Information has change into extra than simply an operational instrument; it’s now central to how B2B corporations drive progress and enhance income. As companies collect knowledge from varied sources—advertising, product, and gross sales—the actual problem isn’t simply gathering info however making sense of it. With out a clear strategy, insights can stay fragmented, groups may fit in isolation, and methods won’t attain their full potential. Constructing a unified, data-driven technique that aligns each operate is vital to making a easy go-to-market plan.
To discover this matter additional, we spoke with Lars Grønnegaard, CEO and Co-founder of Dreamdata. Having served because the Senior Vice President of Product at Trustpilot, Lars skilled firsthand the frustrations of disconnected knowledge. He based Dreamdata to handle this downside, making a platform designed to attach each piece of information on to income, serving to groups make knowledgeable selections and drive actual progress. On this interview, Lars shares his journey, insights on in the present day’s knowledge challenges, his recommendation for B2B corporations desirous to create a robust, data-driven basis, and far more. Let’s dive into it
Are you able to share a bit about your background and the way your journey within the tech and knowledge house started?
I began my profession with a robust basis in product administration and UX design, working initially as a advisor. Later, I joined Trustpilot, the place I took on the function of Senior Vice President of Product. At Trustpilot, I discovered the significance of constructing customer-centric SaaS merchandise, particularly as we expanded into B2B gross sales.
The defining second for me was realizing how disconnected our knowledge was. We had useful insights unfold throughout advertising, product, and gross sales, but tying all of it collectively to grasp its impression on income was almost unimaginable. This expertise ignited my fascination with data-driven progress, in the end resulting in the founding of Dreamdata as an answer to this concern.
What impressed you to maneuver from a Senior Vice President of Product function to changing into the co-founder and CEO of Dreamdata
It got here right down to addressing a ache level I noticed up shut at Trustpilot. We had knowledge from all instructions—advertising, product utilization, gross sales—however no unified option to join all of it to income. Everybody was working exhausting, however we had been working with out full visibility into what actually drove gross sales.
My co-founders and I spotted this wasn’t a singular downside to Trustpilot; it was a problem going through many B2B corporations. We wished to vary that, which motivated me to step away from my function and co-found Dreamdata. Our mission grew to become clear: to create a platform that connects advertising efforts on to income outcomes, serving to B2B corporations with the clear attribution they should scale successfully.
Reflecting in your early profession, was there a defining second that made you notice the significance of aligning advertising, product, gross sales, and buyer success?
Completely. At Trustpilot, it typically felt like every crew—advertising, product, gross sales—believed they had been the first driver of income. However if you mixed everybody’s claims, the numbers merely didn’t add up. That was a turning level for me: it highlighted the necessity for alignment throughout these capabilities, not simply in execution however in measurement. With out a unified metric tied again to income, silos and inefficiencies emerge. That’s once I grew to become severely involved in attribution, discovering methods to attach the dots between product initiatives, advertising campaigns, and gross sales outcomes.
What are a number of the greatest shifts you’ve noticed within the B2B advertising and knowledge panorama over time, and the way have these modifications influenced your strategy to enterprise?
One of many greatest shifts has been the complexity of the customer’s journey. It’s now not led solely by gross sales; patrons are conducting their analysis independently, and infrequently 70-80% of the journey occurs earlier than they even have interaction with you. This places a variety of strain on advertising to drive early engagement. Alongside this, the amount of accessible knowledge has exploded, and lots of corporations are overwhelmed by it, struggling to derive helpful insights.
These shifts have formed my strategy at Dreamdata, the place we’re centered on serving to corporations streamline their knowledge and switch it into actionable insights. As we speak’s B2B panorama requires transferring away from gut-feel selections to completely data-driven progress—a philosophy that we stay and breathe at Dreamdata.
Trying forward, how do you suppose knowledge and expertise will reshape the B2B advertising house within the subsequent 5-10 years? Are there any rising developments that you simply’re significantly enthusiastic about?
B2B advertising will change into much more data-driven and automatic. AI and machine studying will carry predictive analytics to the forefront, enabling entrepreneurs not solely to research previous efficiency however to anticipate future developments. One other main development is deeper personalization at scale. As knowledge turns into more and more accessible, corporations could have the flexibility to craft hyper-targeted messages for the best viewers on the excellent second. This heightened precision will improve advertising effectiveness, making each funding extra accountable and impactful.
For corporations making an attempt to undertake a data-driven strategy, what do you see as the most important challenges or misconceptions, and the way can they greatest overcome these hurdles?
One of many greatest misconceptions is that changing into data-driven merely means gathering extra knowledge. In actuality, most corporations have already got an abundance of information; the problem lies in connecting it and making sense of it. Stitching collectively knowledge from varied methods—CRM, advertising platforms, gross sales knowledge—is advanced, and it’s straightforward to get misplaced and not using a cohesive technique. My recommendation is to start out with alignment. Get advertising, gross sales, and product groups talking the identical language and searching on the identical knowledge. Solely then are you able to make selections based mostly on a whole, actionable image.
What are your high three ideas for startups seeking to create a go-to-market technique that’s actually data-driven and results-oriented?
- Begin with clear, unified knowledge: Your selections can solely be as correct as the information you base them on. Consolidate all related knowledge right into a single platform to make sure consistency.
- Align groups from day one: Get advertising, gross sales, and product on the identical web page early. Siloed groups result in fragmented methods that lack full optimisation.
- Iterate shortly: Don’t look ahead to excellent knowledge to start out. Implement a technique, analyze the outcomes, and iterate. The sooner you’ll be able to undergo this cycle, the earlier you’ll uncover an efficient technique.
Each founder faces powerful instances—whether or not it’s a missed fundraising purpose, difficult retention charges, or a partnership falling by means of. Are you able to share an expertise the place issues didn’t go as deliberate and the way you moved previous it?
After all. Early on at Dreamdata, we tried an outbound gross sales technique that utterly flopped. We assumed hiring salespeople would naturally usher in prospects, however our target market—B2B advertising and operations leaders—didn’t reply nicely to chilly outreach. We shortly needed to pivot and lean right into a extra genuine strategy. That’s once we doubled down on LinkedIn, sharing our experience and constructing a neighborhood presence. It wasn’t an on the spot success, but it surely grew to become one in all our most precious progress channels over time.
Lastly, for entrepreneurs and enterprise leaders studying this, what’s one unconventional piece of recommendation or lesson that’s been key to your success, however won’t be apparent to others?
Don’t be afraid to be a bit contrarian. If everybody goes in a single course, typically it pays to go the opposite method. Early on, we selected a marketing-led go-to-market technique whereas many B2B corporations had been nonetheless centered on sales-led approaches. It felt dangerous, but it surely grew to become one in all our greatest selections. Belief your instincts, and don’t be afraid to carve your personal path.
