Meet Arra Derderian of Cloud Construct

Today we’d like to introduce you to Arra Derderian.

Arra, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Cloud Construct started as group of 4 looking to mix cutting-edge web development technologies with excellent user experience and design concepts. We worked part-time building our portfolio and spending nights and weekends building strong client relationships to get our client base started. Over the past 9 years we have worked with many different companies spanning healthcare, financial services, education, and fantasy sports.

We got a big break when working with DraftKings in its infancy and helped them with their initial product offering and responsive mobile web application. Our team gained experience building out all the components of a fantasy sports site and this allowed us to work with other entrepreneurs looking to do the same. Working with start-ups became a core competency of Cloud Construct through all of this because of our ability to rapidly jump in and help teams get to market quickly and while making the right technology decisions along the way.

As the team grew we added more start-up clients as well as bolstered our Financial Services client base and forged strong partnerships with other Boston companies looking for a flexible team who cared about the work. We owe a lot of our success to our clients who have been loyal to us over the years and our approach to building a lasting and trusting relationship with them. Something that is lacking in the technology industry today.

We now 13 employees and a strong scalable contractor network that allows us to accommodate all types of projects in all sorts of situations. We are completely virtual and have worked to build a work force of individuals who are self-starters and care about the work they deliver. Staying lean and efficient allows us to offer a work life balance to employees while ensuring project success for our clients.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It wasn’t always a smooth road. We had to learn a lot to understand what works and what doesn’t as a virtual company. It is certainly tough to keep a strong company culture when you only work with people in person once every couple of weeks, but we leverage as many tools as we can and use co-located spaces to do so.

Finding the right people who want to work independently while in a team environment is also a challenge. We’re not just developers and designers, at the end of the day we’re consultants. And this means offering the right solutions to our clients and being able to convey it to them in the right way. Soft skills are paramount as well as being able to execute recommendations perfectly.

Cloud Construct – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Our company specializes in custom website and web application development. Everything from digital strategy and planning for your business, user experience design of your product or site, visual design and branding, and finally execution via HTML development, software engineering, and cloud architecture.

We specialize in cloud technologies and leveraging them to build scalable and performant apps for our clients. Secondarily, our creative team has experience developing complex applications and public websites that leverage the latest is web design paradigms while keeping it simple for users.

We are probably know for our work in the Fantasy Sports industry but also our ability to be effective almost immediately. Working with us you will see results right away and we know that’s important to gain trust with our clients.

I am most proud of the team we have assembled and the dedication I see every week to the work. When that translates to client success, I know we’re doing our job. Having employees in all different walks of their lives such as starting families, buying houses, or becoming thought leaders in the industry makes me proud to be working at a company that empowers them to do these things.

What sets us apart from other companies is our transparent approach to projects and the excitement we bring to the table each day. We get to work with some pretty cool technologies and companies and this shows in our commitment to the project each day. We bring a transparent approach to work that lets clients gain key insights into their projects and where time is being spent. No smoke and mirrors, just honesty.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I define success as having my team able to provide our clients with what they need and our company providing our employees with what they need. We have been around for nine years and have added more employees this past year than ever before, but we still have some work to do to achieve success in my mind. We’re getting close though!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cloudconstruct.com
• Phone: 1.617.903.7604
• Email: contact@cloudconstruct.com

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