Alumnus experience story: The biggest growth challenge is becoming an engineer who sees the bigger picture
03.06.2026
//kood alumnus Egon Saks now works as a Product Engineer at Inbank, combining his international business and startup background with a career in technology. Egon Saks and Inbank’s Head of Product Operations, Tiiu Ehastu, share insights from balancing studies and work, offering a closer look at what a developer’s job looks like inside real systems and responsibilities.
Egon’s background is rich and diverse. He holds a Master’s degree in Management and Marketing from Tallinn University of Technology and also studied abroad in France as an exchange student. He was one of the co-founders of the European Innovation Academy and even tried building a startup himself. Later, he joined Taxify which is today known as Bolt in Mexico, where he gained experience in building a rapidly growing technology company in an international market. In Mexico, Egon also worked at a fintech company focused on improving access to credit in Latin America.
“In 2022, I returned to Estonia and joined //kood because I wanted to add a strong technical layer to my previous experience. I was motivated by the desire to move closer to building technology itself, instead of being only on the business and growth side,” he recalls.
Looking back, Egon describes his experience at //kood as highly practical, intensive, and transformative. “What appealed to me from the very beginning was that learning didn’t happen through traditional lectures, but through hands-on work, experimentation, and finding solutions together with others. What surprised me most was probably how much you can learn through independent and peer-to-peer learning model. I also found the //kood community extremely valuable – being surrounded by people who were equally motivated and going through similar challenges.”
How a diverse background became a bridge to degree studies
//kood collaborates with universities, giving graduates the opportunity to continue their studies after finishing the technology school. Among other opportunities, up to 10 top graduates from each batch are admitted under special conditions to bachelor’s programs in TalTech’s School of Information Technologies.
Egon was one of them and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Software Development.
“//kood gave me a strong project-based practical foundation, but pursuing a degree felt like an opportunity to go even deeper, gain a more systematic understanding, and broaden my perspective of the entire IT field,” Egon describes continuing his studies as a natural next step.
Attitude and motivation cannot be taught – everything else can be developed
Today, alongside his studies, Egon has worked at Inbank for nearly two years as a Product Engineer. According to Tiiu Ehastu, Head of Product Operations for Inbank, Egon’s previous experience at //kood provided a strong foundation and already demonstrated during recruitment that he possessed strong logical thinking and an understanding of different aspects of technology.
“More importantly for us, however, was his desire to contribute and build something valuable together. That attitude and motivation cannot be taught, while all other skills can be developed on the job.”
“The biggest reality check between studying and working was probably realizing that in real work, you’re no longer solving isolated learning exercises. Instead, you work within existing systems, business priorities, and team agreements. Some systems can be extremely large, and when making changes, you must ensure the business keeps functioning and nothing breaks for the end user,” Egon says.
“When studying, the main focus is on getting the solution to work and improving your own skills. At work, scalability, long-term system reliability, collaboration with developers from other teams, and understanding how your work impacts end users and company goals all become important.”
According to Egon, his current biggest development area is learning how to evolve from being a good developer into an engineer with increasingly holistic thinking.
“That means not only writing code, but also improving systematic thinking, understanding architecture, justifying technical decisions, and seeing the broader impact of your work. The more experience you gain, the clearer it becomes that growth is not only about learning new technologies, but also about making better decisions.”
Photo: Rene Lutterus
Technical roles increasingly require soft skills alongside coding
Today, companies highly value so-called soft skills in technical roles – clear communication, the ability to structure thoughts, ask good questions, collaborate with both developers and business stakeholders, and understand how technical decisions affect user experience, product development, and business outcomes.
“Regardless of the role, the ability to think outside the box, stay curious, and stay open to new technologies is essential. Technical roles are evolving rapidly, and the development of AI has significantly changed previous assumptions. Writing code alone is no longer the main indicator of quality. What matters increasingly is the ability to solve problems intelligently, use different tools including AI and navigate a rapidly changing environment. We look for people who have both the energy and the ability to adapt and learn quickly,” says Tiiu.
In Tiiu’s view, the qualities that indicate someone has the potential to grow quickly in a technological role are primarily flexibility and adaptability, because the technology world changes extremely fast.
“Critical thinking and the ability to evaluate information instead of simply accepting it are equally important. Strong internal motivation, the desire to be part of building something and contributing to the final outcome also matters greatly. The development of AI has significantly changed the rules of the game, and writing code has become accessible to almost everyone. That’s why the way a person thinks, solves problems, and uses tools to achieve goals is becoming increasingly important.”
With AI, it’s possible to fail and succeed much faster
At Inbank, work is organized in product teams where development and product work go hand in hand. This means developers are not just implementers, but active participants in shaping the product itself.
“They contribute ideas, help prioritize, and decide together what is truly important for the customer. The biggest challenge is often translating ideas into functional features and understanding which features are truly worth building, as well as understanding how development impacts user experience and business results,” Tiiu explains.
Technically, the focus is on rapid iteration and continuous experimentation. With AI, it is possible to fail and succeed much faster, which means people in technical roles must learn, adapt, and make better decisions increasingly quickly with each iteration.
“My typical workday usually starts with reviewing priorities and ongoing topics. Then we have a team meeting or sync where we discuss the status of tasks and whether there are any blockers. The rest of the day is usually spent between development, reading code, thinking through solutions, testing, and occasionally discussing with others. What I like about this work is that it combines both deep focus and collaboration – on one hand, you need to solve problems independently, but on the other hand, the best solutions are often created together with the team,” Egon says.
Photo: Egon Saks
Advice from Inbank and Egon for beginners interested in technology
Tiiu: “Build things yourself! Create small projects whether it’s a game, a simple application, or any idea that genuinely interests you and let your friends, family, or even the wider internet use and test them. The best way to learn product development is to be involved in the entire process from start to finish, from idea to execution. That way you learn not only how to build, but also how to listen to users and understand what truly creates value.”
Egon: “Don’t wait for the moment when you feel completely ready. Often, the next step has to be taken before the whole picture is clear. If you’re interested in technology and willing to work consistently, it’s possible to learn a great deal even when starting from a completely new position. Every new thing is difficult and uncomfortable at first. The most important thing is to start, stay consistent, and be willing to push through discomfort because that’s where the fastest growth happens.”
The final Selection Sprint (admission test) for 2026 will take place from July 20 to August 7 in Jõhvi, Paide, and Võru. Applications are open from June 1 to July 5.
In September, //kood will launch an updated curriculum that combines technical skills more strongly with real product development, working with AI tools, and the principles of professional engineering work. The project-based learning approach focuses on building systems and products, making justified technical decisions, and working in an environment that resembles the daily reality of a real product team as closely as possible.