Although a developer by trade, Ben has proven to be quite the estate agent since joining NOW Money in September 2017. Not only has he been driving NOW Money’s technology to the next level, he’s also taken on the office move. He can code and build flat-pack furniture – what more could a start-up want?
Tell us about your role here
I’m currently working on the technology which on-boards customers to the NOW Money platform. The on-boarding process is how we identify customers, collect all regulatory information from them and prevent fraudulent accounts being created.
The job involves testing lots of different technologies and using them across lots of different platforms. The process so far has allowed me to dive into all of the latest RegTech and biometric innovations. There’s some really advanced technologies out there – it’s really great to be working alongside those at the forefront of the industry.
What is your first short-term goal within the company?
Other than really improving the application, my secret goal has been to relocate the NOW Money office as close to my apartment as possible.
What do you like most about working for a start-up?
Pretty much everything. I love working in small teams trying to do big things, and the feeling that we’re all really motivated, heading towards the same goal. Oh, and also no pointless meetings!
What are you most excited about over the next few months?
Seeing the stuff I’m working on going into production. Everything we do at NOW Money has the chance to change people’s lives, and the company has great potential to do some amazing things over the next few months. We get closer to these everyday.
What were you doing before you joined NOW Money?
I’ve been in the UAE for ten years now. Originally I came here to work for Dubizzle, which, at the time, was a start-up of similar size to NOW Money today.
After seven years at Dubizzle I was keen to do the start-up thing again, this time right from the start. So, I co-founded a fitness technology start-up, as well as working with other start-ups remotely.
If you weren’t with NOW Money, what would you be doing?
I’ve been really interested in FinTech for a while now. If I wasn’t with NOW Money, I’d probably be developing my own cryptocurrency.
Start-ups attract people who can’t sit still. What do you do when you’re not developing things?
Usually riding one of my bikes at Al Qudra, running somewhere, or eating copious amounts of burritos at Taqado.
How do you let your hair down?
Some sort of hop-based-bevaerage, maybe of the German weiß variety. Aside from that I love travelling and visiting new places, preferably ones with great vegan food options!
