Founder Stories

Singing in a Choir Makes Me a Better Startup Founder

I moved cross-country to L.A. knowing only three people. Self-care and ‘play’ through singing helped me connect to communities of wellness.

Rama Poola
Marker
Published in
6 min readJan 31, 2020

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Photo: Mikel Darling

InIn my 16 years of being a part of young technology companies, I’ve become accustomed to the constant hustle, moving targets, and endless work hours. In many ways, I thrive on that, as it pushes me to build amazing products that can affect millions of people. My most recent endeavor is the first startup that I am a founder of — which makes all of the successes and challenges I face feel like they’re on steroids.

When my co-founder and I started SkyHi in 2016, we didn’t know what was ahead of us with regulations, technical audits, or complicated processes to work with airlines. We just knew that there were inefficiencies in the airline industry and a growing demographic of people who were purchasing airline tickets in a different manner than before. We saw an opportunity.

From a business perspective, we got things rolling, but what I didn’t expect was how much more diligent I needed to be about my self-care practices—the work I had to do to avoid burning out or succumbing to the constant challenges of startup life.

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Rama Poola
Marker
Writer for

CEO & Co-founder of SkyHi, flyskyhi.com, the flight club for everyone. Lifetime technologist, musician, writer, chef, and dancer.