Freelance developer took charge of the product development at Lumo Analytics

The Finnish technology startup Lumo Analytics has big intentions. With its innovative laser-based analysis services, the company aims to take the global mining industry toward a more sustainable direction. An experienced freelance developer from Thriv was hired to support Lumo Analytics in this important mission.

“Before founding Lumo Analytics with my business partner in 2021, I was working at Futurice, the parent company of Thriv”, explains Antti Kotanen, the CEO of Lumo Analytics. “At Futurice, we were cooperating actively with freelance developers from Thriv and everything was working smoothly. Hence, when founding our own company, we knew who to contact when looking for excellent tech talents.”

Lumo Analytics operates in a highly competitive market: making valuable decisions in a very limited time frame is crucial for the company’s success. Emphasizing speed, ease and flexibility is also important when it comes to Lumo Analytics' hiring processes. “The matchmaking process with Thriv was just what we needed. We managed to find the perfect profile for our needs in just two weeks”, says Kotanen and continues, “We were looking for an experienced Lead Developer with a very particular background. It would have been demanding to find this kind of profile without external help, or at least it would have taken several months.”

Lead developer with a can-do attitude

The freelance developer that Lumo Analytics found through Thriv’s matchmaking process was Peter Zhang, an experienced full-stack developer with extensive experience in cloud infrastructure and device management. In addition, Zhang had previous experience of leading big teams in complex environments. Kotanen looks back and explains: “Since the very beginning, I was confident that Peter would have what it takes to lead our product development team. His diverse expertise together with his attitude of a doer convinced me immediately.”

Zhang has lived up to the expectations of Kotanen during his time at Lumo Analytics. He has easily adapted the responsible role of a lead developer and been innovative in further developing the software development practices of the company. Most importantly for a lead developer, Zhang has proved to be an easy person to work and communicate with. He also initiated a positive change in the company culture of Lumo Analytics: “Previously there were only Finnish speaking employees in our product development team. Since Peter started the internal language has been switched to English, naturally shaping our culture toward a more international direction”, tells Kotanen.

Give freelance developers a try

Kotanen strongly encourages companies to experience working with freelance developers. He highlights the flexibility that working with freelancers entails: “Hiring freelancers can be an alternative even though you would be trying to hire someone internally. By starting the project with an experienced freelancer, you ensure that you won’t waste time on looking for that successful hire for months. Later, you can decide if continuing the contract with the freelancer is something valuable for your company."

Interested in cooperating with freelance developers too? Get in touch with us and let’s talk!

Lumo Analytics in a nutshell

Lumo Analytics’ mission is to develop innovations which help to drive mining industry toward a more sustainable direction. The company provides laser-based analysis services that allow geologists and metallurgists to quickly determine the elemental and mineral composition of rock samples, facilitating smart decision making. Based on the analyses of Lumo Analytics, ore exploration, mining and mineral processing can be controlled and optimised more precisely than before. This not only saves time and money, but also reduces the environmental impact of mineral exploration and mining.