Y Combinator Startup Podcast #128 - Michael Babineau and Kevin Hale
May 29, 2019
Michael Babineau, co-founder and CEO of Second Measure, discusses how they analyze credit card transactions for real-time consumer insights. He shares the inspiration behind their startup, the importance of self-service analytics, and how investors leverage their data platform for informed decision-making. Kevin Hale, a partner at Y Combinator and co-founder of Wufoo, sheds light on the evolution of market research, subscription models like Peloton and Stitch Fix, and the need for skilled data scientists who think critically. Together, they highlight trends in consumer behavior and the complexities of working with financial data.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Hedge Fund Data Problem
- Michael Babineau's friend, at a $30B hedge fund, needed help loading 2 terabytes of data into Excel.
- This sparked the idea for Second Measure, as it highlighted a lack of data analysis tools in the finance industry.
Information Edge
- Investors seek an information edge, often using unsophisticated methods like Google Trends or Comscore.
- Second Measure aimed to provide a more robust solution for analyzing consumer behavior data.
Video Game Analytics
- Michael and Lillian's experience in building data analysis tools for video games at EA informed Second Measure's approach.
- They recognized the need for similar tools in finance, empowering analysts to answer their own questions.
