Life as an Ata Cub

Ata Cub – Youth taken under the learned care of the ever-accommodating Ata Plus family.

 

I first got to know Ata Plus through a panel discussion they participated in during a global entrepreneurship conference in 2017. First impression? Socially driven fintech company with a unique edge of bold meets innovative. Of course then being a fresh uni-kid I knew nothing of the ever-evolving industry they played in.

Fast forward a couple months and a close friend of mine later, who is a dedicated finance enthusiast, had just completed his internship at Ata Plus. His experience there was spectacular. Being a foreign student who has spent the past three years in Malaysia, he proudly boasts his time at Ata Plus as the best time he’s spent in the country! Crazy isn’t it? The idea of an intern loving his job to such a degree was so alien to me that I just had to see what’s up. So I did. Come summer of 2018 I carefully crafted a short email offering myself as an intern of the close-knit team I had heard so much about.

Luckily for me, after a few weeks they called me in for an interview. Stepping into their high rise office space located at the literal heart of KL, I was greeted with a structured yet cozy atmosphere. Each space meticulously served a purpose, yet you just know you’d be comfortable anywhere you sit. I was introduced to Elain Lockman, one of the co-founders, who from the get-go was very warm, almost fiery. In spite of the fact I came in as a nervous wreck, the interview was rather casual, which I later learned was a pretty accurate introduction of how the whole work life at Ata Plus would be.

The day to day of being an intern was rather unpredictable. Firstly, everyone in the team had different tasks on their plate, appealing but not limited to their strengths. The whole team was ‘hands on’ with whatever was needed to be done, so everyone kind of knew a little bit about everything. In my time with Ata Plus, I was given various tasks from which I had no experience in doing, from building the Ata Plus blog site, creating a site taxonomy for the official web page, to even blog writing! The whole team is extremely supportive and trusting with the tasks given, which is an incredible motivator to getting the work done.

My time interning at Ata Plus proved to be very different from my friends who choose to intern with big corporations. Yet, being part of a start-up with a full team of only little over ten doesn’t come without its perks. Yes, sometimes our ‘Monday Brawl’ sessions (where the team updates everyone on the ongoing and upcoming tasks) do get extensively delayed, and we do run short of drinking water if we forget to order replenishments on time, but in what normal office would you get to have a workstation literally at the same table with every other member? Or get the chance to spend lunch chatting with the co-founders? I still remember how Kyri Andreou, one of the co-founders, would readily offer and share with us his homemade salads whenever he saw us spending lunch hour in the office. Sometimes I wondered if it was an attempt to get us onboard his incredibly healthy lifestyle. In fact, it was sort of a lifestyle shared by all the co-founders, so if you’re looking for a place to motivate you in that sense, Ata Plus is definitely the place for you.

Ata Plus also hosts many guests. From meetings with potential issuers, investors coming in for the pitching sessions, to the quarterly Ata Plus Discourse; literally not a day goes by without seeing new faces walk through the door. Interestingly, you can never expect who walks in. In my time there I’ve come across high positioned professionals from a spectrum of different industries, local celebrities and to even politicians! I was given the impression that Ata Plus’ contacts covered much of relevant KL. (Which is, perhaps, true.) Being the interns, Edward and I often took turns preparing the coffee for our guests, so I guess even with all the snazz of interning in a fintech company, some stereotypes still hold.

Overall, my experience was totally eye-opening and what I found was that there was always something to do and more to learn if you just simply asked. Most times when we had ‘free’ time, the team would gladly direct us to research on current, relevant material to help expand our knowledge. Don’t be surprised if one of the team suddenly stands up and delivers a full-on, lecture-style talk to educate you on timely matters. It happens, and when I say the whole team is knowledgeable, I was far from exaggerating.

The short 10-weeks Edward and I spent as Ata Cubs surely flew by. As students, we generally want an internship opportunity that gives us interactive exposure to key market players, and with Ata Plus’ extensive connections, style of work and position in Malaysia’s ever-growing world of fintech, you can definitely get it. Being an Ata Cub gives you an edge on not only in your CV, but also gives you greater depth and insight in your way of viewing the extent of what a company can do. I have nothing but much gratitude for the whole Ata Plus team for taking me under the wings!

Signing off,

Liyana Aini

Former Ata Cub.