My Dataiku Story…And the Next Chapter

I love my Dataiku story

I love my Dataiku story, I can honestly say I’ve worked with some of my favorite people I’ve run into during my career. My time at Dataiku has been transformative and it has been an inspiration. Selling Dataiku has also been easy, I can say with complete authenticity that I believe it is the best AI democratization platform out there. But every story has its chapters, and now, it's time for a new one. 

My Journey Begins at Dataiku

Remember the first day of an unforgettable journey? That was me joining Dataiku. Meeting Kurt Muehmel was a revelation – his vision in AI was something I wished I'd encountered sooner. And then there was CPM, offering a hug through words during a tough phase in my life. Fast forward, a conversation with Nick Trombetta in a New Jersey hotel lobby, which sealed my decision. I was beyond excited. Joining Dataiku wasn't just a career move; it was an embrace of a transformative journey, akin to an enlightening pilgrimage, rather than just a scenic trip. The more people I met in the company the more impressed I was with the caliber of the culture. In tech culture is everything, great people build great products and great talent attracts great talent. 

In the midst of my journey, I discovered an unexpected gift: balance. Thanks to the "Dataiku effect," I transitioned from rarely spending time with my family to enjoying multiple ski trips last year, all while putting in my hardest work yet. To me, Dataiku feels like family, they want what is best for their employees including managing your work/life balance effectively. 

Being a part of a company that garnered accolades from Databricks and Snowflake was a point of pride for all of us. Dataiku's motto 'Everyday AI, Extraordinary People,' was lived every day, not just spoken and existed way before the chatGPT hype. They even have hosted the Everyday AI conferences and roadshows for the past couple years! Also, their prioritization in the Nvidia partnership also happened before the world started paying attention because of Generative AI. For an AI company that builds software to predict the future, one might argue they're doing a pretty good job of seeing around corners themselves. 

Product Perspective
I share the unique perspective of Dataiku being my third AI platform company. During the past year I’ve had time to contrast and compare and I wanted to share my perspective today. Nearly every AI company can be placed on a single spectrum from product (self-service) to services. Service companies can commit to solving any problem but they tend to be costly, have long timelines, and prevent a company from developing their own internal IP. Platform companies can enable customers to do self service but tend to be limited in their functionality and capabilities. Dataiku has done something remarkable, they are indeed a platform company but they have developed a product that is so extensible and easy to use that it seems to cover the gamut of AI problems. Applied AI workflows can be much more complicated than just inputs and outputs with a model in between. The portfolio of problems solved with our Business Solutions team led by Sophie Dionnet makes that clear.

Product’s Data foundation:
The product also has an advantage that no other AI company has. They started from the data, Dataiku’s root started with the data integration layer and evolved to incorporate emerging AI needs. Other competitors started with AI and ultimately struggled and failed to go to the data. I like to ask people, "Would you rather have a better model or better data?” For people who have been in this game longer than others they always want better data. I see Dataiku as the only serious end-to-end AI platform solution, many of the others are too weak on their data integration layer.

A Collaborative Product:
Collaboration, the product has brilliantly allowed for this throughout the entire data pipeline. Not only can non-technical users such as domain experts or business users collaborate with model insights (feature importance, prediction level insights, etc..), they can also collaborate at the data layer. This is unique to Dataiku’s product, being able to have a conversation with a non-technical audience to discuss the data sources or data transformations is truly unique. Building a product that is great at collaboration is what is truly needed to succeed at the AI democratization game at the scale that Dataiku is playing. 

Integration foundation over algorithms:
Algorithms come and go, but integration layers stay. Dataiku has done a brilliant job at becoming the foundation layer for companies to launch from. This is not just an opinion, but also validated this year by winning partner of the year awards from both Snowflake (3rd consecutive time) and Databricks in their Machine Learning and AI categories, respectively. I’ve been very impressed by the relative lack of technical debt which has allowed the product to quickly adapt when new technologies come online. The amount of product development seen when Generative AI came online is an excellent showcase at Dataiku continued ability to be nimble and adapt when many of our competitors are struggling to keep up. 

Embarking on a New Venture 

So, why the departure? Simply put, an entrepreneurial itch needs scratching. The inspiration, insights, and enriched perspective provided by Dataiku have sculpted this next phase: launching a new startup. While there's an inherent risk, my conviction and passion driving this decision outweigh them. Leaving a company like Dataiku isn't easy, I discussed this decision for months with the leadership team. It’s like leaving a top sports team at the pinnacle of its game. This isn’t a goodbye; it’s a shift from a frontline role to an advisory one. 

A Parting Thought

As I step into a new chapter, I carry with me the lessons, experiences, and friendships from Dataiku. You have to be a bit crazy to do a startup, and crazy to leave Dataiku. This isn’t an end; it’s a transformative continuation. To everyone at Dataiku – thank you for the memories, the laughs, the growth, and the inspiration. Also thank you for putting up with me and making me feel accepted and welcome. For anyone considering working with or at Dataiku I encourage you to meet our people. Here’s to new beginnings, with the spirit of Dataiku guiding the way.

P.S. Stay tuned on my LinkedIn for my next startup adventure