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"Focus on solving a real problem" with Lauren Dunford

Lauren Dunford is the co-founder and CEO of Safi Analytics, a real-time, cloud-based platform that empowers factory teams to make every shift more productive. Lauren did her BA and MBA at Stanford and found her passion leading teams to tackle worthwhile challenges. She researched supply chain efficiency as a Fulbright Scholar in New Delhi and brought this perspective to five years in sales and operations with Revolution Foods, a fast-growing company delivering millions of healthy meals a week. Now, she is leading Safi Analytics, which has grown quickly in three years to serve over 40 factories across the USA, Mexico, and East Africa. Website: www.safianalytics.com

Can you tell our readers about your background?

My dad is a data scientist, so my brother and I grew up measuring and graphing things for fun. Once, I quite literally got sensors in my stocking at Christmas. Now, I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to help factories around the world use data to operate efficiently and stay competitive through Safi Analytics.

My parents were also both highly motivated to make a difference through their work - my dad to help kids learn to love data, my mom to support victims of domestic violence - and that desire to make an impact was what led me to found Safi. Unplanned downtime and idle time are huge hidden costs for many factories. Efficient manufacturing is core to sustainable, climate-friendly economic growth. However, as I have learned since starting to work on Safi Analytics in 2016, no good tools exist for many manufacturers. Discovering this challenge motivated me to build a company that could provide those needed tools.

What inspired you to start your business?

My husband and I were getting our MBAs at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and were surprised to see how few startups were working to address the challenges faced by manufacturers. We started exploring how technology could be applied to solve challenges in the industrial sector. We spent the summer between first and second year with his family in Kenya, where he grew up, and the first thing I did when I landed was to start reaching out to as many manufacturers as I could. Dozens of manufacturers graciously made the time to speak with me, allow me to visit their factories, and share their priorities and frustrations. I spent as much time as I could interviewing factory teams, spending time out in manufacturing plants, and learning everything I could about their work, day-to-day routines, and challenges.

Out on the plant floor, I saw all the paper notepads, important metrics being tracked with pen and paper. I saw managers frustrated and anxious, finding out about problems late, constantly questioning the accuracy of the data, and lacking the information they needed to make decisions. The problem was clear. 

It also became clear that there was an opportunity to apply technology to fix the problem: Falling sensor costs, more accessible cloud computing, and increasing smartphone penetration had made it possible to build intuitive, affordable solutions to provide managers with the information they needed to stay in control and stay competitive in both the short and long term.

Where is your business based?

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have shifted Safi Analytics to a remote-first model. We have customers across the USA, Latin America, and East Africa, and our team of 15 is distributed across the same geographies. As a team, being remote-first doesn’t mean we don’t meet in person or spend time with customers, but does mean that we adhere to best practices in terms of distributed team communication.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

We started with a customer-first mindset, learning as much as we could about the challenges factories faced. By early 2017, we had conducted 100+ interviews with potential customers and partners all across the globe. Those interviews indicated an opportunity to apply technology to support factory teams in a way that would have a positive impact on individuals and companies as well as the ecosystem more broadly. At that time, my husband Jason and I were working on Safi together, and we incorporated Safi Analytics in March 2017. He later pivoted his career into the media and entertainment industry. 

After incorporating, we began to prototype some early solutions. At first, we tested an updated energy management system, but in 2019 we had a major realization: To build something factory teams used every day to make the best decisions, across every member of the team, the system needed to tie to production as well as energy rather than energy alone. It was after that realization - and the resulting redesign of the system - that things began to truly take off.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

We are always seeking to learn as much as we can to continually improve the Safi platform. Therefore, we approach raising awareness as a learning opportunity as well. Whenever possible, we try to have two-way interactions with potential customers, getting feedback on what they see as most valuable in the platform, or what additional things they wish it could do. This learning approach has not only brought us great customers but has also made sure we take into account a diversity of perspectives as we seek to build the best product possible.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

It’s been an exciting challenge to focus on diverse customer requests into a cohesive system. There are innumerable ways technology can help on the factory floor, so customers request a variety of new features. We work hard to choose the new features we develop carefully, aligning them with a cohesive vision for the product rather than building piecemeal. Sometimes we have to say no - or not for now - to a feature a customer requests. While that can be a hard decision, making careful tradeoffs helps ensure Safi is an elegant, focused system that delivers value in replicable and consistent ways. 

How do you stay focused?

Sprints help us stay focused, both individually and across the team. We run sprints on the Growth team - choosing experiments to run each week and measuring results - as well as the Product team. On a personal level, I also work in weekly sprints. At the beginning of each week, I identify the most important results to achieve so that my time is focused on where it matters most. On a daily basis, every morning I also ask myself, “If I could only achieve three things today, what should they be?” and make sure to keep myself healthy and balanced by exercising and sleeping well. 

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

Many manufacturing systems are expensive, with painful, slow integration, and complex interfaces that require extensive training and upfront fees. And many systems only work for new machines - which means they are not an option for plants with older machines. 

In contrast, Safi “just works,” for any machine. Our sensors clip around the power cord of any machine - no matter how old - in minutes, and Safi is easy to test, affordable, and usable with little or no training from day one. The Safi platform delivers immediate value. 

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

Driving results for customers is our best marketing. Actual customer success stories - such as reducing idle time by more than 50%, or increasing run-time by 2-3 hours per day - are our preferred way to attract new customers who want to achieve similar results.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Focus on solving a real problem. Look around you for challenges you would be proud to solve at scale. I’m compelled every day to keep working hard, not just because of how our work with Safi Analytics helps individual factories save money and stay competitive, but also because efficient manufacturing is core to sustainable, climate-friendly economic growth across the world.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

The library app, Libby, is my favorite app. I listen to audiobooks while I exercise, and the ability to access so many great books through Libby helps me listen to a much more diverse range of books.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

I love using Slack, not only because it helps us communicate quickly as a team, but also because we love using the emoticons and gifs to cheer each other on and bring laughs and fun into the day.

Who is your business role model? Why?

I admire Lynn Jurich tremendously. As the founder of residential solar provider Sunrun, she has built a strong, sustainable business that is having a meaningful impact on fighting climate change. Lynn’s thoughtful, data-driven yet human-centered approach to leadership is one I hope to emulate. 

How do you balance work and life?

I actually use a timer to make sure I don’t work too much every day! I love my job so much that I often don’t want to stop working, so the timer helps me make sure I stay balanced, creative, and happy. Over the long term, this makes sure I do my best work as well.

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

Zumba brings me pure fun and joy. My husband and I attend an online Zumba class with the most incredible instructor. We lived for a few years in San Francisco and used to take his class in person. Now he offers it online and it’s always a ton of fun and a great workout! 

What do you have planned for the next six months?

Although the next six months are a bit unpredictable with the COVID-19 pandemic, we anticipate lots of growth and even more happy customers for Safi - so preparing our systems for that growth and learning is top on my mind.

How can our readers connect with you?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-dunford-6887ab7

https://twitter.com/laurenedunford?