Chief Technology Officer, Etsy
Search every verified Rachana Kumar interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In a 2020 fireside chat with the WomenTech Network, Rachana Kumar, then Vice President of Engineering at Etsy, discussed the company's transition to a public company and its early shift to remote work during the pandemic. She stated that going public increased accountability, requiring closer tracking of financial results and KPIs on a monthly basis. Kumar noted that Etsy was "one of the first big offices in New York to completely go remote" and predicted a future mix of in-office and remote work. She emphasized that leaders should remain open to change and regularly reassess processes, including hiring practices and team meetings. Kumar also addressed diversity and work-life balance. She said that "diversity of thought makes products so much better" and stressed the importance of diversity across gender, ethnicity, geography, and class. Regarding work-life balance, she described it as varying month-to-month and day-to-day depending on life phase and family responsibilities, adding that there is "no perfect balance." She noted that Etsy hires entry-level developers and bootcamp graduates, directing applicants to the company's careers page. Kumar spoke about the importance of leaders being present and emotionally available for their teams, particularly during the pandemic when employees faced increased personal and professional responsibilities.
“Specifically touching on the going-public part — once you start taking public money you're accountable for a lot more things. You have to talk about your financial results every quarter and track it much more closely so you see if you're hitting your goals on a monthly basis.”
“One of the most important things I learned in the whole process is to always be open to change. As a leader you must not be comfortable with 'this is how I run things' — when things are changing rapidly you must constantly look at your processes from hiring practices to how you run team meetings.”
“We were one of the first big offices in New York to completely go remote and started testing that fairly early. I think the future will be a combination — some people in office, some partially remote — and companies that can afford it have to be open to different options.”
“Once you're accountable to public shareholders and have to talk about your financial results every quarter, you have to track business numbers much more closely. Many processes change — there's more emphasis on KPIs and monthly tracking than when you were a smaller private company.”
“Diversity of thought makes products so much better and customer experience so much better — that's why diversity on teams (not just gender but ethnicity, geography, class) is so important.”
“As leaders you should be present for the engagement and well-being of your team and be emotionally available — during the pandemic everyone had responsibilities both in personal and professional space and managers needed to provide a lot of flexibility.”
“We do hire entry-level developers and people from bootcamps — I've seen very successful engineers come from bootcamps. The best way to apply is via the careers page (etsy.com) and look for new-grad or entry postings.”
“Work-life balance looks different month-to-month and day-to-day; it depends on what phase of life you're in and the age of your kids. There's no perfect balance — some days you'll have a 14-hour workday, some days you'll spend quality time with family.”
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