Please meet P’ Poppy or Chalinee Boonsongsup, afresh grad with an Industrial Engineering degree from the Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University. She started her career at MONIX as a Product Owner Intern and got the offer to convert to becoming a full-time Product Owner just only after two months of her internship. She has assumed this role for almost a year now.
What inspired her to join MONIX as an intern and how did she develop her knowledge and skills? Let’s discover her lightning internship journey now!👇🏻
What inspired you to join MONIX which is a new-born fintech startup, rather than other big renowned corporations?
“After graduation, I had a clear goal for my career path. I really wanted to work as a product owner, and the things I was looking for were mainly these 4 things: working in a startup with a young and dynamic culture, working with people from different and international backgrounds, working in a startup with a future and a clear vision that aligns with my beliefs and working as a Product Owner. In which other companies doesn’ t really have opportunities for fresh grads to apply as a Product Owner. So, MONIX is the only company that ticks all the boxes for me.”
Any prior knowledge or experience required before joining?
“In my opinion, for the product owner role in general, there are hard-skill requirements like technical skills or the basics of writing product flows. But you only need the fundamentals. The rest can be further developed or learned when you join the company. MONIX really emphasizes soft skills like curiosity, teamwork, and communication skills. MONIX is actively looking for talents who enjoy solving consumer problems and developing products to meet consumer needs.”
What are your responsibilities and projects that you are most proud of their impact?
“As an intern, I was assigned to the KYC Project (Know Your Customer). KYC is a process required to authenticate a customer before applying for financial services online. I was able to take ownership of testing, launching, and upgrading the processes in the project. It gave me the opportunity to make our FINNIX application more available to a wider range of Thai people, allowing them to access legal funds with fair interest rates online. I was proud of the impact my contribution had on society as well as the working process in which I led a lot of initiatives on my own with close guidance and support from mentors.”
You mentioned that you have mentors along the way. Can you tell us more?
“I was working under two different supervisors at the time. Both were very nice and gave me the opportunity to work on my own project. They set a clear scope of work and allowed me to have an open discussion about any initiatives I wanted to propose and implement without interfering with them. Instead, they advised me on how to collaborate with other teams, how to think strategically, and how to manage the consequences of each implementation. That was very nice, and I really had a great time working with them.”
Any differences you've noticed since going full-time?
“More responsibilities, I’d say. During my time as an intern, it was more like adapting myself to the company culture and considering whether the culture and work were a good fit for me. I am now a full-time employee, and I have full ownership of the other projects I started from the ground up. When I see the impact my work has on customers, both in terms of conversion rate and customer feedback, it is one of my proudest moments.”
What have you gained from working here?
“Mostly it’d be soft skills. As a product owner, my job is to effectively communicate and collaborate with other teams, such as the legal team or external parties like vendors. I have learned how to do that with them and within the product team. Aside from teamwork, I have developed leadership skills and taken ownership of my own project. Moreover, I can understand what it means to be “customer-centric” and I am able to empathize with customers and their needs. Unlike class projects, everything I do has a real-world impact on customers, and I can get real feedback while also giving them the opportunity to access legal funds.”
Anything else that makes you enjoy working here?
“I am most happy with my colleagues and the people I have met here. My job as a product owner requires me to communicate with a lot of people. They are very nice and helpful. Even the Chinese team really makes an effort to communicate with me so that I don’t feel restricted when working with them. The organization here is not hierarchical at all. It is simple and possible to reach out to seniors and directors for any help. I also like that, as an intern, I have had ownership of my work from the start. The team encourages me to take on new initiatives and challenges. They are very open to suggestions and encourage me to work independently.”
Any advice for those who hesitate to join MONIX for an internship?
“MONIX’s culture is really open to feedback, and the working culture here is super flexible. If you’re interested in fintech and want to explore and strive to do better each day, or if you are looking for an opportunity to try something new, MONIX is the right place for you. There are various things to try for which you could ask and initiate your own projects. If you like startup culture and are open to new challenges, you’ll love it here!”
