166 - Exploring the Cutting-Edge Capabilities in Data Analysis with DataGPT's Arina Curtis

Welcome to Listening with Leaders. I'm Doug Noll, lawyer turned peacemaker. I teach executive leaders how to listen to emotions rather than words so that they can become the leaders everyone wants to follow. And I teach those same leaders how to be authentically present, available, and connected to their families despite being insanely busy. I have learned that we are 98% emotional and only 2% rational. Learning how to listen to emotions is, in my experience, the foundational skill of life. Stick around to the end of the show and I'll reveal how you can be on our next guest in 15 to 20 minutes. So let's get started.

Irina Curtis, welcome to Listening with Leaders. You are the CEO and co-founder of DataGPT. Which can be found at dataGPT.com. And I've interviewed you on Authority Magazine, and I found your interview so compelling that I absolutely had to have you on the podcast. So thank you so much for joining me today.

Thank you, Doug, for having me here. Uh, I'm not only the CEO of DataGPT and the first conversational AI data analyst, I'm also a woman in tech, immigrant who moved to US to achieve my American dream while being a single mom and tackling professional and personal life. Wow.

Well, we'll get into that all that. Just very briefly for the, for the audience, uh, if you haven't read the Authority Magazine interview that I did with Irina, she was raised in southern Russia, uh, went to Moscow for university and then to the London School of Economics, made her way over to the United States, um, worked in New York for a while and now is in Florida. And I'll let you take it from there. Tell us, tell us, fill in the details, Irina.

Well, do you want me to start from the very beginning or start wherever you're comfortable?

We're going to be fascinated in your story.

Well, you're right. I was born in south of Russia and it feels like a different world if you are far away from Moscow, which I cherish. But it's not the place rich with diverse experiences. So I always knew I wanted something bigger for myself and My family kind of struggled to meet their basic needs, and I needed to break free from my current situation. Nobody really, like, advised me what to do, and still my mom has no idea what I'm doing for a living. If you ask her about AI and GPT, she has no idea, but she's the best mom. So I knew that I had to work really hard, and I still do. And I dedicated my school years studying really hard, and I got the full scholarship in the top university in Russia. And I did my bachelor's in economics and eventually I earned my master's in London School of Economics. Then I was looking for my first job. I was a single mom with no financial support whatsoever and I had to go for all these interviews and I ended up landing a job as a management consultant at PwC. The work hours were extremely demanding, 15-20 hours a day, but the learning experience was priceless. Uh, during my consulting time, I was really enthusiastic, uh, about taking as much work as possible and tackling as many projects as possible. So my managers were like, uh, you need to take a break. But I just love the work I was doing, and it helped me, um, to become professional I am today. I learned many, many lessons. Like, one, probably the biggest lessons I learned was at this project for top energy company. There I was the only woman, or the meetings with 30+ men. Uh, so the main lesson I learned is that the gender bias can be overcome through professionalism and our expertise. And if you excel in your field, it doesn't matter who you are. What matters is what you bring to the table. And this is what I still hold dear today. I Like, it doesn't matter for me that I'm a woman or like that I have a strong Russian accent. What I bring to the table matters the most. Uh, and this is one of the main lessons I learned during my consulting time. Um, probably one of the like most important projects for me was, uh, building an operational efficiency system with visualization dashboards and developing KPIs for energy company, because little did I know back in the day that this project will eventually become inspiration for DataGPT. And, uh, yeah, it was my biggest inspiration then. We build our data analytics product, uh, in, in the space. All right, so this was my management consulting journey. At some point I decided I'm I made a bold decision. I'm moving to US, I'm moving to New York. I didn't have a clear plan back in the day. If someone told me what I would go through, I will probably hesitate to repeat this journey. But I was young, I was determined, I wanted to take the risks. So I moved there to US, and I will not delve into details about this like challenging journey, but at some At that point, I landed the job just as COVID pandemic began at TAP, our telecommunication startup. I didn't know anything about startups back in the day. I honestly thought that they don't pay you well, which is not true at all. But I needed a job urgently, so I took this opportunity and it was one of the best opportunities I ever got. Because in management consulting, you are not really managing the teams. But in this startup, it's called US Mobile. I actually built the team from scratch, the team of 150+ people, and I was responsible for setting up customer framework that eventually helped them to get funding for Series A because their investor was looking specifically for companies who excel in customer support. Yeah, I'm very grateful that their leadership team helped me with immigration and they gave me amazing opportunities, uh, and like very important projects that shaped me. At some point, like, what happened, like, I was setting up the mockup for KPIs and, uh, for US Mobile, not only the KPIs but also like, like, trying to find out how to calculate the main drivers of change for these KPIs. And I had no idea, but eventually it became like some kind of mockup for DataGPT as well. And simultaneously, when I was like working this mockup, our chairman of the board and co-founder Sasha McCain reached out to me on LinkedIn just out of nowhere. Uh, they were looking to build the new solution from scratch because we spent so much money on different solutions and it did not work. And this is how we founded the company 3 years ago. Just some random message on LinkedIn changed my life completely. Yes, and here we are, very successful company.

