We sourced developers and helped create an MVP in 3 months, achieving Best ICO 2022 in Dubai and raising $4.41 million.

Hello! We’re AB Soft Development, a company that specializes in IT outstaffing.

Case Overview: We quickly found outstaff developers and successfully completed an urgent project, which was recognized as the best ICO at the crypto conference in Dubai.

Who approached us and what task we were solving

We provide IT specialists for the development of mobile applications and IT services. Companies turn to us for these services when they do not want to hire developers in-house or cannot quickly find the right specialist.

Client.

PaySenger is an American startup with a Russian-speaking team. This project operates at the intersection of Web 2.0 and Web 3.0, offering a blockchain platform and messenger that allows subscribers to communicate with bloggers for a fee. Bloggers create content (articles, illustrations, videos) as NFTs, and subscribers pay to become co-owners. For instance, users can consult with a doctor, order a logo from a designer, or ask a model for a few photos. Each piece of content is recorded on the blockchain, confirming ownership. The startup secured sufficient investment to rapidly enter the market and test product hypotheses. Therefore, it was crucial to quickly find qualified developers who could assist with creating the MVP.

Task.

Create an MVP within 3 months for Crypto Expo Dubai 2022. Participation in such events helps attract attention to the product and find investors. Initially, only part of the backend was ready and the platform's design was still being developed, so there was a lot of work ahead.

Found developers within a week

Our client received investments for project development and needed to present the application at the Dubai conference scheduled in 3 months. To meet the deadline, we looked for IT specialists on an outstaff basis, as their own developers were not enough despite growing the team from 2 to 70 employees in just a few months. HR agencies typically take 1-6 months to find qualified specialists.

Another reason to opt for outstaffing is that developers do not require extensive onboarding. The team comes already cohesive and suited in terms of competencies, allowing them to quickly understand the project and immediately take on tasks without spending time on internal communication. Motivation is also not an issue: employees can decline a project, but if they accept, it means they are interested and will be engaged. Therefore, outstaffing is not only a quick way to find qualified specialists but also a resource-saving strategy for HR.

At Soft Jet, we provided outstaffing services for iOS and Android developers, and later for backend developers and testers. We needed to find specialists based on three criteria:

Knowledge Proficiency in Swift and Kotlin for native development, and PHP Laravel for backend. Level: middle+, so the developer can design solutions and foresee the consequences of their actions.
Responsiveness The project was urgent, and specialists had to be prepared for overtime work.
Proactivity If a developer sees a risk of falling behind schedule, they should address it and organize the workflow to meet the deadlines.

We always have reliable specialists on the bench, but with PaySenger, there was an additional requirement: not only to meet the formal criteria such as tech stack and work experience but also to fit the client's personality and temperament. In most cases, when deadlines are tight, it doesn’t matter much who writes the code. However, in this case, it was crucial for the client to be on the same wavelength as the developers to ensure the team worked cohesively and focused on the product rather than personal relationships.

On the first day, we offered middle developers with relevant experience - but they did not fit the client's soft skills. In order not to waste time, we offered developers from another project that was just finishing. Because of the abrupt transition from one project to another, they had to quickly dive into work and sometimes work overtime. But this time our specialists quickly found a common language with the client, and the work was comfortable for everyone.

Outstaff developers have no reason to lie or «sell themselves»

As our client noticed, outstaff developers don’t deceive during interviews. Since they’re not actively looking for a job, they don’t claim to have skills and qualities they don’t actually possess. Instead, they calmly discuss their capabilities and what they wish to learn. If a developer isn’t a good fit, the client can immediately inform us, and we will promptly suggest another specialist.

The developers we selected were so well-received by the client that PaySenger arranged to bring them onto their permanent team. They also asked us to provide additional specialists for other projects. According to our surveys, the client’s NPS was a perfect 10.

Since the client was from the USA, we encountered some payment issues. We hadn't previously worked with international clients, so we quickly researched and resolved the foreign trade aspects. After the events in March, we had to address new challenges and ended up opening a company in Kazakhstan. Thanks to this project, we can now easily accept payments from other countries.

Launched MVP with Core Features in 3 Months

We began working in November 2021 — Soft Jet specialists completed onboarding and received their first tasks. By early February, we had already started testing and making fixes.

Such rapid progress was achieved thanks to a well-coordinated team — our specialists had already worked together on other projects, so they easily distributed tasks among themselves and worked in a productive atmosphere. And since the programmers spoke the same language as the client, the work proceeded in a "receive task — show results" format, without misunderstandings and excessive control. Additionally, the team treated the project as their own: they were involved and committed, often working late into the night and sometimes until 4 a.m. before the release to ensure a high-quality product.

During this time, we managed to create a product that is already used by 500,000 people, 10% of whom are content creators monetizing their knowledge and talents.

Here's exactly what our developers accomplished:

Personal account. Registration, authorization, phone verification, username and password recovery.

Balance. Token earnings, account replenishment, money withdrawal to a bank card, transaction history.

Replenishment is possible from a card and PayPal, with convenient buttons for popular amounts.

Search. Easily find the desired content creator using filters.

Chat. Subscribers can send requests to content creators for articles, images, and videos. Creators create content and immediately earn from it.

The blogger sets the cost of messaging themselves. For example, $1 per message.

Subscriber section. Search, sorting, filtering, user history.

Generation of NFTs and tokens. Creators sell content for EGO tokens, generate demand for them, and build capital as long as the token remains in demand.

Each unit of content is created as an NFT — it has owners, and ownership is recorded in the blockchain.

Later, our developers added live streams, webinars, chat search, interaction with user lists, channels, and message actions to the messenger.

Additionally, several monetization options were added to the mobile application. A blogger can earn money in three main ways. The first option is to complete custom tasks, starting from answering a question or generating an image using AI and ending with detailed consultations, design development, and mentoring. The second is to publish content interesting to the audience and sell access to it. Finally, a blogger can simply hold cryptocurrency and earn from its price appreciation.

PaySenger became the top startup in Dubai and attracted investments.

The startup was showcased at the Dubai Crypto Expo 2022 conference. The team won The Best ICO 2022 award, one of the most prestigious accolades at the conference. The award ceremony was featured on Instagram*.

The startup caught the attention of investors attending the event and secured investments of $4.41 million. Of this amount, $2.1 million came from strategic investors. Additionally, the team received grants from Google and Amazon, and in the ConsenSys accelerator ranking, the startup made it to the top twenty.

The application was developed in just 3 months, thanks to the cohesive team. In most cases, as much time is spent on hiring and onboarding, but with staff augmentation, the team is already prepared and waiting for you — you hire the folks and make awesome applications.