In this episode, we speak with Eli Goodman, co-founder and CEO of Datos, a clickstream intelligence company built for institutional and enterprise markets and acquired by Semrush.
After more than two decades across the data ecosystem – including senior roles at Comscore and close work with Gartner – Eli founded Datos in 2020 with a clear focus on trustworthy, high-integrity data in a space shaped by regulation, risk, and long-term dependency.
This is a conversation about responsibility, judgment earned over time, and building something that is meant to last.
What We Dig Into
The Weight of Founding
Eli describes entrepreneurship as constant vigilance.
“It’s not that you’re sleeping three hours a night.
It’s that you always have one eye open.”
Founding, for him, is not about freedom.
It is about responsibility.
“If you’re not figuring it out, it’s not getting done.”
People trust you with their livelihoods.
If you care, that weight stays with you.
Managing People vs Being Responsible for Survival
Eli draws a clear distinction between leadership inside an established company and founding something from zero.
“Every day you wake up and the first thing you think is: when are we out of money?”
In a startup:
The company exists only if you keep it alive.
“Milk Gate” – When Small Things Reveal Bigger Realities
One of the most memorable moments in the episode comes from what Eli jokingly refers to as “Milk Gate”.
Early in his career, he describes a company-wide meeting where leadership reprimanded the entire office for drinking too much free milk – milk that was meant for coffee, not cereal.
“It didn’t really make sense why the general manager had to sit everyone down about milk.”
At the time, it felt irrational.
Easy to take personally.
In hindsight, it became clear what it really signaled.
The company was nearing a sale.
Costs were under scrutiny.
Every dollar suddenly mattered.
“When something feels out of place, it usually is.”
The lesson is not about milk.
It is about learning to read context instead of ego.
Small, insignificant-seeming moments often:
Learning Not to Personalize the Wrong Things
Eli connects Milk Gate to another early-career moment – pitching an idea that leadership dismissed.
At the time, it felt like rejection.
Later, he understood it as disinvestment.
The takeaway:
When Starting a Company Became Possible
Eli did not rush into entrepreneurship.
He waited until:
Then COVID hit.
“Your willingness to take chances is a function of your environment.”
Founding was not impulsive.
It was contextual.
Meeting Co-Founders Without Ever Meeting Them
Datos began with a cold LinkedIn message during COVID.
“It was just a cold LinkedIn email. That’s it.”
The founders:
“Luck favors the prepared. But you still have to answer the message.”
Why Three Co-Founders Worked
Eli explains why three founders made sense.
Each brought a different strength:
The unifying factor was self-awareness.
“I know what I’m good at. And I know what I’m not.”
The goal was not overlap.
It was coverage.
The First Moment It Felt Real
About six months in, Datos reached profitability.
“We rolled over to being profitable. We were covering our expenses.”
This mattered more than growth metrics.
It meant the business could sustain itself.
Choosing Sustainability Over VC Hypergrowth
Eli is direct about why Datos avoided a traditional VC path.
“You light the money on fire for the sake of growth.”
For a data supply business, this felt misaligned.
“People are building on top of you. You can’t pull the rug out.”
Trust and continuity mattered more than speed.
Stereo Instructions vs Mumblecore – A People Framework
Eli shares one of the most practical people-management insights in the episode.
He explains that most people fall into one of two buckets – and problems arise when leaders confuse them.
Stereo instructions people
They need:
“They need the script. The instructions.”
Mumblecore people
They need:
“You give them the high notes of the scene. How they get there is up to them.”
The real mistake is not hiring the wrong person.
It is putting the right person in the wrong environment.
Eli describes this as one of his ongoing leadership challenges – especially because he cares deeply about the people he works with.
One Cash-Flow Lesson
Eli’s advice is blunt.
“Pick up the phone. It’s a contact sport.”
Momentum comes from conversations.
No one shows up unless you start.
“Nobody’s coming to pull you off the couch.”
Why This Episode Matters
This episode removes mythology from entrepreneurship.
It replaces bravado with responsibility and hype with durability.
It is especially relevant for founders building infrastructure, data, or long-term platforms.
You’ll Walk Away With
Measured. Honest. Earned over time.
Enjoy your listen
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