Inside my first 100 days at Titanium Birch
Hey, Zsolt here!
Even presidents take a moment to pause and reflect after their first 100 days.
I joined Titanium Birch in May 2025, and now that my own 100 days are complete, I want to share my experience—and give you a sense of what someone might expect as a new hire.
Before joining: The Leap
Let’s rewind. This story actually starts even before my first day.
When I first spoke with the TB team, I was intrigued… and cautiously optimistic. A big question was running through my head. Was I ready to return to an individual contributor role after leading a team? Yes. I was ready to set aside the management hat and focus on making things happen.
Assessing the culture was thankfully easy, too: during the interview process, I read through the employee handbook (publicly available on the TB website) and TB’s values. The values (honesty, curiosity, humility, ownership, and collaboration) resonated with me quite deeply.
Day 1: All aboard
I remember three things from my first day:
The big smiles from everyone when I walked in. I immediately felt welcome.
The simplicity of onboarding. Thanks to a detailed set of instructions, I was almost fully set up by the end of the day, and help was just a few desks away whenever I needed it.
The team lunch at a nearby restaurant… which, amusingly, didn’t serve carbohydrates with its set lunches.
Week 1: Let’s get crackin'
After I completed the key parts of onboarding in just a few days, TJ and Peter asked if I’d be willing to join a daunting project: automating our accounting process, with the ultimate aim of making P&L attribution easier.
Of course, I was up for it, even if my accounting knowledge from university was a bit rusty. The way we split the work was perfect: I started with simpler cases and gradually worked my way toward more complex problems. Early on, we identified a few quick courses and videos to bring me up to speed, so I could tackle the challenges head-on.
I really enjoyed this approach—brushing up on accounting while doing it in parallel felt incredibly satisfying. My first code changes (admittedly small) were pushed to production within Week 1!
Outside of coding, I noticed that the TB office was pleasantly quiet compared to my previous workplaces. Meetings happen only when necessary, giving plenty of uninterrupted time to focus. We’re each responsible for updating the team on our progress or any issues.
Month 1: Becoming a bookworm
One month in, and I was getting my hands dirty with several concepts: measuring financial instruments, handling FX rate changes, and even accounting for depreciation by combing through several IFRS and IAS documents. What helped a lot was that we were working in an environment I know well: SQL. That made it easy to plan how to generate and verify journal entries; I just needed to plug in the right accounting knowledge for each type of event.
What made it even more exciting is the way we approach learning. TJ and I aligned on the topics I needed to brush up on, but I had the freedom to find the resources that suited me best and set my own pace (knowing that TJ was always ready to discuss questions when they came up). Along the way, I discovered many excellent free resources, from the IFRS community’s knowledge base to ACCA’s Financial Reporting videos, all packed with clear explanations and examples.
We managed to finish the project within a few weeks after I joined. That was a huge confidence boost. Nothing worse than starting a project that drags on endlessly.
Day 100: Theory meets action
Once we achieved our goal of making our P&L attribution easier, we dove into designing portfolios and exploring ways to tackle some of our tech debt.
Peter, TJ, and I spent time reading (and debating) the factor-based approach to portfolio design from Berkin and Swedroe’s Your Complete Guide to Factor Investing. From there, we built the capability to see where our current portfolio stands in terms of factors, how it compares to popular ETFs, and the different methodologies we could use if we decide to tilt it in a particular direction.
Month 4 and onwards: Learning never stops
Alongside building more capabilities in portfolio design, we had several discussions about where I’d like to deepen my knowledge next, and the winner was risk management. The next book on my reading list is The Essentials of Risk Management, which I’m quite keen to dive into.
Overall, the journey so far has been fantastic. I’ve brushed up on a lot of things and dipped into several completely new areas. I can’t remember a single day without learning something. Looking back, I definitely don’t regret hanging up my manager hat and switching to an IC role. With more time to focus, it’s opened up some really cool opportunities to deliver and make an impact.
If you’re curious about what it’s like to work at Titanium Birch, check out more stories on our blog and have a look at our employee handbook.
