One of the biggest motivators for Ophus Wong, Software Engineer at Veho, is the pursuit of knowledge—whether that's teaching himself how to code or discovering something new through one of his colleagues—which is one of the many reasons he's thrived with the Veho family. Check out our interview with Ophus and see how Veho empowers every individual to achieve greatness:
How long have you been with Veho? And what do you do there?
I'm a software engineer, and I've been with Veho for just under a year! Most recently, I've been working on the mobile app that our Drivers use as well as our back-office app that a lot of Veho team members use. It's been a lot of fun seeing both sides of the process.
What did you do before Veho?
I have a non-traditional software engineering background—meaning I didn't graduate with a computer science degree. Instead I graduated with a business degree and started my professional career in retail banking. I did everything from mortgage lending to customer development, and even ran the ACH/Wire Payments department at a regional bank for a bit.
That's actually what spurred me into a career change. I was working with a lot of spreadsheets, and because I was kind of a spreadsheet nerd, I started learning how to automate some of my tasks—which I found way more interesting than my day-to-day job. So when the opportunity came up, I went to coding boot camp, and eventually made my way to Veho.
What was it about Veho that convinced you to join the team?
I went to the same coding boot camp as one of the our engineering managers (James) who told me about the company. James and I have very similar interests when it comes to the type of work we like to do, and one of the things he highlighted was Veho's growth and the upside of being a part of this team—as well as the people and culture.
After talking with people like Ita (CEO), Fred (Co-Founder and CTO), and Rachel (who we previously interviewed here), I realized the cultural values aligned with me personally. I feel like everybody brought their own flavor of Veho's core values to the table, and a lot of those things aligned with what I wanted in my next work environment.
The work I do at Veho unlocks human potential with technology… We're continually pushing the envelope, and I think that's why we're making so much noise and why we're able to stand out against the competition.
There's a great Tony Robbins quote that's always stuck with me, which is “If you're not growing, you're dying.” In other words, if you're not moving forward, then you're stagnating. I've found that to be true in my own life, and I feel like everyone I've talked to at Veho has that same mentality. We're continually pushing the envelope, and I think that's why we're making so much noise and why we're able to stand out against the competition.
What's the most exciting thing about the work you do at Veho?
I think the most exciting thing is that I'm always learning. I feel like I learn something new every day, even just by doing something like interviewing someone. Also, another thing that stands out is that my work helps people be awesome and make a big impact. To sum it all up, the work I do at Veho unlocks human potential with technology.
What would you say is the most important company value to you personally?
I have two: ‘Candor' and ‘Human'. In my opinion, these values go hand-in-hand. The ‘Human' value boils down to being a good person and having the ability to empathize with people, and I think that that's important. I feel like a lot of high-performing teams succeed because they're able to understand each other on a much deeper level.
And without candor, I don't think a person would get very far. To grow, you have to be honest and straightforward with people, and I think that a lot of people—especially leaders—appreciate that. The best leaders I've worked with have been the most straightforward and honest with me at all times, whether I was doing a great job or needed help. They provided me with a safe space to talk about what I was struggling with, which helps me be a better teammate.
At Veho, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion aren't just recruiting buzzwords... There's always been a very conscious effort among Veho's leaders to push for diversity and inclusion.
What does Veho do to promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)?
This has been a really exciting thing for me. I was a little bit skeptical about being in tech, but there's always been a very conscious effort among Veho's leaders to push for diversity and inclusion. These aren't just recruiting buzzwords. I think everyone on the team—and in leadership—recognizes that diversity isn't just skin color or creed, it's also a person's school of thought. Life experiences shape and create a diverse workforce.
Our teams are made up of people with a wide array of experiences, and they have some of the best problem-solving skills.
For the engineering team, specifically, we recognize that it's a very white, male-dominated industry. We are specifically pushing—and making space—for women engineers. Some of the best leaders and engineers I've worked with have been women. I think having Fred and other leaders in the company recognize that and the push for that has been awesome.
Veho cares about its people and is working towards a mission of being inclusive and conscious and understanding how to put humans at the center. It's hard to put into words until you get the chance to talk with team members. If someone is considering a position with us, I'd encourage them to reach out to anybody from Veho on LinkedIn. I think anyone here would be happy to talk about working at this company and sharing some of the amazing things we have here.
What would you say is the most unique part about Veho's culture?
Definitely the human element. Many places emphasize candor and honesty, but “putting the human at the center,” as Ita likes to say, is what sets Veho apart. It can be easy to get lost in the jumble of profitability reports and metrics, but I feel like everyone at Veho is always thinking of, and looking out for one another. The most successful companies are willing to engage in and acknowledge that each team member is a unique individual with their own set of needs and values; that we all have ups and downs and different things that drive us.
Why do you love working at Veho?
I think it's probably a summation of everything I just kind of talked about: getting to learn something new every day; being a part of an organization where I know it's okay to have my off days and be a person and be vulnerable; knowing that, no matter what I'm doing, I'm always going to get the most honest feedback. As far as work environments go, that checks off a whole lot of boxes for me.
