A discussion with our Senior Software Engineer Anosh Malik

You have a lot of experience within growing tech startups. What drives you to continue to choose startups?

After my first two startup opportunities, I saw startups as a way to gain a lot of experience in a very short amount of time. In previous companies, I had already seen so many different challenges that needed to be solved, especially as the companies continued to grow. These challenges expanded beyond technical components, where I saw needs to improve things like project management and team processes, which had to be taken care of in the short-term. In the end, you really learn so much as a result of this quick problem-solving. Now, I can honestly say there is something addictive about seeing your company accelerate through these stages, growing from a startup to what I would call a scale-up, knowing you had direct involvement in the growth.

You have a range of technical skills. What made you want to apply those skills to ESG?

When I was looking for places where I could make use of my skills, I wanted to be somewhere where I could actually make a difference. When I looked into Nossa Data and consequently met the founders, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to dedicate the skills I learned over the years to help solve problems within the ESG reporting ecosystem. 

Honestly, ESG topics have all interested me separately. I have always been really interested in climate activism, as well as topics around workplace fairness. Fairness is particularly dear to my heart, having had friends who have encountered relevant challenges. Additionally, having seen ESG scandals in the media, I have realised that if I were in a position to enable companies to easily gather data, report, and measure themselves, I would be pleased to know I helped create the outcome of better transparency and efficiency. It is a way to apply my technical skills to a good and worthy cause that can make a positive difference in the world we live in.

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What excited you about Nossa Data?

First, what excited me the most was the team. When I interview for startup roles, I try to see how I feel about working with founders and for their mission. After talking to both of the founders, it gave me the faith that not only is the mission something to believe in, but the founders live and breathe ESG. They have been enthusiasts and experts with the space, really living and breathing sustainability, exploring the relevant fields for a while. It enabled them to be able to identify key areas that were in need within ESG, such as reporting.

What are some challenges in ESG that you hope to solve?

The primary challenge I aim to solve is the difficulty of reporting. I really want to help companies know how well they are doing in comparison to others, both inside and outside their sector. It’s great that companies are increasingly caring about their image and their impact on shareholders, but the action item from that is unclear. Specifically, as ESG becomes more common, retail traders have begun to care more about their holdings as well. It is important for them to be able to use sustainability as a criterion for investing in a public company, so they know their capital is being put away safely and companies improve accordingly. Overall, better reporting will ultimately help investors, but also the corporations who intend to improve upon their corporate sustainability.

What are you looking forward to in the next six months to a year with Nossa Data?

Six months to a year?! From my experience, a lot can happen in that amount of time and I am excited about all of it. As I said previously, I’m addicted to the thrill of joining a company at an early stage. One big milestone is that I do expect us to raise our next round within that time. More particular to my role though, I look forward to delivering solid new features on a regular basis and at a reliable pace.

I like that we keep an eye open and listen to suggestions from clients and users directly, given their experiences with ESG reporting processes. We have already seen user recommendations that we were able to immediately implement, to quickly improve the user experience. I look forward to seeing what else we are able to achieve, as we continue to deliver solid features and upgrades to our clients.