Career highlights and building high performing teams in early stage tech startups with Rav Raniga, Elara.AI

The Spotlight Series - Don’t just survive, thrive!

What would you say is the secret to your success? Which of the following resonates most with you:

⭐ Being in the right place at the right time

⭐ Knowing when to quit and when to quit early

⭐ Being willing to take risks in decision making

Rav Raniga, Partner Lead at tech startup ELARA, believes all of the above are the secrets to his success.

After a brief break from podcast recording, I was thrilled to speak to Rav who has extensive expertise in Mathematics and algorithmic software solutions. I find it fascinating how he has the ability to deconstruct complex problems and create elegant solutions using customer-centric design. Rav is also just a fantastic and humble person so it is always a delight to speak to him!

Rav tells the story of his father’s upbringing in Fiji and how his determination and work ethic led him to a career in pharmacy and then a pivot to law! The family moved to Australia and Rav says that he had a privileged life which allowed him to follow his interests in arts, sciences, mathematics and the science of decision making.

We talk about his role at Elara.AI, a well-funded early-stage tech startup which has a totally unique proposition. It is a programmable AI platform which is bridging the gap between business and technology by improving the developer experience and providing business with the best insights so it can make intelligent decisions.

Rav and I discuss his predictions about AI, Machine Learning and data optimisation. Rav talks about the highlights of his career including the opportunity to travel, meet different types of people and making an impact. We talk about the problems of communicating with both technical people and the business to provide the best solution.

Rav is helping build a highly talented team at Elara. The characteristics he looks for in new team members are:

⭐ Passion for problem solving

⭐ Customer first

⭐ Trust

⭐ Innovative

I ask Rav what his advice is for attracting and retaining high performance tech teams. He starts by saying use a really good recruiter who takes the time to understand the business (I didn’t pay him to say this, I promise!). He also says that paying a competitive salary should be a given as well as the opportunity to work on exciting tasks with clear end goals.