Harnessing Data to Drive Financial Inclusion

About SayHiya

SayHiya is a forward-thinking startup dedicated to making essential household technology accessible to individuals who have been underserved by traditional credit systems. Recognising that many hard-working people struggle to replace basic items like TVs, refrigerators and washing machines, the company offers a rental solution that meets this crucial need.Their mission is simple yet impactful: empower those who deserve better access to everyday necessities.

Challenges

As a startup with a lean budget and a small team, SayHiya came to Dot Collective with several significant challenges:

Data Integration Complexity: The company needed to bring together diverse data sources, from traditional databases and several third-party APIs which required a solution that could handle complexity effectively.

Resource Constraints: Operating with limited resources, they sought a cost-effective data architecture that would deliver the necessary insights without overstretching their team or budget.

Optimising Marketing Efficiency: With an application approval rate of around 35%, the team needed to fine-tune their marketing strategies. This meant accurately linking data from platforms like Meta, Google Ads, and their CRM to better target potential customers and optimise their marketing spend.

Objectives

1. Building a Bespoke Data Lake: They needed a tailored data lake capable of handling their specific data requirements and supporting advanced reporting and insights.
2. Streamlining Data Processes: The goal was to automate the ingestion, mapping, and processing of data, allowing the team to focus on analysis and strategic decision-making.
3. Enhance Marketing Position: By integrating and analysing data from multiple sources, the aim was to sharpen their marketing efforts, ensuring they reached customers more likely to be approved for their services.

Solution

After exploring several tools, including Hevo, Fivetran and Rudderstack, the company found that each came with its own challenges—whether in terms of cost or functionality. The turning point came when we proposed one of our build accelerators which offered exactly what they needed.

Our data platform delivered the cost efficiency crucial for a startup. By replacing Hevo and optimising their Snowflake usage, the team realised significant savings—over 20%.

"With Dot Collective I have confidence that we’re not going to be penalised in the near term as we roll out the data platform to other departments.”

Andy Pickup
Head of Systems and Data

The platform’s ability to automate data processes transformed their productivity. Tasks that once required full days of manual effort were now streamlined, freeing up 90% of their time for high-value activities like data analysis and business growth.

Andy Pickup, Head of Systems and Data, shared his initial concerns and how they were addressed:

"The biggest concern I had coming into this was losing control. However, the platform provided us with access to its Snowflake data share, allowing us to build our own additional data models and maintain that control. Being able to create proof of concepts before requesting an extension to the platform’s central data model was incredibly helpful. Even if I built something highly custom that wouldn’t be rolled into the platform, I knew the data would still be there to support the model, and I could link it to the common data model for our bespoke needs. It's not just about buying a platform off-the-shelf —we still get to do our own thing. We can continue to use Snowflake and dbt, and we can wrap our own Metabase reports around both datasets."

One of the standout features of Dot Collective’s build accelerator, is its flexibility in reporting and analytics. SayHiya, operate on a subscription-based commercial model, requiring a different approach to revenue recognition to and time to value than traditional transactional reporting. Dot Collective’steam swung into action to build a new reporting model to allow the reports to accurately track and predict revenue. The platform not only provided robust out-of-the-box reporting tools but also allowed SayHiya to tailor the dashboards and insights to their specific needs, eliminating the immediate need for additional hires like data analysts—further reducing costs.

Seamless data integration was also a major benefit. The platform’s extensive range of API connectors, along with the option for bespoke connectors, ensured that all data sources could be brought together smoothly. This capability was crucial for maintaining control over their data via the connections interface and the Snowflake Data Share while benefiting from a unified model that supported comprehensive insights. In addition, the open data model available in the platform and demographic data within it has provided a lot of additional insight on their audiences, who is targeted, who is approved. This also saved them the cost of bringing in another external data enrichment system.

Our ongoing consultancy and support proved invaluable with SayHiya benefiting from the expertise of a team that worked across multiple industries, offering insights and best practices that helped them navigate their data challenges with confidence.

Reflecting on the platform’s accuracy and overall impact, Andy Pickup added:

"A major concern was accuracy. You feel you have to blindly trust that a platform is going to be accurate and the reports are going to be correct, so I did some of my own reconciliation testing. Thedata platformgot to 99% parity in the matching algorithm, which is incredible. For marketing and subscription analysis, the platforms Common Data Model also got us about 80% of the way to our reporting requirements, especially in marketing. Onboarding was also faster and smoother than I expected, and you guys were chasing me which is unheard of in these set-up scenarios! 5 stars."

Results

The collaboration brought transformative results:

Enhanced Marketing Effectiveness: By linking marketing data with operational data and open data sources, they now have much greater insight into their audiences which gives them the ability to run more targeted campaigns and maximise marketing spend efficiency.

Rapid Issue Resolution: The comprehensive data provided by the data platform enabled the team to quickly identify and fix a critical bug on their website, reducing what could have been a six-month investigation to just one month.

Improved Reporting and Decision-Making: With powerful reporting tools at their disposal, they gained immediate and actionable insights, allowing for informed decision-making without the need for additional data analysts.

Scalable Data Infrastructure: The company now has a data infrastructure that scales with them, offering the flexibility to integrate new data sources and adapt as their business evolves.

Peace of Mind from Security: The data platform’s robust security protocols provided complete peace of mind. The team could trust that their data was handled with the highest level of protection, addressing any concerns about potential risks.

Accuracy and Trust in Data: After conducting their own reconciliation tests, they found the matching algorithm to be 99% accurate. This level of precision reinforced their confidence in the platform’s ability to deliver reliable insights crucial for their business decisions.

Conclusion

Partnering with Dot Collective has been a pivotal move for SayHiya. The platform provided not just a cost-effective and scalable solution but also the flexibility and security needed to thrive. The company is now better equipped to fulfil its mission of empowering underserved customers, paving the way for continued growth and success.

"We considered hiring a team to build a custom data warehousing solution, but that would have cost at least £500,000 - a figure that just wasn’t feasible for a startup like ours. The key to success lay in leveraging modern data tools without overcomplicating the tech stack. This search eventually led us to work with Dot Collective, which has been a game-changer, with a price tag of only £2,000/month."

Andy Pickup
Head of Systems and Data

See how Dot Collective can create the springboard for momentous organisational leaps with your data. Get in touch.