Wellness and surfing… with Kentik!
Summary
Backend Engineering Manager Aaron Kagawa shares how he finds wellness in surfing — with a little help from Kentik’s employee benefits.
It’s an exciting time here at Kentik. We’re expanding into new markets, working closely with amazing customers, and continuing to hire talented people to grow our team. We announced a new round of funding in the fall. We’re continuously building on our product. And we have our sights set on scaling our systems to large numbers. As Kentik’s backend engineering manager, I know this has kept our team very busy. We have worked very hard to get to this point, and it’s exciting to think about what’s ahead.
One thing that I love about Kentik and the culture of the company (aside from the fact that everyone is focused on creating the best product we can for our customers) is that people care deeply about each other, our fellow employees, and our families, too. And this is a top-down thing!
One way our leadership supports us is by providing really awesome benefits. Of course, we have all the standard stuff: 401k, flexible vacation, full health insurance, and fully remote positions, which is really amazing. Kentik also provides a health reimbursement account (up to $4,500 a year for families) for health expenses like eyeglasses, lasik surgery, braces for my kids, and so much more. With my growing family, this kind of benefit definitely gives me peace of mind knowing that I can give my family the best health care possible. And by far, my favorite benefit is the wellness fund. Kentik provides its employees with $100 per month for this. Meaning we can use this fund for gym memberships, meditation classes, exercise equipment, and SURFBOARDS!
I live in Hawaii (another super awesome perk right there), and Kentik pays for my surfboards! Every single surfer I talk to about this is super jealous. Not only do I get free surfboards, I buy the best ones. Surfboards that I never thought I would ever have and that I probably would never buy myself with my own money. I think that’s the point that is so great about working at Kentik. Wellness is a priority. And leadership makes it a point to provide money and flexible time off for their employees to actually have wellness.
Surfing is a huge part of my life. I grew up surfing with my dad, uncles, cousins and friends. I still surf with my dad every week. My kids are also starting to surf. I’m literally having the surf sessions of my life on my Kentik-funded surfboards!
Every morning I get up to check the surf report and plan my surf sessions. And every morning I’m energized to help drive Kentik to success.
If you have a wellness passion, love building awesome tech, and want to make waves, then check out our careers page. We’re hiring! I’ll loan you one of my Kentik boards when you are in Hawaii and take you out for a “board meeting”… because, BTW, our next company offsite is in Waikiki, Hawaii. It’s going to be awesome.
Aloha!
