Meet a Muley – Nicolas Mondada, Hotshot Product Manager

Happy Friday!

For this week’s Meet a Muley post, we chatted with Nicolas Mondada, Product Manager for Dataloader.io, DevKit, and Connectors. Read on learn about what makes Nicolas a unique addition to our team!

First thought that came to mind when you looked into the mirror today?

• Geez, I need a coffee.

How did you find MuleSoft?

• After working for relatively large companies for a couple of years I was looking for something small where I could learn, collaborate and deliver faster.

How did you first get interested in your field?

• I suppose software development is what I like to do. I started like a lot of folks out there – playing PC games. I liked computer graphics so at first I went after a degree in electronics. After a couple of programming classes I guess I realized I liked working with computers way more than playing with transistors so I switched careers and moved into IT Engineering. After spending some time developing software, I became interested in having a more holistic view of the product and went from focusing only on the inner workings to having more control of defining the product as a whole.

What exactly do you do?

• I try to understand what people need and translate those needs into products they can enjoy using.

How was the interview process? 

• The interview process was long but I have to say that after a couple of interviews I was hooked and I wanted to be a part of MuleSoft. Having interviews with VPs and the CEO was an enriching experience regardless of the length of the process.

What was your first job?

• Reselling gum at my mom’s office. I was only 6 years old and I basically bought a pack of gum and resold the individual sticks separately to my mom’s co-workers earning 50%+ on the original price. Obviously I was taking advantage of my cuteness.

What’s a typical day like for you? 

• I usually wake up at 5:45 and take my wife to work. I go back home (cup of coffee) and read up on news and tech sites and then head out for work. I get to the office early (cup of coffee) so I can use those distraction-free hours to flush out the most crucial items of the day. The rest of the day at the office is spent getting together with different teams (cup of coffee) and making sure we deal with anything urgent that comes up and focusing on moving things forward. At the end of the day I head back home, have dinner and spend quality time with my wife (glass of wine). Before going to sleep I usually answer a couple more emails then head off to bed.

Biggest challenge of the day?

• Shuffling between things that are already planned for the day with new developments that pop up, while prioritizing things to make sure the critical ones get done on time.

Best perk of being at MuleSoft?

• Getting to work with people from all around the world. It’s fun to getting to know them on work-related travels and company events. Also,I love being part of and being able to contribute to an exciting and driven team.

What’s something new you learned while being at MuleSoft?

• I’ve learned lots of things but the most important one I think is that a killer team makes all the difference in the world. If you build a mediocre team your life will be miserable (or not as good as it could be). Take the time to build a killer team and you might get a chance to make a dent in the universe.

Best piece of advice you’ve received?

• Be a good person and live by your own standards. Do not worry about what other people do.

Most embarrassing moment?

• I have a fair skin and usually get sunburned quite easily. Back when I was 15 or 16 I went to Brazil with my parents. On my first day at the beach I grabbed a spot next to a group of cute girls and I spent the whole day (from early in the morning to late in the afternoon) sunbathing and checking out the group every now and then to see if they looked back in my direction. In the afternoon I noticed they looked at me and laughed and I thought: Yes, the plan is working! The day went by though and nothing really happened with the girls but I did feel a little lightheaded. By the time I got to the hotel I realized my skin was lobster red! I didn’t get any numbers, instead I got a horrible sunburn that left blisters on my back and gave me a very high fever. I could’t go to the beach or even be in the sun at all for 3-4 days.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

• I’d would definitely like to be able to slow down time and/or be able sleep only 15-30 mins a day and still remain fully functional for the rest of the hours. I would never ask for immortality but I’d really enjoy having more time awake so I could live life to the fullest and enjoy every extra moment.

Favorite food you could eat everyday if you had to?

• Pasta with tomato sauce. I love it, I eat it at least once a week otherwise I get cranky. It’s an addiction.

 If you weren’t doing what you’re doing, what would you do?

• I would be traveling around the world, learning from other cultures in hopes of understanding the world a bit more.

If you could have any pet in the world, what would you want?

• An elephant.

Most memorable moment at MuleSoft?

• The gala dinner at our last meetup is something I will never forget. It felt like an episode from “The Office”. Great times indeed!

What is your weakness?

• Ice cream. If there is such thing as an ice cream addiction, I should seriously consider getting treatment for it.

That’s it for this week’s Meet a Muley post! We hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about Nicoloas. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them below. As always, if you’d like to hear from a particular team, please let us know!