-9 of 9 Reviews

Portfolio

Verification

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right purchasing decision of business services.

Learn More
Verified Client Reviews 9

Overall Review Rating
4.9

Source Clutch Last Updated May 2, 2024

BUSINESS ENTITY

Business Entity Name WeezLabs, Inc. Jurisdiction of Formation California Date of
Formation May 3, 2012 Status Active Last Updated March 1, 2019 ID C3473188

PAYMENT & LEGAL FILINGS

Bankruptcy No Tax Lien Filings 0 Judgement Filings 0 Collection Count 0 Source
Experian - Full Report Last Updated April 4, 2019

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