# Monzo Staff Weekly Q&A - Jonas Huckestein (Co-Founder & Chief Technical Officer) **URL:** \ **Category:** Monzo Chat\ **Created:** [26 June 2018 12:04 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853 "2018-06-26T12:04:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![simonb](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/monzo/user_avatar/community.monzo.com/simonb/32/78198_2.png) [@simonb](https://community.monzo.com/u/simonb)\ **Post date:** [26 June 2018 12:04 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853/1 "2018-06-26T12:04:43Z")
* * * **Note :** [All Monzo Q&As to date can be found here](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-all-q-as-to-date-updated-list/39073/3) ๐Ÿ˜€ * * * ![Community-Q%26A-Forum](https://cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/monzo/original/3X/f/5/f57407b284082afd740f92b3a97e65ee302b5a95.png) **Monzo Crew!** **Stopโ€ฆ hammer time!** ![tenor-168707960](https://cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/monzo/original/3X/b/9/b9012d7d431ec9dbe0a60427e677439d5af4ecd8.gif) Not the banhammer, nor Thorโ€™s hammer. But a loud digital whack on the proverbial table to call you to attention! Did it work? ๐Ÿ˜‰ As we wrapped up [last weekโ€™s Q&A](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-kieran-mchugh-backend-engineer/40415?u=simonb), I reliably informed you that we had a surprise for you this week. But first you better get up to speed with the fountain of all Q&A knowledge! โ›ฒ * * * [Week 1 : Chris MacLean, Customer Operations & Vulnerable Customers](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-chris-maclean-customer-operations/29453) ๐ŸŽ…๐Ÿป [Week 2 : James Nicholson, iOS Engineer](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-james-nicholson-ios-engineer/29818) ๐Ÿ [Week 3 : Tara Mansfield, People Operations Manager](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-tara-mansfield-people-operations-manager/30386/3) ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿพโ€๐Ÿ’ป๐Ÿ‘จ๐Ÿผโ€๐Ÿ’ป [Week 4 : James Routley, Backend Engineer](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-james-routley-backend-engineer/30851) ๐Ÿ›  [Week 5 : Hugh Wells, Customer Operations](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-hugh-wells-customer-operations/31231) ๐Ÿ‘ฎ๐Ÿผโ€โ™‚ [Week 6 : Naz Malik, Technical Specialist](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-naz-malik-technical-specialist/32154) ๐Ÿ’ป [Week 7 : Fred Morgan, COps Squad Captain (Calls & Social Media)](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-fred-morgan-cops-squad-captain-calls-social-media/32433) ๐Ÿ“ž [Week 8 : Emma Northcott, COps Scaling Team](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-emma-northcott-customer-ops-scaling-team/32757) โš– [Week 9 : Jarno Wolf, COps Financial Crime Specialist & Squad Captain](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jarno-wolf-cops-financial-crime-specialist-squad-captain/33102) ๐Ÿบ [Week 10 : Maria Campbell, Head of People](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-maria-campbell-head-of-people/33519) ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿปโ€๐Ÿ’ผ๐Ÿ‘จ๐Ÿฝโ€๐Ÿ’ผ [Week 11 : Jim Amey, Night COps Captain](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jim-amey-night-cops-captain/33979) ๐Ÿฆ‡ ๐ŸŒ™ [Week 12 : Richard Cook, Online Community Manager](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-richard-cook-online-community-manager/34497) ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿณ [Week 13 : Beatrice Borbon, Content & Press Manager](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-beatrice-borbon-content-press-manager/34913) ๐Ÿ“ฐ [Week 14 : Tom Blomfield, CEO](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-tom-blomfield-ceo/35721) ๐Ÿ‘‘ [Week 15 : Ella Johanny, COps/Hiring](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-ella-johanny-cops-hiring/36103) ๐Ÿค [Week 16 : Harry Ashbridge, Writer](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-harry-ashbridge-writer/36746) โœ๐Ÿผ [Week 17 : Beth Scott, Overnight COps ๐Ÿˆ](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-beth-scott-overnight-cops/37148) [Week 18 : Georgie Parmenter, Executive Assistant to the Founders](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-q-a-georgie-parmenter-executive-assistant-to-the-founders/37395) ๐Ÿ‘ฑโ€โ™€๏ธ [Week 19 : Vulnerable Customers Team](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-vulnerable-customers-team-mentalhealthawarenessweek-special/38035) ๐ŸŒป [Week 20 : Leah Templeman, Interim VP People](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-leah-templeman-interim-vp-people/38537) ๐ŸŒž [Week 21 : Daniel Chatfield, Backend Engineer, Fincrime & Security](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-daniel-chatfield-backend-engineer-fincrime-security/39001) ๐Ÿ” [Week 22 : Valerio Magliulo, Product Manager - Revenue Team](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-valerio-magliulo-product-manager-revenue-team/39461/27) ๐Ÿ’ธ [Week 23 : Sam Watkin, Operations Analyst](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-sam-watkin-operations-analyst/39927) ๐Ÿค” [Week 24 : Kieran McHugh, Backend Engineer](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-kieran-mchugh-backend-engineer/40415) ๐Ÿ–ฅ * * * **SURPRISE!