Data Gurus Podcast | Insights on Business Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions, Market Research & Data Collection

Per Håkansson is the Managing Editor for Inside Blockchain and founder of Makerminds, Inc. On top of these, he’s a TEDx speaker and learning facilitator. He helps entrepreneurs shift their mindset and become more experimental and exploratory in their innovations.

Transformation of humanity comes with emerging technologies.  Knowing this, Per promotes looking at the change from the perspective of the individual, organization, and society. He’s an advocate of finding humanity in cloud living.

Per Håkansson – Living in the Cloud

Per began a radical experiment several years ago when he sold his house and got rid of his car, taking out from the picture his physical ownership. It all began with realizing that all these physical things can be replaced with applications and web sources. He acted on this epiphany when the iPhone came around and struck him that it’s all he needed to live, along with his passport.

“Once I started to let go of things, my life became much simpler.” - Per Håkansson

Per has wanderlust, and the simplicity of living minimalistically attracted him most to the prospect of letting go of his material acquisitions.

On Privacy and Protection

Despite his tech-driven living, he worries very little about other people having access to his information and privacy. To protect himself, he practices mindful sharing. Having very few things in his possession that require the collection of his data lowers the accessibility of the government and other entities to his private information.

“My life is more private than most people’s.” - Per Håkansson

Embracing Technology Without Losing One’s Humanity

Most people find it difficult to fully embrace technology. Per acknowledges that it takes a lot of intention and effort for an individual to get to a point where they’re absolutely comfortable with exploring what technology has to offer. But trying to get to that point can open one’s eyes to a broader perspective of where we truly stand with technology and other past innovations.

“This is not about technology at all. That’s just a new platform.” - Per Håkansson

To hear more about Per Håkansson’s practices for living in the cloud, download and listen to the episode!

Quick links to connect with Per Håkansson:

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Per's Website

Inside Blockchain

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Sima is passionate about data and loves to share, learn and help others that share that passion. If you love data as much as her, subscribe on iTunes and don't forget to leave a rating and review!

Laura Chaibi has enjoyed a twenty-year digital career that started when she moved from Canada to UK. She got into digital media measurements and research when the industry was cutting-edge, hence progressing and growing with it. Her career cuts across media, telco, and digital brands like Yahoo, BBC, Orange, AOL, and the Middle East Broadcast Center, which she now works for as the Head of Market Intelligence and Syndicate Digital Data.

Laura is CIM qualified and was awarded women of tomorrow status as one to watch in media by the IPA. She is on several advisory boards in the US as well as international entities like WiRe and i-com, actively supporting policy making for digital media.

Laura Chaibi - Career-Altering Frustration

Laura’s international role opened her eyes to how difficult it is to conduct her job in the Middle East. Out of sheer frustration of working with some of the biggest brands in the world and failing to get any conclusive information in the region, she moved to the foreign land.

“Someone’s gotta figure out why it’s impossible to do our job.” - Laura Chaibi

She’s experienced Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for eight years now. She was coming back and forth for her previous job in Yahoo for five years before eventually settling in Dubai.

Figuring Out the Root Cause

With her research, Laura found out that most of the countries in the MENA have no establishment survey. The underpinning for information needed to effectively conduct sampling, market sizing, recruitment strategies, and a lot more data gathering tools is practically non-existent. This clearly jeopardizes the chances of meeting the need for accurate and representation in outputs to make decisions from.

“If you haven’t got a framework to start with, how do you know who to speak to?” - Laura Chaibi

Even if an area did have a source for these information, data can quickly become outdated. This is mostly due to the dynamic movement of people in the regions. In UAE alone, at least 80% of the residents are expats tied to working visas.

Overcoming Endless Challenges

When Laura moved in three years ago, the region is nearly at 80% mobile consumption. She hit a dead end—she did not have a recruitment strategy that will allow her to recruit off websites and through apps. From there, she faced a lot more struggles before she finally achieved the results she wanted.

To hear more about Laura Chaibi’s escapades in digital research in MENA, download and listen to the episode!

Quick links to connect with Laura Chaibi:

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US Patent & Trademark Office Application

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Kristin Luck is a serial entrepreneur turned growth strategist. She most recently served as a partner and President/CMO of Decipher until its acquisition in 2014. Currently, she works as a growth strategy consultant specializing in non-traditional sales and marketing strategies, for early and mid-stage companies preparing for global expansion, funding or acquisition.

She is consistently ranked as one of the top 100 sales and marketing experts to follow on social media. Today, she talks about growth strategies and women in marketing research.

