Mika Reyes is the co-founder and CEO of Parallax, a fintech platform that makes global payments faster and cheaper for remote professionals. Users can get paid by US clients with a US bank account even if they're based overseas, they just need a passport. 

Soon, users can also convert their $$$ into local currencies (like PHP) and transfer money to local payment methods (like Gcash, PayMaya, and other banks).

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👋🏼 How would you explain your job to someone outside tech?

I build products to help people in various emerging markets like the Philippines to get paid by people outside of their country, cheaper and faster, using technology like crypto.

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🧐 What's something about you or your job that would surprise us?

Crypto is the best way to send and receive money abroad. A great example of this is in stablecoins like USDC or USDT. 

The value doesn’t fluctuate as much given it's pegged to the value of the US dollar but can be sent to people in, let’s say, the Philippines with a snap. 

So if you want to move money from one country to another in an instant with little to no fees, crypto’s your best bet!

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🏆 What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far?

Starting my own company! It’s simultaneously one of the hardest and most fulfilling things I’ve done for myself and my career. 

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🔍 What's a startup trend or space you're watching this year?‍

We’re constantly studying how crypto can be leveraged to build wealth for global workers and manage their finances. 

We’re primarily focusing on the Philippines for this given that it has the highest year-on-year growth rate for freelancers. Ultimately, we want to see how we can transform global payment systems in emerging markets.

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💼 What advice would you give someone starting out in your industry? 

The fintech, payments, and crypto worlds seem more daunting than they actually are. Everything is learnable, just takes diving into the deep end to uncover your unknown unknowns. 

That’s why, for me, it can be a ton of fun because I’m learning something new every day. If it’s something you think can be impactful to a group you care about, don’t feel scared jumping in. 

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🗣 What's one thing you can keep talking about for hours? 

Board games. I’m huge on all types of board games ranging from more popular (Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, Taboo, Codenames) to the more niche (9 Tile Panic, Welcome To, Hanabi). 

I even made my own game and launched it on Kickstarter called Consensus to great success (though we are not in production at the moment!)

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🎥 What's your favorite movie/TV show? 

Right now, Across the Spiderverse!

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🍨 What's your go-to ice cream flavor?‍

It’s a toss-up between coffee or honey lavender. I’m obsessed with coffee and lavender in general—better yet if mixed in the best form factor: sweet, cold, and delicious ice cream.

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FYI. We’ve edited this interview for clarity.