Our employee spotlight series introduces you to the people behind Cala’s technology. Each post will give you a closer look at the skills, ideas, and experiences driving the development of our intelligent heat pump water heater. By sharing the stories of our team, we want to show you how their work is shaping a better, smarter way to heat water and why we think you’ll be just as excited about Cala as we are.
We’re excited to shine the spotlight on Mike Ting, Cala’s VP of Hardware and Co-Founder. While our employee spotlight series usually highlights the incredible teammates building Cala, Mike is also one of the co-founders, helping shape Cala from day one. He brings a sharp eye for product design, a deep love for user experience, and a relentless drive to make things smarter, simpler, and more sustainable.
Get to know Mike:
Q: What is your title and role at Cala?
A: VP Hardware & Co-Founder
Q: What lessons from your background have been most valuable in building Cala?
A: I’ve been fortunate to have worked at two leading global consumer brands, Bose and SharkNinja. Each does a lot of things really well when it comes to shipping best-in-class products, and I lean on both those experiences here at Cala.
At Bose we used to talk about building product experiences people couldn’t previously have imagined, but couldn't imagine living without once they owned it. That’s always stuck with me. At Cala we want to win over our customers by delighting them with a simply better product that delivers real value - not just bells and whistles.
At SharkNinja, we had a culture of rapid iteration: what can you design or build today that moves the product and team forward? At Cala, this mindset is even more critical for us as a startup, and we’ve built an extraordinarily scrappy team of problem-solvers that understands how to drive steady progress while maintaining the highest standards. Importantly, we have a lot of fun doing it!
Q. What’s one aspect of Cala’s technology or mission that you’re most excited for people to discover once it launches?
A: That an intelligent product does not need to be a more complicated one. We spent a ton of time “getting out of the building” to talk to homeowners, installers, and industry experts to deeply understand the pain points of today’s systems, and then built a product that outperforms them with less effort from the owner.
Q: How do you see Cala fitting into the broader landscape of smart home technologies and renewable energy solutions?
A: Water heating is the logical next step in smart home integration. It’s the second largest use of energy in the home after heating/cooling and we’ve already seen how that industry has transformed over the last decade. Importantly, we view smarts as a tool to deliver better performance rather than “being smart” as the end goal. We envision a world where eventually all of a home’s energy systems will work in unison to maximize savings and efficiency.
Q: What’s an interesting technical or design aspect of Cala’s product that you think more people should know about?
A: Unlike other water heaters, we use a variable speed compressor rather than a fixed speed compressor, and couple that with intelligent controls to deliver superior performance. Think of it like driving a car; competitors can either be parked or drive 60 miles an hour - not a very economical way of getting somewhere! We can drive quickly when we need to get a lot of heat in the tank for recovery, or slow down when we have time to prioritize efficiency. Importantly, to really take advantage of that flexibility, you need intelligent controls that know how to optimally run the hardware, otherwise it’s like having a fighter jet without a navigation system.
Q: How do you see Cala's impact evolving over the next five years, both in terms of the product itself and its role in transforming how people think about water heating and energy use?
A: People rarely think about their hot water until it runs out and they’re staring down a cold shower. Yet it’s the second largest use of energy in the home and a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. We hope that Cala empowers people to realize they can effortlessly do their part to mitigate climate change without sacrificing comfort or savings - that’s what Feel-Good Warmth means to us.
.jpg)