Kristin Luck - Growth Strategies for Men and Women Alike

Kristin has been running Luck Collective for three years now. The growth strategy firm that caters to clients in marketing research and startups looking for opportunities to supercharge their growth.

She is also the founder of the eleven-year-old Women in Research (WIRe). The non-profit organization started off as a cocktail hour for women in marketing research that became a quarterly routine. It eventually branched out to New York and other places in the US.

“I realized that this thing was not gonna grow. I held on to it so tightly. So we started working with folks in local markets to help expand our event rate.” - Kristin Luck

Why She's Holding The WIRe Taut

WIRe was founded on Kristin’s eye-opening realization of where women truly stand in the marketing research industry. She worked almost exclusively with women in the early stages of her career. But once she rose up the ranks, she saw more men than women, or no women at all.

“Why is it that we have so many amazing women in this industry that are just not making it to the senior levels of their careers?” - Kristin Luck

Realizing the Vision

Kristin believes that WIRe is steadfastly making progress in creating more opportunities for women to earn their rightful place in the industry. They continually look into pay parity and gender differences in the executive positions to glimpse the degree of change that has come from their efforts.

To hear more about Kristin Luck and her insights on women in marketing research and growth strategies, download and listen to the episode!

Quick links to connect with Kristin Luck:

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Sima loves to hear from her listeners with input, questions, suggestions and just to connect! You can find her at the links below!

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Sima is passionate about data and loves to share, learn and help others that share that passion. If you love data as much as her, subscribe on iTunes and don't forget to leave a rating and review!

Ray Poynter is the Founder of NewMR.org. He is also the author of several books and chapters about market research, a teacher, blogger, facilitator, presenter, coach, and consultant. Studies have listed him as one of the most influential leaders in the industry.

In this episode, he gives an in-depth take on artificial intelligence, GDPR and so much more.

Ray Poynter - Market Research Specialist

Ray has spent more than 30 years in market research. At NewMR, they focus on innovative methods. They don't try to compete with others in the field. They help people to get started and to boost their presence.

Difference of GDPR in Europe

When it comes to General Data Protection Regulation, Ray believes that it all boils down to intent. There is nothing to worry about if you just want to do the right thing.

"Anybody who is trying to do the right thing will not get into trouble." - Ray Poynter on GDPR

An interesting news came that Verve, the ad tech company, is closing all of its offices in Europe. They do not believe that what they are currently doing can be made legal.

In Europe, citizens own their data. Whereas in the United States, commercial organizations own the information of their consumers.

Importance of Informed Consent

Transparency makes things easier for both parties. To access their data, people need to give their consent to the mobile app. To prevent issues, they need to be fully aware of what they are signing up for.

"Informed consent requires that the person completely understands what he is consenting to." - Ray Poynter

There is a big difference in the European GDPR model and the U.S. model. Looking back in history, there were also problems caused by record keepers. This made Europe more sensitive to the issue at hand.

To hear more about Ray Poynter and his insights on the challenges and trends in the industry,  download and listen to the episode!

Quick links to connect with Ray Poynter:

NewMR.org

Twitter @RayPoynter

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Sima is passionate about data and loves to share, learn and help others that share that passion. If you love data as much as her, subscribe on iTunes and don't forget to leave a rating and review!

Philip Delvecchio is the Program Director at VentureOut, a business accelerator that works with companies from around the world. What are the market trends and what type of companies are they looking to help grow and scale? Tune in!

Philip Delvecchio - VentureOut Global Business Accelerator

VentureOut seeks to invest in post-seed companies who want to enter the ecosystem in New York. These companies may come from the United States or from countries abroad.

"Maybe whatever you are building up until now can only get you this far. In order to take it to the next level, you have to bend yourself in a way that is very hard and very uncomfortable." - Philip Delvecchio

As the Program Director, Philip helps run and manage VentureOut. At present, the foreign companies they are working mostly come from Europe. But, they are always open to opportunities from other countries.

Opportunities for Partnerships

Because of the robust ecosystem, VentureOut also wanted to focus on developing programs in China. And there are various ways to partner with them.

Nobody knows exactly where these opportunities for partnerships may come from. It may come from a network of friends, colleagues, or from a mere acquaintance.

VentureOut Criteria for Companies

What are the qualifications that VentureOut is looking for from a company? First of all, they want to work with post-seed companies who already have traction. It could be in the form of user growth or revenue.

"Blockchain is very hot right now ... down the road it's going to have some great impact on a lot of different sectors." - Phillip Delvecchio

A good sector fit is another thing to consider. They use extensive research before starting the program. They interview everyone that they believe is a good fit.

