How Beans Built Their E-commerce Engineering Team

The Challenge

Beans, an established player in the e-commerce loyalty and retention sector, was at a crucial phase in their journey. After 7 years of serving major e-commerce businesses across America and Europe, they needed to explore multiple directions to find the perfect product-market fit. However, as a startup based in San Francisco with a globally distributed team, they faced significant challenges in building their engineering capabilities.

Ralph G., Head of Product at Beans, describes their situation: "Finding good talent was incredibly challenging for us. As a startup searching for product-market fit, we couldn't afford to make hiring mistakes. The traditional hiring process was not only time-consuming but also risky - we'd spend months training someone only to have them leave for a bigger company with better compensation packages."

The challenges were multifaceted:

Traditional hiring methods were failing them in several ways:

• Senior hires often struggled to adapt to startup culture, being set in their ways from previous roles
• Training curves were unnecessarily long, delaying product development
• Retention was difficult due to competitive salary offers from larger companies
• Resources were being drained by unsuccessful hires and extended onboarding periods

The Trellix Solution

The partnership with Trellix marked a turning point for Beans. Starting with just two engineers, they implemented a strategic approach to team building that emphasized both technical excellence and cultural fit.

The process was methodical:

First, Trellix took time to understand Beans' unique challenges and culture. They focused on finding engineers who could not only code well but also thrive in a startup environment where flexibility and initiative were crucial.

The hiring process prioritized:

• Engineers with proven ability to adapt quickly
• Team members who could contribute meaningfully from day one
• Individuals who showed genuine interest in the product vision
• Technical skills matched with cultural alignment

The Results

The impact of working with Trellix was significant and measurable. With four new engineers successfully integrated into the team, Beans experienced several positive changes:

The most notable improvements included:

• Dramatically reduced time from hire to first production push
• Increased shipping velocity that sometimes outpaced the product team
• Successful expansion into supporting additional e-commerce platforms
• Internal innovation flourishing, including the development of an open-source framework

One particularly noteworthy success story involved an engineer who took the initiative to develop an internal open-source framework, which is now used across multiple projects at Beans. This kind of innovation became possible because of the strong technical foundation and supportive environment created through the new hiring approach.

Ongoing Impact

What sets the Trellix partnership apart is the continued support after hiring. Engineers receive ongoing mentorship and guidance, helping them continue to grow and contribute more effectively to Beans' mission.

Ralph reflects on the transformation: "The difference was immediate and lasting. Not only were we able to ship faster, but the quality of our output improved significantly. The engineers Trellix helped us bring on board didn't just fill positions - they became integral parts of our team, driving innovation and helping us scale our platform across markets."

Looking Forward

Today, Beans continues to serve leading e-commerce businesses across two continents, with their engineering team playing a crucial role in their success. The foundation built through their partnership with Trellix has positioned them well for continued growth and innovation in the e-commerce loyalty and retention space.

Key factors in their ongoing success include:

• A well-integrated, high-performing engineering team
• Sustained improvement in development velocity
• Strong cultural alignment across all new hires
• Continuous innovation and technical advancement

The Beans story demonstrates that with the right hiring partner, startups can build strong, innovative engineering teams without compromising on quality or cultural fit, even in a highly competitive market.