We sat down with our Head of Finance & HR, Juliane to discuss 10 very important and also not so important questions.
- What are you doing at receeve?
I am the Head of Finance and HR and also take care of office management, but I’m not alone and I have a great team supporting me. :) - Where are you located?
I live in Altona in Hamburg. I really love living close to the river “Elbe” and to Ottensen. There you can find so many wonderful restaurants and bars. It is always worth a visit! - How did you end up at receeve?
I have known Paul and Michael from a previous employer where we met each other several times and had various projects together.
In fall/winter of 2019, Paul told me that he and Michael had founded their own startup and were raising a seed financing round. Paul mentioned that he will need someone to be the head of finance after the round closed and asked me if I would be interested in joining receeve. I did not hesitate for a second and said “yes”. On Christmas Eve 2019, one day after receeve signed the seed round at the notary, I received my employment contract. - Why did you choose to work for receeve and why work in collections?
As already mentioned I knew Paul and Michael before and I knew that they are experienced founders and know how to build companies. For me it was pretty clear that this is the perfect environment to learn and grow.
At first glance collections seem boring and unsexy, but upon inspection it is interesting and much more complex than you expect. I believe that the market is ready for innovation, and now the time is right. - What is your morning routine before starting your work?
Usually my alarm rings very early in the morning (between 5am and 6am, sometimes earlier). Then I grab a cup of coffee and start working. I really enjoy working early in the morning, it is quiet and I get my to-dos done. I usually do finance related topics in the morning when I am undisturbed and have some time to focus. That is not always possible during the day because there are usually a lot of unplanned issues coming up. After this first working session, I grab my running shoes and go for a run along the Elbe. Then I have to really, really hurry up, because my first daily with our office manager starts between 08:30am and 09:00am and I am usually a little short on time. ;) - Do you prefer remote work or going to the office?
I like a mixture between both and see advantages in working from home and going to the office. For me 50:50 would be perfect, allowing me to combine the benefits of both worlds. - Why are you working in a start-up?
It is the best environment to learn and grow your skills. Working in a startup is so different compared to the working environment that I saw before. You learn every day, the company grows every day and you continually have new challenges to overcome. That creates a pull, which forces one to develop. Someone once told me that it takes a plastic mind in a startup so that you can always adapt to your environment, which is constantly changing. And I think that is a very apt comparison. In summary, it is never boring. - What does your perfect “Feierabend” (German term for time in the evening after work) look like?
During the Corona pandemic, I usually go out for a walk while I call my family or friends. - With whom of the company would you like to switch jobs for one day?
That is a tough question… we have so many interesting jobs.... But I think I would like to switch jobs with Fereshteh, our Data Scientist, and/or with Luis, one of our first software developers. - Who would you like to nominate for the next interview?
Luis
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