Meet Mike Kaso, Our Product Manager

This month, we shine the spotlight on Mike Kaso, our Product Manager with a taste for adventure and a knack for building great products. Mike’s journey to Native Teams is as unique as his current role, taking him from social media management to finance, sales, and even coding!

In this interview, we dive into the thrill of working with a talented team, the challenges and perks of remote work in the stunning Canary Islands, and the secret to maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

Read the interview below and get ready for an inspiring conversation packed with tips and insights from our Mike!

Hi Mike, awesome to catch up with you! How are you doing today and what are you up to?

Hey, good morning! Feeling energized, woke up early, went to training, and now sipping on coffee before I jump into meetings. 😀

What can you tell us about yourself?

Well, I would say I’m an active person and have been so ever since I was a kid, and I drove my parents crazy at times. Curiosity and this need to understand the world have always fuelled my personal life as well as my career path. I’ve lived in 4 countries and 7 different cities, speak 6 languages (some of them bad, but I can get around), am obsessed with cars and F1 Racing and for the past 3 years, kickboxing and training, in general, have taken up an important place in my daily routine.
If I could sum it up, I would say I’m interested in getting better at what interests me and working with great people. That’s what it boils down to.

You’ve been part of Native Teams for more than 1 year, and your current role is Product Manager. How did you get to where you are today? How did your career develop?

It has been a journey for sure! Basically, I’ve conducted my studies in Business and Management between Europe and the US. At the same time, I was employed in a digital advertising agency as a Social Media Manager. Later on, I switched to sales, and then through experience and my education, I was able to land a gig in finance working for a global company from Athens, Greece, as their Junior Financial Advisor dealing mostly in FX. I spent 4 years there and got promoted to Senior Advisor. At the time I felt like I needed a change in my career as there was still much out there I was curious about. One thing led to another; I taught myself how to code and landed another gig in Madrid, Spain, as a Frontend Engineer. After my 1st year there, I came across Native Teams.  My initial role here was Product Strategy and then I moved to Product Management in charge of the Payments sector.

What does your typical working day look like?

Given the rapid growth of Native Teams, no two weeks are the same. This means we’re constantly evolving and taking tailored approaches to different projects.
A typical workday will have to start with a freshly brewed cup of coffee. That’s non-negotiable right there, haha. Generally speaking, we align our roadmap priorities with the CPO and the VP of Product, and then my responsibility would be to run the entire design and development procedure of bringing a product from zero to hero, as we call it. This includes several areas of collaboration, whether it’s with the designers, developers, QA engineers, other PMs, and most often with other departments including Finance, Legal and Operations. In addition to that, we always keep an eye out and maintain relations with 3rd party providers we’re currently using. Basically, imagine a triangle between Higher Management – Payments Team – 3rd Party Partners. In the middle of this triangle, that’s where the magic happens. 😀

What’s the best part of your job?

Working with like-minded and brilliant individuals truly gives that extra kick to the process. Innovation is at the centre of what we do, and every day is a new adventure! Also, working remotely isn’t bad at all. 😀

Where did you hear about Native Teams and why did you want to join our company?

I remember the most impressive thing about Native Teams at the time was the broad geo-coverage we had. For a young startup to be operating in 40+ countries back then, it truly got me curious. Now, more than a year later, I would say it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made. We’re truly building something special here. 😀

What are the most exciting Native Teams projects you’ve worked on so far?

I don’t want to reveal too much as we have some nice surprises lined up for our users, however, let’s say that refreshing and updating our payments infrastructure has been an amazing experience. Especially coming from a financial background as well, I got to put all that knowledge to good use!

You’re currently living in the Canary Islands, more specifically on the beautiful island of Lanzarote. What made you move there?

Honestly, it was due to the flexibility of remote work. I had some friends working remotely from there, so I went to visit them on holiday and fell in love with the island, the culture and the food. Packed my bags and moved there. 😀 Now it does help that due to Lanzarote being a volcanic island, the wine’s too good, too. 😀

Lanzarote is also a dream destination for many digital nomads. What unique advantages does Lanzarote offer to professionals working remotely?

Based on some conversations I’ve had with digital nomads on the island, the majority of them move to the Canaries for the quality of life. The islands are humble, the weather’s always sunny, the quality of food is amazing, the cost of living is lower than the rest of Spain, and also the days are longer. Don’t quote me on this, but in the summer, there’s still daylight at 22:00. Personally, I have time to do everything from being productive at work to training, working on passion projects, going surfing and then enjoying dinner by the ocean, all in one day. Having lived in big cities as well, it’s a bit tricker to accomplish the same.

In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of working remotely?

Personally, I think it’s mostly pros. It might depend on the position, but in my case, I can work on my projects, give them 110%, and fly out to see my family and friends whenever I want. Also, in my daily routine, I find myself having more time to properly look after myself and, in turn, be more productive in my work.
Regarding cons, right now, I could only think of wanting to see my team more often, as we really get along great.

How do you maintain a balance between work and personal life, especially living in such an attractive location?

I’m probably the wrong person to ask this question to because I genuinely enjoy working. Throughout my life, work has never been a “burden” or anything like that. I’m a true believer in putting in 110% every day. There’s this quote by Seneca: “The body should be treated more rigorously, that it may not be disobedient to the mind.”  That’s what training does for me. Keeps my mind fresh, and in turn, I can go all out when it comes to my goals. 😀

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

To answer this one, I’ll use one of my favourite expressions from Mission Impossible: “I can neither confirm nor deny details of any such operations without the Secretary’s approval.”

If you could win 1 billion dollars today, what would you do?

I already mentioned I’m crazy about cars, so we really don’t wanna play this game, haha. Firstly, I’d take care of my family and my people so they wouldn’t have to worry about anything. Then I’d start or invest in my own F1 Team. I think I’ll call it Tzatziki Racing Limited. Why not. 😀

If you could give one life advice to your younger self, what would you say?

Other than “buy bitcoin”? Lol. Trust the process. You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. Stay true to your morals and principles – and don’t forget to have fun along the way.