just graduated · moving bay area · arista networks next

Beyza Simsekoglu

Product engineer working at the seam between data, design, and decisions. Recently graduated from Cornell University (M.Eng.), where I built Mileo, an AI persona engine that lets product teams pressure test ideas before they ship. Next: Arista Networks, leading product automation on the hardware side.

A short version.

portrait

Hello, I'm Beyza. I grew up design obsessed in a house with exactly one artist, my dad. By three I was sprawled on the floor drawing whatever was on Cartoon Network. By six, kindergarten gave me my first heartbreak. By ten, I was the only girl in my brother's friend group, parked in goal because nobody else wanted to be the goalkeeper.

I got into a Turkish university on a full scholarship I didn't really want, and cried about it for a week. Graduated top of my class without really trying, mostly because I'd already decided I was leaving. Three months later, at 22, I landed in San Francisco with three suitcases and a jar of Turkish olives.

First job: Popcorn, a fast delivery startup. Officially Category Manager; in practice, the kind of role that meant "do whatever's on fire today." First five employee. Watched it scale to 150 people and a $30M Series A, then watched it close. That one took a while to come out of. I'd loved it like a person.

So I built my own. LANS, a marketplace for coworking spaces, still live at lans.app. Raised $170K, hosted 30+ events with founders and investors across SF, hit 2,000+ App Store downloads in the first six months. Hard years. Cried plenty.

Then Cornell. This time one I'd applied for on purpose. Moved west coast to east. Spent a year that turned a school into my biggest family, graduated May 15, 2026, and in June I'm flying back to the Bay for the next chapter at Arista Networks. Same three suitcases. Probably the same olives.

Outside of all this: oil painting, piano, and long walks looking for the one good coffee in any new city.

based in
NYC → Bay Area
next
Arista Networks
Product Automation
education
M.Eng., Cornell University
Data Science & Decision Analytics
built
Mileo · LANS
AI personas · coworking marketplace
speaks
Turkish · English
off the clock
painting · piano

What I'm up to.

This month

updated jun 2026
  • just did Graduated Cornell University M.Eng. on May 15.
  • packing NYC → Bay Area. Three suitcases. Possibly more olives than is reasonable.
  • starting Joining Arista Networks in June. Product automation, hardware side. First ever hardware role.
  • building Still shipping on Mileo. Persona debate mode and design partner onboarding.
  • reading Bits about high-radix switching and what product looks like when the customer is an SRE.
  • making Slow oil-paint studies. Mostly windows and bowls of fruit.

Things I've shipped & led.

Mileo

product manager · cornell startup studio · 2025 to now

An AI persona engine that turns real customer data into named, consistent voice characters product teams can chat with, or watch debate, before pricing, feature, or messaging calls. Local first; data never leaves the machine.

LANS

co-founder, CEO & head of product · san francisco · 2023 to 2024

Matched coworking spaces with people seeking flexible, discounted seats. Raised $185K pre-seed, scaled to 2,000+ users with a 38% repeat rate, and ran the full lifecycle from discovery to A/B testing to launch.

AI Diagnostics

product manager · UC berkeley lab · 2025

Translated clinical and engineering needs into product requirements for bio-sensor chips, integrating time-series and generative models to lift diagnostic accuracy by 22% across four on-schedule release milestones.

SF Naturals

growth product manager · san francisco · 2022 to 2023

Drove strategic B2B adoption and distributor relationships, lifting repeat-purchase rate to 33% and daily orders by 19%. Led GTM campaigns that grew brand visibility 17% and secured follow-on funding.

Feed App

growth product manager · popcornvan · 2021 to 2022

First five employee at seed. Helped scale the team from 5 to 150 and $5M to a $30M Series A, owning vendor product strategy and data driven purchasing models that cut sourcing costs ~12% and lifted targeted sales 14%.

Notes, eventually.

·

Drafts in progress. I write when an idea has earned the page.
Check back; the first posts land soon.

Let's talk.

Open to design-partner conversations for Mileo, hardware/product chats ahead of Arista, or a good coffee in New York or the Bay.