Between Arepas and Algorithms: Designing a Life With Intention
From Venezuela to Kraków, one PM’s story is about ritual, reinvention, and building momentum that lasts.
In Kraków, before Slack notifications and product dashboards come to life, the day begins slowly. Breakfast is made from scratch. Coffee waits its turn. The kitchen fills with the scent of arepas - a daily ritual rooted in home, memory, and intention.
Originally from Venezuela and now based in Poland, Mariate carries multiple worlds with her: different languages, time zones, and cultural rhythms. At Udemy, she works on subscription retention for learners. But beyond the title, her story is one of movement: Across countries, across roles, and across chapters of growth that weren’t always planned.
Ritual as a compass
“I’m very ritual-driven.”
Her mornings are non-negotiable. She wakes up, makes breakfast, and only drinks coffee after eating; never before.
Just as important is resetting her space before the workday begins. “If my house is chaotic, my brain is chaotic.”
And then there are the calls. With family spread across countries and time zones, staying connected takes intention. Weekly check-ins help her stay anchored to her roots, to her people, to the version of herself that exists beyond product roadmaps.
Mariate’s picks
A book
“I’ve recently gotten into Murakami. My favorite so far is Kafka on the Shore. I like the escapism in his writing. It's surreal but still emotionally grounded. There’s a quiet sadness to his novels, but they’re also really beautiful and immersive.”
A film
“I genuinely cannot choose just one as I watch new films and TV shows every week. From last year, I loved Sorry, Baby and The Chainsaw Man. I recently watched the classic Stand by Me from Rob Reiner for the first time which I can’t believe I hadn’t seen sooner.”
An album
“I’m in discovery mode bouncing between new artists. But last year I was completely hooked on The Passionate Ones by Nourished by Time. Definitely recommend it if you haven’t listened to it.”
2025 was a year of nonlinear growth
Her path to Udemy wasn’t straightforward.
She joined through the acquisition of Lummi.ai, where she was working as a PM. For a time, she was effectively juggling two roles: Continuing her work at Lummi while stepping into Udemy’s Growth team.
The contrast was stark. Different scale. Different complexity. More stakeholders. More strategic scope.
"It was intense, sometimes messy, and definitely not linear."
But what began as an unexpected shift became one of the most formative years of her career. At Udemy, she works on making sure learners actually feel the value of their subscription.
“More concretely, I’m a PM on the Consumer Growth and Discovery team, focused on subs retention. That means I spend a lot of time thinking about onboarding, activation, renewal, and cancellation, and how to reduce the gap between what learners intend to do and what they actually do.”
Lately, she’s been exploring gamification. Progress loops, streaks (Duolingo anyone?), and feedback systems that help learners build habits that stick.
Connect with Mariate
Mariate is a Product Manager at Udemy, focused on making learning stick. Based in Kraków, Poland, she joined Udemy through the acquisition of Lummi AI.
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