From Philology to IT – Meet Ivana, Our Product Owner

Walt Disney once said: “Ideas come from curiosity” and that couldn’t have been more true about our Product Owner, Ivana.

Ivana comes from Serbia and has already had such an interesting career path. She started as a philologist, continued as a content creator, then back-end developer and now she’s working as a product owner. She’s happy with the way her career progressed because she likes to be involved in the processes from the initial ideas to final launches.

Check out our interview with Ivana below:

Who is Ivana?

Hi there! My name is Ivana Gvozdenovic, I’m 30 years old, and I’m a Product Owner at Native Teams Cloud. I like to think of myself as a curious, open, probably loud, and passion-driven person, who likes to travel, discover new places and enjoy time with her friends. Besides that, I’m a dog person, a good source for movie recommendations, and a crazy plant lady! 🙂 

How long have you been working as a product owner and what do your daily tasks include?

I’ve been working as a product manager/owner for one year. My daily tasks include a lot of different things, and that variety is something that I treasure a lot because it brings different challenges to my life on a daily basis. A product manager or product owner is a person who is there to make a product strategy, and track each step of the process: starting from brainstorming and designing to development, testing, and launching. 

How did your career evolve?

It was a strange path… 🙂 I got my degree in 2014, in the Faculty of Philology, for the Spanish language and Hispanic Literature. After that, I worked as a content writer for a few years, and in the meantime, I took my chances with the Java Development course – and it worked! In 2018, I started working as a Back-End developer, and after that, I realized that, when it comes to software as a product, I’m more interested in having a wider picture 🙂 And here I am now, happy for taking the right steps! 🙂 

What are the pros and cons of working remotely?

The cons, well… Sometimes I spend too much time at home, and I’m not sure whether I work at home, or live in the office 😀 Pros, on the other hand, are many. I don’t lose any time commuting, which allows me to spend more time with my family, friends and, of course, doing the things I love. Also, bad weather or a bad hair day don’t have any influence on me 😀 

What is the best thing about working for Native Teams?

People. Simple as that. 

What would you recommend to someone who wants to pursue a remote career?

Go for it! A remote career creates a better work and life balance, and, although it’s challenging sometimes, the freedom it brings is irreplaceable.

What makes you smile the most?

Moments with my family, friends, and my dog.

Last but not least, what’s on your bucket list?

Many things, mostly related to travel. When it comes to destinations that I’d like to visit, I always say that I want them all! 🙂 But if I need to emphasize something, I’d say – an epic Europe road trip! 🙂

You could start living the digital nomad dream too! Join Native teams and get access to a range of tools for the engagement, employment and empowerment of freelancers and remote teams.

If you want to know what our team members are up to, then make sure to follow @nativeteamspeople on Instagram. And if you want to become even more connected with our tribe, join our Native Team’s Facebook group where we share all the juicy details about freelancing, remote work and digital nomad lifestyle.