Meet Emily Monen, our finance and operations administrator at Braavo. Emily came to Braavo from PHHHOTO, a popular social app for GIFs – and which previously was a Braavo client. Emily talks about what it was like to work at PHHHOTO, starting the hashtag #BackyardLife, and what she loves about Brooklyn.

What is your role at Braavo?

I’m a finance and operations administrator at Braavo – I stand at the intersection of finance, legal, sales and client success, and help make sure everything goes smoothly.  It’s satisfying to process both incoming and outgoing payments and watch Braavo and our clients’ sales grow over time.

What brought you to Braavo?

Before Braavo, I worked at PHHHOTO a mobile app startup based in Brooklyn. Braavo’s co-founder, Mark Loranger, helped us out a lot as we figured out how to finance our growth, and I was so impressed by Braavo’s product and service that I kept in touch with Mark after I left PHHHOTO, and then I ended up joining Braavo.

What was PHHHOTO?

PHHOTO was a popular social app for GIFs. We were the first to create an instant looping animated GIFs camera. We started out as a free app. As we started to monetize, we worked with Braavo on funding. 

What was it like working at PHHHOTO?

It was so fun and exciting.  PHHHOTO started out as an experiential camera app for parties (now HYPNO) so our goal was always to help people have fun and create great content at the same time.  It was amazing to see what people could do with our camera in their hands.

Favorite place to hangout in the city?

I love my backyard.  On PHHHOTO, I started a hashtag, #BackyardLife, and found a group of like-minded friends from all over the world.  Everyone loved a good snail PHHHOTO. 

Favorite bike route? 

Since NYC has been on pause, I’ve been biking every evening from Bed-Stuy to Fort Greene and back.  It’s the same route every day but always a new experience. 

Favorite neighborhood in Brooklyn and why?

100% Bed-Stuy for the backyard life, the block parties, the ice cream truck, the J train, the fashion, the people.  I love it here.