** This week, in the **Hot Coral Hot Seatโ„ข๏ธ** we have our **Co-Founder and CTO (Chief Technical Officer)**, the legend that is **Jonas Huckestein!** ![25](https://cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/monzo/original/3X/c/a/ca7aaaeb36649fdffb92129614cbf694e51019d3.jpg) So much to say, but where to start? Well, as the title implies, Jonas co-founded the company back in early 2015 along with Tom, Gary, Paul and Jason! To learn a little bit more about his life as a CTO, you can [click here](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/connect/better-business/what-it-takes-to-be-a-chief-technology-officer/)! Or you can, you know, ask a question right here ๐Ÿ˜‰ I asked Jonas what heโ€™s currently working on, and he said _โ€œMaking myself redundantโ€_ ๐Ÿ˜• ๐Ÿ™ƒ ๐Ÿค” - I think we might need some more context for that one ๐Ÿ˜‰ I also asked him for an interesting fact about himself! Aaaaaaaaand here it is : Jonas is getting married to [Leah](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-leah-templeman-interim-vp-people/38537) in August! :hot_coral_heart: :hot_coral_heart: :hot_coral_heart: :hot_coral_heart: Our very own Hot Coral Power Couple ๐Ÿ˜€ And whatโ€™s his favorite thing about working here? _โ€œWatching everyone develop over the years makes me incredibly proud. I love nothing more than watching an amazing presentation at an all hands meeting about something that I didnโ€™t even know was happening, and thinking back to when we first interviewed the presenter and how far they have come since then. It makes me really happy that Monzo enables that kind of personal development for people.โ€_ Alright yโ€™all. Question time! ![tenor-139497375](https://cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/monzo/original/3X/b/4/b4c0d8f4940795cab0839c67c7bcb55a2f7baa61.gif) Get your questions in, and Jonas will be here later this week to answer them!!! ---
**Author:** ![SC95](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/monzo/user_avatar/community.monzo.com/sc95/32/30201_2.png) [@SC95](https://community.monzo.com/u/SC95)\ **Post date:** [26 June 2018 12:14 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853/2 "2018-06-26T12:14:31Z")
What prompted you to start a Bank? And how are you planning to try to make yourself redundant? I think I know what you mean by this but as someone so tied up in development how will you pull yourself ๐Ÿ˜€ ---
**Author:** ![anon41219820](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e95f7d/32.png) [@anon41219820](https://community.monzo.com/u/anon41219820)\ **Post date:** [26 June 2018 12:18 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853/3 "2018-06-26T12:18:43Z")
What are you really excited for in the next 6 months? ๐Ÿ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![anon72173902](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@anon72173902](https://community.monzo.com/u/anon72173902)\ **Post date:** [26 June 2018 12:28 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853/4 "2018-06-26T12:28:48Z")
Are you ballin so big that you can now have a money gun? ---
**Author:** ![Dannytc](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/monzo/user_avatar/community.monzo.com/dannytc/32/29430_2.png) [@Dannytc](https://community.monzo.com/u/Dannytc)\ **Post date:** [26 June 2018 13:11 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853/5 "2018-06-26T13:11:55Z")
Whatโ€™s the most above and beyond tech related feature/process you think Monzo will get to? The one that makes you think yep we did it! ---
**Author:** ![simonb](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/monzo/user_avatar/community.monzo.com/simonb/32/78198_2.png) [@simonb](https://community.monzo.com/u/simonb)\ **Post date:** [26 June 2018 13:40 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853/6 "2018-06-26T13:40:17Z")
What differences do you find between working at tech startups in Silicon Valley compared to in London? ---
**Author:** ![anon95680666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e9a140/32.png) [@anon95680666](https://community.monzo.com/u/anon95680666)\ **Post date:** [26 June 2018 13:43 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853/7 "2018-06-26T13:43:57Z")
congratulations - where is the honeymoon destination ? edit - I didnโ€™t think it might be a surprise - so ignore my question Jonasโ€ฆ and just accept my congrats ๐Ÿ™‚ ๐Ÿ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![jzw95](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/monzo/user_avatar/community.monzo.com/jzw95/32/5896_2.png) [@jzw95](https://community.monzo.com/u/jzw95)\ **Post date:** [26 June 2018 13:47 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853/8 "2018-06-26T13:47:32Z")
Did you already have a system architecture in mind when you co-founded Monzo, or did you develop it with the initial team? Either way, what process did you go through to come up with the foundations on which Monzo was built? ---
**Author:** ![joshpriceonline](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/monzo/user_avatar/community.monzo.com/joshpriceonline/32/13049_2.png) [@joshpriceonline](https://community.monzo.com/u/joshpriceonline)\ **Post date:** [26 June 2018 15:24 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853/9 "2018-06-26T15:24:27Z")
Hey Jonas ๐Ÿ‘‹, If you were to estimate, how much of the original code you wrote when Monzo was founded do you think is still in production today? ---
