In 2023, we launched the first Mono Summer Internship program to nurture young talents eager to solve real-world problems. This program offered them hands-on experience and the opportunity to contribute to innovative projects at Mono. Today, we're spotlighting Toluwalase Phillips—known as ‘Lase—who started as a Fullstack Engineering intern and is now thriving as a full-time Product Engineer at Mono.
Lase's career path is truly remarkable. With an educational background in Biochemistry and previous experience as a music producer, his transition into tech and Engineering is impressive. Reflecting on why he left music production, he explains, “I wasn’t satisfied. The industry was unprofessional and lacked a structured work process. There were not a lot of job opportunities or room for growth.” Determined to find a more sustainable career path, he turned to coding.
"I quit my job as a music producer to learn how to code," Lase shares. While Lase had friends in tech working in Product Management or Design, those roles didn’t interest him. "Engineering was the only thing that excited me," he explains. "My friend wanted to learn Python, so we did it together, and that's how I ended up here. Anything else would've bored me."
He was so committed that he spent up to 17 hours a day learning to code for a year. After that, he got his first internship at Mono in August 2023. "That gave me the boost I needed to know I was on the right track.”
Lase’s internship experience
During his three-month internship at Mono in 2023, Lase’s goal was simple—gain experience working on real-world projects and, hopefully, secure a permanent role at Mono. "I didn’t like the uncertainty of the job market, so I knew I had to make this opportunity count."
Lase collaborated with other engineering interns to work on one project. “We worked on the new Mono Developer Documentation. My background is mainly backend engineering, but this project taught me the importance of research,” he explains. One of the challenges was learning Tailwind, a front-end development framework that was new to him, but with the help of his internship mentor, Esiro Davies, he quickly got the hang of it.
Watch behind the scenes of how our team built the Mono Developer Documentation 2.0
A key lesson Lase learned during his internship was the importance of writing reusable code. “At Mono, we make our code reusable and break down components properly,” he says. “Olamide Sholanke, one of my teammates, would often rewrite my code. At first, I didn’t like it, but now I’m grateful—it helped me grow as an engineer.”
Transitioning to a full-time Product Engineer role at Mono
As the internship ended, Lase knew he'd accept a full-time position at Mono if offered. "The work environment stood out to me. Everyone was so welcoming and helpful. Mono has set the bar high—it'd be hard to find this kind of culture elsewhere," he says.
Upon being offered a full-time role as a Product Engineer, Lase took on new responsibilities and opportunities for growth. "As an intern, I mostly worked on frontend tasks, but now I focus on backend work and reverse engineering, which has been very interesting."
Among the many projects he has worked on since joining Mono as a full-time employee, Lase is especially proud of the Mastercard and Mono DirectPay Pay with Bank Integration. "My team and I worked on this integration, allowing Mastercard to enable its merchants to use Mono DirectPay to collect fast and secure account-to-account payments from customers. It was a great learning experience, and I'm proud of what we achieved."
Impact of Mono on his career
Working at Mono has significantly shaped Lase's personal and professional growth. "Mono has given me confidence in myself," he says. “When you move from Biochemistry to music production, then to learn how to code, you experience a dip in confidence. You worry if any company would hire you. But after a year at Mono, I'm now confident in my work because Mono doesn’t settle for mediocrity—it pushes you to improve."
Lase credits his teammates, Olamide Sholanke, Adetoro Adekoga, and his team lead, Ahmad Alfawwaz, for helping him grow as an engineer. Their guidance and support have been instrumental in his professional development.
Lase's advice for people starting out in their careers
For those still in the early stages of their career and considering an internship, Lase offers some valuable advice: “Be a self-starter, find solutions to problems, and don't be afraid to ask questions. The more you ask, the more you'll learn.”
He also emphasizes the importance of showing proof of work. “Show, don’t tell—especially for aspiring engineers. Don’t just say you’ve learned to code; prove it with the personal projects you’ve built.”
For interns hoping to transition into a full-time role, Lase’s advice is clear: “If you put in the work, stay open to feedback, and are willing to learn, you can have a good shot at becoming a full-time employee at any company.”
What’s next?
Looking back, Lase is proud of how far he has come since joining Mono. “The most rewarding part of working here has been the opportunity to contribute to meaningful projects that have real impact,” he says.
As for the future, Lase is excited about what’s to come. “At Mono, we’re always building exciting things. I’m looking forward to the future projects I’ll get to be a part of.”
Lase’s journey at Mono exemplifies how an internship can be more than just a temporary role—it can serve as the foundation for a successful career. His story reflects Mono’s dedication to developing young talent and creating opportunities for them to succeed.
