My guest this week is Auren Hoffman. Auren is the CEO of Safegraph, which curates data on physical locations. He also founded LiveRamp, a public data connectivity business. Auren knows more about data businesses than almost anyone I know and that is the topic of today’s discussion. We look at the business of data from every angle and finish with a fun masterclass on how to host a dinner party. Please enjoy my conversation with Auren Hoffman. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the modern research platform for leading investors. Whether it’s quantitative analysis, company disclosures, management presentations, earnings calls - Tegus has tools for every step of your investment research. They even have over 4000 fully driveable financial models. Tegus’ maniacal focus on quality, as well as its depth, breadth and recency of content makes it the one-stop, end-to-end research platform for investors. Move faster, gather deep research to build conviction and surface high-quality, alpha-driving insights to find your differentiated edge with Tegus. As a listener, you can take the Tegus platform for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Show Notes[00:03:16] - [First question] - His 2x2 matrix for categorizing different types of data businesses[00:04:59] - An example of what he calls a religion company in his matrix[00:07:03] - His notion of data currency[00:08:23] - His definition of a great business[00:09:46] - An example of a so-called application religion company in his proverbial matrix[00:11:24] - Co-op and non-profit business models within and outside of the data sphere[00:13:35] - The truth application quadrant of his matrix[00:16:18] - How data has exploded in prevalence for the business world as a whole[00:18:57] - How to think about the end market for data and its demand[00:21:09] - Characteristics of a good data set and how to identify it[00:23:14] - Other factors that impact the usability of a data set[00:24:30] - Optimizing data collection itself[00:26:30] - The slow growth that’s typical of early-stage data companies[00:27:27] - Market share considerations for data businesses[00:30:03] - Common struggles for data entrepreneurs[00:34:01] - The genesis of his business; SafeGraph[00:37:08] - The power of self-maintained and user-maintained databases[00:40:16] - Typical customers and use cases for SafeGraph’s data[00:41:08] - How SafeGraph and other companies protect against data theft[00:42:12] - Frequency of change as a proxy for the value of a given data set[00:45:32] - Categorizing inbound data based on the most important criteria[00:47:07] - The founder personalities he finds in the data industry[00:49:53] - Why he feels the data truth quadrant of his matrix is underdeveloped[00:50:30] - Bloomberg as an important data company to study[00:51:42] - The importance of transparency in business and in data distribution[00:53:07] - Failure modes that he sees most commonly in data-based startups[00:53:53] - Data businesses becoming application businesses and vice-versa[00:57:35] - The great dinner parties he’s known for[00:59:50] - How he makes the dinner parties appeal to introverts[01:03:11] - Dead people he would most like to have as dinner guests[01:04:09] - Questions he would ask the most influential religious figures[01:06:20] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Auren Hoffman, Founder and CEO of SafeGraph, discusses all things data business including windfalls and net worth, reputational databases, and the failures and successes of LinkedIn. They explore the challenges of making informed purchasing decisions and the frustrations users face with slow performance on LinkedIn. They also discuss the complexities of matching individuals based on skills and compatibility, second-party data sharing, and the concept of incubators in building data businesses.

Samo Burja, founder of Bismarck Analysis, and Auren Hoffman, host of World of DaaS, delve into the Great Founder Theory and its implications for history and societal change. They tackle the decline of trust in institutions and how it affects contemporary relationships and governance. The pair also explores the impact of falling fertility rates and aging leadership on U.S. foreign policy, drawing cultural contrasts in child-rearing practices. They highlight the importance of exceptional individuals in navigating these complex dynamics.

Auren Hoffman, a serial tech entrepreneur and CEO of SafeGraph, shares his insights from nearly 30 years in Silicon Valley. He reflects on the challenges of selling LiveRamp for $310M and the complexities of entrepreneurial decision-making. The conversation dives into the evolution of tech from the 90s to AI, emphasizing how AI can enhance creativity and productivity. Auren also discusses the changing landscape of networking, the complexities of venture capital, and how marketing shapes societal perceptions of value.

Jack Altman and Auren Hoffman discuss the rise of founder-led funds and their impact on the startup ecosystem. They explore the value of founders as investors, the advantages of being an operator when it comes to investing, and the challenges of deploying large amounts of capital in later stage investments. The speakers also debate the potential increase in value of three IPOs and discuss sponsor ads for Mercury and Coda.

Auren Hoffman, CEO of SafeGraph, discusses building data businesses, selling horizontal data, second party data sharing, challenges & potential for social recommendations, improving the user experience of LinkedIn, building a reputation database, and software businesses masquerading as services businesses.

Auren Hoffman, CEO of SafeGraph and GP of Flex Capital, chats with Ben Casnocha, co-founder of Village Global. They dive into the dynamic world of career strategy, weighing the importance of personal connections against knowledge. Discover insights on spotting undiscovered talent and the serendipity of networking. They discuss the paradox of wealth and happiness, suggesting too much can detract from joy. Plus, learn how flexibility in career choices can lead to unexpected opportunities, all while keeping an eye on personal integrity and happiness.

Auren Hoffman, host of the World of DaaS podcast, engages with Samo Burja, who presents his "Great Founder Theory." They discuss how exceptional individuals have historically shaped civilization and institutions. Topics include the evolving trust in elites, the decline of fertility rates, and the pressures facing modern parents. The conversation also navigates the paradox of trust in decentralized crypto systems and critiques the societal barriers faced by ambitious innovators today.

Auren Hoffman, CEO of Safegraph and host of World of Daas, joins Erik Torenberg to discuss data business. They cover topics like market share and declining CACs, challenges of data businesses, building reputation databases, frustrations with LinkedIn, and scaling service businesses.

CEO of SafeGraph and partner at Flex Capital, Auren Hoffman, discusses the slow growth in data buyer’s market, challenges in scaling data companies, team management, and applying B2B SaaS playbook. Topics also include sales process at SafeGraph, reinventing as a CEO, auditing time, and traits for recruiting executives.