**Author:** ![anon23935806](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/58f4c7/32.png) [@anon23935806](https://community.monzo.com/u/anon23935806)\ **Post date:** [26 June 2018 15:55 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853/10 "2018-06-26T15:55:45Z")
You know the drill by now. ๐Ÿ˜‚ Cats? Pineapple on pizza? ---
**Author:** ![Rat\_au\_van](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/monzo/user_avatar/community.monzo.com/rat_au_van/32/49103_2.png) [@Rat\_au\_van](https://community.monzo.com/u/Rat_au_van)\ **Post date:** [26 June 2018 17:57 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853/11 "2018-06-26T17:57:29Z")
Do you believe itโ€™s possible to fully automate fraud detection or does human behaviour have too many variables for that to happen? ---
**Author:** ![anon72173902](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@anon72173902](https://community.monzo.com/u/anon72173902)\ **Post date:** [26 June 2018 18:03 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853/12 "2018-06-26T18:03:28Z")
And pizza on cats? ๐Ÿ™ƒ ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/monzo/original/3X/8/4/84b937dbf16f17d105d42523e9a5ac2070b4e67a.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![simonb](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/monzo/user_avatar/community.monzo.com/simonb/32/78198_2.png) [@simonb](https://community.monzo.com/u/simonb)\ **Post date:** [27 June 2018 13:24 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853/13 "2018-06-27T13:24:05Z")
Great questions all, keep them coming! ---
**Author:** ![Antwan](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/monzo/user_avatar/community.monzo.com/antwan/32/725_2.png) [@Antwan](https://community.monzo.com/u/Antwan)\ **Post date:** [27 June 2018 14:47 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853/14 "2018-06-27T14:47:46Z")
_Baby mondo_: What are the things you worked on initially before switching to a more managing role (when it was just the 4 of you until Monzo became big enough)? _Developer heart_: Are you still working on development things yourself (actual line coding, not specs/architecture). If so, how do you decide this? _Redundancy_: What are the things that still makes you a SPOF in the company (if there are any), apart from your seniority? Is there anything only you could do (give example) which are still on prod? Thatโ€™s it. Very in awe of your career so far Jonas ๐Ÿ‘ ---
**Author:** ![anon4562461](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9f8e36/32.png) [@anon4562461](https://community.monzo.com/u/anon4562461)\ **Post date:** [27 June 2018 15:03 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853/15 "2018-06-27T15:03:11Z")
What would you say is your favourite video game? ---
**Author:** ![anon95339334](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@anon95339334](https://community.monzo.com/u/anon95339334)\ **Post date:** [27 June 2018 15:53 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853/16 "2018-06-27T15:53:57Z")
1. What would be your starter kit for a Junior Sys Admin (Laptop/Desktop, OS, suite of applications) **and** 2. What would you advise them to study and get experience on โ€”\> To be Monzoโ€™s Tony Stark, like you? ![tumblr_inline_nwbirgpytU1rjchpf_500](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/monzo/original/3X/2/7/277fc439af93f9d597d65c02fa00aa22c1c7283b.gif) Edit: for clarity โ€œstudyโ€ as in after education, research, learn, independently ---
**Author:** ![anon95339334](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@anon95339334](https://community.monzo.com/u/anon95339334)\ **Post date:** [28 June 2018 10:49 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853/17 "2018-06-28T10:49:20Z")
Another question, What has made you move on from CTO into a โ€˜broader executive roleโ€™ ![tumblr_mcm3ex3JYM1rw2th0](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/monzo/original/3X/0/c/0c905697ffc511567a482daccd20d17b13d55a5e.gif) I will be disappointed if you donโ€™t get these references ๐Ÿ™ ---
**Author:** ![anon17686979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@anon17686979](https://community.monzo.com/u/anon17686979)\ **Post date:** [28 June 2018 14:26 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853/18 "2018-06-28T14:26:02Z")
What is **your** super power? Do you have the opportunity to incorporate it into your working life at Monzo on a regular basis? ---
**Author:** ![ASKendrew](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/monzo/user_avatar/community.monzo.com/askendrew/32/89474_2.png) [@ASKendrew](https://community.monzo.com/u/ASKendrew)\ **Post date:** [28 June 2018 14:59 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853/19 "2018-06-28T14:59:25Z")
Do you have any plans once you step back from your role as CTO? Any cool new opportunities to explore? ---
**Author:** ![anon5660699](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@anon5660699](https://community.monzo.com/u/anon5660699)\ **Post date:** [28 June 2018 21:25 UTC](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853/20 "2018-06-28T21:25:16Z")
Whatโ€™s your favourite text editor? Atom? Sublime? What do people in the office generally use? [Next page](https://community.monzo.com/t/monzo-staff-weekly-q-a-jonas-huckestein-co-founder-chief-technical-officer/40853.md?page=2)