Between March and May, nearly 70 students and aspiring engineers applied for internships at Raahi. We reviewed resumes, portfolios, GitHub profiles, and academic records. In the end, we hired only a few people.
Many people think startups hire the best programmers. We don't.
Technical skills matter, but they are not the first thing we look for. We look for people who take initiative, solve real problems, accept responsibility, stay curious, and think like builders.
One of our interns is a good example.
Before joining Raahi, he was a final-year computing student who also worked as a PickMe motorcycle rider to help support his family. One night, around 2 AM in Sri Lanka, he found our phone number on Facebook and sent us a WhatsApp message.
He didn't wait for a referral or an official job opening. He reached out because he wanted to build something. That told us more about him than another line on a resume.
While studying and working, he had also built a service booking platform for his university project. Instead of choosing an easy assignment, he worked on a product that solved a real problem. It was very similar to the kind of marketplace challenges we solve every day at Raahi.
During our conversation, we asked him about something outside of software.
He explained his family's traditional brass business. He talked about material costs, labor, production time, pricing, and profit margins. It was clear that he understood how businesses create value and how people earn a living.
That matters to us.
At Raahi, we are not looking for people who only know how to write code. We want people who understand the real world. We want engineers who think about customers, workers, operations, and businesses—not just software.
Many great builders come from ordinary backgrounds. Some have worked as drivers, delivery riders, shop assistants, family business owners, or in other jobs while studying. Those experiences often teach lessons that cannot be learned in a classroom.
We also value discipline and commitment. The same intern has performed in the Dalada Perahera for eight consecutive years. That level of dedication says something about the person behind the resume.
Our hiring process is simple.
We do not hire based only on grades, certificates, or the number of programming languages someone knows.
We hire people who:
- Take initiative instead of waiting for opportunities.
- Try to solve real problems instead of building projects only for grades.
- Understand how businesses and customers work.
- Take ownership of their work.
- Are willing to learn every day.
- Want to build products that have a real impact.
Skills can be learned. New technologies can be learned. Programming languages change.
Mindset is much harder to teach.
As we continue building Raahi, we want a team of builders, problem solvers, and entrepreneurs—people who are willing to understand the real world before trying to change it with technology.
That is the culture we are building at Raahi.