In this small series, we'll introduce you to the På(team)! Every week, we'll bring you a bullet interview with one of our awesome team members.
This week, we are spotlighting our CTO, Carlton!
Hey @Carlton! Let's dive right in: How did you find your way to På(fyll)?
Rayson, our CEO, and I have very good mutual friends. Ray mentioned to them that he was looking for a CTO and they told me but I wasn't looking for a new challenge at the time.
I connected with Ray anyway just to meet someone new and interesting. The first few conversations we didn't talk about På(fyll) at all but had a wonderful connection. That opened my mind and heart completely!
What excites you the most about working with På(fyll) and what motivates you every morning?
For me, it’s the people and the mission.
My wife Tamara and I have been interested in - and involved with - the zero-waste movement for a while. We started our own very small business during COVID. The chance to work on tackling these problems at a much larger scale is really motivating. It's important to wake up each day and know that what I'm working on matters for society.
None of it would be possible - or as enjoyable - without being around curious, compassionate and caring groups of folks from diverse backgrounds. It doesn't hurt that they're all super-smart either!
Can you give us a glimpse into a typical day working at På(fyll)?
We're a remote first team so there's a lot of screen time. In the Product and Engineering Team, we're mostly focussed on finding two things: ways to deliver value to our customers and colleagues and ways to empower each other. There's a lot of healthy sparring on ideas and some alignment. Not too many meetings and the ones that we have are optional.
But also lots of taking time to connect as human beings, because an environment of psychological safety is the foundation of all teams that want to perform at a high level.
What's the best thing about På(fyll)?
Again, the people. A lot of organisations aspire - or at least claim - to be human-centric. We manage to live that every day and put people before profit even when it's difficult. I've had lots of challenging conversations, but not one where I didn't come away having learned something and feeling a closer bond to the other person. That's pretty cool.
