Meet our team | Product Developer Jesse, the link between business and IT

BuyBay’s driving force behind Product Development, Jesse, connects business and IT by answering the question “what to develop next?” He started out as a student happy to take on a sideline for 2 days a week during his final year of college. Back then, BuyBay was in the early stages of mapping the returns problem. Over the past few years, BuyBay and Jesse grew out to be established professionals.

“When I first started at BuyBay, pricing of each product was done manually,” Jesse smiles at the thought. “Should we auction it or sell it for a fixed price? And what’s a fair price for this particular product in this particular state? Automating that whole pricing flow was my first task.”

Whenever something came up, Jesse jumped in. “That’s right, when we were shifting our finance office to Amsterdam, I led the entire transition… Those were the start-up days!” But those days are over: BuyBay is working on expanding its now full scale fully automated return solution across borders. After graduating, Jesse started at BuyBay full time, at full speed. “Yeah, you could say we’ve come a long way.”

As an econometrist, Jesse predicts data, finds mathematical solutions for practical and operational issues. “Data. That’s my thing. I gather data, shift through it, make analyses and provide recommendations. Together with our IT developers, we turn ideas into software, into clickable prototypes. Really cool: it’s where theory and practice meet.”

When the clickable prototype is tested, it’s time for finishing touches, done by others. “Haha, that’s right. My favourite phase is between 0% and 80% of the process. When we reach the last 20%, I’ll be out looking for new challenges to tackle. Starting with a clean slate, inventing a new application, outlining how things can go better, faster, smoother and bigger: that’s what drives me.”

As BuyBay transformed into a grown-up Tech company, Jesse has concentrated on turning BuyBay’s service into a SaaS product for the European market. In recent months, Jesse and his team have focused on creating and developing the product. They gathered data needed to design the solution, straight off the workplace. “You know, our warehouse is a fully functioning and professional environment but it’s also my laboratory. In my view, the shop floor is the best possible source of data.”

Jesse interviewed colleagues working with their solutions, but observing everyday business has been most valuable to him: “Our colleagues on the shop floor often find clever workarounds which are super useful to incorporate directly into the software.” Currently, Jesse and his team are approaching the end of the project. “We are almost set!”

Jesse is enjoying the ride. Or in his case, the ‘wave’. Like many BuyBay’ers, Jesse is an avid kitesurf fan: “I borrowed kites from one of BuyBay’s founders just to try it. I was instantly hooked! The turbulence, the speed, wanting to go higher, further… I guess it’s the perfect metaphor for what we do at BuyBay!”

We are always looking for talented people who are passionate about making the world a little more sustainable! Check out our vacancies.