A day in the life of Head of Data Analytics Emily Loh

About me

I’m Emily and I’m the Head of Data Analytics at MoonPay, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. I’ve been in crypto for a few years now, having worked previously at Coinbase. But things move so fast in this industry, it feels like I’m a seasoned veteran. 

Originally hailing from Toronto (i.e., Aubrey Drake Graham’s “the 6”), I moved to Amsterdam many, many moons ago to do my master’s degree in Cultural Analysis. Long story short, I had a very difficult time looking for my first career job after the economic crisis of 2008, ended up becoming a digital marketing analyst, and haven’t looked back since. 

In my leisure time, I try and keep up with my literature roots by reading voraciously through the thousands of books I have on my list. I'm a fan of boutique gyms, a mediocre and fair-weather road runner, and I try to keep up my streak on Duolingo—with varying degrees of success. 

What does your typical day look like?

There’s a Buddhist tenet that says something about how discipline and routine beget success but I somehow haven’t managed to ever establish one, and that’s no different at MoonPay. I’m a night owl, so I wake up relatively late (around 9 in the morning) when I go to the gym or putter around for a little while, listening to podcasts, and unwind a little before tackling the day.

My mornings are usually filled with meetings, but I try to get to my Slack and email before I start anything, adding items to my ever-growing to-do list along the way. Morning meetings will usually end with me adding at least a couple more action items to said list. 

Then, chaos ensues… I’m only mildly kidding, but no matter what my intentions for a day are, no matter how I think my day is going to go, there’s usually something that comes up which prompts me to reshuffle all my priorities and original obligations. Between meetings with my team, meetings with stakeholders, meeting with leadership, and trying to ensure that everything is moving forward on track, a big part of my job is taking all the various ideas and requests and fitting them into the wider narrative of how data drives MoonPay’s goals. 

Once in a while, I’ll have some deep work to do, where I’m either crunching down on something technical or thoroughly thinking through strategies to increase the impact of my team’s work on the overall business. 

What do you love about Analytics?

I’m a huge fan of puzzles and detective novels; I’ve always loved the process of discovering how all the pieces fit with each other, of finding the story that weaves the facts together, and this is pretty much what analytics is all about. 

It might seem that there’s very little intersection between my educational background in literature and what my career has entailed, but there’s actually a very creative component to being a good analyst. At the heart of it, the role of data analytics is to use math and logic as a means towards building a narrative about the business: what happened in the past, how is it currently going, and where is it moving towards? I’ve always wanted to write a novel, and while I don’t know if I’ll ever achieve that specific goal, being in analytics lets me exercise that muscle on a regular basis. 

How and why did you end up joining MoonPay?

I’ve been working in tech start-ups since 2016, and really enjoy the fast-paced, somewhat chaotic, and challenging (but rewarding) dynamics of such companies’ cultures. In 2018, I joined a prominent cryptocurrency exchange. I admittedly wasn’t super knowledgeable about crypto at the time but the concept was intriguing and I was drawn to the opportunity to be a part of something truly revolutionary. 

Fast forward a few years later and some of my former colleagues approached me to join MoonPay. By now, I’d become a true believer in the power of Web3 and the crypto economy, but from my crypto exchange experience I could see how the road to mass adoption is paved with a million mountains along the way. Namely, the average person isn’t interested in traditional finance or investing, so the idea of crypto being for everyone is somewhat far-fetched, when even traditional finance can hardly be claimed as being for everyone. I moved to MoonPay because MoonPay’s proposition truly amplifies the idea of democratizing finance, by connecting the old world to the new, and making it easy for anyone to access and utilize crypto. 

What do you love about working at MoonPay?

One of the things I love about MoonPay is that it’s a data-driven, product-led culture, meaning that we all come to problems without ego, think about what the best solution is for our customers, and approach everything with a growth mindset. This certainly makes my job exponentially easier since I don’t have to waste energy convincing people that data is valuable and necessary to the company.  

MoonPay is also growing so quickly that there’s never a dull moment. For someone like myself, who thrives on change and pressure, this company is constantly evolving, and the opportunities are endless. There’s a sense that we’re just getting started and it’ll be exciting to look back a year from now to see all that we’ve accomplished, but it’ll be equally as thrilling to turn around and see the world open up in front of us. 

What’s an exciting challenge you’ll face in your role over the next 6-12 months?

Every department and function at MoonPay faces the challenge of scaling quickly enough to keep up the pace with growth for both the company and the industry, but without sacrificing quality. This will require us to strategically determine what our highest priorities are, and the actions that will lead to the most impact and the best outcomes for our customers. 

We’re constantly evaluating ourselves to see where we can become more agile, where we can provide more value and insights, and the next months will bring forth an iterative process by which we aim to cement the Analytics team’s position as the center of knowledge within MoonPay and beyond. 

What roles are MoonPay hiring for right now?

MoonPay is currently hiring for open roles so be sure to regularly check our careers page. This is a wonderful opportunity to be part of the MoonPay team and create your own unique and exceptional experience!