Hey Mom, I Joined (a) TANDA

“Wow I wish we had something like this when we first moved to Canada”

This was my parents’ reaction to the concept of a rotation savings association when I explained to them what TANDA does. They were already familiar with the chit funds in India that their families took part in, so the idea of shared savings made perfect sense to them. The community that comes with being part of a Tanda would have made them feel more at home in a foreign nation. It would have also served as a trusted source to learn about the financial landscape in a new country.

When I think about all the products I’ve worked on over the years, TANDA was by far the easiest to explain to my parents. I saw a sparkle in their eyes that I never got when I told them of the next software gig I was working on - I knew TANDA was onto something.

Why TANDA?

I joined TANDA this summer because of 3 things: the team, the learning opportunity and their mission.

I had worked with Jesse and the team when I was a Product Manager at Splunk. This was a team that truly embraced the work hard, play hard mentality. The team culture allowed us to accomplish great things across a variety of products and it taught me that no problem is too big to tackle if we put the right people together. This culture lives on at TANDA.

As an MBA student, TANDA presents the perfect opportunity to be part of a high potential startup in its very early stages. There is lots to do as we move toward product market fit and the day-to-day activities allow me to put into practice the concepts I learn in school. Moreover, I knew that I wanted to do something I hadn’t tried before during my MBA internship and working at a startup was quite the contrast to the established companies I had worked at prior. The chance to be part of a company that could change the way many people think about finances was alluring.

And that was where the mission of TANDA really struck a chord with me. Growing up, I learned how to save by watching how my family and friends saved. Having a community where I could openly talk about finances and share strategies of how I can best save for my future plans encouraged me to develop the financial discipline that I carry on today. TANDA wants to build such a community of savers who through mutual support, will enable individuals to save more together than they would be able to on their own. I’m excited to be part of this mission!

I’ll be writing a series of blogs that will follow my adventure with TANDA this summer. Stay tuned for more!