The Quanta team loves pastries, jazz, and realized gains
Meet your future coworkers in our new video series Lunch Break
One of the hardest parts about evaluating a startup opportunity has nothing to do with the job description. You can read about the role responsibilities, comp, and org structure, and still have no idea if you actually want to work there. That’s because one thing remains unclear: team culture.
Job descriptions can tell you what a role pays, but when you’re joining a small team, what it feels like to walk into the office and build with coworkers often matters more than what’s written in the offer. That’s why we started Lunch Break — our new video series that lets you meet the people you could be building with. Each episode, we’ll give you a peek into life at a startup scaling quickly and growing their team.
Last week, I swung by Quanta’s new SF office to kick off our series. Quanta automates accounting processes to equip companies with real-time financial clarity. Helen presented at our showcase last May and been growing the team since (and adding great hires from the FYSK community along the way!).
If your first image of an “accounting team” is buttoned-up and stiff, you’re not alone. The Quanta team is not that. Between our conversations about Japanese jazz and obscure French bike races, the team is fun, multi-faceted, and incredibly sharp at what they do.
Quick Facts
Founder: Helen Hastings
Team size: 13
Location: in-person, FiDi SF
Open Roles: Software Engineers, AI Engineers, Design, Accounting, GTM
Below are a few bits and pieces from my conversation with the team.
What accounting term makes the team laugh?
Helen (founder): Definitely “realized gains”. Some customers spend a lot on protein powder… that’s a “realized gain”.
What’s great about being in a new office space?
Shivam (AI engineer): We recently acquired new speakers, so we’ve been doing lots of Spotify Jams. Anything jazz or light house are the go-to’s. We’ve been playing a lot of CASIOPEA.
How much accounting did you have to know before Quanta?
Avi (founding engineer): Definitely none. Helen gives us lectures on the whiteboards explaining assets, expenses, income… I definitely didn’t know what debits and credits were when I joined.
What’s your favorite team tradition?
Helen: on the first of the month, we do an extra review for our customers. Team members bring in pastries to celebrate ‘closing the books’, but last month 3 people forgot to coordinate so we were sort of drowning in croissants.
P.S. Quanta’s go-to pastry spot is b. patisserie, if that makes a difference for you.
Any of the team’s open roles catch your eye? Send us a quick blurb about yourself and why you’re a good fit, and we’ll make a warm intro to Helen if there’s a match.