Datasets are a necessary evil for both business owners and pre-calculus students. Business owners aren’t just looking for an easy A though, data empowers startup founders and leaders to make better informed decisions, and it helps to fortify their pitches to potential investors and partners. There’s no cute math teacher here, it’s just you and a bunch of number crunchers looking to charge you top dollar for their work.
Consulting is a noble profession, but occasionally you can find yourself paying a huge amount of money for something that you could almost do yourself, (if you just had a little more support or information). Paying a consultant is by no means a waste of money in every situation. Sometimes calling in for backup from a consultant saves you a ton of dough, not to mention time and stress. But for most bootstrapping startup moguls out there, it is the last resort for a serious problem.
Getting ahold of viable data is one of the many things businesses find themselves needing external help with, especially during their earlier stages. John Bunting (pictured above) recognized this need and decided to do something about it.
Bunting created xDayta, an open marketplace where you can sell your personal data, buy datasets, and stay up-to-date on the latest data market trends. The site went live at the beginning of this month and has already seen a steady increase in registered users. The datasets keep pouring in too.
Open Market = More Data And More Profit
The idea behind xDayta is simple – to reduce the barriers of entry for people and businesses that need data by commodifying it and then facilitating trades, brokering transactions, indexing data pricing, and regulating trading. This provides incentive for data “producers” to generate and post more viable sets of data for a profit. It also keeps the prices for data competitive, which in theory, makes it good for consumers too.
Datasets come in all shapes and sizes, and xDayta is aware of this too. Datasets on xDayta.com are available in a variety of formats, including spreadsheets and Word documents. Datasets are also available in a variety of categories, including:
- Marketing
- Sales
- Technology
- Demographics
xDayta is an online data commodity exchange platform which offers support to both buyers and sellers of data. The site also offers a support forum for more information, general discussions, suggestions, requests, and data market trends and news.
Information usually comes at a price, (many of us have the student loan debt to prove it), but with xDayta, the information market is starting to become a more level playing field. Oh, and if you just can’t get enough xDayta goodness on their website, you can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.
Photo Credits
xDayta | Courtesy of John Bunting
