Transforming data into revenue: Interview with Lars Grønnegaard, CEO and Co-founder of Dreamdata | EU-Startups

Data has become more than just an operational tool; it’s now central to how B2B companies drive growth and increase revenue. As businesses gather data from various sources—marketing, product, and sales—the real challenge isn’t just collecting information but making sense of it. Without a clear approach, insights can remain fragmented, teams may work in isolation, and strategies might not reach their full potential. Building a unified, data-driven strategy that aligns every function is key to creating a smooth go-to-market plan.

To explore this topic further, we spoke with Lars Grønnegaard, CEO and Co-founder of Dreamdata. Having served as the Senior Vice President of Product at Trustpilot, Lars experienced firsthand the frustrations of disconnected data. He founded Dreamdata to address this problem, creating a platform designed to connect every piece of data directly to revenue, helping teams make informed choices and drive real growth. In this interview, Lars shares his journey, insights on today’s data challenges, his advice for B2B companies wanting to create a strong, data-driven foundation, and much more. Let’s dive into it

Can you share a bit about your background and how your journey in the tech and data space began?

I started my career with a strong foundation in product management and UX design, working initially as a consultant. Later, I joined Trustpilot, where I took on the role of Senior Vice President of Product. At Trustpilot, I learned the importance of building customer-centric SaaS products, especially as we expanded into B2B sales.

The defining moment for me was realizing how disconnected our data was. We had valuable insights spread across marketing, product, and sales, yet tying it all together to understand its impact on revenue was nearly impossible. This experience ignited my fascination with data-driven growth, ultimately leading to the founding of Dreamdata as a solution to this issue.

What inspired you to move from a Senior Vice President of Product role to becoming the co-founder and CEO of Dreamdata

It came down to addressing a pain point I saw up close at Trustpilot. We had data from all directions—marketing, product usage, sales—but no unified way to connect it all to revenue. Everyone was working hard, but we were operating without full visibility into what truly drove sales.

My co-founders and I realized this wasn’t a unique problem to Trustpilot; it was a challenge facing many B2B companies. We wanted to change that, which motivated me to step away from my role and co-found Dreamdata. Our mission became clear: to create a platform that connects marketing efforts directly to revenue outcomes, helping B2B companies with the clear attribution they need to scale effectively.

Reflecting on your early career, was there a defining moment that made you realize the importance of aligning marketing, product, sales, and customer success?

Absolutely. At Trustpilot, it often felt like each team—marketing, product, sales—believed they were the primary driver of revenue. But when you combined everyone’s claims, the numbers simply didn’t add up. That was a turning point for me: it highlighted the need for alignment across these functions, not just in execution but in measurement. Without a unified metric tied back to revenue, silos and inefficiencies emerge. That’s when I became seriously interested in attribution, finding ways to connect the dots between product initiatives, marketing campaigns, and sales outcomes.

What are some of the biggest shifts you’ve observed in the B2B marketing and data landscape over the years, and how have these changes influenced your approach to business?

One of the biggest shifts has been the complexity of the buyer’s journey. It’s no longer led solely by sales; buyers are conducting their research independently, and often 70-80% of the journey happens before they even engage with you. This puts a lot of pressure on marketing to drive early engagement. Alongside this, the volume of available data has exploded, and many companies are overwhelmed by it, struggling to derive useful insights.

These shifts have shaped my approach at Dreamdata, where we’re focused on helping companies streamline their data and turn it into actionable insights. Today’s B2B landscape requires moving away from gut-feel decisions to fully data-driven growth—a philosophy that we live and breathe at Dreamdata.

Looking ahead, how do you think data and technology will reshape the B2B marketing space in the next 5-10 years? Are there any emerging trends that you’re particularly excited about?

B2B marketing will become even more data-driven and automated. AI and machine learning will bring predictive analytics to the forefront, enabling marketers not only to analyze past performance but to anticipate future trends. Another major trend is deeper personalization at scale. As data becomes increasingly accessible, companies will have the ability to craft hyper-targeted messages for the right audience at the perfect moment. This heightened precision will enhance marketing effectiveness, making every investment more accountable and impactful.

For companies trying to adopt a data-driven approach, what do you see as the biggest challenges or misconceptions, and how can they best overcome these hurdles?

One of the biggest misconceptions is that becoming data-driven simply means gathering more data. In reality, most companies already have an abundance of data; the challenge lies in connecting it and making sense of it. Stitching together data from various systems—CRM, marketing platforms, sales data—is complex, and it’s easy to get lost without a cohesive strategy. My advice is to start with alignment. Get marketing, sales, and product teams speaking the same language and looking at the same data. Only then can you make decisions based on a complete, actionable picture.

What are your top three tips for startups looking to create a go-to-market strategy that is truly data-driven and results-oriented?

• Start with clean, unified data: Your decisions can only be as accurate as the data you base them on. Consolidate all relevant data into a single platform to ensure consistency.
• Align teams from day one: Get marketing, sales, and product on the same page early. Siloed teams lead to fragmented strategies that lack full optimisation.
• Iterate quickly: Don’t wait for perfect data to start. Implement a strategy, analyze the results, and iterate. The faster you can go through this cycle, the sooner you’ll discover an effective strategy.

Every founder faces tough times—whether it’s a missed fundraising goal, challenging retention rates, or a partnership falling through. Can you share an experience where things didn’t go as planned and how you moved past it?

Of course. Early on at Dreamdata, we tried an outbound sales strategy that completely flopped. We assumed hiring salespeople would naturally bring in customers, but our target audience—B2B marketing and operations leaders—didn’t respond well to cold outreach. We quickly had to pivot and lean into a more authentic approach. That’s when we doubled down on LinkedIn, sharing our expertise and building a community presence. It wasn’t an instant success, but it became one of our most valuable growth channels over time.

Finally, for entrepreneurs and business leaders reading this, what’s one unconventional piece of advice or lesson that’s been key to your success, but might not be obvious to others?

Don’t be afraid to be a bit contrarian. If everyone is going in one direction, sometimes it pays to go the other way. Early on, we chose a marketing-led go-to-market strategy while many B2B companies were still focused on sales-led approaches. It felt risky, but it became one of our best decisions. Trust your instincts, and don’t be afraid to carve your own path.