A positive work environment and a high-energy culture are essential for success. We chatted with Mike Madsen, Yoco’s Principal Engineer, about the importance of the shared enthusiasm at Yoco, and how this drives the engineering team to turn ideas into impactful results.

Mike joined Yoco after running his own software company. He shares his experience of Yoco’s high-energy, fast-paced culture, and highlights why he values the importance placed on every project and how the team collectively celebrates achievements.

Maintaining a positive work environment

Engineers know that the career is not a one-man show. It’s like a relay race in the tech world. Even when you come up with concepts on your own and single-handedly build a new product, finding the best people to work with is what takes execution to the next level.

At Yoco, maintaining a positive work environment is crucial. We only want to work with people who love what they do and are eager to share their knowledge and skills.

“We are a tech startup that’s scaled. Things move fast and the pace is busy. We push hard and want to get things out the door.”

Working in a high-energy engineering team

High-energy people are remarkable team players. They can make the most tedious tasks feel like less of a drag, and keep the velocity going when it’s crunch time.

To us, high energy doesn’t equate to extroversion or a cheerful demeanour. It’s about how enthusiastic you are about your work and how adaptable you can be to change, which happens often within our projects.

“I’m very much stimulated by the people around me. There’s a lot of good people working at Yoco so I enjoy that. It’s a positive environment when things are being pulled quickly, being tested and delivered.”

After nearly a decade of running his own mobile software company and gaining a wealth of industry experience, Mike and his team decided to join Yoco.

“I co-owned a business called Cobi Interactive and we worked on that business for about eight years, building up quite a nice team of people.”

“We knew a couple of guys at Yoco, and at the time Yoco was looking to expand the engineering team. We were looking for a change of scenery from the agency stuff we were doing and we were keen to build something that’s actually ours.”

Believing in your product

Aligning with your company’s product makes for a more fulfilling work experience. Mike gives us more insights into his experience of Yoco’s product and merchants:

“We often interview Yoco merchants and their stories are crazy inspiring. From how they built their businesses up from nothing to multi million Rands a month.”

“I actually had a holiday home in Greyton and I would go up there every other weekend and visit a market on a Saturday morning. I’d make sure that I was at that market mostly because the biltong is really good.”

“But over a period of a few years, I converted every single merchant in that market to a Yoco merchant. No marketing is required there anymore because the one stall looks to the next stall beside them, and sees that they have Yoco and then gets it too. Now everyone at this market uses Yoco and I still get WhatsApps from the people in Greyton for direct support.”

It’s essential to ask yourself whether the product or service you’re working on is something you can truly stand behind, because the feeling of making a personally meaningful and positive impact is more rewarding than simply doing the work.

Celebrating wins together

Although things move quickly and there’s a lot of hard work involved, the Yoco team takes time to celebrate the wins.

When you’re in the company of doers, that energy rubs off. Engineers who work alongside others that are truly passionate about the mission they’re working on are more likely to do their best work.

Mike confirms that at Yoco, you’ll gain access to a strong level of work ethic and insider knowledge that’ll elevate your work to the next level.

If you’re passionate about technology and want to make a difference through engineering, visit our careers page to explore our current job openings.