Startup Data Collection (Work Smarter With Scraping)
My wife interned for a start-up before we got married. They developed B2B software, and she joined them as a video editor. They had her delivering several videos weekly. Most of them were quick and easy demos that explained how the product could help businesses and startups. From what I remember of her work, there were several aspects of the software that were pretty valuable. Unfortunately, she did not work for them long. And it was not much longer than that when the startup closed its doors.
A while down the road we realized something about her work. She never saw any of it. She was following their social media accounts. She was researching similar topics on her computer, so she definitely had cookies advertisers could see that linked her to that kind of software. And during her time with them and months after, before they went under, neither of us saw a single video she edited. We eventually learned that they had no idea what to do with the videos. They paid for some YouTube advertising, but they were not even sure how best to target anyone interested. They had the resources they needed to get their name out there, but they did not have the data they needed to know what to do with them.
Big data is a booming industry. The internet has become a treasure trove of raw information. There is far more information than any person could consume in a lifetime. So that leaves plenty of room for big startup data collectors to hit the scene. For more information about startup data, use the table of contents below.
Table of Contents
What Is Startup Data?
There are a few terms that you have likely seen thrown around in the data field. Things like startup data, big data, startup analytics, etc. to name a few. For startups, there is a huge benefit to being able to parse through large collections of data. One example is comprehensive analytics. The ability to make sense of pages upon pages of analytics can help steer a startup in the right direction.
Unfortunately, it can be difficult for a startup to have the resources to jump in headfirst. There is a bigger need for creative thinking to solve the problem. To effectively estimate some of your future business moves, you need to be able to get the data you need.
Why Do Startups Need Data?
Why would a startup ever need to concern itself with big data? What would be the goal of this undertaking? There are many different applications of big data. A lot of them can do wonders for a startup. Depending on your business and your current needs, there is a range of data that can be specifically useful.
Location
First, do you have a brick-and-mortar location? Many startups begin at home, but as they grow, they need to expand. Sometimes an online shop needs a storefront. Other times, you might need permanent office space when on-demand space is too expensive. How would you know what your best choices are?
Well, there is a huge amount of data available for real estate, demographics, zoning, and other information. Any physical location will cost money, and looking in the wrong place may end with you paying a ton of money you didn’t need to. Otherwise, you may end up in a location that is not frequented by your target customer. Even office space is at risk because potential employees do not like to work in high crime areas or locations that are difficult to get to.
Competition
Your competitors are most likely using big data already. That alone should be enough of a reason to dive in. However, there is more to it than that. Some of the data they are looking into is your data. Anything that is available publicly is fair game. This includes prices, reviews, ratings, images, product and services lists, and more. Any benefit your competitor can get with this information is available for you as well.
Maybe you want to get an idea of what every competitor in the area is charging for similar products or services. Perhaps you are interested in seeing the cause of most customer complaints. Even getting an idea of employee thoughts on Glassdoor can give you valuable information.
Maybe a specific competitor has a habit of having a sale during the first half of August every year for back-to-school. By looking at the data of years of prices, you will be able to see the most likely time the sale will start and how much of a discount it will be. This gives you an opportunity to get a head start and start a similar sale a week early.
Employees
Another idea is if you are wondering how to get your hands on the top talent in your area. You can see what your competitor’s employees are saying about the company. What is the consensus? Do they generally like the location? Is there an issue with the company culture? Is there a perk they particularly like or wish the company provided? All of this information can be helpful when it comes to reaching out to potential candidates. All you have to do is browse through the information available on public job posting and review sites, like Glassdoor.
How to Collect Data for Startups
So now, the question is, “how do I find the startup data I need?” Depending on what you need, there a few outlets to turn to. Pricing information from your competitors can come from their respective websites. Review information, CRM data, analytics, and more all have their unique places. Stay focused on what you need right now, and do not let your scope broaden too much.
Manual collection
An easy trap to fall into is in the manual collection of data you need. When you are in a financial pinch and with a limited team, it might seem like your only chance. However, even if you limit your collection to off-hours, you will spend far more resources, especially time, than you would have imagined. And the worst part is that when you feel like you are done, you will likely have only barely scratched the surface of the data available.
Automatic collection
When you are looking at enormous mountains of data, you have to collect it through automatic means. You need to have some way to have a computer go through that data for you. Let it do the heavy lifting. Computers work faster than humans by leaps and bounds. Plus, there is a much lower margin of error. The only caveat is that automatic collection methods are not free.
How Do Analytics Tools for Startups Help?
Unfortunately, you cannot configure your browser to pull the startup analytics you are looking for. Gathering data automatically requires a specific tool. Scraping tools, or scrapers, exist for this exact purpose.
There are a variety of scraping tools available online, but they all have a similar purpose. They parse through huge collections of data quickly and parse out the information you need. All you have to do is point them in the right direction. After you configure your scraping tool to know what to pull and where to pull it from, it will get to work automatically until the task is finished.
What Is the Best Scraper for Data-Driven Startups?
The market has quite a few scrapers available. They range in available features, pricing, etc., but what really sets one apart? Think about what you need and what you are trying to accomplish. For the most part, you need a large collection of data gathered quickly and efficiently. And it helps if it takes as little of your time as possible.
As a startup, you have to manage many different avenues at once. And likely, the budget is always on your mind. Before you are able to hit a groove and get enough information to understand what your average costs are, everything is touch and go. There is no telling for sure how much money you may need to cover expenses each month. Scraping data is extremely valuable, and often, the prices match that value. It is important to find a scraping option that is cost-efficient. Picking an affordable scraper is crucial to making sure you will have the funds to take care of your operating costs and handle any emergency situations that have you digging into the company coffers.
Price cannot be the only factor, though. Most likely, the cheapest option available could leave you wanting. The most common issue, in this case, is with ease-of-use. The scraping provider needs enough money to pay for the programming the scraper uses. That is the base product. Packaging that scraper in an easy-to-use format is another cost. It is not necessary for the product to perform, but it is definitely something that you will wish you had. The cheapest and most efficient scraper around does not help you much if you need a computer science degree to get it working. And if you were going to hire a programmer to run your scrapes, you would probably get that person to build it for you in the first place. Keeping an eye on price is important, but you cannot overlook that you need to be able to easily use the scraper too.
Scraping Robot has the tools you need to get the data you are looking for. We found a way to offer high-quality scraping at low prices. Each scrape costs only $0.0018. That comes with access to our 24/7 support line to take care of any questions or concerns you have. We already have modules that support scraping from all the usual suspects. And if you need one that is not on our list, just let us know. So take a look at Scraping Robot for your scraping needs.
Final Thoughts
When you are dealing with startup data, startup analytics, or any other information, you cannot afford to wait. Trying to manually collect the data is just a heartache waiting to happen. You need an automatic tool that can pull everything you need.
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