Corporate Speaking and Podcast Inquiries

Jon Thompson, author of The Dashboard Effect, is co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Blue Margin, Inc. He and his brother, Brick Thompson, have founded several companies, including Vercuity, a data analytics firm that grew to over 500 employees and was backed by One Equity Partners.  

Blue Margin, founded in 2011, has helped over 300 midmarket firms efficiently convert data into automated dashboards, the short path to driving growth and profitability. Having worked with private equity for over a decade, Jon has discovered that “the root of most constraints in business come down to poor visibility“, whether poor integration, weak accountability, or subpar optics for exit valuation.​

Data-driven companies sell faster and achieve higher valuations.  Learn more about our approach and philosophy through our book and weekly podcast. 

Topics Include:

• Breakthroughs in Data Technology: How groundbreaking technologies like the “Data Lakehouse" enable next-gen AI analytics and make it possible to shift to data-driven operations at a fraction of the time and cost required even 12 months ago.
• Data Table-Stakes: Why complex systems need good instrumentation to function optimally, and how data transformation is increasingly a non-negotiable for the buy-and-build model.
• Generating Value through Integration: For optimal valuation, integration is the name of the game, not just for bolt-on acquisitions, but across teams and data sources (i.e., ERPs, CRMs, etc.). Advancements in data tech that minimize the need for systems integration, reducing overhead, delays, and reactive management.
• The Importance of Speed:  How recent advancements have outpaced the long-held belief that data transformation requires a mid-six-figure investment and 12-24 months, leaving most executives unaware of the ability to implement a data platform and produce real-time dashboards within a month.
• Employee Engagement: How leading firms are using data automation to create a culture of accountability, ownership-mentality, and distributed decision-making.
• Positioning for Optimal Exit: The power of visual analytics for illustrating a company’s value-creation narrative to-date, and forecasting value-creation for potential buyers.
• Midmarket Status Quo: The dysfunction and downsides of poor data visibility, why 80%+ companies are stuck in the Excel jungle, visual management vs. navigating by spreadsheet and PowerPoint.
• What Good Looks Like: Real-world examples where portfolio companies applied data-intelligence to produce measurable, near-term ROI.
• Getting Started: The most current methodology for executing value-creation initiatives with intention, oversight, and control, with marginal disruption.
• Establishing a Data Playbook: How to implement a repeatable framework for leveraging data to ignite growth and expand margins in the portfolio.