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How often do you book a training course and end up founding a start-up through someone you meet there? Well, that's exactly what Anne Willem de Vries did after completing Xebia's Data Science with Python training.
"I met an entrepreneur from the publishing world during the Python training," Anne Willem recalled. "He was very interested in data, and together we worked on creating a churn model that was quite a success," he laughed. "It ended up saving him close to €100,000." After that, the entrepreneur introduced Anne Willem to his partners, and within a few months, they started Silverflow, a payment processing company.
Safeguarding Quality
What makes the story even more extraordinary is that Anne Willem didn't intend to follow the Python training. He spoke to a friend who recommended GoDataDriven. "I was interested in GoDataDriven's Deep Learning training and looking for advice. Since I live around the corner from the office, I just walked in and asked someone about it," he explained. Xebia's training advisor advised him to start with Python and brush up on his skills. "I could have gotten away with attending the Deep Learning training, but I think it's great that Xebia guards the quality of its courses," he said.
Best Structure for a Project in Python
Anne Willem was very impressed with the structure he learned during the training. "You can learn Python anywhere, but what our trainer taught us, you can't get anywhere else," he explained. "He outlined the exact structure you need to build a data science project in Python. I also liked the hands-on coding. During the last day, everyone brought their own dataset, and we went to work on them." When later building the churn model, Anne Willem and his fellow trainee could easily replicate this structure. "We only had to fill in some details to optimize our pipeline," he said.
Deep Learning
Still drawn by a desire to go hands-on with AI, Anne Willem followed the Deep Learning training after completing the Python course, "I worked with MRI and CT scans during my studies towards an Applied Physics degree, so it was interesting to see what has changed in the last ten years."
Anne Willem felt that the training was extremely valuable. He said, "It was slightly more theoretical than the Python training, but I expected that. The trainer very clearly explained that deep learning is most useful when working with unstructured data. In most other cases, machine learning suffices."
But not everyone who completes a Python course becomes an entrepreneur—that said, would Anne Willem recommend it? He smiled, "I think anyone interested in AI could benefit from the Python training, whether you're a data professional, manager, politician, journalist, or entrepreneur."
Check out Anne Willem de Vries’ venture Silverflow or find him on LinkedIn.
Anne Willem embarked on a data science learning journey. This data science learning journey is available for any data professional. Our extensive training programs are designed to develop your skills from junior to senior.