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Replicant Spotlight: Rowley Luo, Finance Manager

Learn what it's like to be a finance manager at Replicant, a Series B customer service AI start-up that assists millions of callers each week.

Tell us about yourself! Where are you located and what was your path to joining Replicant? 

My name is Rowley and I’m a part of the growing group of Replicants from Toronto, Canada! I spent the previous three years working at two very large corporations being a very small cog within a very big wheel. I wanted more than that as I began my early professional career. This is what ultimately led me to Replicant; the opportunity to lead various initiatives, working with every part of the business, and creating my own autonomy and flexibility at work.

What team are you on and what are some of the main goals your team is focused on?

I work on the finance team comprised of a few people. As a small team in a very fast growing start-up, we’re stretched in many different directions but our main goal is to ensure that the business is operating as efficiently and effectively as possible. This means monitoring our revenue, headcount, cash burn and other strategic initiatives to promote growth at a sustainable rate.

What does a typical day in your role look like? What kinds of projects do you work on?

A typical day includes starting my morning reviewing any emails from the night before. Since we work in a remote first environment, people work across many time zones so catching up on any missed emails is always the first thing. Then I have a few hours of heads down time to catch up on any work as I wait for my team to log on. This is followed with a series of meetings with the business, my team and different department heads to tackle the most pressing issues for the day. Within the moving parts of each day, I also try to fit in some of my recurring responsibilities.

What’s one favorite thing about your city that would surprise others?

My favorite thing about the city is the ability to experience all four seasons in Toronto. Each season brings its own unique charm to the city and lasts just long enough for me to yearn for it as it passes. The summer days are filled with endless amounts of sunlight and the fall evenings are brisk in temperature. Winter mornings are filled with excitement of the first snowfall and spring afternoons are filled with the scents of recent rainfall. It’s taken a long time for me to appreciate the different seasons.

What’s one thing you’ve learned while working at Replicant?

One thing I’ve learned while working at Replicant is that peoples’ culture makes a huge impact on your performance, mentality and day to day happiness at work. Because we have a relatively flat hierarchy, I get to interact with everyone from junior developers all the way up to management. Everyone has made it a point to be open, encourage questions and give you opportunities to grow. Other companies talk about peoples’ culture, but Replicant puts peoples’ culture at the forefront of each day.

How would you describe Replicant in three words?

It’s tough consolidating all that we do as a company and group of people into just 3 words, but if I had to it would be:

  • Innovative
  • Collaborative
  • Customer-oriented

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

If I had one superpower it would be the ability to teleport. There are so many places I would love to travel but I am constrained on the amount of time I have. Being able to teleport anywhere in the world would make traveling so much easier! I could travel, explore and work from anywhere in the world and be home for dinner each night with my family.

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