Data Science
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Payment Processing Optimization: How to Leverage Software to Maximize Revenue
In my years as a fractional CFO, I’ve watched promising companies hit a wall. It typically happens around the $5M ARR mark – the payment infrastructure that seemed robust at startup begins buckling under the weight of scale. The symptoms are similar: finance teams drowning in reconciliation, revenue leaking through failed payments, and customer churn… Continue reading
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Using ChatGPT for Data Cleaning
I’m always on the lookout for tools that can streamline financial analysis and provide valuable insights. One such tool that has caught my attention is ChatGPT’s data analysis features. In this blog post, I’ll explore how these features can be applied in day-to-day financial analysis and provide a comparison with PowerQuery’s data cleaning capabilities. Data… Continue reading
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Wondering about machine learning in your efforts? Let’s talk the basics about Random Forest and XGBoost.
The business generalist or expert in a specific aspect of business operations might wonder about machine learning and data science. Random Forest and XGBoost are two techniques that are related and commonly used in business predictive modeling. I want to give you some basics for these frequently used techniques so you can be sharp enough… Continue reading
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Can I pay you to stop using TikTok? Or, will you pay to stop your whole friend group from using TikTok?
Is social media a product status trap? What is the price to stop using TikTok? This week is a little turn away from my typical analytics discussion. We are going to talk about product economics and how consumers get value out of social media. While reading, you can ask yourself questions about the products in… Continue reading
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Recurring revenue modeling can be tricky, using cancellation curves can improve precision and results
In a recent post on SaaS financial modeling, I covered some of the main drivers that play a role in the construction of financial forecasts for SaaS and related business models. One of the most important aspects of such financial forecasts is the build out of contracted revenues. In general contracted revenues can be quite… Continue reading
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Crypto futures trading can produce serious returns with predictive algorithms
Predictive models underpin many trading systems. In this post, I discuss the application to the emerging world of crypto futures. Tradery LabsI recently had the pleasure of doing some advisory and coaching work with a startup called Tradery Labs. Tradery Labs is bringing futuristic predictive-modeling techniques into a highly honed system that will democratize the… Continue reading
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An AI Crystal Ball? How We Predict Future Outcomes Using a Temporal Fusion Transformer Model
Our data science and analytics teams handle and apply lots of data for insightful decision-making. Last year, I presented the data science team with a challenge: use historical data to predict a key business driver for each of the next 8 periods. We wanted to have a data-driven preview of what we might see in… Continue reading
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Unlocking Synergies: Elevating Data Science with Operations Research Expertise
**Introduction:** Who’s on a quest to develop advanced data science capabilities? One of my analytics team’s strategic expansion brought together diverse talents in statistics, applied math, and engineering. This case study explores the integration of operations research, fostering collaboration and knowledge diversity within analytics. **Objective:** Our primary goal was to blend diverse skill sets, creating… Continue reading
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Unlocking Consumer Loan Pricing: A Deep Dive into Survival Regression Algorithms
In the evolving landscape of consumer lending, fintech companies have revolutionized borrower experiences, introducing real-time approvals and swift fund transfers. While tree-based classification models like XGBoost currently dominate credit scoring, survival regression algorithms are an intriguing alternative. (Quick note: These survival algorithms extend beyond consumer credit to products with recurring payments, such as subscriptions or… Continue reading