Over the last six weeks, we've been bringing you *exclusive* interviews with the Emma team.  This week we speak to Varadh, a Software Engineer at Emma to find out what his job role is, why he thinks Emma is so successful, as well as super important questions like what's best - tacos or sushi?

Hey Varadh! Tell us a bit about who you are, and what you do at Emma.

I'm a software engineer at Emma and I’ve been here since we were only a team of 3! I work on the server-side of the app and spend most of my time building new features for the app and updating old ones.

What’s the best thing about your job?

The best thing about my job is helping to build an app that really helps people with their finances, and hopefully gives them greater peace of mind.

Not to mention we’re always working on new problems and building new features so no two days are the same.

If you could only use 5 words to describe Emma, what would they be?

Friendly, quirky, helpful, colourful, convenient.

What is it about Emma that you think has made it so successful?

Always putting the product first. Listening to what the customers like and always striving to build the best product for them.

I really think the main reason we have done so well is because we have the best product in class, bar none!

Do you have a favourite feature within Emma?

The subscription tracking feature. I have so many ingoing and outgoing payments, across energy bills, broadband, gym membership, Netflix, Spotify, etc...

And when you add onto that that many of these bills are split between me and my housemates or my family, who are sending me money back every month, keeping track of it all on my own is an absolute nightmare.

I know some people manage to do it, but I don’t know how!

https://emma-app.com/blog/2020/08/18/emma-finance-features/

What do you enjoy spending your money on?

I’m all about spending money on activities with friends and family.

Going to restaurants, going for drinks, going anywhere and doing anything with the people you like spending time with.

To be honest, you don’t even need to spend money to do that, but it’s also the only thing I like spending money on.

I also like buying people presents!

If someone gave you £1,000, would you save it, spend it, or invest it?

I wish it was something fun, but right now I’d probably end up putting it in my ISA.

But I feel like by the time the pandemic is over I’ll be in need of a real holiday, so maybe I’d just keep it for that!

If you had to pick one emoji to describe your finances, what would you pick?

🤐

Thanks to Varadh for chatting with us! If you want to continue getting to know the Emma Finance team then check out the rest of the team interviews here.

And if you have any questions for Varadh, either about being a software engineer, or his Would You Rather choices, make sure you join the Emma Community, where you can ask away!

Emma is a money management app that connects all your bank accounts to track your monthly spending and subscriptions. It will help you visualise and take control of your finances. Make sure you aren’t overspending. And show you practical steps to start budgeting effectively.