What drew you to a career in tech, specifically software development?
I started as a graphic designer who helped build brands, along with designing products and packaging. It was a lot of fun dealing with manufacturers – brands like Mattel and Nickelodeon – and exercising my creativity to make innovative products to sell at Walmart, Sears, Bed Bath and Beyond, and more.
Despite it being fun and challenging to captivate customers’ minds with valuable products, I still wondered how I could reach more people and do more. I love creating and building things, and when I discovered what you could do with software, I knew it was the path for me.
Tell us more about the engineering team. What do you like most about engineering culture?
At PLANOLY, we continuously seek to improve the product’s user experience and capabilities so that our users can thrive.
The engineering team is very collaborative, both within engineering and with other teams. Creating great user experiences involves working intensely with Product Design, Quality Assurance, and Project Management and is a creative process that leads to a reliably good product.
What makes us great and different at PLANOLY is that we care about each other and value everyone’s opinion. Strong connections and friendships are our strengths. We empower each other (truly) and we work together as a team – and that tight-knit collaboration enables us to create an excellent experience for our users.
Our motto is “we win as a team.” It's important to check-in at the end of the day before signing off to make sure no one is drowning. That’s what makes me proud to be part of the team, and want to create the future of PLANOLY alongside my friends and teammates.
I think it’s important to stop and spotlight your teammates’ accomplishments, whether it’s giving kudos on Slack or just taking a small moment to thank someone privately. What we also do is look back and recognize our accomplishments as a team at the end of every sprint. I’m glad we do both because it makes it a more appreciative environment.