#15 - Julia Schottenstein (Product Lead @ dbt) - Trends in Analytics Engineering, Data Transformation & Semantic Layer Deep Dive, Open Source to Cloud Product Learnings

Julia Schottenstein is a Product Lead at dbt and an active angel investor. Julia was previously a VC at NEA focused on software and data infrastructure. She joins us today to share learnings from product and VC, why analytics engineering is continuing to proliferate, and how dbt has been able to manage and grow the community over time. We dive into the data transformation and semantic layer and cover how dbt thinks about the open source and cloud products, managing feedback from all users to improve the product. We end with exciting trends for the future of data (hint LLMs are mentioned!).

Where to Find Julia:

* Twitter: https://twitter.com/j_schottenstein

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-schottenstein-25424318/

* Analytics Engineering Podcast: https://roundup.getdbt.com/s/the-analytics-engineering-podcast

Where to Find Shomik:

* Twitter: https://twitter.com/shomikghosh21

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shomik-ghosh-a5a71319/

* Software Snack Bites Newsletter: https://www.shomik.substack.com

* Software Snack Bites Podcast: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google.

In this episode, we cover:

(00:34) - Julia’s Background, Running Marathons, & Qatalyst’s Dominance

(06:45) - How dbt Became Not Just a Product But an Identity for Practitioners

(09:14) - What Does dbt Do?

(11:41) - Comparing & Contrasting Software & Data Engineering Practices

(14:01) - How dbt’s Community Started and Has Continued to Grow at Scale

(19:04) - Why dbt is Unlikely to Move into the Visualization/BI Layer

(20:35) - Text to Sql and LLMs Impact on Data Workflows

(23:15) - Why Self Serve Data Assets in Companies is Hard to Achieve

(24:50) - Analytics Engineering Trends

(30:03) - What’s the Deal With the Modern Data Stack Today in It’s Evolution

(32:07) - Transitioning from VC to Product

(35:01) - Balancing OSS and Cloud Products

(39:08) - Managing Rapidly Scaling Orgs

(42:40) - Trends in Data That Julia is Excited About

(44:56) - Favorite Technology and Snack

How to Subscribe:

Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shomik.substack.com