Shows
Infinite Curiosity Pod with Prateek JoshiWhat it Takes to Build a BI Platform | Colin Zima, CEO of OmniColin Zima is the cofounder and CEO of Omni, a data platform that combines the consistency of a shared data model with the speed and freedom of SQL. They recently raised their $69M Series B led by ICONIQ Growth. He was previously the Chief Analytics Officer at Looker.Colin's favorite book: Blink (Author: Malcolm Gladwell)(00:01) Introduction(01:10) What Is a Data Model and Why It Matters(03:27) Gaps in the Modern Data Stack(05:38) The Staying Power of SQL(07:29) Origin Story: Why Omni Was Created(10:13) Lessons from Building the MVP(12:48) Go-to-Market Insights...2025-04-1540 min
Drill to DetailDrill to Detail Ep.118 ‘A Look Into the Future of Looker and Google Cloud Data Analytics’ featuring Special Guest Sean ZinsmeisterIn this episode, Sean Zinsmeister from Google joins Mark Rittman to discuss the latest developments for Looker including the integration of Looker Studio, new modeling capabilities and the exciting potential of generative AI for BI.We discuss how Looker is evolving to be a more open, composable platform that can power advanced analytics and data storytelling, with Sean sharing insights on Google's purpose-built Gemini models for natural language to SQL translation and how Looker customers can leverage these AI capabilities. We also explore Looker's agentic API strategy, the long-term vision of using Looker Studio as t...2025-02-0350 min
“HR Heretics” | How CPOs, CHROs, Founders, and Boards Build High Performing CompaniesThe Anti-Org Chart: Why Colin Zima Traded HR for Chaos (and Won)Colin Zima, former Looker exec turned Omni CEO, reveals how he runs a 65-person Series A startup with no HR or G&A team. Learn why he believes in minimal bureaucracy, why founders should do the "dirty work," and what really breaks after a Google acquisition.*Email us your questions or topics for Kelli & Nolan: hrheretics@turpentine.coFor coaching and advising inquire at https://kellidragovich.com/HR Heretics is a podcast from Turpentine.—📰 Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccessSuppo...2025-01-0943 min
Silver Creek Insights9. Building the Future of BI: Colin Zima on Omni's Innovative Approach to Data AnalyticsColin Zima, founder of Omni, shares the backstory of the corporation and their mission to build the next great BI company.
Discover how Omni is blending centralized data modeling with decentralized self-service analytics to empower users and streamline insights.
2024-06-1832 min
Stacked Data Podcast016 Omni - The Next Gen of BISelf-serve BI was one of the trailblazers for the modern data stack. The ability to allow business stakeholders to not only see reports but also start exploring their own data was truly a seismic shift in data.What is next for BI?Join me in the latest episode of the Stacked Data podcast as I sit down with Collin Zima, the Co-founder and CEO of Omni, for an insightful discussion on the future of Business Intelligence.🚀 About Colin:Collin Zima's journey from an early Google employee to leading data teams at Hot...2024-03-2048 min
Office Hours with Tomasz TunguzOffice Hours with Tom Tunguz & Colin ZimaTakeaways from this discussion include:There is a pendulum between governance and self-serve, and that swing is narrowing with developments like OmniThere's a dynamic with centralization and decentralization hybrid execution at the edge which allows super-interactive user experiences. As these experiences improve, the number of people who benefit and can access data in meaningful ways only increases.00:06 Introduction01:27 Being Chief Analytics Officer04:08 Evolution of BI08:23 Data Organization Structure10:53 Data Permissioning Philosophy14:12 Hybrid Execution17:36 BI Application Architecture19:36 Mitigating Buyer Fatigue21:20 BI & AI25...2024-03-1935 min
Stretch Four PodcastEpisode 021: How to Build a Billion Dollar Analytics Company (Twice): Lessons from Repeat Founder Colin ZimaThe episode is brought to you by ModernTax — Providing comprehensive business data coverage with AI-powered tools.Want more insights from top tech founders like Colin Zima? Check out the full video interview from the Stretch For Podcast now live on our YouTube channel.Here are the show notes with timestamps:Episode 21 - How to Build a Billion-Dollar Analytics Company (Twice): Lessons from Repeat Founder Colin Zima (Omni)[0:00:00] - Introduction and background on Colin's career path from finance to Google to founding companies[0:09:34] - Colin discusses his transition fr...2024-02-0654 min
