We are happy to introduce you to Sebastian Hoop, CTO of Hamburg based CollectAI!
CollectAI covers the full end-to-end process for receivables management, starting with sending e-invoices, over to the dunning process and debt collection. With their proprietary AI-based technology, they offer a broad range of digital communication channels and payment methods.
Have you ever wondered what a day in the life of the CTO of a successful and innovative tech company looks like? Read more here!
1. What is the best part about being a CTO?
As a CTO I am responsible for creating products. Together with the team the technical department is responsible for making the difference between success and failure of the company. This is a great motivation and a challenge at the same time, which I love.
2. What brought you to this area, what’s your background?
I started as a software developer many years ago. Amongst other leading positions in the area, I also founded and ran my own software company and sold it in 2006.
3. What time does your day start, and what does your typical work day schedule look like?
I usually start my work day saying good morning to everyone while walking through the office. With a regular working day being packed with internal and external meetings, I use the evenings to respond to emails and work on strategic topics.
4. What kind of projects are you currently working on?
We are building a complex technical product for the receivables management sector which encompasses a large amount of different smaller and bigger projects. We are working on a microservice oriented architecture. This, of course, is a challenging task but the result will pay off in the end. Other than that we focus on optimising the running business by adding new features and components, improving the AI, further automating reportings etc.
5. What do you consider the greatest achievement in your work to date?
Having built and sold my own company in 2006 was a hard time but clearly full of experience and an achievement to be proud of.
6. What is the one app you could not live without?
There are two: Evernote and Trello. They are my brain, my life.
7. What’s the best thing about working at your company?
It is the diversity. We have people from many nations with different cultural backgrounds.
8. Where is the after work hangout?
My house. I like to be at home. This is the place where I can relax and focus on my hobbies like working in my garage or reading.
9. Who is your professional role model?
Werner Vogels , Chief Technology Office and Vice President of Amazon, is a very inspiring leader in tech. I worked with Amazon Webservices for years. Having grown out of the technical environment on which is Amazon’s e-commerce platform, it shows the idea of technical vision very well.
10. What makes Hamburg a good city for technology, startups and diversity?
Hamburg is a beautiful city with a long multicultural tradition with a high density of expats. The living quality in Hamburg is high for many reasons. Among others: We have a great social life, a good infrastructure in terms of public transport and proximity to the airport. In addition, our vibrant startup and fintech scene offers plenty of networking events.
11. Which tech trends are you most excited about?
Microservices, Agile Development and Golang.
12. What are the top 3 qualities you look for as an employee?
Self-responsibility, willingness to learn, solution orientation
13. And finally, what is the one piece of advice you would give to a tech professional starting out?
Have a clear and consistent learning path if you are pursuing a tech career. From experience the best technicians focus on mastering a few main technological challenges and continue working on technologies from the same ecosystem
