Winning with data: How ThredUp, Twilio, and Warby Parker use data to build advantage

Daniel Mintz dives into case studies from three companiesThredUp, Twilio, and Warby Parkerthat use data to generate sustainable competitive advantages in their industries.

The best data-driven companies constantly utilize data at each function of the business. One well-known example, Uber, brought a data-driven approach to the taxi industry, using information about where customers are located, changing its price based on demand, and gathering customer feedback scores to improve customer satisfaction. Today more and more companies are accessing and operationalizing instant data in a similar way. Daniel Mintz dives into case studies from three companies—ThredUp, Twilio, and Warby Parker—that use data to generate sustainable competitive advantages in their industries. These companies have three characteristics in common. First, they are changing the way they are managed, from the way they run meetings to the way they run their teams, make decisions, and collaborate. These companies use data to inform teams regarding decisions about whether customers will like a new feature, whether or not to run a marketing campaign, or even how to price an item. No longer are teams segmented by function or decisions made from the top down. Product, marketing, sales, and recruiting teams are all collaborating and acting based on the data at hand. Second, companies are creating functional data supply chains so that data-starved employees can stop relying on data teams to push often fragmented information across disparate teams. Companies are now using centralized, scalable databases usable by any employee across the organization. Finally, companies are creating a common data language—a universal set of metrics within the organization. Sales and marketing teams have the same definition of a lead, while recruiting teams record metrics such as offer acceptance rate. This consistency of data-literacy allows teams to work more efficiently together. You’ll leave with an understanding of how to set up processes in your own businesses that help each function become better at using data to make informed decisions.