Meet the team - Irena Gorbunova

Joining MultiSafepay

Before joining Multisafepay, Irena's career led her through various fields and companies; and her resume is quite impressive. After she did her master's in international economics, she worked as an office manager and HR in several tech companies related to social networks, gaming, and gambling. In her last job, she was building and managing user support dept for a social network with 200 million users.

In 2015 she moved to Spain with her family. After five years of raising her young family she decided to make the switch to the fintech industry by joining Multisafepay as an operations manager in 2019: "When I started at MultiSafepay, I had no fintech specific experience. So from the first day on, I learned something new every day – and I am still learning. After all, I can say, becoming a part of such a developing and demanding industry was a priceless chance for me." We were curious what other factors she likes about working at MultiSafepay.

Flexibility and freedom

"What I value most about my job is that I get the possibility to learn a lot, while also getting a lot of freedom and room for flexibility. When I moved to Spain with my family, I started from scratch while managing a family. I was looking for a job in a foreign country after five years of focussing on raising my three little children. I was aware that this could be a negative factor for many employers, even when you have diverse and extensive experience and speak several languages – so that was quite a challenge. When I received the job offer from MultiSafepay, I realized that they had not only seen my potential for the job itself, but also considered my situation. They provided me with options for different working schedules, which eventually allowed me to comfortably combine my family and work-life. That was just what I was looking for but wasn't even hoping to find. MultiSafepay has given me the possibility to be self-determining with my tasks, my work schedule, and the way I develop myself – while working in a great team at the same time. Isn’t it amazing when you can choose your own paths?"

"At MultiSafepay, you can make a difference."

With an immense increase in merchants worldwide, MultiSafepay is also growing as a company. At the same time, we want to maintain a close company culture and the strong connections we have amongst each other. For us, our people are most important. Without a team, we cannot deliver the innovation and products our merchants need. Therefore, our mission is to create and maintain a company culture in which everyone feels comfortable and motivated.

"What I experienced in my previous jobs and what I heard a lot from people working in larger companies is that you always feel like you are just a small detail of the system that is easy to replace. Your path and role are often pre-defined, and it isn't easy to come up with new ideas and inspirations. Whereas here, at MultiSafepay, you get so much trust and freedom to try new things and make things happen. For example, when we opened up our office in Germany, I could help with the recruitment because of my previous job experience as HR. It all happened so fast – one day there was the idea to open up a German office, and shortly after we were already looking for people! And I think that's cool; at MultiSafepay you can make a difference. We are really creating something."

"Fintech is a future that is already happening, so go for it – especially as a woman!"

Lots have been said about gender differences in tech industries. Therefore, we are curious how Irena thinks about this topic: "Fintech is a future that is already happening”, she says, “so go for it – especially as a woman! If you want something, you will be able to manage it – You just need to find the right place for it. Before I moved to Spain, I have worked in Eastern European countries that I found to be relatively conservative when it comes to gender roles. Working as a woman in IT, but also in managerial positions, was often quite challenging – especially when you do not have a technical background. At MultiSafepay I did not feel this difference at all, which was such a great experience for me."

"I feel like many women – and probably not only women – are struggling on the job market not because they are not qualified enough, but because they have to manage work and family. It's great if your employer supports your self-development and gives you a chance to achieve the work-life balance you need at that point. It's really empowering."

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