The Data Stack Show165: SQL Queries, Data Modeling, and Data Visualization with Colin Zima of OmniHighlights from this week’s conversation include:Colin's Background and Starting Omni (1:48)Defining “good” at Google search early in his career (4:42)Looker's Unique Approach to Analytics (9:48)The paradigm shift in analytics (10:52)The architecture of Looker and its influence (12:04)Combatting the challenge of unbundling in the data stack (14:26)The evolution of analytics engineering (21:50)Enhancing user flexibility in Omni (23:44)The evolution of BI tools (32:53)What does the future look like for BI tools? (35:14)The role of Python and notebooks in BI (39:48)The product experience of Omni and its vision (45:27)Expectations for the future of Omni (47:52)The relationship between algorithms and busine...2023-11-2254 min
The Data Stack ShowThe PRQL: Building a Data Product for Data People: Looker's Vision and Omni's Future with Colin ZimaIn this bonus episode, Eric and Kostas preview their upcoming conversation with Colin Zima of Omni.2023-11-2001 min
In DepthHow to leverage intuition, customer support, and raw effort | Colin Zima (Omni & Looker)Colin Zima is the co-founder and CEO of Omni, a business intelligence tool that has raised over $26.9m. Prior to starting Omni, Colin was Chief Analytics Officer and VP of Product at Looker, which was acquired by Google for $2.6b. Colin was an early employee at Looker, and stood up its high-touch customer support arm, which turned into a cornerstone competitive advantage for the company.—In today’s episode we discuss:
Lessons from Looker
When, why and how to invest in white-glove customer support
Tactics for scaling high-touch customer support
Colin’s intuition-based approach to pro...2023-10-121h 14
Monday Morning Data Chat#130 - Data Modeling in 2023 w/ Colin ZimaColin Zima joins the show to chat about what data modeling should look like in 2023 and beyond. We'll chat about real ETL, semantic layers, the troubles with BI, and much more.
#datamodeling #data #dataengineering #analytics2023-06-121h 00
The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | InvestorsSaaStr 658: SaaStr CRO Confidential: Omni Founder Colin Zima on the Power of Leveraging Your Network for Sales and RecruitingOmni Co-Founder and CEO Colin Zima and CRO Confidential host Sam Blond discuss how leveraging your network can supercharge sales and recruiting in the early days. You don't have to be a former founder or be part of YC to have a great network. Everyone will have friends, family, former college classmates, former work colleagues, or other sources. Colin encourages founders to find your particular "cheat code," whether that's your network or an amazing skill, and lean into it. Watch the video: https://youtu.be/9kQIke7x7F4 ***** SaaStr Eu...2023-05-1051 minDrill to DetailEp.96 'Omni's Mission to Answer the First 100 Questions' with Special Guest Colin ZimaMark Rittman is joined in this very special episode by Colin Zima, ex-Head of Analytics at Looker and now co-founder of Omni, a new analytics startup looking to become the fastest way to ask the first 100 questions.Introducing Omni: The fastest way to turn SQL into intelligenceOmni Analytics Homepage2022-04-2636 min
Data UnlockedThe Value Behind Being a Data-Driven Company - With Colin Zima, Chief Analytics Officer and VP Strategy, Looker“I think back to this example when I was at HotelTonight where we built this beautiful statistical model to forecast hotel prices because we were trying to figure out what to price hotels out on different days. It was the heaviest data science I’ve done in my career from technical complexity, and it performed terribly. And we went and looked at it. We were just like. “Why is this doing so badly?”And we found out that one of the main drivers of hotel room prices is when conferences are in town. I know tha...2021-07-2022 min
What Do You Do? with Rodolfo CooperColin Zima – Chief Analytics Officer (Looker / Google)Listen to Colin Zima, Chief Analytics Officer at Looker, discuss his experiences in analytics, going from Wall Street to Silicon Valley, helping build Looker from a company of a handful of employees to what it is today and much more.2021-02-1100 minDrill to DetailDrill to Detail Ep. 73 'Luck, Thinking Different and Designing Looker Data Platform' with Special Guest Colin ZimaThe Drill to Detail Podcast returns for a new season with Mark Rittman joined in this episode by Colin Zima, VP of Product and Chief Analytics Officer at Looker to talk about luck, thinking differently and the deliberate design choices behind Looker Data Platform.JOIN 2018 - Colin Zima Product Keynote - Part 1GrowthHackers.com AMA with Colin Zima, Chief Analytics Officer & VP of Product at LookerHotelTonight - Story of a Modern Data-Driven BusinessDrill to Detail Ep.60 'A Deeper Look Into Looker' With Special Guest Lloyd Tabb2019-10-2955 min