To hear more about Philip Delvecchio and their company VentureOut, download and listen to the episode!

Quick links to connect with Philip Delvecchio:

VentureOut

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Bio Philip Delvecchio

Philip joined the VentureOut team in April 2017 as the Program Director. He is responsible for program operations, coordination, and logistics. Ancillary roles include process, project, and intern management. Prior to VentureOut, Philip lived and worked abroad for 2 years. He focused on education, international relations, and technology development. As a Fulbright scholar and a former Microsoft employee, his expertise uniquely combines international exchange and ICT management. He earned his Bachelor’s of Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he studied Computer Science and Chinese.

What makes observational data different from survey research? How do you measure the effectiveness of advertising? Listen to Dr. Elea McDonnell Feit, an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Drexel University and a Senior Fellow Wharton Customer Analytics Initiative. Dr. Elea McDonnell Feit – Into New Analytics Methods Dr. Feit started her career in a research […]

Dr. Scott McDonald is the President and CEO of Advertising Research Foundation (ARF). Since 1936, they seek to advance the scientific understanding of advertising and marketing.

Dr. Scott McDonald - The Science of Marketing

For 81 years now, the Advertising Research Foundation serves as a platform for major power centers and functional groups in the advertising industry. Ad agencies, media companies, clients, as well as big social platforms are equally represented at ARF. All bring together and discuss scientific methods in marketing.

"Digital continues to transform and disrupt all cultures. It continues to be something everyone is contending with both in positive and negative contexts." - Dr. Scott McDonald

Job in the Advertising Industry

According to Dr. McDonald, applicants are naturally attracted to companies where there is a sign of growth and money. There is also an intrinsic value on the future.

He advises them to take a job that brings excitement. Also, consider filling a role that will give you the space to grow as a professional.

Importance of Communication

After graduation, his first job in business was at Time Magazine. He did research and analytics. The experience gave him the opportunity to understand the other functions, such as production, marketing, circulation, and editorial.

"Even though you like to geek out and explain the language of your specialization, you should still be able to explain in plain English at the end of the day." - Dr. Scott McDonald on good communication

He further emphasizes the need to understand other systems and functions. Marketing is not isolated on a single role. In order to learn what works, you need to reach out and connect with others in the industry.

To hear about Dr. Scott McDonald and the advertiser's dilemma, download and listen to the episode!

Quick links to connect with Dr. Scott McDonald:

theARF.org

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Sima is passionate about data and loves to share, learn and help others that share that passion. If you love data as much as her, subscribe on iTunes and don't forget to leave a rating and review!

Vin Vashishta is a data science and machine learning expert and the founder of V-Squared Data Strategy Consulting. He's built the most trusted brand in data science and machine learning around the concepts of simplicity and profitability.

Data science is a field that is up and coming. There seems to be a blending of market research, consumer insights and data science.

Vin Vashishta - From Gaming to Machine Learning

Vin has been in technology for the past twenty-two years and the last eight in data science specifically using the modern tools and architectures. He's done everything from gaming companies to third-party distribution. In the early days, Vin was moving access databases around. he's kind of 'been there-done that' when it comes to technology.

He went to school specifically for machine learning but was about fifteen years too early. It's been a long road but he's happily ended up where he wanted to be in the first place.

What is a Data Scientist?

If you are someone trying to come into the field, then data science is an aggregate skill set between strong mathematic, scientific research, data modeling and technology background. Slammed all together and you sprinkle some business acumen and domain on top of it, you have a data scientist.

What does Data Science Mean to Companies?

If you are a company, data science is the bridge between all of this data you have been told for years that you needed to be kept because it was going to be worth something someday. Well, today is that day when you will be able to tease the value out of that data.

Companies can realize cost savings for new product lines they have been hoping and opportunities to understand their business better. They can make better long-term strategic decisions.

Exploring the Possibilities

There are practical applications from preventative maintenance to optimizing traffic flow in cities like smart grid-type applications. The most well-known is the world of autonomous cars.

Many companies are in the exploratory process where they are just beginning to learn the opportunities. They want to know what data scientists can do and what they can do for their company and what products they want to start building.

Everyone is receptive to it[data science], it's such a huge buzzword and everyone wants in.- Vin Vashishta

To hear more about Vin Vishista and the possible applications for data science,  download and listen to the episode!

Quick links to connect with Vin Vashishta:

V-Squared Data Strategy Consulting

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Sima loves to hear from her listeners with input, questions, suggestions and just to connect! You can find her at the links below!

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Sima is passionate about data and loves to share, learn and help others that share that passion. If you love data as much as her, subscribe on iTunes and don't forget to leave a rating and review!

