Why I Joined Tegus
By: Katie Stakland
Tags: Company Culture, Hiring, Product Design, Tegus, Startup

In April, like many others this year, I found myself in a new and unexpected situation. I had been laid off due to the coronavirus pandemic and was suddenly searching for my next opportunity. Eager to land a new job, I started to spend all my time scouring listings, hunting for the right fit.

Enter Tegus, a Chicago-based fintech startup. I stumbled across their listing for a product designer position on LinkedIn and could tell right away it was a company to keep an eye on. From my first interview, I felt challenged. I was impressed not only by the caliber of people at the company but also the product they were building and the problems they were tackling. There were so many reasons to join the team. Ultimately, here’s what led me to choose Tegus over other options:

Impressive company culture

Opportunities for personal growth and development

A young, innovative product with interesting challenges

Company Culture

Honestly, I thought I failed my first interview with Tegus. The design manager and I disagreed on a design philosophy and I thought it would keep me from getting a second interview. As I progressed through the interview process, I realized that challenging each other was part of the culture at Tegus. Tegus leadership encourages everyone on the team to push the organization toward greatness. This takes debate, discussion, and working together to establish best practices for the entire team.

I also learned that the design team focuses on frequent collaboration. In my last position, I was the sole product designer and realized I missed working closely with other designers, so it was important for me to join a company with a growing team that I could collaborate with often. One of the interview stages at Tegus involves a review of the current state of the product. During this session, I collaborated with Joe, the design manager, and Craig, a senior product designer. Even as an outsider, I was encouraged to share my thoughts and give feedback. It was clear that designers at Tegus are expected to frequently share what they’re working on, get feedback, and pair together to solve problems and drive the product forward.

What the Tegus Platform looked like when I interviewed. It has undergone some major updates since!

The last culture piece that swayed me toward Tegus was the opportunity to help build and grow a mature design team. Though small in numbers, Tegus was focused on establishing mature design practices and each designer to join would have a major impact on the team. I would be the third designer to join the team, but I knew more designers would be coming on board soon. And the team has grown quickly, in fact, we’ve nearly doubled in size in the last 6 months.

Personal Development

It was vital for me to find a company where I could grow and become a better designer. At Tegus, I knew I would be pushed outside my comfort zone, while also being supported by a team of strong designers, product managers, engineers, and leaders.

Specifically, Tegus had two great designers I was excited to learn from. I was looking for mentorship and saw an opportunity to develop my skills by working with other talented people. Tegus focuses on hiring highly passionate and driven individuals and it shows. The team is truly the best of the best, and I wanted to be a part of it.

Innovative Product

The final piece of the puzzle was the product itself. As a product designer, this was critical. I wanted to work on something innovative and challenging. Tegus was building a product unlike any other; a smart research platform that enables investors to extract proprietary insights gathered from industry experts. The unique user needs and business opportunities of the product really resonated with me.

The team was also starting work on an iOS app. I hadn’t worked on a mobile product for a while and knew this would present me with more chances to learn and influence a new product.

Some wireframes for the mobile app I’ve worked on since joining Tegus.

Tegus was also growing quickly. Job security can be hard to find in the startup world, and it’s never a sure thing, but the high rate of growth amid a global pandemic and economic downturn helped reassure me that Tegus would be a great place to be in 2020 and beyond.