Ten Years at WeAre: My Story So Far
As WeAre’s first employee, Tuomas Metsälä looks back on his ten-year journey, sharing his personal experiences, the challenges and lessons along the way, and the people who have influenced his career and life beyond work. In this personal reflection, a few of his colleagues also share their own memories of working with him over the years.
Ready, Set, Go!
One of my favourite sports is orienteering. For those who are not familiar with it, you are given a map with several checkpoints that you need to find, usually somewhere in a forest. The interesting part is that although you know where you need to go, nobody tells you exactly how to get there. You have to study the map, understand the terrain, and choose your own route from one checkpoint to another. Sometimes your plan works perfectly, while other times you realise there might have been a better way. That is what makes orienteering interesting to me. It challenges you physically, but also makes you think, make decisions, and learn from your experiences.
When I look back at my ten years at WeAre, I can see some similarities between orienteering and my own career.
I joined WeAre in October 2016 as the company’s first employee, with very little programming experience and no clear idea of what the next ten years would look like. I certainly could not have imagined that I would eventually build applications for different businesses, work closely with customers for years, and help younger developers learn the same skills I was just beginning to explore.
Now, ten years later, I realise that what matters most is not simply how far I have come professionally, but the experiences, relationships and lessons that have shaped me along the way.
And when I think about where it all began, I remember asking Henri one simple question about my future at WeAre: what would I actually be doing?
It began with three words: "Whatever you want."
Before joining WeAre, I was working at KPMG, which had recently acquired Trusteq, where I had previously worked alongside Henri, Tuija, Lassi and Stefan. When Henri approached me about joining WeAre as its first employee, I was interested, but leaving an established organisation for a small company with just four founders was not an easy decision.
I remember discussing it with my mother, who encouraged me to take the opportunity and try something new. She reminded me that I could always return to a larger organisation if things did not work out, and looking back, I am glad I listened to her.
Naturally, I asked Henri what I would actually be doing at WeAre, and his answer was very typical of him: ”Whatever you want.”
I had been experimenting with programming and wanted to learn more, so I told him that working on a project where I could develop those skills would be ideal. There was not much structure in those early days, and sometimes I had to ask what I should work on next. However, I appreciated having the freedom to learn something new without being expected to know everything from the beginning.
My first project was with Hailer, and it turned out to be one of the most important learning experiences of my career.
Learning something new, one day at a time
At Hailer, I worked closely with Fredrik, one of the company’s founders and its lead developer. We spent much of our time sitting side by side, where he introduced me to AngularJS and guided me through the basics of web development.
Before that, I had taken a couple of programming courses at Metropolia, which had actually convinced me that software development was not for me. I found the classes difficult to follow and could not see what I could achieve with programming. Working with Fredrik changed that perspective completely, as I could finally apply what I was learning to something real.
I remember feeling excited about learning something new every day, although it was also mentally exhausting. Some evenings, I would come home and collapse onto the sofa because my brain had been working so hard.
Over the following years, I gradually progressed from knowing almost nothing about programming to independently working on front-end applications, back-end systems, and databases. That experience taught me how much you can learn when you are given the time, trust, and support to develop your skills.
The people who shaped my journey
When I think about my early years at WeAre, I remember not only the projects but also the people who supported me along the way.
Stefan had a particularly meaningful influence on me. We regularly drove together to our office in Porvoo, and those journeys became an unexpected form of mentorship. We talked about everything from work to life outside the office, and looking back, I realise how valuable those conversations were.
A memory from Stefan
Tuomas is a rare gift to us. Congratulations on ten years, Tuomas. Here’s to the next leg of the route.
Over the years, others have influenced how I work and think. I remember Tuomas Lehtonen encouraging me to follow development practices that felt difficult at first but proved valuable later. Lassi has always been the technical mastermind who challenges my decisions by asking why I have chosen a particular approach, helping me understand my work more deeply.
Henri, meanwhile, has always been something of a crazy scientist in my eyes, constantly coming up with ideas that I would never have thought of myself. I have always been more comfortable turning those ideas into something practical, while Tuija has often been the voice of reason and logic.
Each of these people has contributed something different to my journey. That is something I have always appreciated about WeAre: people have different strengths and ways of thinking, but whenever I have needed help or advice, there has always been someone willing to offer it.
From learning to code to understanding the business
Over the years, I have worked on several customer projects, starting with Hailer, where I spent around four or five years before becoming increasingly involved with a customer in the automotive industry.
There, I worked on applications that helped automotive importers manage vehicle information, tax declarations, and data from different manufacturers. These projects strengthened my technical skills while giving me a better understanding of how the automotive industry operates.
In 2020, I started working with SmartFleet, which has gradually become my full-time focus. I have worked closely with Anton for around six years, and we make quite an interesting combination. He is energetic, full of ideas, and always looking at the bigger picture, while I tend to be quieter and more focused on solving the problems in front of me. However, he gives me a lot of freedom and trusts me to deliver results, which is something I appreciate.
