I still have a vivid memory of my first day at Khalti. It was December 1st 2016 at our previous building, not our current HQ and straight to the Technology Department.
I already knew Manish Daii and Amit Dai from way before. All others were new to me. I got introduced and met other people there and only Ishwor is the one that remains now. Though it was my first day, it never felt like one. Everyone welcomed me and they made me feel part of the team instantly. Though it was my first job and first day, it never felt like that to me.
At Khalti, there were so many memorable experiences. After seven years, it’s very difficult to pick one. However, the time during the first launch of Khalti is still the most memorable one for me.
We were staying at the office for a week, had not gone home, working day and night and day and night. Some were sleeping on the floor, some were sleeping on the chair. No one slept the night before launch. There was a last minute rush, some systems still not working, some APIs still pending to be received and most importantly we still did not have the icons of the services to be placed on the dashboard.
Despite all that, we managed to release the product on the day of the launch as promised. It was during CAN, when our team was providing information about Khalti on the premises, and we were fixing things behind the scenes. That for me, was a once in a lifetime experience and very hard to be replaced.
We have overcome a lot of things down the seven year path. Most challenging experience of Khalti for me was during the transition period from a developer to a more responsible role. With a programming background and being only involved in the product development stages, I had to learn a lot about overall systems, product development lifecycle, communication, human management, fintech industry, accounting, regulations, coordination and technology itself.
When you have spent as much time in an organization as me, you meet a lot of people. Some become more than your colleagues. From my first meeting with Manish dai and Amit dai in the office to my supervisor Dhruba dai, to all my current and past team members of Technology Department and all the people in the office here and who have left already, there are so many people who I have spent my time with. The list will be very long if I start naming and might end the day.
Starting with a digital wallet to becoming a FinTech organization, we have come a long way since launching on Jan 26, 2017. Not saying my own aspiration but the aspiration of the Technology Department itself, there are still a lot of things to do and a long road ahead. Making Khalti a personalized financial experience app to the users using Technology, providing smooth system experience, seamless flow are some of the immediate ones.
Here at Khalti, it is more than a working place, it has become an important part of my life. From sleepless nights during launch to making Khalti a financial experience app, from being a developer to VP of Product Engineering, I want to thank everyone and express my deepest gratitude to those who have helped me in this journey and promise to collaborate and coordinate in realizing the vision of Khalti.
