Creation Story
The motto “people first” can be traced back to the inscription found in the launch pad of the Rocket. Where did this idea stem from, and why does laziness sometimes act as a fantastic motivator?
In the beginning, there were five friends, the smouldering ruins of a start-up and a common goal to avoid dull jobs. “What’s next?” the friends wondered. “Should we get real jobs?”
Nonsense. So, they founded Rakettitiede.
“The first year, we did a lot of soul-searching,” says Juha Huttunen, the Rocket’s Beloved Leader and one of the founders. “We had no grand vision, we just didn’t have a job we liked. We sold consultancy services to buy ourselves some extra time to figure out what we wanted to do when we grew up.”
You could say the founders – Arttu, Kalle, Juha, Jarno and Marko – are all grown up now and the company with them. While Rakettitiede may not be a big company, it is respectably medium-sized and its basic idea is still alive and kicking: to offer challenges that the developer wants to take on, and once the deal is sealed, we treat them like royalty – financially, professionally and mentally.
The upward struggle of a growth company
In addition to running a consultancy, the first years were spent developing ideas for start-ups. The one’s that didn’t make the cut were used to heat up the Shutdown Sauna.
“The idea was to grow the business and keep the engine running. At some point we noticed that we had enough consultants to make them our number one priority. So, we turned off the start-up incubator,” Juha says.
However, they were picky about which coders to hire.
“Already then, we had high criteria for hiring new people. The consultant needed to be technically proficient, enthusiastic and unafraid of work, and they had to understand the client’s business.”
This model has been in operation for 11 years now and there are still no plans of turning the nose of the Rocket in terms of business or level of developers: our existence is motivated by utilising the best know-how in the best possible way.
The founders – in the picture, Arttu, Juha and Kalle in 2011 – are all grown up now and the company with them. The basic idea of the company is still alive and kicking: to offer challenges that the developer wants to take on, and once the deal is sealed, we treat them like royalty – financially, professionally and mentally.
Work smarter, not harder
Since time immemorial, the basic idea of Rakettitiede has been to offer our great employees a great salary for the great work they do.
“This idea stems from the huge productivity differences between developers: software is coded not by an anonymous resource but by a human. A skilled developer or a small team of great professionals may produce finished services in the same amount of time it takes others to rally up an army of coders,” Juha says.
He admits that the salary model (in a nutshell: 50 % of the amount invoiced goes to the consultant, read more here) was not motivated by mere fairness.
“I have to admit the model was driven by our laziness. There’s no need for separate salary negotiations, and since we pay as high a salary as we can, at least the pay can’t be the reason if someone decides to leave,” Juha says and continues: “We want to offer our developers something interesting to do. If we get that and the salary right, we don’t need to waste time putting out fires.”
Rocket culture dictates that each of our rocket scientists gets to choose their own placement and task – that’s when the magic happens. If having to do a gig on a weekday morning feels like a drag, that feeling starts to reflect on the quality of the work.
“Programming is a craft, and it needs to be rewarding if the goal is to create solutions and code the client is willing to pay for. That’s why everyone gets to have a say on which project they want to take on.”
We’re in the business of selling software creators, but that doesn’t make us a faceless consultancy. The client knows they’re always going to get the best possible quality, partly because our employees are inspired by what they do.
It’s what you value
Our central values include respect for others, transparency, professionalism, collaboration, learning and a fundamental “no BS” attitude.
None of the values were actually predetermined, but rather taught by the School of Hard Knocks.
“When I was working for others, I always had trouble with cultures in which information wasn’t shared openly. Even the tiniest companies seemed hierarchical and there was no opportunity to have a say in anything. The way I see it, as long as an idea works, it doesn’t matter who came up with it. You could say all our values are rooted in our personalities: this is simply who we are and our way of treating everyone fairly stems from our less-than-ideal experiences from previous jobs,” Juha says.
So is everyone cut from the same cloth, then?
“No. The company has its share of idealists and then some pragmatists like me, but we all agree on the fundamental points. If everyone were the same, we wouldn’t have the our current plurality of voices and different perspectives would not be heard.”
Star Wars didn’t make the cut
How about the name Rakettitiede, ‘Rocket Science’ – where does it come from?
According to Juha, although the name was invented “for laughs, in high spirits but without spirits” it turned out to be a winner. Fortunately, Avaruussota, ‘Star Wars’, which received the silver trophy in the naming contest, never transcended its status as the runner-up.
Looking for interesting projects, competent colleagues and a good salary? Read more here!
Read more:
It’s all ’bout the money (well, almost)
Stocking up on shares – many Rocket Scientists are also shareholders