StartEngine: Releasing and developing is much more efficient with Shake

StartEngine, a prominent equity crowdfunding platform based in the United States, has emerged as a transformative force in empowering everyday individuals to invest in and own shares of startups and early-stage companies. 

Positioned as a valuable resource for founders and startups seeking funding to propel their businesses forward, StartEngine boasts an impressive track record, having raised over $350 million and funded more than 500 offerings.

To gain insights into their journey with Shake SDK, we sat down with Cameron Ehlrich, Principal Software Engineer at StartEngine. He shared how Shake was pivotal in enhancing their release processes and development efficiency.

StartEngine set out to revamp its workflow, placing a premium on expediting bug fixes to redirect its focus toward feature development. They sought a solution that seamlessly integrated with their existing tools and didn’t have a steep learning curve. 

Looking at their previous solution, there was a lot of room for improvement and some things they wanted to avoid. Price was without a doubt the biggest issue, as well as the lack of proactivity and value in the support they were getting – noted Cameron.

Dissatisfied with their previous solution, which not only incurred higher costs but also lacked adequate support, StartEngine embarked on a quest for a more cost-effective and user-oriented alternative. Exploring the competitive landscape, they set their sights on finding a tool that will help them achieve their goals, with proactive support that’s open to feedback. 

For Cameron, the decision to switch to Shake was a logical one. The cost factor was pivotal, as he emphasized the absence of value from their prior solution. Moreover, the support received from Shake’s Customer Support team surpassed their previous experience, both during onboarding and in ongoing support.

Since implementing Shake SDK, StartEngine consolidated feedback from production and test environment apps within a unified workspace.

Cameron highlighted the simplicity of Shake’s installation and implementation, underscoring its effectiveness in identifying edge cases that often eluded detection during testing.

Cameron recounted instances where users reported bugs in personalized areas, issues that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. Leveraging Shake’s detailed logs and automatically attached screenshots, Cameron and his team efficiently identified and reproduced non-fatal issues in minutes.

This led to a company-wide adoption of Shake.

Shake’s impact on efficiency was evident as users were empowered to report issues in-app. Cameron shared a notable incident where a report of a portfolio balance discrepancy surfaced at 10 AM, and, thanks to Shake, the team had identified, addressed, and released a new version by 1 PM – a testament to the tool’s ability to expedite issue resolution.

Shake’s detailed logs and clear feedback streamlined the issue resolution process, minimizing the back-and-forth associated with bug fixing without a dedicated tool.

It also helped foster long-term efficiency, as the app started getting updates every two weeks, addressing issues immediately rather than accumulating a backlog. Cameron emphasized Shake’s role as a real-time monitoring tool.

Shake allows the team to stay agile and focus on what matters most. He also expressed his delight with the tool and eagerly anticipated its integration into web applications in the future.