Why did you decide to join Kriya?

Kriya was on my radar for years. Back at uni, I interned at FinTechCity where I heard a lot about Fintech and how MarketInvoice was helping SMEs with cash flow. After graduating I worked as a consultant for incumbent financial services institutions, who often fall into the trap of viewing SMEs as ‘a great revenue opportunity’ rather than underserved customers that deserve better support.

I joined Kriya to help SMEs with their cash flow and help them to focus on their business rather than financing it. Secondly, the end-to-end ownership of the product was very appealing after my experience of delivering a shiny PowerPoint presentation, leaving execution to someone else and not knowing how it turned out! Lastly, I met a lot of great people from across the business during the interview process and was really keen to work with them and others like them!

What’s been your most challenging experience here thus far?

Two challenging experiences come to mind. First, scaling our CID product from an MVP. Talking to customers and prospective customers that declined us and trawling through data showed us that we needed to adjust some of our assumptions from launch. We formed a cross-functional CID team and have since made great changes to the tech and commercials as well as the risk and sales processes, which have been received very well by our customers.

The second experience has been adjusting to increased autonomy. Transitioning from a top-down corporate culture where you’re told what you’re working on to a more agile environment where you have to decide for yourself was challenging at first. For a while I found myself saying yes to a lot of things that needed to be done but weren’t necessarily the best use of my time. I’m much better at focusing on higher-leverage work now but it’s a journey and there’s always room for improvement.

How has the transition been from an individual contributor to a manager?

I hadn’t permanently managed anyone prior to joining Kriya. It’s been a great learning experience and I appreciate being given the opportunity. Focusing on someone else’s development has been eye opening for me. To effectively help set goals, you have to get to know them well and see the world and the company through their eyes. I’ve really enjoyed the experience, still have a lot to learn and hope to continue growing as a manager. For any other first time managers out there, I’d recommend a book a book called The One Minute Manager. It was recommended to me by Gavin, our VP Sales, and I’ve found it very helpful.

What are the most enjoyable parts of your role within the Product org?

The two most enjoyable aspects of my role are talking to customers and delivering value to them. There’s no substitute for meeting our customers, hearing first-hand the issues they’re facing and brainstorming potential solutions with them. After this, it’s great when we implement the solution we discussed and they let us know the difference it’s made to them. This happens a lot and you can get a feel for it by reading our customer stories.

Any words of advice for others thinking to join the company?

Do it! Or if you need a bit more convincing, take a listen to the podcasts our CEO Anil has been featured on including London Real, Fintech Insider and Enterprise Nation. This should give you a good feel for the company!