Employee Spotlight: Rachel Fernandes on keeping an open mind, understanding other people’s priorities and her lifelong love for dance
Next up in our Employee Spotlights series is Rachel Fernandes. Rachel is a Lead Product Manager on the Grasshopper team. She joined us from Deloitte almost three years ago. We chatted with Rachel about her journey into banking, the biggest lessons she’s learned, and how she spends her time outside of work.
How do you explain to your family what you do?
I say that I work for a bank for startups and VCs in the tech ecosystem. And that I try to put all the pieces together between the technology and the business side to come up with a product that our customers like to use for their banking.
Why did you decide to pursue a career in banking? And what did your journey look like?
I didn’t so much decide to pursue a career in banking as I ended up here and liked it. I started out studying electrical engineering in college. I like the problem solving aspect of it- how all of the things we worked on were different forms of puzzles. By the time I got to my senior year, I knew I didn’t want to be an electrical engineer working on hardware. I decided to take a consulting role with Deloitte so that I could get more experience on the business side, gain more insight and be able to direct the path of a project (rather than just doing what a diagram said to put together). I liked working in the public sector but I wanted a more fast paced environment. So for my next move, I wanted to work for a startup that was doing something brand new and to get in on the ground floor. I found Grasshopper in its very early days and I was just really excited about the idea of building something from scratch. Plus the fact that Grasshopper is a bank presented a whole bunch of interesting challenges and problems that I had never really thought about.
A stranger just asked you to describe Grasshopper Bank in one sentence…you say:
We’re a fully digital bank focused on serving VCs and startups in the tech ecosystem and we’re really here to partner with the people behind the companies to see their success.
Walk us through a typical day in your life.
It’s definitely different now with Covid. Currently I wake up, make some coffee, sit at my desk in my living room and hop on my first morning calls. Most are status and daily standup calls amongst the engineering team. Then, if someone has some questions, we’ll Slack or hop on another individual call to talk through issues or do any bug triage. Toward the middle of the day I have more sessions cross-functionally — status meetings or project meetings where I work with other teams in Operations, Client Service, Project Management, and Banking. In the afternoon I get a lot of my ‘me time’ to work on ongoing projects like writing new specs and user stories or taking a look at the roadmap and prioritizing.
What do you consider to be the most important thing you’ve learnt since joining?
I think the most important thing I’ve learned at Grasshopper is that just because something is a priority to you, doesn’t mean it is for others. It’s important to be able to take a step back and understand where other people are coming from, what their priorities are, and how that changes not only their decision making but their interactions with you on a day-to-day basis.
What makes a great Product Manager?
Definitely having flexibility and quick thinking. And it’s important not to get too set in a certain way of thinking. You have to be really open to new ideas and to shifting directions for a new feature or product based on new inputs.
Passions outside of work?
My biggest passion outside of work is dance. I’ve been dancing my whole life- since I was probably three years old; all different styles. I minored in dance in college and was on the dance team there. Even after college I’ve kept dancing a big part of my life outside of work. Normally after work I’ll go to a dance class or be running a dance rehearsal- now I do that over Zoom. Before Covid, I danced in a show twice a year and I choreographed in the show as well. I’ve presented a couple of dances now on stage in New York City and I’m still trying to pursue dance outside of work. I dance a lot! I also got into embroidery — Rachel shows us her latest creation- an I ❤ NY badge. I got into it a couple of years ago but I got busy last year and haven’t done much. Now I’m getting more time, so I’m doing a lot of embroidery and knitting.
What accomplishment (personal or professional) are you most proud of?
I think it would probably be making it to the final round of a rigorous dance audition last year. It has always been a dream of mine to dance for this group but it seemed so unattainable- just something you think about. Then I just decided around November or December of last year- Why not? Let me try! I really committed myself to it and spent so many hours preparing both physically and mentally! It was one of the things that I’ve dedicated myself the most to in my adult life. I went in with tempered expectations because it was an entirely new experience for me. So making it all the way to finals as one of eighty — out of the hundreds who auditioned — was really special and it made me quite proud of all the work I put in.
And to finish, here some quick 🔥 questions:
What’s your most used emoji?
🤗
Most used app on your phone?
What is the last show you binge-watched?
I’m currently binge watching West Wing which is so good but also a little sad because there’s still the same issues we’re talking about today. It’s a great binge. If you like ‘walk and talk’ workplace drama it’s great.
What are you reading right now?
I’m finishing the book you let me borrow! Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent by Sydney Finkelstein
What’s your next vacation destination when things are back to normal?
I want to take a trip to visit my brother in LA, but for a real vacation (not visiting anyone) it would be in Paris.
If you could have lunch with anyone, what would it be?
Hedy Lamarr. I think she’s just so cool. I learned about her in college when I felt like I was torn between dance and engineering. She inspired me as an example of someone who pursued two very different passions — she was a successful actress and inventor!
