Life at Machnet

"So you're telling me that digital finance security companies have access to all this data and it's completely legal?" I mused in one of the onboarding sessions at Machnet Technologies Inc. - a fintech company that aims to make global financial infrastructure accessible to everyone. 

Machnet has a “Payment-as-a-Service” product and provides services to global clients to move money simply and securely, navigate through the complex US cross-border payment market, and improve their digital payments process. 

Data privacy has always been a hot topic in the tech community. It took a while to comprehend the amount of data various companies- albeit committed to making digital finance secure- have access to regarding my digital footprint, from IP addresses to geo locations to login activities to spending habits, and the list goes on.

With a global shift towards the digital finance ecosystem, the number of fraud cases has also increased alarmingly. To beat the system and security measures imposed by a payment service provider, fraudsters (genius but evil entities of the Internet) use synthetic and stolen identities, spoofing techniques, photo morphing, VPNs, and whatnot. Companies providing digital payment services must remain at least one step ahead of fraudsters to build a secure and foolproof system, something that Machnet has understood and delivers. 

But apart from a brief trepidation period of just how secure my hard-earned money was in my digital bank account, life at Machnet has been as pleasant as a dog stretched, back arched, on the front lawn with the sun shining on its fluffy belly (or cat if you are a cat person). 

The first time I met my team, we went out for lunch and bonded over Korean barbeque. Talk about memorable onboarding experiences. The rest of the onboarding process was also pretty good, considering we operate in a hybrid mode. Some days you come to the office, others the office comes to you. 

A typical day at the office 

On reaching the office in the morning, I immediately snack on a delicious cookie from the cookie box and feel good about myself. I proceed to my workstation, one of my choosing because we’re cool like that, and open my laptop. Then I chat with my colleague for a good 15 to 20 minutes. 

The day progresses with meetings, research, documentation, sharing of fun anecdotes that lead to engaging conversations, lunch, more meetings, more research, more documentation, lunch again, some more work, and finally wrapping up. The progression of the day is always interesting as you never know who you’ll end up bonding with by the end. This fun social interaction is something I was missing out on while working from home every day before I joined Machnet. Who said offices can’t be fun, right? 

The vibe in the place is immaculate. Everyone has a great work ethic and even better team spirit. I absolutely love the encouraging and challenging push provided by my peers. But when you’re surrounded by brilliant people who make it look so easy, adapting to a new workplace can be somewhat tricky. 

There may be times when one feels overwhelmed and starts doubting one’s ability. I am “one” but I feel so much better using the third-person voice here. 

Lucky for me though, from my teammates in the product team to all my colleagues in the office, everyone is an absolute gem. We all greet each other every time we meet even if it’s the first time we’ve met, even if we don’t know each other’s names (I am so sorry if I’m the only one who doesn’t. I promise I’ll try harder). 

The best are the conversations you get to have with brilliant, experienced people who hear your opinions, validate your queries, and share their expertise in the most understandable way possible. 

Self-development  

Machnet is a big advocate for the training and development of its employees - one of the reasons I applied for a job here, and I'm so glad it wasn’t just written in the Careers page vacancy posts for the sake of marketing. 

As a fresh graduate, it is very refreshing to see companies invest in young talent and help them reach their full potential rather than setting unrealistic expectations of years and years of experience. This faith that a company shows in you makes you want to invest in yourself in turn and grow and give back to the company. 

I haven’t even reached the best part yet. Under the guidance of an amazing supervisor, I realized I could do more than I wish and attempt, frankly a little all over the place, to realize my potential. 

I could instead use Machnet’s framework of setting goals for myself and tracking my growth over the months. Doing this in a team is great for accountability. I should know. I go to the gym when my gym buddy does, and we both skip when either one fails to get out of bed. 

A bad representation of myself to prove that the people around you and their drive can be highly influential, and in that, I have struck gold with the Product Team at Machnet.  

The best thing about being here

Starting with the food. We get lunch twice a day. It’s like eating at home. I particularly enjoy non-veg food days but even on other days, you eat without complaining. Because would you complain at home? Maybe. Would that change anything? No. Honestly, the food is really good and healthy, don’t pay heed to my cheeky comments made to keep this article about my life at Machnet interesting. 

There are weekly Futsal games organized for those interested. Weary of injuries, I steer clear of them, but I’ve seen a lot of my colleagues opting for a good game on the weekends. 

The HR team is committed to making life at Machnet memorable in more ways than one. Birthdays are celebrated with gifts and well wishes from the entire office staff. There are free gym memberships that take care of physical health, and transportation facilities that take care of mental health - we all know commuting can be such a hassle.

At Machnet, even in my short time here, I have noticed people cultivate friendships, celebrate love, appreciate mentorship and form bonds that go beyond the scope of an employer-employee and employee-employee relationship, in the best way possible. 

Oh, and they have menstrual leaves! As a female, that made me incredibly excited, which is rare when it comes to the entire concept of menstruation. The office is equipped with sanitary pads, masks, medicines and delicious cookies at all times. 

Moreover, employees from Machnet attend seminars in different parts of the world quite often and bring back chocolates. I love meeting up with them on their return, and also hearing about their experience and learnings. 

To conclude, life at Machnet has been pretty good, with every indication of getting better in the future. I have access to courses in product management; a culture of sharing insightful reading materials within my team; peers I look up to, and interactions I learn from each day. I am excited about my growth at Machnet as a Product Manager as well as the success of the company as it reaches new heights, all the while taking care of its employees.