Fintech Employee Spotlight: Rishabh, Blockchain Developer
By Tammy Gobel, Eternic
Welcome to our first Employee Spotlight! In this series, we’ll get to know some of the incredible people behind the Eternic cross-border payments platform. It takes talented and diverse individuals, who aren’t afraid to think big and draw outside the lines, to build innovative fintech solutions for the financial market. At Eternic, we have that in spades — from banking to architecture, blockchain to astronomy, our team members come from a range of different countries and fields of expertise that they leverage in unique and interesting ways in building their careers.
So grab a coffee and join us for a chat with Java developer Rishabh Vishwakarma, one of the latest additions to the Eternic blockchain team.
Hi Rishabh! Thanks for joining Employee Spotlight. So, you started working at Eternic during a fairly unique time — two weeks into a nationwide shutdown with the whole company working from home. Could you give us a brief overview of your role at Eternic, and what it was like to have to get started virtually?
Sure! I joined the team as a blockchain developer and my job is to build and deploy our blockchain application to different environments.
Right before I started with Eternic, I was visiting family back in India, when there was a sudden spike of Covid-19 here in Norway — just two days before I was about to travel back! Despite all of the uncertainties, the HR team helped a lot by staying in touch and continuously updating me about the situation, as well as reassuring me about how onboarding would go once I reached Oslo. Upon arrival, I had to go into quarantine for two weeks, so the company had my equipment sent to my home, and the next day I started virtual onboarding sessions with the team. Given the situation and the need for companies to adapt so quickly for their new recruits, my virtual onboarding at Eternic was surprisingly smooth.
I can see you have been working in banking technology for a number of years, what drew you to a fintech startup?
I became more familiar with fintech while working in DNB in Norway for six years, where I was working on backend Java applications and integrating IBM middleware technology. I had built extensive experience working in banks and I was looking for an opportunity to work for a third-party provider to learn how they integrate into bank services, to develop my end-to-end domain knowledge. Additionally, the use of blockchain technology at Eternic really intrigued me. Blockchain will play a big part in the future of banking for fast, secure, and reliable transactions. I felt passionate about wanting to work with blockchain, even though it is still relatively new to me. It keeps me motivated to work on something where there is scope for learning too.
How did you get interested in tech and becoming a developer?
As we all know, the IT industry is a fast-changing industry. You need to continuously keep yourself updated with new technologies and opportunities in the market. With digital payments requiring even faster and more secure transactions, I wanted to jump in and learn more about blockchain technology, so that I can contribute to the successful growth of the company, as well as my own professional development.
You’ve been in Norway for quite some time now. Where are you originally from? How long have you been in Norway, and what do you like about living in Oslo?
I am originally from a holy city located in the northern part of India called Varanasi, which is popular for temples, the river Ganga, and dozens of ghats (riverfront places). I came to Norway six years ago, back in 2014, to work for DNB Norge. I lived in Bergen for three years and then in Oslo for the last three years. Bergen is awesome (except quite rainy), but I found there are more opportunities and varieties of everything in Oslo. There are many places to go during the weekend and more options for shopping, entertainment, traveling, restaurants, and parks. Also, you can easily go to the outskirts of Oslo if you want to spend more time in nature, such as going on a hike, kayaking, etc.
We are all still working from home here in Norway. What does a usual remote workday look like for you?
It’s convenient in some ways, in that you can get to “work” almost immediately. You save travel time and even if you work a little longer, you don’t lose time with your family. However, I miss being able to see colleagues in person and getting to know them on that personal level.
Our article on how we are working remotely revealed that almost all of us wear headphones while we work. What’s your go-to music or podcast when you work? Does it change when you need to focus?
Yes, I use headphones to listen to music or a podcast in the background, but only if it doesn’t interrupt my focus. I enjoy listening to podcasts, such as interviews with musicians and their journeys, that don’t require any focus to listen to them, but also for motivation and entertainment. Sometimes, I also like to listen to music which sounds peaceful and spiritual, which helps me to relax and focus.
Great! Is it the kind of music you listen to outside of work too?
It is! The two main genres that I like are rock music and soulful music. I like to experiment with listening to new songs, maybe even in different languages. I also listen to Indian classical, ghazals, and Sufi songs. My favourite musicians are Pink Floyd and Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Kailash Kher, Jagjit Singh, and A R Rehman.
What’s your favourite thing about working at Eternic so far?
The best thing about working at Eternic for me, is the mixture of all modern technologies it uses, whether that’s blockchain, cloud, containerization, CICD, and whatnot. It provides a lot of scope of learning and is really interesting and relevant.
“I’m excited to work with this team of technical and business experts in such an enthusiastic and friendly environment”. — Rishabh on joining Eternic
We share our workspace, both virtual and actual, with two other fintechs — Neonomics and Fintech Innovation. Together, we form a kind of fintech hub. How would you describe our company culture?
I like the company culture very much, how all three companies support each other and this helps them to rise together. It’s a great example of ‘unity is strength’. Everyone is extremely skilled, down to earth, and very supportive of new recruits like me to get onboarded smoothly onto the different projects.
We’re all pretty into pets here. Are you team-cat, team-dog, or both? And do you have a pet?
Haha… Unfortunately, I don’t own a pet as of now. But I really like animals, not just cats and dogs. My favourites are horses, elephants, turtles, rabbits, and cats. I also feel bad for other animals who don’t get as much care as cats and dogs.
If you could go for dinner with any famous person, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
I would like to go to dinner with Mahatma Gandhi and would like to understand his thoughts, ideas, and principles. It would really be very comforting for me to listen and learn from him directly.
Interesting! What inspired you most about Gandhi?
His path of non-violence, his patience, his calmness, peaceful and clear thought, and his bravery.
If Eternic gave you a spontaneous day off tomorrow — how would you spend it?
I would like to split my day-off between learning something new, either in technology or music, and time with family at home. I would also take the opportunity to call my far-off friends and relatives, which can sometimes be difficult due to busy lives and time differences.
Do you have any hobbies or something you like to do outside of work? And what got you started with it?
I enjoy playing musical instruments, such as guitar and tabla, and I practice regularly. It really re-energizes my mind and soul. Apart from that, we like to watch movies together as a family after dinner.
What kind of movies do you enjoy?
Suspense, thriller, time-travel, alternate realities, mind-bending, and action films are some of the genres that I love to watch. Other types of movies that I like are those directed by Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino, and Alfred Hitchcock.
If you could describe life at Eternic in 3 words, what would they be?
Learning, caring, and growing.
Wow, I love that. Well, our coffee cups are nearly empty, so thanks for sitting down with us today, Rishabh. We’re really happy to have you on the team and to have this opportunity to get to know you better. We’re excited to learn that we have another musician on the team, and look forward to some team jam sessions!
We are always looking for talented people to join our team.
If you’re interested in fintech, blockchain, software development, or financial services — we want to hear from you! Head on over to our website while you finish your coffee and learn more about our mission, what we're building, and new positions we’re hiring for:
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