Who are you and what do you do at Tereina?
I’m Alex, a Marketing Strategy Intern. My day to day ranges from planning growth, coordinating with partners, and managing conferences to creating and maintaining the website – even though I’m not admittedly not a developer. I also help with whatever small thing the team needs to clear. It keeps things interesting.
Where are you coming from?
I’m from Mexico City and I’m currently doing my MBA at UC Berkeley. Before this, I spent five years doing payments consulting, which is where I developed my passion for fintech and learned everything about the industry Tereina operates in. It also gave me a lot to think about — the friction in payment systems that we interact with daily is constant, and solving it gives people their time back to focus on more important activities.
What brought you to Tereina?
When I was interviewing, the energy and the people matched what I’ve always enjoyed in my career. I had been in a corporation, so moving to a startup gave me a lot more ownership and latitude — in scope, in what I could propose, in what I could actually ship. Here, things just happen if you make them happen. No drawn-out processes. Idea to execution, as fast as possible.
Anything that surprised you once you were in it?
How open the leadership team is, and how much they push that on the whole team. In less than four months, I’ve collaborated with every leader regardless of their function or mine. It’s given me a much better understanding of the company and the product as a whole.
What does life outside work look like?
I love cooking — it’s relaxing and it’s a way to connect with cultures that are far away, which feeds into my love for traveling. I grew up playing futbol (soccer for people in the U.S.) and I’ve kept that going with my classmates here, while trying to run consistently to stay in shape.
Want to join the team?
We’re building the future of enterprise payments and always looking for great people. Check out our open roles.
More next Tuesday.