“I had one job, which was to get the data right. Why was that so freaking hard?” asked Barr Moses, co-founder and CEO of Monte Carlo, the world’s first data observability platform, discussing what motivated her to create the product. Having worked with data for 15 years, she realized so many people across the industry couldn’t seem to get it right, nor did they have a systematic, scalable way to make sure data was accurate. In the world we’re living in, where so many people have access to data, just a few minutes of inaccurate data can lead to poor customer experience and millions of dollars in lost revenue. It’s a problem Barr says will only get worse over time, as data becomes more important to infrastructure.
Barr explains what it was like to create a whole new category, something from nothing, even when some people were telling her it would never work and that she was throwing her career away. She knew there was a company to be built there, and she wanted to be the one to do it and be proud of the journey along the way—which she admits is a lot of hard work. Category creation is really solving customer problems, and in so doing, the customer becomes co-creator of the category because they have the answers. Customer happiness is at the heart of the whole operation. Barr expands upon this and other codified values that make up the foundation of Monte Carlo.
Barr reveals what the two main rules any business should have, from the beginning and forever. Find out why it’s important that people around you pass “The Mom Test,” what the odds are that data will ever be 100% accurate, and what it’s like to be married to your co-founder.
Quotes:
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“The idea of data being wrong would get a really strong reaction. It resonated. I think that was the first ‘aha’ moment. People that I didn’t even know would say, ‘Hell, yes, I have that problem, please help me solve it now. So that was the very first lightbulb moment.” ([9:52]-[10:17] | Barr)
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“We’re not looking for someone to say, ‘Hey we have 100 percent confidence.’ We’re looking for someone to say, ‘Hey, this data is important enough for us to invest something in making sure that it’s accurate.’ It’s about treating the issue with the diligence it deserves.” ([15:53]-[16:07] | Barr)
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“Think about application reliability: A couple of decades ago, nobody cared if your app was up or down. But then Netflix is down for 45 minutes in 2016 because of duplicate data. Netflix being down is a hell of a problem.” ([16:07]-[16:26] | Barr)
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“Customers don’t give a shit about you creating a new category or not. They literally don’t care. They care about, ‘Are you solving a real problem for me?’ Helping people and solving their problem is way more important.” ([32:58]-[33:20] | Barr)
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“Our measure of success isn’t years or weeks, it’s literally minutes. Every minute that you’re spending on something should be high-value.” ([39:50]-[40:00] | Barr)
Connect with Brendan Dell:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendandell/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendanDell
Instagram: @thebrendandell
TikTok: @brendandell39
Buy a copy of Brendan’s Book, The 12 Immutable Laws of High-Impact Messaging: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780578210926
Connect with Barr Moses:
LinkedIn: @barrmoses
barr@montecarlodata.com
Check out Barr Moses recommended books:
The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick
https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=The+Mom+Test
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brene Brown
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781592408412
The Score Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh, Steve Jamison and Craig Walsh
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781591843474
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About the Author
Brendan Dell
Brendan Dell is an author and the founder of The Daily Creative. As a freelancer he's worked with clients like Expedia, Cvent, Panasonic, Brother, Windstream and 100+ more to build unignorable tech brands. At The Daily Creative, he shares advice and lessons to help freelancers level up.
