Decidable
About the Company
Decidable is a business intelligence solution that simplifies data analytics by converting complex digital data into short, understandable narratives. Their primary product translates Google Analytics data into stories focused on acquisition, conversion, and revenue. The company helps UK e-commerce businesses identify missed revenue opportunities by highlighting growth areas and website issues. Decidable’s goal is to make data-driven decisions accessible not only to analysts but to all employees by delivering insights in a straightforward format.
Decidable's platform leverages various data sources to provide daily, weekly, and monthly insights for key performance indicators (KPIs). Their target market includes mid-sized UK e-commerce companies, typically generating between £5M and £50M in revenue. Early adopters of Decidable's platform have reported significant improvements in daily revenue, with some experiencing a 25-40% increase by resolving website inefficiencies.
Craig Smith and Mike Bugembe are the co-founders behind Decidable. Craig, with 25 years of experience in brand and digital, and Mike, with 20 years in data and analytics, recognized a common challenge: companies were struggling to make effective use of their data for decision-making. Their combined expertise led them to develop a solution that bridges the gap between raw data and actionable insights.
Idea Behind Company
The inspiration for Decidable stemmed from the founders' frustration with the low levels of insight adoption within companies. Craig Smith’s experience in brand management and digital marketing, combined with Mike Bugembe’s expertise in data science, highlighted a need for a tool that would simplify the use of data in decision-making processes. Mike's best-selling book, Cracking the Data Code, was a catalyst in formalizing the vision for Decidable. The book emphasized the untapped value of data and how organizations could benefit from better insights.
Their concept of translating data into short-form stories evolved as they explored how businesses could overcome obstacles in understanding complex analytics. Decidable’s vision was born out of the desire to make data insights more accessible across all levels of an organization, from executives to front-line employees. Mike had spent years researching data storytelling, and when the two founders met, their combined ideas formed the foundation for the company.
By focusing on data storytelling, Decidable aims to change the way companies use analytics, moving away from traditional reports and dashboards. Instead, they provide insights in narrative form, making it easier for employees without technical backgrounds to engage with data. Their unique approach to business intelligence is based on the principle that understanding data should be simple and actionable.
Creating the Company
After securing seed funding, Decidable began developing its platform, focusing on how to transform data into clear, actionable narratives. The product design process was iterative, involving multiple workshops to refine the features and capabilities of the platform. Initially, the team aimed high, with a long list of desired features, but they quickly learned the importance of prioritizing what was essential to meet customer needs.
Throughout the product development phase, the team encountered several missteps, including challenges with early tech partners and difficulties in balancing the quality of insights with readability. The language and tone of the generated narratives were also adjusted after feedback from alpha and beta testing phases indicated that the platform was becoming too complex. This led the team to develop a proprietary storytelling engine that uses the Kelvin Flesch methodology to ensure that insights are presented in a format that is both detailed and easy to understand.
The process of creating Decidable also involved distinguishing the platform from other data and analytics tools. The goal was to build a highly intuitive user experience that resembled the simplicity and engagement of a social platform, rather than a traditional business intelligence tool. This user-focused approach contributed to the platform's uniqueness in the competitive landscape.
Launching the Business
Decidable’s launch faced some initial challenges, including product issues and missteps with the customer journey. For instance, errors in onboarding processes and interface design led to problems that had to be resolved before the official launch in September. A holding site had been up during the Alpha and Beta testing phases, and it was extensively modified for the final version.
Securing seed funding took around three months, and the process involved multiple investor calls. During this time, the founders learned valuable lessons about different types of investors, their goals, and how these factors influenced their investment decisions. One of the critical takeaways was the importance of understanding potential customers and ensuring investors could bring them into the conversation.
Post-launch, Decidable focused on building customer relationships and refining its sales strategy. The team invested time in learning how to craft effective cold email campaigns and optimized their SaaS website based on expert advice. They also conducted A/B testing to fine-tune their messaging and improve engagement rates, which helped them identify the most effective strategies for reaching their target audience.
Earnings
Decidable is still in the early stages of its growth, generating $1K in monthly revenue. The team is small, with just two founders and two employees, but they are supported by high-quality agency teams for product development, website management, and branding. Despite its modest earnings, Decidable’s platform has shown promising results during beta testing, with customers experiencing significant revenue increases.
As the company continues to refine its product and grow its customer base, the founders are optimistic about the future. They recognize that data storytelling is still a relatively new concept, particularly in the UK, but industry analysts like McKinsey and Forrester predict it will become the primary method for delivering insights by 2025. Looking ahead, Decidable plans to scale its operations and expand its market presence by continuing to educate businesses on the value of data storytelling.
The company has also invested in LinkedIn as a key platfom for prospecting and building relationships with potential customers. Their efforts have resulted in increased visibility, with posts now receiving tens of thousands of views. This strategic focus on content marketing and thought leadership is helping Decidable position itself as a leader in the emerging field of data storytelling.
