AI platform reduces burn-rate by 68%

Atom CTO was approached by an AI-powered intelligence platform that records conversations, captures actions and insights, and transcribes conversations, with the ability to identify up to 20 speakers. 

The development of this ambitious product was not without its setbacks and had encountered some software development difficulties. It wasn’t getting value out of releases as they weren’t being delivered on time. In addition, the code was often released with bugs which made the team inefficient and had a knock effect on sprint velocity. 

The startup approached Atom CTO for help in improving software engineering process, boosting employee morale and to bring rigor into product development and strategy.

Business Need

There was a team of contractors and freelancers which comprised the internal development team. They encountered difficulties when it came to setting and following engineering processes as well as agile development protocols. User stories weren’t getting delivered on time, and because they weren’t following a framework, it meant that development was slow, and the team wasn’t able to deliver releases on time. 

The company was encountering a very high burn rate and needed a fast solution to transform its fortunes. The team was in need of a way to improve their product development process and bring some order to the chaos.

The Project

Atom CTO were represented by Sanjay on the CTO side and Jenny for project management.  They provided structure and clarity by forming a framework to make the software development process more effective. 

They helped to prioritise user stories as well as formalise methodologies so that the team would quickly start to see value in the code they were producing and most importantly create a better experience for users of the AI startup’s platform.

Sanjay and Jenny helped to instil discipline and rigour within the team and quickly defined a roadmap with corresponding objectives which would help when writing the user stories. Everything was built using a user-led approach which helped the team to identify the value of the product and build something that met the user needs. 

The team had bi-weekly remote stand-ups as many members were based across the globe on different timezones. The founder and fractional CTO Sanjay had a strategic meeting on a weekly basis. 

By being able to prioritise and commit to user stories within every sprint, the team was able to deliver new releases on time. As a result of creating more structure and processes for the team, the AI startup saw improvements in dedication and motivation among the engineers. The core team turnover reduced significantly which was a clear sign that members were more committed to the cause.

Outcomes

As a result of their collaboration with Atom CTO, the startup was able to produce a stable and first-rate AI transcription product which notably produced value for its users. 

• Technical debt from a features point of view was eliminated.
• 68% reduction in burn-rate (reduced from $145,000 to $45,000), extending the life of the business. 
• Product velocity increased by 300%. 
• Employee turnover reduced significantly, a strong indicator of more dedication and motivation among the development team. 

Next Steps

Following the successful launch, the AI startup is planning to continue improving the product and make the business more viable. Thanks to improved and more efficient development processes, there is now headroom to concentrate on the bigger platform features without being weighed down by hygiene factors. 

Thanks to Atom CTO, the startup has been able to stabilise and improve their AI-powered platform and is now well-positioned to continue innovating and growing in the future.