In this episode of How They Scaled It, I sit down with Pedro Arellano, Co-Founder and CEO of Wallabi. He shares how his 25-year journey through the data and analytics world led him to build a new kind of business intelligence platform.
Listen now to learn how AI, accessibility, and empathy intersect to drive better business outcomes, and why simply having more dashboards doesn’t equate to impact.
00:00:13 — Pedro introduces himself and credits his team
00:00:51 — Courtney introduces Wallabi and Pedro’s background
00:01:55 — From WarGames to coding on a Commodore 64
00:02:45 — Discovering a passion for data in college
00:03:35 — Early BI landscape: IT-controlled and exclusive
00:04:45 — Two big disruptions: self-serve tools and generative AI
00:06:47 — Why LLMs are the next wave in BI
00:08:11 — The persistent issue of accessibility in analytics
00:09:41 — Grounding product in real user problems
00:11:08 — How to find valuable problems worth solving
00:13:11 — The gradual “aha” that led to launching Wallabi
00:15:33 — Moving from data access to contextual intelligence
00:18:29 — Helping users act on insights, not just see them
00:20:11 — What makes Wallabi exciting: solving existential business questions
00:22:15 — The first customers: direct sales and digital marketing
00:24:18 — Translating geek speak to real user pain
00:26:58 — Balancing vision with user feedback
00:28:56 — Avoiding the “order taker” trap
00:30:01 — Thinking through fundraising and growth pace
00:32:05 — Staying grounded as a founder
00:36:37 — Human-first culture in a tech-first space
00:38:11 — Pedro’s advice to new founders
00:41:48 — Where to find Wallabi
