ON KABLAMO, MELBOURNE AND LIFE DECISIONS.

Here’s the latest on Kablamo’s culture, courtesy Daniel Serrano, who has just joined the team down in Melbourne!

Over a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

I told myself I’d take the time to reflect on my first weeks at Kablamo once I had a better handle on what it all meant: once I had met the team in person, seen the projects, processes and pipeline.

After a sabbatical filled with travel, and the valuable life-lessons that come with it, I vowed to never again work for a company whose only focus was to monetise the lives of its employees.

I was eager to join a team that hasn’t forgotten what made us choose technology over other career paths in the first place; that sense of wonder and discovery that makes you want to keep doing what you’re doing. Not because it pays the bills, but because it’s interesting and engaging.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a naive idealist. I understand a business needs to be profitable, particularly if it cares about the wellbeing of its employees. What I mean is that there must be a beating heart behind every decision, paired with a vision that understands a good culture allows people to thrive and inspires them to grow to their full potential.

That’s what I’ve found at Kablamo. It’s more than just a business. It’s a skills and talent amplifier where people are truly proud of their work and are always hungry to learn more.

During my four rounds of remote interviews, what I discovered was enough to convince me there is something special going on at Kablamo. Special enough to come back to Australia. To move across the world and take on a new challenge.

I had the chance to work with some of Kablamo’s founding members during my time at Nine Entertainment. The first thing that became apparent was that after a couple of years at Kablamo, all these already talented individuals had reached new levels, both technically and personally.

This was the first sign that whatever was happening was something I wanted to be a part of.

One of my favourite things about our people is the obvious passion with which everyone approaches not only their work, but also their lives. Kablamo encourages a healthy work-life balance, but it seems most people here don’t make that hard distinction when it comes to sharing whatever exciting discoveries they run into. The breadth and depth of combined knowledge within our team is fertile ground for constant discussion and reflection on almost every aspect of technology applied to human existence.

You would think that with brains this big, enormous egos would follow, but that’s the other reason why I love Kablamo. It has put such care in the people they bring on board that our undisclosed “no asshole policy" is at the top of every hire. So, what has unfolded naturally is an environment where merit leads the conversation and where being humble is part of everyone’s DNA. This almost completely horizontal structure means the focus is to discover the heart of the problem first, then find the real solution. No holds barred. No excuses.

Looking at the applications Kablamo has built for existing clients, I haven’t experienced this level of engineering since my days in San Francisco; solutions that speak to the merit and potential of technology, rather than to the terms of a business agreement. This is not a sales pitch. It’s the reality of working for a company focused on getting things done, rather than extracting as much money from its clients’ pockets as possible. In fact, at the core of the Kablamo Way is bringing our clients along on the transformation journey, helping them stand on their own two feet by delivering a product they can maintain and own. We don’t want to lock them down; we want to set them free.

Week after week, I continue to be amazed by the team, the drive, the vision, and the balance that has allowed such a company to exist. (For more on this balance, see a recent writeup by one of our co-CEOs here).

With so much talent here, every day is another chance to learn and push myself further. Innovation is so rapid at Kablamo, I don’t want to blink in case I miss something.

• D.