In this episode of How They Scaled It, I sit down with Pedro Arellano, Co-Founder and CEO of Wallabi. He shares how his 25-year journey through the data and analytics world led him to build a new kind of business intelligence platform. 

Listen now to learn how AI, accessibility, and empathy intersect to drive better business outcomes, and why simply having more dashboards doesn’t equate to impact.

00:00:13 — Pedro introduces himself and credits his team

00:00:51 — Courtney introduces Wallabi and Pedro’s background

00:01:55 — From WarGames to coding on a Commodore 64

00:02:45 — Discovering a passion for data in college

00:03:35 — Early BI landscape: IT-controlled and exclusive

00:04:45 — Two big disruptions: self-serve tools and generative AI

00:06:47 — Why LLMs are the next wave in BI

00:08:11 — The persistent issue of accessibility in analytics

00:09:41 — Grounding product in real user problems

00:11:08 — How to find valuable problems worth solving

00:13:11 — The gradual “aha” that led to launching Wallabi

00:15:33 — Moving from data access to contextual intelligence

00:18:29 — Helping users act on insights, not just see them

00:20:11 — What makes Wallabi exciting: solving existential business questions

00:22:15 — The first customers: direct sales and digital marketing

00:24:18 — Translating geek speak to real user pain

00:26:58 — Balancing vision with user feedback

00:28:56 — Avoiding the “order taker” trap

00:30:01 — Thinking through fundraising and growth pace

00:32:05 — Staying grounded as a founder

00:36:37 — Human-first culture in a tech-first space

00:38:11 — Pedro’s advice to new founders

00:41:48 — Where to find Wallabi