Mette Fjelltveit Rye-Larsen (29) works as an account manager in Oslo.
For her an otovista is a person that makes the most out of every opportunity:
– Otovo is my first real «grown up job», she admits.
From the lab to the startup
Mette joined the company when Otovo had yet to expand internationally. Back then, she only had ten colleagues to greet her in the morning.
Her background, however, is particularly different from the others in the company:
– I studied nanotechnology, and took my masters degree in one of the cellular materials solar panels are made of. So I was pursuing an academic career, but started to get a little lonely working alone at the lab, she says.
Managing the installer fleet
Mette then heard about a new solar panel company - a rare thing at the time. Initially working with sales, she quickly moved on to working as a project manager, before advancing to a position with responsibility for the entire Norwegian fleet of installers.
In our opinion, diversity and inclusion is not just a key factor for a good working environment – it is a prerequisite for innovation. It constantly generates alternative solutions and nudges us to be open to different viewpoints.
Leaving to start it all over again
Lars Syse Cristiansen was one of the founders of Otovo and held the position of Chief Financial Officer. Now, he has left us to launch a whole new startup.
Lars Syse Christiansen
EX-CFO in Oslo
– Otovo has probably been the biggest part of my life for the last five years. I will miss my good colleagues, and I feel proud of what we have done in terms of creating jobs both in and outside of Norway, and pushing sustainable energy in the right direction, he says.
Lars admits that he wouldn’t be as confident stepping into new territory without the experience from Otovo.
– Every new market we have entered has been like founding a new start up from scratch. So being a part of Otovo has been just one big, continuously learning process with constant new input and challenges, he concludes.
Joining a start-up is more than a job. It’s a learning experience for life.
Tell a friend you work in a start-up, and certain images might pop up in her head – long hours and a playful atmosphere among them (funny how there seems to be a connection between time spent at the office and the presence of foosball tables).
Spirit of entrepreneurship
The drive to innovate and contribute to the realization of new ideas seems downright infectious in teams such as ours. Fact is, a disproportionate amount of Otovo employees - otovistas, as we call them - have gone on to start their own companies.
90% of our employees feel they learn more at Otovo than they could anywhere else.
Learning opportunities
But don’t take it from us - take it from the otovistas themselves. No less than 90 percent of them claim, anonymously in questionnaires, to learn more here than they have ever done in previous jobs.
Join Otovo to make a real contribution to the green shift