Um, what exactly does, does DataGPT do?

So we build our product for business users. Uh, basically, you as a business user, you may come to a platform, and if you have data-related questions, you can just chat and ask your questions in simple English, and you will get straightforward, high-quality answers to any of your questions. Not just what happened, like, but why did my metric drop? What was like— what were the drivers of change, like any complex and abstract questions, or you can get your answers to DataGPT in the conversational format. So basically, back in the day, you look at the dozen or hundreds dashboards and you may be confused as a business user. Nowadays with DataGPT, you just chat with your data.

So do you, do you build custom solutions for businesses or do you have a platform that you use and you just put in their data And, and your, your platform processes and analyzes that data.

It's not a custom solution, it's a platform, it's a product, subscription-based, or so anyone can use it. We are very versatile, we work with any industries and any departments. As long as you have tons of data, we are here to help you. And we build proprietary technologies required to run AI agent on large data. So companies that love DataGPT. These are usually companies that have so much data and they need to clearly understand why some metrics are changing, like what is driving the change. But they have so much data that they cannot process it on their own, so they come to us.

And you pro— and your company processes the data for them?

Yes.

Does that take long? I mean, if a new client subscribes to your platform, how long does it take before the data is usable?

We usually advise a boarding time of 2 weeks. Like, with some customers it was way faster, it was 1 or 2 days. It depends more on the customer. Our side, as soon as we are connected to your data platform and as soon as we configure schema for you, like, your data board is up and running.

All right, what kind of data are we talking about?

Um, any data, like, uh, the real-time data that, like, for example, like, there are like some metrics like conversions that require like constant tracking what was driving it. For example, imagine marketing team, uh, marketing teams, like, they track many campaigns, many sources, and they need to constantly understand what was trying to change behind that. So like All data that, like, all large data that needs, like, the processing and that needs, or, like, uh, time series analysis, trend analysis, or the data GPT is the best place for you.

How many employees of the company do you have now?

For now, we have more than 15 employees. We are small, agile startup, small company, but we plan to scale a lot, uh, because we actually launched our product in October last year, and, uh, the demand is overwhelming. The basic customers nonstop. We are taking the niche at the market. So DataGPT was built by team of data scientists and data analysts. We knew that our solutions were not, um, the best solutions for business users, so we decided let's build it from scratch, and we took the niche of the market that was not taken and, uh, Now we are like, we were a success, so we're scaling a lot at this.

That's good for you. You more work than you can handle right now.

Uh, we can handle a lot of things.

Great attitude.

How did—

what— tell me about your role as CEO of DataGPT.

Sure, my role as a CEO, like, because we're a startup, like, obviously I wear many hats, but My main responsibility is to set up objectives with my team, guide them through company's trajectory, and make sure they are successful. And this means that I work closely with my team members and I need to listen to their expertise, to their concerns, and make sure they are on the right track. And this is my main responsibility as a CEO, to be responsible for short-term and long-term vision and that we are on track.

Have you had any executive experience before DataGPT?

Yes, like in the previous startup, I was director of strategy and operations, and I was managing the team of 150+ people.

Well, so you can take that, that— because you move from management consulting into, I think it was US Mobile, where you become a director and leader, and now you take that experience into your own startup.

