Meet Cake: this is Yves

Name: Yves Bovin
Role: Head of Legal & Operations, co-founder
Making Cake since: October 2018
Location: Glabbeek, Belgium

Tell us about your workspace picture

At Cake, we work completely remote. This means we don’t have a “real” office. Officially speaking, we did need to have an address somewhere. That is the reason why in the beginning the registered office of Cake was my home address.😀 

This meant that audits or other official meetings always took place at my home. This was sometimes chaotic, though. During the first official audit in the early days of Cake, people from the audit team were scattered around the living room, the porch and the kitchen. And my wife was confined to the bedroom for half a day. At that moment it became clear right away that we had to organise ourselves a little differently.

So my desk was set up as a meeting room. Desk removed and conference table in its place. And just as my “meeting room” was ready, the lockdown started. And there I was, sitting alone at my big table. So now I work at my conference table. In my garden I also have a big table so when the weather is nice I can sit outside as well. So I regularly work in the garden, one more advantage of working completely remote.😎

In addition, soccer canteens have pretty much become my second workplace. My two sons play soccer. Just about every weekday someone has a training session. Then I sit in the canteen working. I am gradually becoming part of the permanent furniture of the canteen.😀

What do you do at Cake?

I deal with everything related to finance, HR and legal affairs. So just about every topic my colleagues would rather not do.😂 Except for Olivier, maybe.

I enjoy taking the paperwork, the administrative burden and legal concerns away from my colleagues so that they can deal with what they are good at. It makes me happy to help colleagues in a supportive role. I like to work in the shadows, where it’s not so hot.  

How did you end up at Cake? 

Mid-2018 I had my first meeting with our CEO, Davy Kestens. He was looking for someone who could get a license for a payment institution.

In my earlier days, I had already obtained a license for an asset manager, a broker and a fund manager, so I was very excited to potentially add another license to my resume. Less than 3 hours after our first conversation, I already let Davy know that I was participating.

Funny fact: All co-founders said “yes” and resigned from their full-time jobs within 12 hours after their first coffee with Davy.

Why Cake and not another company?

First and foremost, it is particularly fascinating to work with exceptional people. To build an extraordinary company, you need extraordinary people. And at Cake, we have some. 

In addition, our business model is extremely disruptive. The fact that, in this sector, we get our income from companies and not by leeching on consumers, while contrarily, letting those consumers share in our revenue, is unprecedented. 

With our business model, the changes in the market and the people we have on board, I believe we have the opportunity to roll out something incredibly disruptive across Europe. When something like that comes across, you simply have to go for it, as you rarely get such an opportunity in your lifetime. 

And then you should take a look at our company values. They describe perfectly what it’s like to work here. In such an environment I like to work and perform at my best. It gives me the feeling that I don’t have to work, but that I’m allowed to have fun every day.

What’s your most memorable Cake moment?

Obtaining our licence as a payment institution at the National Bank of Belgium in July 2019. This could then also be checked off of my bucket list. I received more compliments from my colleagues on that day compared to the rest of my entire 22-year career. That was really gratifying!

Of course, the “offsites” with the team have been a lot of fun too. Actually, in our case we should rather call them “onsites” since we don’t have a “site”.😀 Anyway, they are memorable to say the least. But what happened on the offsites, stays on the offsites… 

What’s your favorite cake?

My ex-mother-in-law’s traditional “toet.” It’s a typical apricot jam cake, based on an old recipe. She still regularly makes two pies, one for the children and one for me. I tend to completely eat mine within 24 hours.😇 

Any topping on the Cake?

Humour. Anyone who knows me a little bit knows I like humour. Lots of it. And wine, especially French. And steak and fries with mayonnaise. Preferably entrecôte. And a Meukow VSOP to finish it off. With a piece of chocolate. Praliné if at all possible.