Every unique and talented Avantee is a co-creator of the Avant culture we love. We hope the @Avant series helps you get to know who we are, how we do what we do, and what it looks like to build your career at Avant.
Dave Blazek
Head of Compliance on the Compliance Team
Joined Avant in 2013
What’s it like to work @Avant? We asked Dave for his take on our culture, and here’s what he said:
1. How would you describe Avant’s culture?
We are a culture of doers. No matter what role I’ve been in, I get my hands dirty, and I really like that. At all levels, you get into the weeds. That means you can see things you wouldn’t see otherwise. It’s really good for the business. When you actually know what’s going on on the ground, you understand things a lot better and can make stronger high-level decisions.
2. Why are you happy/successful here?
Something unique to the Compliance team is that we get to see the product and the business end to end. Where other teams might be focused on Loan or Card or the financials, we have visibility into everything. That broad view of the business makes Compliance a really cool place to be. We might make one suggestion in Originations and then watch as it makes a positive impact throughout the life cycle of the customer account. That’s really cool, and it’s one of the things that has kept me here. It’s awesome to work on so many different things.
3. If you were to describe who you are and not mention your work at all, what would you say?
I’m naturally a curious person. I’ll get interested in one specific area and then go really deep. Recently it was physics. I read a book about the Chernobyl accident, watched the miniseries about Chernobyl, and then read The Making of the Atomic Bomb. That led me to Surely You Must Be Joking, Mr. Feynman, which is about Richard Feynman, a great physicist who was part of the Manhattan Project. I just kept going further down that road. Honestly, AI has been amazing for that. I’ve always read a lot of books and been interested in history, but with AI, I can go so deep on any topic. Before, I’d just pick up a book and hope that I could find more info about the topic somewhere. Now it’s at my fingertips. I love being able to satisfy my curiosity.
4. What’s something Avant is really good at? What’s something you’d like to see us get better at?
Can they be the same thing? We’re really good at figuring out what works and what doesn’t work. That can be a double-edged sword. Obviously it’s a strength, but when you pivot, the transition can be painful. We’ve learned over the years how to make those transitions smoother, but we can always do more, especially around communication. And I think getting better at one means getting better at the other.
5. How does your work at Avant fit in with the rest of your life?
I tell people this all the time: I am grateful to have the ability to both go into the office and work from home. I like having the flexibility of remote work a few days a week, seeing my family, spending more time with my daughter. It’s also very good for me personally to go in to work and be away from my house so I don’t get too stir crazy. I like to see everybody in person, to meet in person, and we have pretty great snacks, too.
6. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
My dad worked in construction, building buildings in Chicago. I always wanted to do what he did. He’d take me to his job sites and show me around and I thought, “wow, this is what I want to do when I grow up.” It was pretty cool. A lot of project management, detail orientation, keeping things on time.
