22 January 2025

Building a Scalable, Skilled Team: Counter’s Partnership with EMaC and Stepthinking

Client

Languages/Frameworks

Microsoft Azure
C#
.NET Framework
TypeScript
React
Tailwind

EMaC Case Study

A Partnership for Progress

Collaborating to power success

Matt Stephenson, owner of consultancy, Stepthinking, provides interim technology leadership and fractional technology consultancy to businesses whose core offering is typically technology-driven. For this engagement, Counter worked with Matt who was acting on behalf of his client, EMaC, an automotive aftersales business specialising in service plans and warranties for consumers purchasing new and used cars.

Engagement Overview

Client
- EMaC and Stepthinking
Location
- Crewe
Engagement Duration
- 6 months
Counter Team Size
- 4 Software Engineers +1 Tech Lead initially, followed by 3 further Software Engineers
Languages & Frameworks
- Microsoft Azure, C#, .NET Framework, TypeScript, React, Tailwind

The Challenge

Scaling talent without sacrificing output

Keen to bring on developers to support his client, EMaC, Matt Stephenson faced a significant challenge: ensuring EMaC’s experienced team members weren’t overwhelmed by the demands of coaching and mentoring early-career software engineers. As an intermediary, Matt was mindful of balancing the integration of new talent with maintaining the productivity of the existing team. The challenge was how to up-skill entry-level engineers effectively without impacting the team’s capacity to deliver.

A Tailored Approach

Blending expertise with hands-on mentorship

As one of Counter’s early adopters, EMaC wanted to build an in-house technical team while overlaying the unique benefits of the Counter model. These benefits included having their team handpicked from Counter’s top Talent Pool, receiving mentorship from an experienced and supportive Tech Lead, and benefiting from seamless onboarding, integration, and continuous technical upskilling throughout the engagement. This approach safeguarded the time of EMaC’s existing team and allowed its new team to quickly begin developing the platform that underpinned the department’s value proposition.

It’s great for me to have somewhere I can go and know that I’m going to get good quality candidates. There’s definitely a return on investment there because what we’re seeing now is those developers are becoming less dependent on their mentor and are writing meaningful software for EMaC already.

Matt Stephenson, Owner of Stepthinking.

Key Phases

Onboarding
The engagement began with an initial client meeting involving EMaC’s senior team, providing an invaluable opportunity to discuss their technology landscape, workflows, and priorities. From there, the Counter Tech Lead, Vel, became fully immersed in EMaC’s organisation, gaining a deep understanding of their ceremonies, ways of working, and tech stack. This thorough onboarding process enabled Vel to offer immediate guidance and support to her team of engineers, allowing them to contribute from day one.
Delivery & Growth
Throughout the engagement, Vel provided day-to-day mentoring and coaching for the team, focusing on their technical and professional growth. Her tailored guidance helped them quickly gain proficiency in C#, TypeScript and pair programming, enabling them to deliver meaningful software for EMaC in record time.
Expanding the Team
The success of the initial team led to the addition of three more engineers who also benefitted from three weeks of mentoring from the Tech Lead. This expansion demonstrated the effectiveness of the Counter model, enabling EMaC to scale their team while maintaining high standards of quality and productivity. With each new addition, the structure and mentorship approach ensured a consistent and successful onboarding experience, meeting both immediate project goals and long-term talent development objectives.

The team was very proactive, very eager to learn, wanted to jump into things straightaway and took feedback on board very easily. For me, it was an absolute pleasure to work with all of them.

Velislava Georgieva, Counter Tech Lead on EMaC project

Successes Delivered

This collaboration brought many benefits to EMaC, including:

Maximising Senior Team Efficiency

By embedding a Tech Lead into the team, EMaC’s senior developers were shielded from the day-to-day needs of up-skilling early-career engineers. This freed up their time to focus on high-priority tasks and to share product-specific knowledge when necessary, maintaining overall team efficiency and ensuring smooth project delivery.

A Proven Talent Pipeline

The partnership reinforced the value of Counter as a dependable source of skilled early-career developers for businesses such as EMaC. As Matt Stephenson noted, the consistently high calibre of these technical problem solvers provided confidence in the long-term viability of the Counter model for future projects.

Scaling Talent Effectively

The success of the initial cohort led to the addition of three more engineers. This demonstrated the scalability of the Counter model, allowing EMaC to grow their team quickly while maintaining quality and consistency.

Navigating Challenges

Mastering challenges through initiative

At the beginning the team of engineers had no experience with Microsoft Azure. However, through focused independent research and experimentation with smaller projects, they quickly mastered the platform’s nuances. This approach enabled the team to host their first service in a short timeframe, demonstrating adaptability and a proactive mindset. These efforts not only resolved early challenges but also established a solid foundation for a productive and collaborative partnership.

Collaboration That Drives Impact

Building teams that thrive long-term

The collaboration between Counter, EMaC, and Stepthinking exemplifies the power of a well-structured and well thought-through partnership. Through tailored mentorship and scalable talent solutions, Counter enabled EMaC to develop a permanent skilled, productive team while safeguarding the efficiency of their senior developers. The success of this engagement is reflected not only in the quality of the software delivered but also in the permanent roles created within EMaC, showcasing a sustainable approach to talent development and long-term impact.

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