These experiences have shaped how I see my role as a developer. I have never considered myself the person with the deepest technical knowledge. Still, I believe one of my strengths is understanding a customer’s business and translating their needs into practical software solutions.
Writing good code matters, but understanding why you are writing it matters just as much.
From learning from others to helping others learn
One of the most rewarding changes over the years has been moving from someone who needed guidance to someone who can now help others learn.
I have had the opportunity to support younger developers, including Eric and Duc. Eric’s journey is a particularly nice example, as he started with very little experience, gradually took on more responsibilities, and eventually became a full-time developer. It has been rewarding to see his progress, although I believe the credit belongs to him for putting in the effort.
My approach to mentoring is quite practical. I prefer sitting beside someone and showing them how things work rather than preparing presentations or lengthy documentation, much like Fredrik did when I was learning programming.
I have come to believe that while others can guide and support you, nobody can learn something on your behalf. You have to remain curious and be willing to put in the work yourself.
A memory from Eric
He said he'd come back the following week, and he did. He made me a study plan, and I spent a few months learning from it. Later, my teacher Jukka helped me get a trainee position at WeAre, and that's how I ended up working with Tuomas.
We've worked together for about seven years now, and I've learned a lot from him. I have seen nothing but great leadership and patience, and he's been a great mentor and colleague. No matter how busy he is, he always has time to explain things. Twice, if needed.
How AI is changing the way I work
In ten years of software development, I have seen many technologies come and go, but the changes brought by AI in 2026 have probably been the most significant.
When I started, I had to write practically every line of code myself. Today, I increasingly use AI tools to define requirements, set boundaries, and describe what needs to be built, while development agents handle much of the implementation. This has improved productivity considerably, although reviewing the results and making sure everything works as intended remains essential.
I also believe AI could change how people become developers. In the future, we might see more professionals who first develop expertise in a particular industry and then learn to use AI and software development tools to build solutions.
It is still too early to predict exactly what will happen, but my advice to younger professionals would be to find an industry they are genuinely interested in and learn how it works. Technologies will keep changing, but understanding business problems and knowing how to solve them will always be valuable.
Life happened along the way, too
A lot has changed in my personal life during these ten years. I have got married, become a father of two children, and now we have a third child on the way. With all these changes, I have come to appreciate the flexibility and freedom I have had at WeAre.
There have certainly been demanding projects and periods when I have needed to work longer hours. Still, I have also been able to arrange my schedule around my family and personal responsibilities. That balance has made a real difference to me.
Outside work, running and orienteering remain important parts of my life. Running helps me clear my head after a demanding day, while orienteering requires my complete attention. If I start thinking about work instead of following the map, I can easily find myself lost in the forest.
I enjoy having something that challenges me physically and mentally while allowing me to disconnect from work for a while.
The memories that still make me smile
Some of my favourite memories from WeAre have nothing to do with software development. In the early days, we were a small group and often organised summer and Christmas parties together with Hailer.
I particularly remember one of our first summer parties, probably in 2017, when I organised a beer-orienteering activity in central Helsinki. The idea was to combine running, navigation and a few beers, which seemed like a great idea to me at the time.
Unfortunately, the others did not quite agree, and I remember people telling me afterwards that it was one of the worst activities they had ever participated in. Despite that, I still remember it as a great summer party.
What has changed, and what has stayed the same?
WeAre today is quite different from the company I joined in 2016. Back then, we were a handful of people working mainly on software development, whereas today the company has grown considerably, with observability becoming an important part of our business alongside our Atlassian, Splunk, and software development expertise.
Looking ahead, I see opportunities for WeAre to expand into international markets and make better use of AI-assisted development. By improving and standardising some of our processes, we could help customers test ideas and build solutions more efficiently.
Personally, I expect to continue working closely with SmartFleet, although ten years have taught me that it is difficult to predict where the next opportunity might come from.
As WeAre continues to grow, I hope we maintain the culture of helping one another and giving people the freedom to learn, experiment, and take responsibility. Those qualities made a difference to me when I joined, and I believe they will remain just as important in the future.
Ten years, and still learning
When I joined WeAre, I knew very little about programming and had no idea where my career would take me. Since then, I have worked with different customers, learned from experienced colleagues, helped younger developers, and witnessed significant changes in the way software is developed.
My personal life has changed just as much, and I have been fortunate to work in an environment that has allowed me to grow professionally while building a life outside work.
When people ask me why I have stayed at WeAre for ten years, I could talk about the good colleagues, flexibility and freedom, but perhaps the simplest answer is that I have genuinely enjoyed my time here.
I have had the opportunity to try new things, learn from mistakes and gradually become more confident in my work, thanks in large part to the people who have supported me along the way.
When I think about orienteering, I realise that even with a map, you cannot always predict what the route ahead will look like. Sometimes you discover a better way, and sometimes you have to change direction, but each experience teaches you something for the next time.
Ten years ago, I was given the freedom to find my own direction at WeAre. I am still learning, and I look forward to seeing where the next part of the journey takes me.