The Business of Big Data // BUSINESS 22

Brad Gillespie (Investment Team, IA Ventures), Ben Siscovick (Investment Team, IA Ventures)

Wednesday, September 14th from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm. 

Data is becoming the new raw material of business: an economic input almost on a par with capital and labour. “Every day I wake up and ask, ‘how can I flow data better, manage data better, analyze data better?” says Rollin Ford, the CIO of Wal-Mart.

Source: Data, Data Everywhere, The Economist, February 25th, 2010

Big Data refers to datasets of such complexity that today's tools struggle to capture, store, analyze and visualize them. Most data generated today is simply treated as exhaust—lost forever along with the valuable insights held in it. This is purely because all but the most sophisticated organizations are overwhelmed by the massive and complex datasets that are now commonplace. And this is just structured data. Messy unstructured data is everywhere and goes largely unexplored. Unlocking even a small amount of the information held within it will transform entire industries.

This session will explore the evolution of Big Data technology and the rise of the Big Data startup. We will cover areas of opportunity, ongoing challenges in the market and the characteristics of a sustainable Big Data business.

Brad Gillespie is a seasoned technology leader with over fifteen years of experience in businesses such as security, mobile, high performance computing, and health & wellness. He is currently a member of the investment team at IA Ventures. Previously, he has been the Technology Advisor to Microsoft’s CTO, and developed classified detection systems for Lockheed-Martin. Brad currently sits on the boards of IA portfolio companies Tracevector and Coursekit.

Ben Siscovick is a member of the investment team at IA Ventures. Ben began his career as a web entrepreneur and founding partner at D202 – a full service web development and consulting firm focused on online communities and mass decentralized collaboration. Prior to joining IA Ventures, Ben was an investment banker at Allen & Company and Barclays Capital. Ben currently sits on the boards of IA portfolio companies PlaceIQ, Kohort and Thinknear.

General Assembly is pleased to present the Business of X series. Each session, we invite an industry leader to provide a thorough overview of a specific industry, identifying major trends, discuss the most interesting things happening in their field and highlight opportunities for discruption. Attendees are encouraged to come prepared to contribute topics for discussion and be active participants in the conversation.

Use the hashtag #gabigdata to ask follow-up questions and continue the conversation.

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