I'm surprised that barely one or two companies responded that they could do it in a month, as opposed to companies that specialize in the field. From what I hear, it was quicker to use a company that had to recruit people rather than a company that already had specialized people on staff.
I have a hard time getting my head around how a company made up of two individuals, who have to look for specialized people and hire them to think about the issue and design an application, is able to do it faster than a company that already has the people and the expertise. I don't see how that's possible.