Welcome to our Meet the 50 Team series, where we get the lowdown on how the people at 50onRed get stuff done. This time we’re sitting down with a member of our all star accounting team, Alexa Rappo!
Tell us a little about yourself and your role at 50onRed.
I’ve been with 50onRed a little over two years now. I started working in public accounting right out of college, where I got some great experience and exposure. After two years doing that, I was curious about what the private/corporate accounting world had to offer. That’s when I found myself here.
At 50, I work with a wide range of people both inside and outside the company. I send out monthly invoices and payment reminders, pay vendors, and reconcile accounts. I also put together financial statement presentations and weekly forecasts. Of course, there are always those ad hoc projects that get thrown into the mix, which keeps my job fun and interesting.
What made you choose to go into accounting?
I was always good with math and numbers, so I took a basic accounting class in high school and did pretty well. I went into college as a math education major, but switched to accounting halfway through my freshman year after I spent one day in a high school classroom… No thanks! That was not for me.
How did you find your way to 50onRed?
It was a little unorthodox, but it all started at a happy hour with my friends in Center City. I met up with an old friend of mine who was a recruiter, and she told me about an accounting position she thought I’d be perfect for. At that point, I was already considering leaving public accounting to try something a little different, so I figured I’d give it a shot.
Everything just felt right when I interviewed here. For me, it’s extremely rare to get that vibe off the bat. Once I met with Michele and Peggy and learned more about the position, I really felt like my experience and personality made me the perfect fit. Clearly, Michele and Peggy agreed, because they offered me the job!
What makes the accounting team at 50onRed so great?
We’re a super close group both inside and outside of the office, and we really clicked from the start. I’m lucky to be so close to my coworkers, who became friends I hang out with in my downtime.
Our team is relatively small compared to the size of the company, so we rely a lot on each other for support and help. We all live by the motto, “Work hard, play harder”, and it shows! You’ll hear a lot of laughs coming from our part of the office, but when it comes down to it, we put in the time and work to get stuff done.
Oh, and we just completed the City to Shore bike race last weekend. After eight hours biking 80 miles together, we all finished in one piece. I think that says a lot about us!
What are some of the tools and skills you use to get work done?
Communication is key, especially for a small team like ours. It’s important for everyone to be on the same page and know what we’re all working on so we can help each other out if one of us starts to feel overwhelmed. It’s very fast-paced in our office, so making sure everyone is in the loop with the latest updates, new project launches, or a a change in procedure is crucial.
Another key skill is time management, simply because of how quickly things typically move around here. It’s essential to manage our time efficiently, and we’re always looking for new apps and tools to make our team’s jobs easier. Right now, we’re switching to a new program that’ll make submitting expense reports way simpler. We can’t wait!
Your team came into the office as Mario Kart characters last year for Halloween. Where did that idea come from, and how did you decide who’d go as who?
I actually found the idea on Pinterest. Luckily, it was pretty easy figuring out who would be who. We all had our characters already in mind: Michele really wanted to be a dinosaur, so she was Yoshi. I’ll find any excuse to wear a tutu, so I was the “Final Lap” cloud, and John and Peggy made a pretty solid Mario and Luigi team. I love Halloween and take it very seriously, especially at the office. Our team is already thinking of ideas to top last year’s!
We have a lot of developers and designers working here. What’s the best part about working among innovative co-workers?
Learning! I always considered myself tech-savvy, but I learned so much more once I started working here. I’m always getting tipped off to new shortcuts or better programs that help me get stuff done faster. Plus, I was introduced to cool new apps here before a lot of my friends knew about them, like Uber, Spotify, SeatGeek, Slack, and Anyperk.
Any advice for people looking to join a tech company’s accounting team?
Learning about the industry is the hardest part of joining a tech company’s accounting team. My #1 piece of advice would be to do your research and ask a lot of questions about the industry. As much as I felt at home here, the tech industry was like a different world for me. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to get up to speed.
Want to learn more about 50onRed and see what opportunities we have available? Head on over to our Careers page to find out!