Exactly. So basically I was like leading the projects for multi-billion dollar companies. Then I was leading a huge team directly, which was amazing experience. Uh, and now I'm leading DataGPT. I think like I learned my leadership, like again, my leadership skills in US Mobile. Then I was responsible for a huge team, and the main lesson I learned Like, it, it's all about empathy and hiring the right people. If you have the right people in the team who are passionate about your product, like, all you need to do is support their endeavors. You don't need to manage them artificially. It all comes organically from their heart. And this, these are the principles I applied in DataGPT when I was building the team from scratch.

Well, you'll be pleased to know that every single CEO that I've ever interviewed on this show, which is now over 150, have said exactly the same thing. The number one rule of the CEO is to hire good people and let them do their jobs.

Exactly, because at the end of the day, you are not the person who is building the product. You're not the person who is marketing the product. You're not the person who's selling the product. You have the team of experts and you need to trust them, uh, um, and they need to be the right people to be part of your team and be really passionate about the mission. And the mission of DataGPT is to empower people to make data-driven decisions. And, uh, we always know, like, no matter how we change the product roadmap, no matter how we change different initiatives we are running, we are sticking to our main mission.

So as you think about it, what gets you excited to get out of bed in the morning?

Well, it's interesting, like, every Friday, uh, in DataGPT, like, we have town hall. There we see what they're grateful for and what they're looking forward to next week. And I always say I'm looking forward next week to come and work like back with all of you because it's amazing experience. And what we build, it's like the greatest product, and it brings me so much joy, uh, to scale this company. So I'm always looking forward to work with my team.

Wow.

So it's the team that gets you motivated?

Yes. It's the team who, yeah, they got a really—

you've got a great team.

Yes, I think it works in both directions. Uh, I keep them motivated and they keep me motivated, or it's, uh, mutual.

What do you think you're— as a, a, a woman tech founder and CEO, what do you think your biggest challenge is?

My biggest challenge always was to find the work-life balance, obviously, because like as I started my management consulting career, I was a like single mom and I had a baby at home and I so excited about work that I'm doing that I was working this overwhelming hours. And even then we were like tackling like the projects that required us to stay till early morning. I was staying with my team and now I kind of changed my approach because it was challenging and now I understand it's very it's really important to spend time with your family, and it's really important to find this work-life balance. But it takes time, and it takes many years to get to the point where you clearly understand even mentally that you will make a huge impact professionally if you devote time to your personal life as well and to your family. And this was challenging.

So you've sort of are still working out or figured out how to have good work-life balance so you get to spend time with your daughter?

I think I figured this out. Uh, I'm, uh, very grateful that I work in the remote startup. And, uh, from the very beginning when we founded the company, we decided it's going to be a remote company. Uh, and it helps a lot because all of us can organize our personal life and the professional life accordingly, and it helps a lot with finding this balance. So I may work late hours or early hours. It's up to me what works the best for me, and I try to coordinate my schedule according to my daughter, so I'm not missing the very important moments from her life.

That's good for you. And so you are able to help her with the events and schooling and all the things that young people do when they're, when they're growing up?

I hope so. I'm not the best teacher though. But I, I'm enrolling her in different classes.

So, Irina, what do you think it is about you that's unique that you bring to the table that makes DataGPT so successful?

I think I'm very authentic. Like, I am who I am, and my team knows me really well, and they know that I am so much passionate about this product that they always tell me that it keeps them going, that they see this beautiful future with me. And I think this is the most important thing that I bring to the table, apart from obviously my expertise and everything else.

Um, yeah, but it's just your passion for what you do.

Yes, yes.

And that excitement propels and lifts everybody else.

Yes, everyone knows that DataGPT is the biggest achievement of my life, and I put so many efforts and everything I have into this product and this company. This, and this helps a lot, or the spirit of our team.

So earlier you were talking about empathy, and that sort of gets me to a core topic that I'm interested in, which is listening and empathy. Tell me Tell me, how did you learn that empathy was an important skill to develop as a leader?

