James Campbell, co-founder and CTO of Great Expectations and former Chief Data Scientist at the CIA, shares his journey from government to startup life. He discusses the importance of community-driven innovation and how engaging with niche audiences influences product development. Campbell highlights strategies for building impactful open-source software, emphasizing user needs and effective communication. He also reflects on embracing risk in entrepreneurship and the value of mentorship in overcoming challenges.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Great Expectations' Origin
James Campbell and Abe Gong pitched similar ideas in a discussion group, realizing a shared need for data quality solutions.
This led to the creation of Great Expectations, driven by industry trends and the democratization of data access.
insights INSIGHT
Data Quality is Context-Specific
Defining data quality checks relies heavily on domain knowledge and intended data use, not just metrics or anomaly detection.
Different data uses require different checks; cybersecurity needs anomalies, while general trend analysis requires clean data.
insights INSIGHT
Transitioning to Co-founder
Transitioning from a stable job to co-founding a company is incredibly stressful with different risk profiles.
Identify your skills and fears to better understand the actual risks versus perceived risks.
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This biography, written over a period of 25 years, captures Oppenheimer’s life from his early career to his central role in the Cold War. It highlights his transformation into a charismatic leader at Los Alamos, the burdens of secrecy and surveillance, and the tumultuous events surrounding his security hearing. The book is praised for its voluminous scholarship and lucid insight into Oppenheimer’s complex nature and his impact on American history.
James Campbell is the co-founder and CTO at Great Expectations, the leading open-source data quality product. Prior to his life at a startup, James spent nearly 15 years working across a variety of quantitative and qualitative analytic roles in the US intelligence community, ultimately serving as Chief Data Scientist at CIA. He studied Math and Philosophy at Yale, and international security at Georgetown. He is passionate about creating tools that help communicate uncertainty and build intuition about complex systems.
Clipboard Health is looking for the next generation of exceptional software engineering leaders, not just managers. They’re a profitable unicorn, backed by top-tier investors, and they take the craft of engineering management seriously.
Clipboard Health matches highly qualified healthcare workers with nearby facilities to fulfill millions of shifts a year - revolutionizing healthcare staffing with a fast, flexible, and user-friendly platform.
The origin story of Great Expectations & James’ founding journey (3:28)
Pitching / validating your idea through community (6:24)
Transitioning from federal government to co-founder of a company (9:20)
Recommendations when considering the founder / collaboration path (11:30)
James’ experience starting with open source & getting 10k stars on GitHub (13:15)
Engaging with your audience to drive growth & share your product’s message (15:17)
How open source impacts Great Expectations’ marketing / communication (16:58)
Navigating the tension between product vision & product roadmap (19:21)
Where that tension showed up in Great Expectations’ early days (22:11)
Capturing & synthesizing insights from your users (23:54)
Strategies for removing biases from product-related decisions (25:37)
Finding the balance between your perspective & community insights (27:13)
James’ perspective on different levels of product analysis (29:54)
Lessons learned from Great Expectations’ phase changes (31:22)
Takeaways from the org’s latest experience / transition (34:51)
Defining the “Heilmeier Catechism” & how it impacts James’ leadership style (37:07)
Rapid fire questions (40:40)
LINKS AND RESOURCES
CIA Guide to Analytic Tradecraft - Primer published by the CIA to assist analysts in dealing with the perennial problems of intelligence.
American Prometheus - Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin’s definitive biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the iconic figures of the twentieth century, a brilliant physicist who led the effort to build the atomic bomb for his country in a time of war, and who later found himself confronting the moral consequences of scientific progress.
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