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NomadMentorTeacherSoftware EngineerConsultant50+ countries
Mike Portnov
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Hey 👋
I build products and teams – and help people grow systematically.
Tech lead with 8 years across fintech, cybersecurity, and edtech. I run a practicum on systematic growth, mentor for the long haul, help people navigate careers and relocation and build personal systems, and bring like-minded people together to travel. 50+ countries as a digital nomad, founder of Punto Cero.
Skyhawk Security /Salmon Fintech /Businessolver /MEPhI /JetBrains Academy /Freelance /
Skyhawk Security /Salmon Fintech /Businessolver /MEPhI /JetBrains Academy /Freelance /
Skyhawk Security /Salmon Fintech /Businessolver /MEPhI /JetBrains Academy /Freelance /
Skyhawk Security /Salmon Fintech /Businessolver /MEPhI /JetBrains Academy /Freelance /
About me
Living out of a suitcase as a conscious choice
Flexibility is a necessity in the modern world. I'm Mike Portnov, and over 8+ years I've grown from developer to team lead, worked in startups and established products, taught at MEPhI, and built education programs for JetBrains Academy and hundreds of students. This experience taught me to build systems that work in any context – and now I help others do the same.
See the portfolio$ stats --summary
years in IT8+countries50+years as nomad4+mentees & graduates120+
$
[00]💻
Shipped products in edtech, fintech, and cybersecurity – built the teams and the processes that got them there, from zero-to-one startups to mature international companies.
[01]🎓
Taught people to code and built the curriculum behind it, from lecture halls at MEPhI to Samsung, JetBrains Academy, and Skillfactory.
[02]🌍
Nomad since 2023 – a new country most months. Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the Caucasus, South Africa, Latin America, roughly in that order.
[03]🔧
Built Punto Cero because I needed it myself – a system for staying organized while everything around you keeps moving. Now it does the same for others.
Punto Cero
A practicum on systematic growth: eliminating chaos, building a working life organization system with group support.
Indie products
Things I build
Four products, one maker. Designed, built and shipped solo – from a Rust daemon to a full life management platform.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
A01
Three: Strategic Momentum – 1:1 mentoring for long-term goals. Career Moves – career consulting for IT and adjacent fields. Digital Flow Engineering – a personal productivity system, built once and tuned to you. Momentum and Career come in several formats and price points; Digital Flow is one focused session.
A02
Remote, on Zoom or Google Meet. After each call, Plaud.AI turns the conversation into a written summary – decisions, action items, context. Nothing important gets lost between sessions.
A03
Strategic Momentum and Digital Flow Engineering work for any digital professional. Career consulting stays IT and adjacent – product, design, data, devtools, engineering management – because that's where I actually know the market well enough to give you an edge, not just encouragement.
A04
English or Russian, both native-level. Pick whichever one you think faster in.
A05
Usually one to two weeks. I keep the client list small on purpose, so everyone gets real attention instead of a slot in a queue. Fastest way to check current availability: message me on Telegram.
A06
No. Instead, message me on Telegram before you pay – we'll talk through goals, format, and expectations first. That conversation is where we figure out if this is even the right fit, which is a better use of time than a refund policy.
Contact
If you want to start changing something,
it's time to chat
Let's discuss your goal and find an action plan.
Write me right there, I respond quickly.
@mishatalks
Personal experience, travel, self-improvement without bullshit