Launching B2B app for NYC startup: fast & cost-effective
months working
together
dev so good he got hired full-time
tech stacks
used
THE STARTUP WITH
A ROCK & ROLL VISION
An operating system that makes event planning simple, Velvet helps live music and entertainment venues generate income and grow sustainably by centralizing all their operations.
Velvet software allows venues to book, plan, settle, and analyze events in seconds, all in one place.
In short, Velvet makes it easier to rock out.
We are building a vertical SaaS platform for venues that host live events to help them with their internal flows, such as managing their calendars, creating offers, settling shows, and everything in between.
Jaldeep Acharya, CTO of Velvet
A venture-backed
startup
NYC-based
company
Music & artist
industry
THE NEED FOR
EXTRA HANDS
Led by a small, passionate team, Velvet was well on its way to market. They had an almost finished product – and they’d even found their first customer.
With a customer already in the queue before their product was even finished, Velvet had cleared a massive hurdle in finding product market fit. But, a waiting customer also meant their launch deadline was set in stone, and they could not risk disappointing their very first b2b user.
The Velvet team was so close to a successful launch, but they were missing a single critical element: their front end.
They had great back-end specialists, which meant everything under the hood was ready to go. But, they didn’t have any front-end developers on the team. So, their front end still needed a lot of work, and they didn’t have anyone equipped to finish it.
CTO Jaldeep wanted someone with front-end expertise and at least 5 years of experience working in React, Typescript and next JS. More than that, he wanted a developer who had led a team and knew how to collaborate but also had the ability to be effective on their own.
Malky Volodarsky, Customer Success Team Lead
In short, Jaldeep needed a divine dev who could help Velvet reach the promised land of launch.
But with under two months to go, there was no time to embark on a long hiring process.
If Velvet didn’t get a skilled front-end developer on their team immediately, they would need to extend their release timeline. Worse, they would need to tell their first and only customer that they couldn’t deliver.
That’s when Velvet found the light of Lemon.io.
We were approximately a month and a half out from our launch date with our first customer, and we just needed an extra pair of hands to get us across the finish line on time.
Jaldeep Acharya, CTO of Velvet
THE RESULTS
When Jaldeep contacted Lemon.io, he found them super responsive.
In just a week, he had a list of developers who were precisely filtered to his criteria. Within 48 hours, Jaldeep had chosen his favorites and scheduled interviews.
Knowing he could trust the divine skill sets of Lemon.io devs, Jaldeep focused on finding a developer who not only thrived in the startup hustle but whose drive, determination, and goals meshed with Velvet’s team culture – a vibe Jaldeep had worked hard to create.
After a few interviews, and some tweaks to Velvet’s requirements, Jaldeep interviewed Maksym and knew he had found the man for the job.
Within days, Maksym took over Velvet’s front-end development. Acting more as an employee than a contractor, he took ownership of every task and worked seamlessly with the team to finish the product.
With Maksym’s help, the Velvet team was able to deliver their product to their very first customer on time.
Today, Velvet is hitting all the right notes with venues as they expand their product. Maksym’s work ethic has impressed Jaldeep so much, that he’s now a permanent part of the Velvet team.
From day one, Maksym hasn’t really behaved as a contractor whose mindset is, I’m getting paid by the hour and I’m just doing what you’re telling me to do in those hours. He’s taken ownership over the work that he has been given and done it with the same enthusiasm and energy as a full-time employee.
Jaldeep Acharya, CTO of Velvet
TECHNOLOGIES USED
DIVINE DEVS THAT
GET THINGS DONE
WHY LEMON.IO:
-
1
Four-step vetting process separates devils from devotees. Our proprietary process includes professional and personal tests, live interviews, and multiple background checks.
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2
Price-quality match made in Utopia. The majority of developers are from Eastern Europe, where startups can stretch their budget to do more with less.
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3
Miraculous 48-hour matching. Two days (or less) to find you a perfect developer for your startup’s needs.
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4
98% satisfaction rate. That’s the percentage of clients who hired the very first dev they were offered from the platform.
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5
Zero-risk dev replacement guarantee. If something goes wrong or you want another developer, we replace them. No questions asked, no prolonged side-eye.