Ep.234: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Auren Hoffman (@auren). In this episode, I sit down with Auren Hoffman, CEO of SafeGraph and partner at Flex Capital. The conversation centers around Auren’s experiences in running data companies and his insights into the data as a service market. We discuss the slower-than-expected growth in the buyer's market for data, and what it takes for data companies to achieve significant scale, using ZoomInfo as a prominent example. The discussion also covers team management, including hiring and letting go of employees. I highly recommend Hoffman’s podcast 'World of DaaS’ for those interested in data businesses. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.  Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ Links: Auren on X World of DaaS Podcast SafeGraph Flex Capital Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:27) - What trend are you trying to learn more about in the Data market today? (00:09:58) - Factors in why companies may not be buying data (00:14:13) - Are there cracks in the “data is the new oil” thesis? (00:15:50) - Common guidelines for data companies (00;17:54) - How would you apply a B2B SaaS playbook to a data sales company?  (00:18:53) - What is the sales process for SafeGraph? (00:22:17) - How have you reinvented yourself as a CEO? (00:26:17) - How do you audit your time? (00:28:40 - What traits do you look for in recruiting executives? (00:33:47) - Leveraging tools to help one person be as effective as 2-3 people (00:40:19) - Are there common reasons you’ve found someone not to be successful? (00:42:41) - What questions do you ask to find if someone is a good fit? (00:44:53) - What lessons have you learned from hiring and managing?  (00:55:46) - Flex Capital (00:57:12) - How can folks reach out to you?