My Name Is Rachele Arambula — This Is Why I Joined Aha!
I have a passion for helping others succeed. It started with my father — he owns his own business and regularly puts in 12-hour days. Even more than his tireless work ethic, I admired his genuine desire to help others and treat people with respect.
In high school, I channeled my efforts into sports — becoming a nationally ranked baton champion. During college, I started coaching baton as well. I loved being able to help my students progress.
Early on, I took an economics class that connected analytical thinking to real-world applications. My mother worked as a financial controller, so I had some exposure to the field. But after that class, I was hooked. Five years later, I graduated from UC Santa Cruz with undergraduate and masters degrees in applied economics and finance.
I wanted to find a job where I could use my analytical and organizational skills to help both the business and my colleagues succeed.
I was fortunate to join a Fortune 500 medical technologies company. Over the next 11 years, I touched many parts of the business — from accounts payable to payroll to eventually becoming the senior accounting manager. There, I oversaw the accounts receivable and sales operations teams.
As a chair on the company’s activity committee, I helped organize community service and team-building events. I fostered an engaged work environment by delivering kind and honest feedback. Not only did I get to work closely with a diverse group, I was able to help improve processes and encourage career growth areas for the team.
I felt satisfied in my career. But at the same time, my family had decided we wanted to move to a different state. So I excitedly (and somewhat nervously) signed up for job alert emails. A few days later, I saw an opportunity with Aha! on the finance and operations team — according to the job listing I could “work from anywhere, be happy.”
I was drawn to the idea of working for a company that was helping other companies innovate and build better products.
I figured there would be learning opportunities for me and I could truly make a difference based on my experience. I was also intrigued by the idea of an entirely remote company, though a bit worried I would miss having a strong team environment. I submitted my application later that day. Within a few hours, I had an email back from Aha! — I could not believe how quickly I received a response.
I have always been known for responding to requests with lightning fast speed myself. I thought this was just my workstyle. However, after reading about The Responsive Method, I realized that I was actually interrupt-driven and so was the company. Maybe I had found my next job. I was eager to learn more about the Aha! approach.
Over the next week, I met with several members of the team. In particular, my conversation with Nicole Wosje was fantastic. She assured me that the team was very close — so close that the company onsites felt like family reunions. (The entire team gets together twice a year for a week at a destination location.) It seemed too good to be true.
The interview process was further proof that Aha! lived the values that had resonated with me after reading their blog posts.
Since joining Aha!, I learn something new every day and I get to contribute to the company’s growth in a meaningful way. I love working on finance projects. But I love the people projects as well — helping to coordinate volunteer activities for the onsites and planning team-building events.
The team truly is incredibly close. I am continually surprised by how responsive and kind everyone is. We all have the same goal — to succeed together and build something great and lasting.
That is why I joined Aha! — and why you should too.
