Hey bootstrappers,

You’ve probably heard people describe data as an asset.

From the NFL to Deloitte, data helps a wide range of companies make better decisions. But how much is your data really worth? Well, it depends on what you do with it. 

IBM says data must be “accessible and discoverable” to create value. And someone, somewhere, has to interpret the data to derive “actionable insights.” Sounds fair. 

But not everyone is a data scientist. In the US, almost 30 percent of companies have yet to embrace data-driven decision-making. In China and parts of Europe, it’s over 50 percent. 

In other words, you’re not too late to join this week’s founders in helping companies unlock the value of their data. It made them millionaires, but the well is far from dry. 

Chris Roper

Managing Editor

Ben Dowling has every reason to smile. After leaving Calm, he built an API to scrape IP addresses that’s since become one of the best IP data sources in the industry.

How the Former CTO of Calm Made Millions After Realizing Enterprises Will Pay Generously For Good Data

Ben had led engineering at multiple VC-backed startups for over ten years, eventually joining the billion-dollar meditation app, Calm, as CTO. But he gave up the corporate life to pursue one of his side-hustles, IPinfo, that he initially released for free on Stack Overflow.

People loved IPinfo, and realizing the business opportunity, Ben charged people to use it. Soon he was earning enough revenue to leave Calm and focus on IPinfo full-time. But it wasn’t until IPinfo began generating its own data that it started to attract enterprise attention.

“At first our value proposition was a low-latency, developer-friendly API. We weren’t in the data business. However, we got feedback that the data sucked. We thought it couldn’t be too hard to do it ourselves so we created our own geolocation data and today we’re industry leaders.”

Turning points

1. Launching IPinfo for free to gauge interest. Ben had built other tools in his spare time but they weren’t as successful. Only when he was sure people wanted it did he charge.

2. Creating data instead of scraping it. Ben had no control over the data he scraped, which was often poor. Rather than rely on other sources he became one instead.

3. Afraid of overloading himself, Ben had always said no to enterprise requests. Finally saying yes unlocked his biggest revenue stream.

Rick Oppedisano lives for data and the success it breeds in the right hands. Aware that few shared his enthusiasm or ability, Rick helps businesses make better decisions with data.

How This Founder Turned His Obsession for Data Into a Seven-Figure Business That Helps Manufacturers Cut Waste

Few people are as crazy about numbers as Rick Oppedisano. From adding stats to baseball cards as a child to designing machine-learning prototypes, Rick has run the gamut of data-driven decision-making and wants to help others do the same.

Persuading people of the value of data wasn’t easy, but with a working prototype built with the help of a friendly neighbor, Delta Bravo quickly turned heads. Someone even offered to acquire it, which he politely declined. Today, Delta Bravo helps manufacturers cut waste and prosper.

“Delta Bravo takes mountains of data from different machines, applications, and processes. We put it all together and create predictive models to improve output. To grossly oversimplify it, we ask how to create more stuff, faster, at better quality, lower cost, and with less waste?”

Turning points

1. Talking to a neighbor about his idea. Rick’s neighbor built a prototype that made Rick more comfortable leaving his well-paid job to work on Delta Bravo full-time.

2. Declining an acquisition offer. When someone offered to buy the prototype, Rick knew he had the potential for a life-changing business on his hands and didn’t want to lose it.

3. Data science is such a broad, deep field, Delta Bravo needed to find an industry where they could have the biggest impact (manufacturing) to scale.

Brothers Adam and Stephen VanWingerden and friend Kevin Short are heroes of plants everywhere thanks to their green-fingered data solutions.

How These Founders Fused Their Passion for Technology and Horticulture Into a Million-Dollar Startup

Adam, Stephen, and Kevin worked together at one of the top horticulture companies in America, but when the company was acquired, the culture became toxic. The trio had seen how poorly managed the horticulture industry was and decided it was time to tackle it together.

They launched Silver Fern as a complementary software suite to growers’ existing systems. The tech companies of yore didn’t understand the challenges of keeping plants alive and in the right place and at the right time. But they did, and growers were ecstatic.

“We’re built by growers for growers. We also happen to be techies. Bringing the two together is what we’re good at. It’s what we love. You pick the modules that fit your business and we’ll integrate them with any existing system you have.”

Turning points

1. Building rather than buying software. The founders tried various software to fix faulty supply chains, but none worked out. In the end, they had to build their own.

2. Choosing a modular approach. Rather than force growers to adopt an entirely new system, the founders’ software easily integrates with their current tech.

3. Charging a low installation fee first. Silver Fern only charges a subscription fee once growers are happy with the installed software, encouraging more sign-ups.

Advice of the Week

“We spend a lot of time thinking about the type of culture we want to build instead of just hiring someone. A big founder problem is thinking that you have to have your hands on everything. The operative move as CEO is to continue to create extremely high-performing independent pockets of business that can work together when you need them.”

 - Rick Oppedisano, Delta Bravo

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