Deniz Arda Aslan: Connecting the Dots of Data | Vespia

[UPDATED ON DECEMBER 1ST, 2022]

My name is Deniz Arda Aslan, I am from Turkey, currently working as a Data Science intern at Vespia. My data science journey is all about connecting the dots of my life and I am proud that Vespia is a significant part of it. During my studies in Industrial Engineering, I learned how much I enjoyed incorporating technology into my work. Something else I learned about myself is that I always will try to make sense of data, no matter where I go, no matter what I do.

There is a particular quote said by Steve Jobs, CEO and Founder of Apple and Pixar, during his commencement speech at Stanford in 2005 that really inspires me. It goes like this:

"You can't connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them by looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something -- your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever." - Steve Jobs

When I look back at my journey to where I am now I realize that I am here as my own dots are connecting, and working at Vespia is not a coincidence on this path. In this blog, I will briefly explain the factors that shaped me into the Data Scientist I am today.

Firstly, I will mention that I’m a big fan of the Python programming language, which I learned before I started university. Secondly, I greatly enjoy working with data. I’ve always been passionate about using data effectively, making it meaningful by showing on a dashboard, analyzing, and presenting it to my team while brainstorming ways of utilizing the data to improve processes.

Another factor that guided my career today was my graduation project. I remember that my Academic Advisor suggested conducting research by using the data in manufacturing. The truth is that this project was a dot that led me to experience this field even deeper by working intensively on data science. Last but not least, bringing all my interest and knowledge to Vespia is what makes me get up in the morning nowadays.

What I do in Vespia

Customers will always look at the output. Good output in Vespia means presenting detailed and accurate data to customers. As a Data Science professional, I am continuously working towards this goal. At Vespia, each week brings different jobs and new tasks for me. Sometimes, the work includes data sciences, and other times, new technologies. What I usually do is develop tools and analysis for more effective use of our data and in addition, I work on predictive models.

Questions like, “What do we need?”, “How can we implement this structure?” are the ones I ask the most in my day-to-day at work. That is why I often work on theoretical structures. I research how to build the infrastructures of the technologies and plan to develop them with my team at Vespia.

Why Vespia?

Before I got to know Vespia, my idea about business verification was quite basic. That was not a problem for the company and my colleagues to assist me in my onboarding and continuous training about concepts related to Know Your Business (KYB), Know Your Customer (KYC), and Anti-Money Laundering (AML), compliance and engineering trust.

A special highlight goes to our Product Manager, Artem Sherbynka, who has been patient enough to provide detailed explanations on all these terms, which ultimately helped me understand this RegTech world more in-depth and put my data science skills in the right direction. Anyone from our team can relate to the fact that the learning curve in Vespia is quite fast. This is one of the things I like most about the company!

Personally, the team is one of the most important factors for me when working in a company. Vespia has a small team but its team members have been carefully selected and that is what makes it so strong. When I have a technical problem, I always get support from our developers. Also, everyone is helpful at any time and open to communication considering the fact that the team is fully remote. This has helped me adapt much quicker and smoother.

Another reason I'm at Vespia it’s because of its high potential, and its continuous growth. Also, working at the company makes it possible for me to take more responsibility and see other processes at the same time.

The factors that attracted me the most to Vespia are the opportunity to constantly learn and grow, the sense of belonging to something bigger than myself, and because I am proud of building trust in our vision with the help of data.

What makes my heartbeat a little faster is...

I've always enjoyed building things, especially manual things like cooking, crafting, and even writing. Here, I include the programming in the physical things. Creating, and innovative work are the things that excite me. This is why I enjoy developing our product so much nowadays. I find it both exciting and satisfying to contribute to developing a product our customers love, which, at the same time, helps them optimize their work.

What is Next?

At Vespia, we work every day to build a great product for our users. We have very specific plans and studies, especially on the analytics aspect. We are working on predictive and classifier models that will enable our users to make better predictions about companies. We also continue to add more data points to improve our data quality and continue to design a great experience for our users.

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Interested in learning more about Data Science? Connect with Deniz on LinkedIn!

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