From Floor to Solo preneurship
SOMM DIGI wasn’t built to disrupt. It was built to evolve.
Before the tools, there was service. Before the AI, there was real hospitality.
This page tells the story behind SOMM DIGI — and the years that made it possible.
Every tool, every image, every line of code comes from the floor.
Built by someone who’s lived it — not just studied it
2012 — FIRST STEP ABROAD
Learning by doing. Not just studying.
Moved from Türkiye to Little Rock, Arkansas on a hospitality internship visa.
At 23, started working in the city’s largest wine store — stepping into the industry with sleeves rolled up, not just a résumé.
No tech. No AI. Just long shifts, real guests, and deep learning through service.
During that year:
→ Completed the Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW)
→ Passed the CMS Introductory in Napa Valley
→ Finished WSET Level 3
That’s where wine stopped being theory — and became something lived.
Napa, 2012 — CMS Intro at the Culinary Institute of America2013–2021 – The Sommelier Years
From certification to real connection.
During this time, I passed both the Certified Sommelier and Advanced Sommelier exams with the Court of Master Sommeliers.
I worked in multiple countries, on land and sea — from fine dining to cruise ships — meeting guests, collectors, and professionals from around the world.
It was all hands-on: learning by doing, teaching through service, and listening deeply.
Those years shaped the structure, tone, and practicality behind every SOMM DIGI tool today.
2021–Present – SOMM DIGI Begins
Built from experience. Fueled by vision.
In 2021, SOMM DIGI was officially born in Delaware, USA — created to bring together years of sommelier experience, service life, and a new wave of AI-driven tools.
It started solo, with challenges, trial and error, and long nights. But it kept growing — step by step, project by project — always with the same goal:
To help the wine and hospitality world adapt, evolve, and stay human in the digital age.
This is just the beginning.
AI-powered. Human-shaped. Experience-driven.
2025 — DIGITAL NOMAD MODE
Now living full-time as a digital nomad, currently based in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Every day is fully focused on building, refining, and expanding SOMM DIGI — across tools, AI, design, and strategy.
This isn’t just a brand. It’s a lived mission.
AI-powered. Human-shaped. Experience-driven.