Follow the Money - LobbyingData.com

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Neil Bhatia, Founder and CEO of LobbyingData.com, located in Santa Monica, CA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

My company is called LobbyingData.com, and we work in "alternative data," a relatively new industry that refers to data sources that are not typically used in traditional financial analysis or investing. Our primary customers within this industry are large hedge funds, equity research firms, management consulting firms, and asset managers. Outside of the industry, though, we have actually developed a lot of interest from Universities, with academic departments from political science to economics asking us about our data and its use cases.

Our company transforms previously unstructured, difficult-to-understand government data on lobbying into intuitive, easy-to-understand, actionable datasets and information. Now, our users can understand, on a real-time and historical basis, each and every company or organization that has ever lobbied the U.S. federal government how much they're spending on it. Most importantly - the exact bills and issues lobbied on.

Tell us about yourself

I started LobbyingData.com as a direct result of my thesis project during my Master's at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Inspired by news articles that shed some light on the convoluted world of lobbying, I wanted to understand what the biggest factors were in determining the price paid for actual lobbying services - was it the industry of the client? Did specific issues or legislation have some dollar premium associated with it? Or was it the lobbyists' experience or network? To answer any of these questions, I needed data. After searching around for lobbying data, or any information on lobbying, I found it, but there was a huge problem - the data was so difficult to understand that I had to teach myself data science to extract value from it.

After spending months working with the data to make it usable, I created my model and published my paper. My main finding was that lobbying contracts that utilized a former member of congress as a lobbyist achieved around a 20% increase in dollar value compared to lobbying contracts without revolving-door lobbyists. I published the paper on my Linkedin. A few days later, an equity research firm contacted me, wanting to buy the data.

After reflecting on the months spent crunching the data to make it usable for research and then being contacted by a Wall Street firm interested in buying the underlying data rather than the research itself, I realized there was immense value in a product that could automate and collect all data on lobbying, and make it easy to understand. What motivates me most is using data science to shed light on an industry that has been shrouded in secrecy for too long. I love using my newfound programming knowledge to help organizations understand lobbying and how they could benefit from information on it.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment so far as founder of LobbyingData.com has been forming partnerships with large organizations. In the alternative data industry, where customers are some of the largest hedge funds, banks, and management consulting firms in the world, there are some huge barriers to entry in becoming a vendor. I knew I had to gain credibility through a partnership with a well-known firm or big company. After reaching out to several data marketplaces and receiving a lot of immediate "no's, "I booked a call with a well-known alternative data marketplace. We discussed the product, and I demonstrated its value, leading to the start of a successful, mutually beneficial partnership.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

The single most difficult thing for me has been prioritization. As a founder without a co-founder, I've had issues balancing working on the product itself - which is all fun data science and engineering work, versus going out and selling the product. Both are, of course, extremely important. For someone who is building the product themselves and who knows where its flaws are, its important to keep selling the product at all stages and not get fixated on waiting to start selling before feature x is done... because once you're done with feature x, there are so many countless things you want to work on next.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

1. Evaluate demand as early as possible (I should have done this).
2. Find a mentor in the industry you're starting in (I should have done this).
3. Don't be afraid to go through other channels - like marketplaces - in your early stages (I did this!).

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.lobbyingdata.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lobbyingdata
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilevanbhatia/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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