Why I Joined Lilli: Hear From Our Head of Product
By Sophie Rodrigues
I joined Lilli in January 2022, as Head of Product. Starting my career as the fifth employee of a fintech start-up and trying a few different roles, I fell into product management. I have spent the last few years working at a couple of different companies with very different markets and products.
Here is a bit about why I decided to join Lilli and how I have found life at Lilli to be like so far.
The Mission
It may sound slightly cliche but in order to truly love your job I believe you have to fully buy-in to the company’s mission and goals. I found that since my first product role I felt like I was missing the buzz of excitement about building a product that could have a meaningful impact.
That was very easy with Lilli. We are using data technology, and UX to help people live independently. What does that actually mean? Lilli uses smart monitoring technology placed non-intrusively around people’s homes to give accurate and real-time updates based on their behaviour. We are then able to use machine learning to understand patterns and gain insights that could prevent a deterioration of someone’s health and wellbeing. Carers can use this information to make better decisions and deliver better care outcomes for vulnerable people receiving care, so that they are looked after when they need it most. I was instantly able to see the value in this mission and relate it to people I know and care about and that was the ultimate reason I decided I wanted to be part of the team delivering Lilli.
The problem we are solving
As a product manager, I am passionate about solving real problems. The social care sector in the UK is already over-stretched and has struggled with resource shortages, inadequate support and been largely neglected for decades. The current processes are very reactive and tend to kick in when an issue has already occurred, i.e. short-term solutions. Lilli provides a solution that can be proactive and prevent these issues occurring which helps both the individual to continue living independently and the care professionals to reallocate their time to more urgent needs. We can shape the long-term solution to health and social care problems through digital transformation of the sector and bring the positive change that it needs.
The unique culture at Lilli
Having moved away from London in 2019 (pre-pandemic) and then shifted to remote working (during the pandemic) I realised how productive I could be working remotely and how much happier I felt having a better work/life balance. Lilli is a remote-first business which allows huge flexibility, founded on trust. Undoubtedly, there are times when collaboration is easier in person and at Lilli we have the option to pick a co-working space for the day in a place that suits us and meet up with colleagues to tackle really tricky problems. One of Lilli’s values is to “be authentic”, meaning that we celebrate everyone for being completely themselves at work. This is so important as it builds a stronger relationship with your colleagues and also allows you to give your best at work.
Lilli’s other company values of joy, authenticity, and purpose really help drive our collaboration and objectives when developing the Lilli product. I feel the positive working culture here makes a huge difference to our output. It’s a friendly, welcoming environment to be part of, especially as a new member. This really helps us to create a great product and user experience to support carers and care providers in delivering quality care to vulnerable people who need it most.
The Lilli Team
The people are what makes somewhere a great place to work. Lilli has an excellent hiring process and have managed to find incredible people who are not only inspiring, great in their field, but are also a joy to work with. We get to meet up in person regularly. I have only been to one of these meet ups so far but it was so much fun and I felt so welcomed, especially as a new member of the team. It is really motivating to work with such intelligent people who are ambitious to make real change happen in the care sector.
Bringing Lilli to life has been made more enjoyable by the wonderful people I get to work with every day. My role involves working across the tech teams from UI/UX development to our Cloud and Apps teams. As a Head of Product, I wear a few hats and have to get stuck into the details across a lot of the business. This is a fast way to learn and I feel like I have been working at Lilli for a lot longer than I have! It has been great to get involved in mapping out Lilli’s development goals and strategic planning alongside our CTO, Sameer Vartak.
Fast-paced growth
I started my career in a fast-paced Fintech start-up and have craved to be in that environment again ever since. Lilli is moving incredibly fast and each week we manage to achieve so much in iterating and developing the product, working in partnership with our clients to really develop a product that meets the needs they have and provides a solution to the challenges and pressures they face. This creates such an exciting buzz and gives me the drive to want to be the best I can be in my role as everything we do really has an opportunity to have a positive impact on the lives of so many people. It can feel challenging at times but with really supportive teammates and leadership it helps us to stay resilient and enjoy the rollercoaster!
Our team is growing – join us on the journey
I am only two months into my journey at the company but I am already so happy that I made the decision to join Lilli. We are rapidly growing and looking for more great people to join us on our mission to proactively help people to live independently for longer, more specifically at the moment we are building out our technology department with lots of exciting developments to our platform in the pipeline across engineering, mobile and data science so why not have a look at some of the roles we currently have in the tech team and see if you think you might be a good fit to join the Lilli team. See here for our open roles.
Or alternatively, why not get in touch if you would like to find out more about us – we are always happy for a virtual coffee date.