My Name Is Shumona Raha — This Is Why I Joined Aha!

I always envisioned myself working at a large multinational corporation. This was probably influenced by my international background. I grew up in both India and Singapore, two very diverse nations. For my undergraduate studies, I attended McGill University in Montreal, Canada — where I experienced yet another wholly different culture and way of life.

New challenges inspire me. I am constantly looking for opportunities where I can push myself to learn and achieve more.

During university, I majored in economics and spent my summers interning at large financial institutions — BNP Paribas and the Singapore Stock Exchange. At the latter, I worked with the team responsible for promoting a new bond trading platform. It was fascinating to have a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to develop, launch, and sell a product.

After graduation, naturally the lure of joining a big company was too strong to resist. So I started work at General Electric on the sales team. Communicating with customers from international corporations and understanding their thought processes was an invaluable learning experience.

Next up was a role in finance on HSBC’s global liquidity and cash management group. Over the span of nearly three years, I worked with teams from sales, client management, risk, and product development. This gave me a holistic view of the organization and underscored the importance of strong cross-functional collaboration.

I also saw firsthand how new tools and technologies can revolutionize traditional ways of working.

Eventually I became a product manager on the team. I was responsible for launching and managing a cash flow forecasting product for the bank's major clients. Much of my work entailed coordinating deliverables across multiple teams and collaborating with other global product managers involved in the launch. I gained valuable lessons in problem-solving and interacting with cross-border teams.

But after several years at large corporations, I was ready to join a smaller company that was high-growth and moved quickly. I was familiar with Aha! from my work as a product manager, so I applied to an open position on the Product Success team. The role perfectly aligned with my background and interests. I could share my product management experience with customers and help them be more productive in their own work. Each Aha! blog post I read and person I spoke to during the interview process confirmed that this was an opportunity I did not want to miss.

Being part of the Product Success team at Aha! has been a thrilling journey, both in terms of personal development and job satisfaction. I lead demos for customers, test product functionality, and share product management best practices with all types of organizations. I always use my curiosity to identify and communicate the best solution to a customer's problem.

Every day I have the privilege of learning new things and sharing my knowledge with customers and teammates alike.

Working at a high-growth technology company is a completely new experience for me. And I cannot stress enough how amazing the culture at Aha! is. The leadership team is not kidding when they say we put people first. I truly feel that my work and opinions are valued. As a result, I feel motivated to work as hard as possible and contribute to the company's exceptional growth.

My teammates are smart, friendly, and helpful. Although we are entirely distributed, it is not difficult to create relationships and connect in a meaningful way. And I know we are all looking forward to spending quality time in person at our upcoming onsite. Life is more meaningful when you are doing work you love with others who feel the same.

That is why I joined Aha! — and why you should too.