Ep.234: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Auren Hoffman (@auren).

In this episode, I sit down with Auren Hoffman, CEO of SafeGraph and partner at Flex Capital. The conversation centers around Auren’s experiences in running data companies and his insights into the data as a service market. We discuss the slower-than-expected growth in the buyer's market for data, and what it takes for data companies to achieve significant scale, using ZoomInfo as a prominent example. The discussion also covers team management, including hiring and letting go of employees. I highly recommend Hoffman’s podcast 'World of DaaS’ for those interested in data businesses.

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Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links:

Auren on X

World of DaaS Podcast

SafeGraph

Flex Capital

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:04:27) - What trend are you trying to learn more about in the Data market today?

(00:09:58) - Factors in why companies may not be buying data

(00:14:13) - Are there cracks in the “data is the new oil” thesis?

(00:15:50) - Common guidelines for data companies

(00;17:54) - How would you apply a B2B SaaS playbook to a data sales company? 

(00:18:53) - What is the sales process for SafeGraph?

(00:22:17) - How have you reinvented yourself as a CEO?

(00:26:17) - How do you audit your time?

(00:28:40 - What traits do you look for in recruiting executives?

(00:33:47) - Leveraging tools to help one person be as effective as 2-3 people

(00:40:19) - Are there common reasons you’ve found someone not to be successful?

(00:42:41) - What questions do you ask to find if someone is a good fit?

(00:44:53) - What lessons have you learned from hiring and managing? 

(00:55:46) - Flex Capital

(00:57:12) - How can folks reach out to you?