Today, Sima Vasa talks with Mark Kapczynski. Mark leads the retail and restaurant shopping insights at Yodlee. They provide connectivity between fintech companies - financial technology apps - and the data within financial institutions.

Becuase of this connection, Yodlee gets to see consumer financial transactions and that translates into shopping behavior.

Data Collection

From this data, Yodlee can determine how many times do people go to McDonald's, how many times do they buy online or do they have a Pandora subscription. The transactions have date stamps but not timestamps.

Potentially, Yodlee can get information online and offline depending on how the customer pays. For instance, if a customer buys something on an E-commerce site and they use their debit or credit card they can compare that to the purchases the customer makes at a brick and mortar department store. This data is used to look at the distribution of online and offline behaviors.

Yodlee Taco Stand Case Study

Two different Mexican fast food chains were compared, a big publicly traded one and a more local regional one. The local guys swore they had the same type of customers.  When Yodlee analyzed the data, it showed the big company's customers shopped at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and chose organic foods while the smaller local company's customers shopped at the dollar store.

"We help folks that take our data and the insights that come from it and then are able to advise the clients on what they should be doing." -Mark Kapczynski, Yodlee

In the end, it helps the smaller guy understand who is their customer and stop wasting money on advertising that won't lead to foot traffic. A more likely solution is partnering with the dollar store and offering coupons for shoppers to visit their taco stand.

Mark Kapczynski talks Competitive Benchmarks

The benefit of Yodlee data is they have the whole suite of data consumers are spending on and all the businesses they are interacting with. They can compare how much a consumer spends at McDonald's vs. Wendy's vs. Burger King in a particular area and look at the market share between them.

Big Guys Going Local

Yodlee works with national or very large regional companies that want to execute on a local level. Smaller local guys are hard because they already know their area.

The larger guys that are more data-driven want to know who to optimize their media spend in areas where they have a high market share and protect that. They also want exposure where they have a low market share and want to win that business. They can put their media to work around the specific strategies for the areas they want to work on.

To hear more about what Yodlee is doing, download and listen to the episode!

Quick links to connect with Mark Kapczynski and Yodlee:

Yodlee

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Sima is passionate about data and loves to share, learn and help others that share that passion. If you love data as much as her, subscribe on iTunes and don't forget to leave a rating and review!

John R. Leeman is the co-founding and managing director of True Customer. They provide customer-centered marketing, media, analytics, content, and eCommerce consulting that drives scalable growth.

John R. Leeman - From Advertising to CMO

John started in the traditional brand and advertising business. He worked in the on major brands such as Campbell Soup and General Mills and Johnson and Johnson. John then moved on to work in digital CRM and media for companies such as Microsoft, Procter and Gamble and American Express.

CMO to Entrepreneur

John melded his two areas of expertise together to begin work in the CMO field. His stint at Fresh Direct as chief marketing officer was an invaluable and exciting experience for him. After his work with Fresh Direct, John took the leap to entrepreneur. He co-founded True Customer in November 2013.

Why the C-Suite Changes are Scary

The C-Suite is always interested in optimizing the business. There is a lot of money that goes into marketing and most respect that marketing is an investment and not a cost and there's a certain amount of return that is happening with the marketing today.

When you talk about radical changes in how you do your marketing investment, it's scary. Companies wonder if it will be successful because you cannot go back and undo it. It's not visible or easy to figure out how this optimization, analyses and analytics will work.  They want the benefits but are not sure which choice to make.

Big Companies, Big Steps

You have to have an attribution solution in place. For half of the Fortune 1000 companies, don't have anything, believe it or not. The first step for them is huge because they have to figure out something to do.

The bigger the company is, the more conservative their practices are supposed to be. - John R. Leeman

It's tough because they have a lot of choices. Everyone positions their product as the solution to all of this.

Marketing Mix Modeling

The other half of the companies are using marketing mix modeling. The big decision for those companies is what do they do with that data. Do they stop looking at it if the ROI for TV says a $4.00 ROI for one tool and a $6.00 ROI for another? Which is right?

For these companies, it becomes a sort of paralysis. They've been telling finance and everyone else for years and years how supposedly how accurate or inaccurate this is so now what?

To hear more about John R. Leeman and his company True Customer,  download and listen to the episode!

Quick links to connect with John R. Leeman:

TrueCustomer.com

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Sima loves to hear from her listeners with input, questions, suggestions and just to connect! You can find her at the links below!

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Sima is passionate about data and loves to share, learn and help others that share that passion. If you love data as much as her, subscribe on iTunes and don't forget to leave a rating and review!