Daniil Fjodorovs
Daniil is an entrepreneurial self-starter and an Honours student, who has been teaching himself Python and Data Science in the evenings after college. He has been my classmate in the undergraduate program (business administration) we both pursue at the University of Amsterdam. Noticing his flawless work in our class projects and active participation during lectures, I particularly sought him out for an oncoming quantitative research assignment. During an easy chat as we sit at Café de Jaren on a warm Sunday evening, I listen in awe as this young man from Latvia shares a snapshot of where he stands in academics and work.
this year
“2020 has been a great year.”
“Despite the obvious challenges that humanity has faced, I personally look at it like any other year—trying to accept reality as it is, without experiencing negative emotions. I strongly believe that being sad will not solve problems, and instead, it is practical to grab opportunities that arise because of problems. This year has helped me understand this rule better.”
“There have been two key reminders for us as a society:
1. We still behave extremely irresponsibly when it comes to global problems. This is despite responsibility and sustainability being heavily advertised. COVID-19 is a good representation of how people tend to not care about consequences in the face of instant gratification.
2. Adaptation is important. We live in an era where machinery is about to break the Turing’s Test. We have to be prepared to live in a world where the majority of human tasks will be fully substituted by machines.
I have thus decided to start my journey into learning Artificial Intelligence (AI) this year, as I want to make sure that we as a society benefit from it at the most.”
balancing academics, self-study of data analytics, and work
“Well, first I just asked myself what I wanted to achieve within a couple of years and enjoy doing it at the same time. Following this, I calculated how much time each goal approximately requires and how much time, in general, I have in a week. This included analyzing how I have been organizing my time previously. It turned out that around 30-40% of my time was being wasted on things that do not bring any value to me. This had to be significantly reduced so that all my passion projects could fit within the seven days of a week.”
“To be honest, I still waste around 20% of my time in which I could be more efficient. There is still a lot of progress to be made, and I am working on it. Unfortunately, time is limited, so it is impossible to do all the things I like.”
“However, I believe, if we identify 4-5 tasks that are most important to us, and if we are honest with each other and disciplined in general, then every person can be successful in what they choose to excel in (nothing special, pure math).”
work at Adyen and seeking out new opportunities
“It is my third month with the company now and I am enjoying the ride. It is interesting how this opportunity arose out of nowhere. As my first year of college ended, I was contacted by a recruiting agent and one month later, I was already in Amsterdam doing the job. It was a spontaneous decision.”
“My work in Adyen primarily includes conducting Customer Risk Review (CRR) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) activities in the eBay transition project. I have been recently allocated to the former (CRR), where my primary task is to communicate with merchants and assist my seniors in performing an annual normal risk assessment.”
“This type of job is outside of my primary area of interests, but I am really thankful for the opportunity to learn from Adyen about how efficient business could be done, and at the same time, how to provide each team member with a lot of freedom.”
“On the first day, I was asked to criticize their procedures and openly discuss potential upgrades for the future. After the first week, I was already asked to come up with innovative projects which may help the company become more efficient.”
“This experience has showed me what type of an organisation I want to build myself one day.”
“Everyone is treated equally, and the management is approachable—maximum transparency and efficiency. I am thinking of growing with the company, and applying to a financial or a development department in January 2021.”
looking ahead
“Travelogram! - my IT startup that offers travelers a customizable itinerary by using AI matching technology. It heavily saves on your waiting and planning time.”
“This idea popped out of nowhere too, with my childhood friend offering to help. He has his own business, which came up with a new app for Intelak Incubator this autumn. Our team has quickly expanded, and we are passionately working towards making our idea become a reality. I find my management role quite challenging, as I have a diverse team of youngsters with different backgrounds. Gratefully, all people are extremely talented and I feel thankful for an opportunity to work and learn with them. Obviously, continuing my journey into exploring data science, machine learning, and AI is another priority for the next two years at least.”
knowledge source to follow
“I start my days with browsing through the news and some relevant articles to see which ideas and topics are at the top today. It also includes articles from Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and occasionally some academic literature.”
“Nature.com gives me a brief overview of the world of science. Github and Kaggle for data science and machine learning in the evenings. In general, I try to tap into at least two new sources of knowledge per month. We are fortunate to have so much information around to choose from.”
onward to a Master's degree
“MIT (Sloan) - Business Analytics is my number one priority when it comes to selecting a Master’s program. I understand the challenges and difficulties that I will have in the process, as well as my weaknesses, which could act as a disadvantage. But I will be trying. The willingness to achieve the maximum result possible is crucial for my mentality.”
“MIT is this tower that I want to climb.
Even if I fail, at least I will grow as a person in the process.”
music and books
“Music - I have been rediscovering Johnny Cash and Bon Iver, as well as enjoying Erik Satie. Also an indulgence in Ludovico Einaudi and Hans Zimmer every day regardless of my mood.”
“Books - I read multiple ones simultaneously. Currently finishing Lawrence Krauss (A Universe from Nothing), Ray Dalio (Principles), and now starting Fyodor Dostoevsky (The Brothers Karamazov).”
I admire his diligent focus on what needs to be done and calculated optimism that helps Daniil set his sight on self-determined milestones.
—
Daniil recommends
—
Words: Daniils Fjodorovs, in a conversation with Sushrut Munje