Why Fi is a series where we ask some of our newest joinees why they chose Fi. In this edition, we spoke with Raj Dixit, a software developer with Fi’s Android team, to get his views on the experience so far.
Innovation in the fintech space has only just started and there’s a lot more room for this sector to bloom and develop more services and products. UPI was the first big innovation in digital payments in India and we are now a world leader in digital payments. So, we have a good chance to crack the fintech sector as a whole and any startup in this space has the potential to solve problems at a large scale. That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to explore the fintech space.
The other thing is, I don’t understand much about finance. We aren’t taught how to handle our finances in school. Then one day you're out of college and before you know it you’re hit with things like taxes. It can all get very overwhelming. That’s the problem we are trying to solve. Of course, this will require a lot of trust-building with users, which is the other challenge apart from providing credible services but I think we can get there. And I thought I’d get a better understanding of finance if I worked in this space.
When it comes to Fi versus the others, I was very impressed with the founder profiles. And I was even more impressed when it came to the interviews. I was asked questions which, honestly, I barely knew anything about. They were completely beyond anything I had worked on or solved before. But without actually giving me the answers, the interviewers nudged me towards figuring it out myself. It all came together so well that I can safely say it was one of the finest interview experiences I’ve had.
When building a startup, you’re venturing into unknown territory so I felt comfortable with not knowing about challenges like the ones in the interviews beforehand. I thought that if things go well in these interviews, I would definitely choose Fi over anything else. At the time, I had three or four other options in front of me but when I got the offer from Fi, I decided to go for it.
I’ve been here for just 15 days and I haven’t started any work yet. I’ve been interacting with people from different teams to understand what they are working on. One thing I can say is that people have a lot of freedom here and I see myself having a lot of ownership over my work. By that I mean there isn’t much micromanagement, which is good because it can really bring down morale. I have the freedom to execute things the way I want to go about it. In any tech company, there will be core tech teams and core business teams and I like to be the tech guy that accounts for business objectives while making decisions.
When it comes to work culture, I see people with a lot of dedication here. They are very committed to building this product. They have great skill in what they do and a good understanding of their role within the company. They are always ready to help and take the time out to explain things to me. This is something I’ve seen across teams.
I wanted to try out competitor products in this space and explore their features. But I always get stuck in the onboarding process and I haven’t been able to use their apps. Till today, something or the other breaks every time. In one case, after a number of tries I was asked to go to the bank and physically open an account, which is the complete opposite of what it's supposed to solve for.
But with Fi, I was easily able to open an account and explore the features. In this space where we are trying to give users a completely digital banking experience, it's critical that the onboarding process is smooth. So, that’s something I found Fi was able to do better than others, for me at least. That’s why I truly believe in Fi as a product.
I also want to mention the founding team here. I was a founder before I joined Fi and as I said earlier, the fintech space has a lot more room for innovation. At some point in time, I would like to get into this space with my own company. I see Fi as a great opportunity to build an amazing product and to get a good understanding of this space along the way. I mentioned this during my interviews with the founding team and they were very supportive of the idea because they encourage entrepreneurship.
Even before I applied to Fi, I was interested in working in the fintech space and I was looking for companies in this sector. One of my friends is what I would describe as a ‘financial app junkie’. He uses all the financial apps that are out there and he told me about fintech companies. And after I started doing my own research, I noticed that Fi was among the first movers in this sector to build a partnership with Federal Bank and start providing financial services to users. That’s how I found out about Fi.
Later, when I explored the Fi app, I found it to be a very smooth and minimalistic experience. And when I saw that the founders were the brains behind Google Pay, that’s when I decided I wanted to work here. If these guys have already built an amazing and successful product before, they will definitely be able to go above and beyond here.
I had a lot of support from Fi’s talent team. They are very considerate and accommodative. They also provided quick feedback, which is not something I’ve noticed at other places. They were prompt in getting back with the offer letter as well after all the interview rounds were done which gave me added assurance in choosing Fi. They were also very accommodating when it came to discussions on salary and compensation. My points and views were effectively communicated to the founding team when it came to making me an offer.
The fintech sector is in a nascent stage and what we are trying to do is make it as easy as possible for users to access and use financial services. It’s not about simply providing another alternative. We are working to add value for the user and I definitely see Fi being a leader here. I’m looking forward to building an innovative product that makes us stand out from the competition. I want to contribute in any way I can to give us that unique edge that makes Fi the go-to app for any financial service.
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