Title: Director
Joined Arc90 in: June 2006
If I could go anywhere: I would take a ride to outer space. I would really like to see the Earth from space. After seeing monumental sites, I’ve realized that pictures can’t do anything justice.
Rama Poola jumped into the world of code even before he had his driver’s license. Arc90′s Software Management Developer started learning C++ when he was only 15.
“My cousin went to the University of Pennsylvania for computer engineering,” he recalled of his first introduction to programming. “I latched on and taught myself for a while.”
When he was 16, Rama enrolled in an introductory Visual Basic class at his local college, Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, CT. He eventually took a C++ class during his senior year of high school.
“At that point, coding was very interesting to me,” Rama noted of his initial interest in programming languages. “It was similar to solving math problems but it was more concrete. When you code, something comes out of it and there is something that you made.”
Rama met Arc90′s founder, Rich Ziade, at a New York University job fair in 2006. As senior double majoring in Computer Science and Economics, the Boreum Hill, Brooklyn resident wasn’t primarily looking for a position at a technology company.
“I was looking at finance jobs,” Rama recalled. “Arc90 was intriguing because it was a tech and design firm. I wanted to see what my options were.”
Rama initially debated taking a position at an investment bank, but the experiences of Tim Meaney, an Arc90 partner who previously worked at the same investment bank, gave Rama an insider’s perspective of life in the financial world.
“It was my interviews that made me realize that I didn’t want to go into finance,” Rama noted “I was willing to take a risk and go to a small company. At that point, Arc was just starting out and I wanted some excitement. I was 21. What did I have to lose?”
That’s not to say there weren’t some first-day jitters.
“I didn’t think I would be at the same caliber as other people,” he stated. “At bigger companies, you’re not at the same level as other people when you’re in an entry level position.”
Rama quickly learned that Arc90 isn’t run like most investment banks or a Fortune 500 company.
“It’s not your age or your experiences but what you’re good at that drives your position within the company,” he said. “Arc90 cares about the quality of your work over the numbers of hours you put in. They see that your contributions are based on the quality of what you produce.”
The company’s hands-on work environment allowed Rama to show off his skill sets. Although he didn’t always see himself in a managerial role, working at Arc90 has helped Rama discover new talents.
“Arc90 gives you chances to explore new avenues for what you want to do,” he noted. “I’ve learned a lot of leadership skills here and those skills have helped me to progress to where I am. Managing people is something that you can’t teach. You fall into it and if you have it, you can succeed.”
Rama was recently promoted to the Director position at Arc90. His responsibilities include overseeing programmers, helping to design the backend of software and interacting with clients. Although Rama doesn’t code as often as he used to, he still enjoys his role as head of the Shared Services team.
“I’m better suited at designing the system,” he noted. “I like helping developers reach the goals that we set. It’s more about having a team effort instead of just focusing on a single coder.”
He’s also grown on a personal level; he admits that he’s learned to have patience.
“When working in a group scenario, being a patient person is key,” Rama added. “Everybody has to learn to work together. You have to put aside faults and get the job done.”
One of the Rama’s favorite aspects about life at Arc90 includes learning from the individuals around him.
“Working with intelligent people challenges you to be smarter,” he said. “There’s no real competition; being around smart people makes you want to try harder and gain more knowledge. Everybody benefits from being around people they want to learn from.”
When he isn’t working with programmers or interacting with clients, Rama enjoys exploring his creative side with by writing music and playing the guitar. He got his first guitar when he was eight-years-old.
“If I had unlimited money and didn’t work here, I would be a musician,” the 24-year-old said. “I love playing my guitar. I try to find every open mic that I can to get people to listen to my music.”
In 2006, during Rama’s first summer of employment, the company released Arc90 Vol. 1, a collection of original music written and performed by the employees.
“It was the first event that I was involved in,” Rama recalled. “It was cool that the company threw a release party for us. We had some serious talent on the CD.”
A former Arc90 employee also used one of Rama’s songs from the collection, “The Good Life,” for his wedding compilation CD.
“The CD still lives on,” Rama said. “It’s great that it’s a part of people’s lives.”