Well, I've been in different situations. Like, back in the day, I was working, like, or before I moved to London and New York, I was working, like, for a while in Moscow and was different, uh, like, I would say, atmosphere. And I learned a lot when I moved to US. Um, I learned that you can— like, why US has this amazing innovative products, because they're built by team who really want to make an impact. And to get to the point that you have this great products, you need to be empathetic. And like, for example, in DataGPT we have unlimited PTO, and it's very important, uh, because if you take 2 weeks of rest and then you come back and ship like very complex feature that shapes the product. This is what matters. Like, what matters is to show to your team that you're empathetic to their situation, their life, and you really appreciate them. And they, like, they can do like a lot for you and for the company and bring tons of stuff to the table. And you cannot achieve that with like the opposite approach. And I've seen people are applying the opposite approach in their, like, life, and it didn't work at all. What works is to be sympathetic and empathetic to your team.

What I have found, uh, in my career as a lawyer turned peacemaker is that people have a deep need to be heard and validated.

Yes, they do.

When you can meet that need, you build instant loyalty and trust. And so having empathy as a leader is probably one of the foundational skills of leadership in my observation. What do you think about that?

I totally agree. And I think empathy, it's such a vague term that like involves tons of other qualities as well. And this is not something that can come like mechanically, but it comes with passion, it comes with patience, it comes with many qualities. And yes, people need are to appreciate the work they are doing and, uh, to bring like their expertise to the table. They need to be validated and, uh, appreciated and constantly reminded that what they do is important. And this is, uh, I think the core of startups, like, uh, why startups are so successful are because they're built by the team of like professionals who want to kind of like to change atmosphere and want to be a part of this like beautiful culture. And this is, this was very important for DataGPT. Once I found that company, the first thing we discussed was not the product they're going to build, but what will be the culture in our team, right?

So, um, would you be interested in knowing that empathy can be taught? You can teach, you, I teach people empathy, and I worked with, I worked with murderers in prisons teaching them how to stop prison violence using empathy. And listening. And I've trained senior analysts at the Congressional Budget Office how to de-escalate members of Congress by listening to their emotions. Pretty phenomenal.

Interesting. I would love to learn more.

We'll talk about that. So obviously, listening is a very important part of empathy and an important part of leadership. Tell me— How many good listeners have you run across in your career?

I think being a good listener means being a good leader and like a great team member. And as I mentioned before, it's not— it's something that is not mechanical, but it comes like hand in hand with other qualities. I think that most like talented people I ever worked with, they are really good listeners because like the way I think about the teamwork, it's basically collaborative creative process. They're each individual is bringing something to the table, but to get to the point, they're like, for example, like in DataGPT, you have a world-class product. You all need to listen to each other and collaborate, and at the end you get this amazing product shipped. So I think in DataGPT, like, all team members are really good listeners because it's not just listening, it's understanding your team members and collaborating with them to achieve the goals that you set for your team. Or yeah.

Wow. Good for you. You've got all the right— you've got, you've got it. You got to dial in pretty well from what I can tell. Based on what you're saying, you're gonna— you have a very successful company that's even going to become more successful as time goes on. One more question, then I'll let you go. What's one thing about yourself, Irina, that we wouldn't know unless you revealed it to us?

Interesting question. I never thought about that. Uh, the fun thing about me Um, I'm a chess player. I love it. Like, I— like, it helped me a lot with strategies in my life. So building a startup, it's all about strategy, right? Uh, so chess, like, my, uh, admiration for chess helped me a lot. And this is something people don't know about me. All right. Yeah, just about me.

Good for you. Excellent. Well, thank you so much for this wonderful conversation. I really appreciate it.

Thank you. Thank you, Doug. You're welcome.

Doug Noll here. Thank you so much for listening to Listening with Leaders. If you are a successful executive leader who would like to be on this program, please visit podcast.dougnull.com/podcast. If you got something out of this interview, would you please share this episode on social media? Just do a quick screenshot with your phone and text it to a friend or post it on the socials. If you know someone that would be a great guest, tag them on the social media to let them know about the show and include the hashtag #LiveOnAir. Listening with Leaders. I love seeing your posts and guest suggestions. We are regularly putting out new episodes and content. To make sure you don't miss any episodes, go ahead and subscribe. Your thumbs up ratings and reviews go a long way to help promote the show and mean a lot to me and my team. Want to know more? Go to my website, DougNoll.com, or follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. That's @DougNoll. Douglass E. Noll. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you on the next show.