Rob Hick’s, Tasman Co-founder and CDO, take on what 8 years of client work, mistakes, and data transformations taught us — and how it shaped the Tasman we’re building today.
Tasman origin story
If you’ve ever struggled to get the right data, at the right time, to make the right decision, you’re not alone. Tomas and I started Tasman Analytics 8 years ago for exactly that reason. We saw too many ambitious teams held back by poor access to quality data.
Through the 2010s, a clear divide emerged: some companies were winning with data, while others fell behind. The rise of the cloud and what became the modern data stack created an opportunity. Enterprise-grade data tools were made accessible and cost-effective to companies of all sizes.
We jumped in.
Our early work with startups was transformative – both for them and for us. We saw first-hand how impactful proper data infrastructure and analytics is for a growing business. But it also taught us how hard it was to do well. Data transformation isn’t just technical. It requires cross-functional commitment to solve effectively. The difficulties we encountered and the mistakes we made gave us both the motivation and the conviction that there was a genuine need for a partner who could guide companies through this journey.
Mistakes made, lessons banked
We didn’t have all the answers on day one. Over the years, we’ve built, broken, and rebuilt our approach to data platforms, products, and insights multiple times.
Early on, we relied on our analytics engineers to “do everything technical” (an unrealistic ask in hindsight) and failed. And so we learnt the importance of specialisation, bringing in dedicated data engineers who could lay rock-solid foundations for scalable platforms. We also transformed how we scope work. Making scoping a dedicated phase, rather than a side-thought, dramatically improved delivery clarity and speed.
Above all, we learnt this: great data looks different for every business. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. The right approach must be tailored around the people, technology, and business sector of each client. However, certain principles guide us consistently:
- Self-serve analytics helps scale the data function and remove bottlenecks
- A structured, scalable data model provides a foundation for trust and availability
- A delivery methodology that captures and meets business needs ensures satisfaction across the organisation
These principles aren’t just theoretical — they’ve shaped real outcomes for our clients.
ResQ Club, a Finnish zero-waste food marketplace, were operating with fragmented data sources and inconsistent metrics, making alignment extremely difficult. We helped them build a single source of truth and a fully self-serve analytics stack.
It’s a great example of how the right foundations, including model, access, and delivery, drive impact across an entire business. Read the full success story here.
Finding our edge
Today, Tasman is a growing team of extremely talented engineers, analysts, and strategists who help startups and enterprises alike move fast and make smarter decisions.
Tasman’s strength is our multidisciplinary composition that allows us to tackle problems of many different flavours quickly and effectively. All of this makes us a trusted partner for our clients, taking the anxiety out of becoming more data-driven.
Take one of our clients, a growing US healthcare startup, who approached Tasman with a challenge – to build their operating model while consolidating data for analysis from every corner of the business. In just five sprints, we helped them not only to “get their dashboards right,” but to unlock faster decision-making, build trust in data across teams, and grow confidently with a modern data foundation.
What’s next for Tasman?
Tasman is evolving — and so is our mission. The new tasman.ai is a home for our thinking and building the data community as well as a springboard for what comes next.
As demand grows, across sectors, and especially in AI, we’re scaling with it. Whether it’s modernising legacy pipelines or designing LLM-ready infrastructure, we know how to solve data problems, old and new.
Join us!
I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built at Tasman, and even more excited about what comes next.
Whether you’re exploring what a modern data foundation could look like, or just want a no-fluff explanation of metrics layers, we’ve made our thinking easier to access, our services easier to understand, and our expertise easier to tap into.
This rebrand isn’t about us. It’s about making it easier for you to get the data results you need, with a partner you can trust.