Challenge
Nauty 360 is an innovative company present in various countries in the Caribbean. Making use of the sharing economy, it offers a complete portfolio of services for sea lovers. Whether you want to hire a boat for a couple of hours or a day, coordinate a family trip at sea with a chef included, or even find an insurance policy for your sea adventure, Nauty has you covered. Their goal, after all, is to deliver memorable experiences at sea. What Type of Company: Nautical or Tech? At a glance, you might think that they are a nautical company that offers technology services and solutions for sea-lovers, but it’s the other way around. In reality, they are a tech company that is in the nautical business. That’s how Alberto Farah, Nauty 360’s CEO, describes the company. He knew from the start that if he wanted to build a successful business, technology had to be one of its pillars. “Most companies see technology as a strategic tool. For us, it is an essential part of who we are,” says Farah. That explains why Nauty was so determined to get its platform and apps right. Nauty’s Business Challenge One of Nauty’s challenges was building a technological platform from scratch that would allow them to integrate various services. They wanted to assist customers in hiring the services they need, and at the same time, enable sellers to offer their services in a secure and fast way. The other challenge was getting the app’s UI right. Nauty wanted it to reflect their brand clearly, and this was not an easy thing to do. There was a lot of information to communicate to users, so it was crucial to prevent this from distorting the brand’s look and feel. Knowing that they lacked some of the necessary skills and knowledge to develop a world-class technology brand, Nauty set out on an exploration.
Solution
The Adventure of a Lifetime Starts with the Right Crew Finding a development partner was a challenging task. Nauty wasn’t just looking for a platform. They wanted an extended team with whom they could work side by side to structure their company. Nauty’s team had already worked with other development companies and things had not cruised well. Luckily, in their search for the right app development partner, they got referred to Koombea, and the happy story started. The Platform’s Development Process Once Nauty’s team was on board, it was time to start working on the platform. A lot of learning took place throughout the process. Nauty’s team had a clear concept of what they needed, but they lacked the technical know-how. The Koombea team was always willing to help find the best solutions to make the right choices that would align with Nauty’s long term business needs. Nauty’s vision integrated perfectly with Koombea’s custom Agile development methodology. Obstacles Ahead: Grab the Rudder and Steer Your Boat Being Nauty a tech company, the development process required choosing the right payment gateway. It had to adapt to Nauty’s long-term expansion needs. However, at a point in the process, the company’s expansion plans changed. A new set of countries were introduced in Nauty’s strategic growth plans. This meant the original decision was no longer the appropriate one. The team was able to pivot to meet this new requirement quickly. Thanks to a custom Agile methodology, adapting was no problem. It was possible to restructure the timeline to avoid any significant inconvenience. In the end, although changes were introduced, the product ended up being what Nauty needed. Another obstacle solved was the need to develop a world-class app with a limited budget. Sacrificing quality or affecting the User Experience were not valid options. Therefore, the solution was to create a hybrid app using React Native. This solution could perform the most critical functions while emulating a purely native app. Nauty’s team was delighted with the final product. Getting the Navigation Right The User Experience was key to Nauty. This meant finding the right balance between something pleasant and easy to use. Because a lot goes on during customers’ journeys, the user interface solution had to reduce friction between delivering an engaging app experience and satisfying the customer. Strong teamwork solved this challenge. Nauty and Koombea developed the right amount of trust to experiment with attractive ideas that were quickly iterated into more refined and thought out designs. A Treasure Full of Gold: Nauty 360’s Platform Nauty’s platform is delighting sea lovers. These are some of its most essential features and services provided: A unique and easy to use design tailored to their brand needs and the expectations of their users. Secure payment gateways that guarantee PCI compliance. Owners can rent their boats to third parties. Nauty makes sure legal requirements are up to date and facilitates insurance policies in case they are needed. Users can hire what they need thanks to the platform’s flexibility. Additional services provided by Nauty help customize sea-adventures. The parties involved are guaranteed full transparency and refunds in case something happens with their reservations. Through Nauty Management, boat owners can hire someone to manage their vessels. Thanks to Nauty Yacht Broker, owners can sell their boats easily.
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