VIU_Magazine_Summer_2017

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INDUSTRY INSIGHTS Holly Jones is the Communications Manager at VIU. She graduated from the Florida State University with a BA in PR and a MA in PR from Kent State University. VIU ALUM EKIM KAYA: CHANGING THE BOT GAME BY HOLLY JONES Ekim Kaya, CEO and founder of Botego, built his company on recognizing the need bots were able to fill - 3 years prior to Apple acquiring the digital assistant Siri. Back then, the only mainstream bot was Microsoft’s MSN Bot - which was answering questions based on terms from the Encarta Encyclopedia. “Kaya is a true believer in taking a step back to look at the situation from a broader view of everyday problems before achieving a creative solution.” Ekim Kaya is the man behind the scenes, responsible for changing how bots are used to streamline business in an ever-increasing online world. A Virginia International University alumni, Kaya focuses on building conversations through the bots his company Botego creates. The key to his success? Perseverance. Prior to attaining his master’s degree in Management Information Systems at Virginia International University, Kaya worked as a call center agent for an internet service provider circa 1997. This experience led him to realize that there was a systematic problem with phone-based customer support: 80% of the questions represented only 20% of the whole knowledge base. Customers were basically asking the same questions over and over. Nearly all of the problems were about account credentials or computer or modem settings. It was the perfect candidate for a self-service tool to solve. Bots have proved to be perfect tools to increase customer satisfaction while reducing customer service costs; they have the ability to give human features and interactions creating a new user experience. Kaya isn’t a developer or even an engineer, even though he studied electrical engineering as an undergrad, he is an entrepreneur at heart and it shows. His company, Botego, was not always the successful, highly regarded bot company it is today. Founded in 2007, Botego, almost went bankrupt not once, but twice; having made huge mistakes, incorrect assumptions, and missing crucial opportunities. Kaya devoted so much time and effort into the organization that he refused to see it fail. He wanted to see if all the disappointment was worth it- would he be able to pull it off? For Kaya, the third time was a charm, and his persistence paid off through new clients and a research and development project that helped the company pay the bills. Statistics show that 96% of businesses fail within 10 years, but thankfully Botego is one of the 4% who survived. Fate would have it that tech-start up Facebook, helped Kaya’s dream take hold in the business world- and only weeks prior to Facebook’s bot announcement, he was considering closing Botego’s doors. Kaya focuses on the needs bots fill for businesses to be successful and recently published a book on it entitled Bot Business 101. Technology continues to grow at a rapid pace and his company is no different operating with three different teams in three different countries, spanning two time-zones and boasts clients from 81 countries. 20 years ago this would have been unimaginable to some degree. Where there is a need, there is imagination, and Kaya is living proof of that concept- having identified a solution to a common problem in 1997. Kaya credits much of his success to his overall educational journey. Stating things like, “formal education should never satisfy any student in the information age.” Encouraging everyone to become aware of their strengths and weaknesses as early as possible; create their own external stream of information, focusing on those strengths to be able to gain new skills. The acquired skills help create personal value and value for others allowing for future success in life and in business. Hands-on experience and discussion are just as important as any lecture or textbook. 30 University Magazine, VIU Summer 2017
VIU Alumni Association Plant the seed for a stronger network Connect with VIU graduates from 100 different countries worldwide. Receive a 10% tuition discount for your next graduate program. Take advantage of special offers from VIU business partners. Stay Connected! Send all VIU Alumni Association membership inquiries to alumni@viu.edu. 4401 Village Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030 Tel: (703) 591-7042 /VIUAlumniAssociation /VIUalumni VIU is certified to operate in Virginia by SCHEV. Accredited Member, ACICS.
Page 1 and 2: MAGAZINE ISSUE 8 JUST WHAT IS ASSES
Page 3 and 4: VIU.EDU Summer 2017 CONTENTS FEATUR
Page 5 and 6: WELCOME TO READERS VIU.EDU LETTER F
Page 7 and 8: CAMPUS NEWS VIU.EDU CAMPUS NEWS 12
Page 9 and 10: VIU.EDU Laina C. Lopez presents at
Page 11 and 12: VIU.EDU THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY
Page 13 and 14: VIU.EDU VISITING SCHOLAR PROGRAM Du
Page 15 and 16: INDUSTRY INSIGHTS VIU.EDU INDUSTRY
Page 17 and 18: VIU.EDU The Right Path Finding the
Page 19 and 20: VIU.EDU saying things like “stupi
Page 21 and 22: VIU.EDU and other techniques. This
Page 23 and 24: VIU.EDU AT-A-GLANCE BY CHRISTINA KO
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Page 27 and 28: VIU.EDU “Many successful stories
Page 29: VIU.EDU BOT FUN FACTS • The avera
Page 34 and 35: INDUSTRY INSIGHTS Rebecca Yu is the
Page 36 and 37: INDUSTRY INSIGHTS Anastassiya Lapik
Page 38 and 39: INTERNATIONAL INSPIRATION Love is..
Page 40 and 41: INTERNATIONAL INSPIRATION IT ALL ST
Page 42 and 43: INTERNATIONAL INSPIRATION Kazakh ma
Page 44 and 45: INTERNATIONAL INSPIRATION Share you
Page 46 and 47: INTERNATIONAL INSPIRATION Eager to
Page 48 and 49: INTERNATIONAL INSPIRATION Koshary (
Page 50 and 51: THE WRITTEN WORD A Whole New Mind B
Page 52: Stay Connected with VIU. #GOVIU

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