We were recently contacted by Jackie Developer (since this is the 3rd iteration, you probably realize now that Jackie isn’t an actual person. We just like introducing the company in this format), a highly capable software engineer who had seen Yonoton’s name pop up a few times in various media. Sometimes it was to announce a new client or being nominated as one of the hottest startups in the country (this part still applies!).
But the most recent one was a job advert. Being a seasoned veteran in the software industry, Jackie had seen enough hot air and empty promises and decided to get in touch and ask us a few questions to find out more before applying. They were such good questions that we decided to publish them for everyone to see.
What does Yonoton actually do?
Yonoton is a versatile digital SaaS platform for digital ordering and purchases. We operate with the biggest players in the market providing company branded apps, web ordering, Point of Sale software, self-service kiosks and various NFC payment options. All mentioned channels utilise Powered by Yonoton backend, admin interface and the Yonoton core library that provides the foundation for all our mobile apps.
Sounds interesting, what technologies is the platform built on?
The apps are built entirely in React Native and the admin interface is in React. The backend side is a Spring Boot application running in AWS ECS. It is currently a monolith which is being split up into microservices (not too many) to enable easier development in the future.
Ok, that kind of setup could easily get out of hand. Do you focus on quality code?
Yes, our vision is to have a thoroughly documented and tested api that serves a group of equally well tested mobile applications. But due to crushing schedules in the earlier days of the company it has not always been that way, but we’ve already come a long way. And when something is fixed once, the CI will see to it that it stays that way.
Crushing schedules? Are you still in permanent crunch mode?
No we’re not. We have an excellent project management team and enough developers (both internal and external) to not have to switch context too often and have multiple people focusing on architecture improvements the whole time.
Speaking of the team, who would I be working with?
Our core engineering team has 5 members. Our CTO Jouni focuses on the backend together with Riku whereas Mikko, Anssi, Simo and Eemeli mainly focus on the mobile clients. In addition you’d be in daily contact with our Scrum Master Sören, Product Owner Oskar, QA Engineer Emiola and Account Director Olli. We’re all pretty laid back people (except perhaps when it comes to code quality).
I’m excited to meet them already! Where is your office by the way? Do I need to be there at all times?
We have a small office at the Maria01 campus, but there is always the option to work remotely. This was the case before COVID-19 and will be the case afterwards. In the current environment we of course take safety very seriously, so everyone is working from home most of the time. But we are monitoring the situation to see when we can return to the office safely, as some things are always easier in person.
Speaking of productivity, can I choose my own tools?
Of course, next question.
Great! One more to the tech team, What are your expectations for me?
As we are a small team, we can’t do too much hand holding in addition to our other work, so being a self starter is a must. Also, please be a nice person. Our current focus is on building components and services used by many different clients and applications, so from a character perspective you should enjoy crafting well tested, reusable and maintainable code rather than banging out features as fast as possible. The skill, experience and technology requirements are described in more detail in the job advert.
Ooh, sounds super interesting. But I’m a little worried about your focus on hospitality. How are your financials looking?
Yonoton has a firm and devoted owner base that supports our expansion to international markets. Our shareholders include global star athletes such as Jari “the King” Litmanen, Sami Hyypiä, Teemu Pukki and Lukas Hradecky. As well as early fellow of Datafellows (F-Secure) Mikko Kuisma and former VP/COO of Symbio, Seppo Kolari. The year 2020 was a good year for us. We grew the team by 8 people (tripling our team!), started operations in four new countries and tripled our turnover. Yonoton has also been elected to Business Finland’s (YIC) programme providing us with a 1,25m€ government grant. This year we have kept up the speed by hiring 4 new people (up to date) and are looking to double our turnover.
Doubling? Seriously? Even with the raging pandemic?
Yep, seriously. We are truly proud to say that our customer churn is zero. To be honest COVID-19 has sped up our growth as our large enterprise clients such as Sodexo, Compass Group, Juvenes, NoHo Partners and Dyreparken need new revenue driven digital services more than ever. The big trend now is hygienic, digital ordering and new payment services. This is exactly what we are offering through Powered by Yonoton omnichannel platform.
Impressive! You’re not the only company I’m considering though… so to be blunt, can you afford me?
Our salary model is always tied to the growth of our company and thus far we’ve been able to attract people from reputable consulting firms, other startups etc. You’ll need a bit of tolerance for risk, but the upside will be worth it.
Thank you so much, I’ve already sent my application and hope to hear from you soon!
Thank you, our processes are very fast and you’ll be hearing from us tomorrow at the latest.
Get in touch with us: rekry@yonoton.com