The matchmaker of the data world: Initial Data Offering

In the rapidly evolving world of data, one persistent challenge has long plagued both vendors and buyers: data is hard to find, hard to buy and even harder to sell. Matt Ober, a GP at Social Leverage realized there has to be a better way and launched Initial Data Offering.

From Data Buyer to Matchmaker 

Matt’s journey through the data landscape, from his early days at Bloomberg to data leadership roles at WorldQuant and Third Point, gave him a unique perspective on the industry's pain points. Throughout his career, he observed a recurring problem: the difficulty in discovering and accessing new datasets. This lack of visibility created a significant bottleneck in data liquidity, hindering the flow of valuable information between data producers and consumers.

Ober’s recent conversation with a publicly traded data company that released a new product encapsulates the problem perfectly:

For a lot of data vendors, the current process can be summed up with:

IDO: The Matchmaker of the Data World

To tackle this challenge head-on, Ober created the Initial Data Offering (IDO), a newsletter that serves as a free announcement platform for data vendors. The concept is elegantly simple yet powerfully effective. Data vendors, regardless of their size or market position, can use IDO to announce new datasets at no cost. These announcements reach a carefully curated community of major data buyers, including hedge funds, consultancies, and corporations, who are actively seeking fresh, valuable data sources.

Gone in 90 seconds

The impact of IDO on data liquidity has been remarkable. By providing increased visibility for new datasets, IDO allows vendors to quickly gauge market interest in their data. Simultaneously, it offers buyers an efficient way to discover relevant new datasets, dramatically reducing the time and effort typically required for data procurement.

Ober emphasizes the value proposition: "It takes 90 seconds to fill it out, even if you get one sale out of this, it’s a complete no brainer.” Perhaps most importantly, IDO is democratizing access to the data market. Small startups with innovative datasets now have the same opportunity to reach potential buyers as large, established data providers. This leveling of the playing field not only enhances market efficiency but also encourages innovation in the data space.

Selling entire businesses (finding Eleanor)

Building on the success of IDO, Ober has also launched a platform for buying and selling entire data businesses. This new initiative promises to further enhance data liquidity by providing an exit strategy for small to medium-sized data business owners and facilitating the transfer of data assets and capabilities within the industry.

The future for data consumption is pay as you go

Looking to the future, Ober envisions several trends that will continue to increase data liquidity. He predicts a shift towards more flexible, consumption-based pricing models, making data more accessible to a wider range of buyers.

"I think that if I can have a consumption based marketplace that I can grab data when I want it, for what I need it for, take the quants and put them to the side. For the 99% of us regular people, that's a huge thing," Ober notes.

Additionally, he anticipates that AI will play a crucial role in enhancing data discovery and interaction processes. " I'm doing research on this, I'm looking for insights around that, and then it tells you what's available or it can combine datasets together in the backend. I think that's where we're going," he predicts.

The development of easier integration methods and self-serve platforms is also on the horizon, which will further reduce barriers to data access.

By addressing the fundamental challenge of data discovery, IDO is paving the way for a more efficient and accessible data ecosystem.

As the data industry continues to grow and evolve, initiatives like IDO will be crucial in ensuring that valuable data finds its way to those who need it most, fueling innovation and driving informed decision-making across sectors.