TechConnect: Business Intelligence Startup Lovelytics

July 12, 2021 | By Adam Henry

This month’s TechConnect Profile highlights Arlington-based Lovelytics. Founded in 2017, Lovelytics is a business intelligence services firm that uses Tableau, Databricks, and other leading analytics platforms to provide clients with a better understanding of their data and help make smarter business decisions. The company provides top data architecture and the finest talent in the Tableau community to fulfill their clients’ needs. Staying true to their name, Lovelytics simplifies complex data to create understandable, insightful, and reliable data environments and visualizations. In 2021, Lovelytics was named as one of the 75 Best Places to Work in Greater Washington in 2021 by Washington Business Journal, and was selected as the winner of Tableau Software's 2021 Rising Star Partner of the Year Award.

We caught up with Lovelytics’ Founder and CEO, Scott Love, to discuss the company’s recent hiring efforts, returning to the office, its plans for future growth, and the advantages of their Arlington location for talent attraction and business opportunities.

Arlington Economic Development was excited to see Lovelytics land on Washington Business Journal’s 75 Best Places to Work in Greater Washington in 2021. Can you speak about Lovelytics’ company culture and its value to attracting and retaining your talent through the pandemic and into 2021?

To me, the most exciting part about starting a company is developing the culture and creating a truly enjoyable place for people to work. A few areas I put a lot of focus on related to Lovelytics culture:

1. Let people take time away from work as needed. Everyone gets mentally tired, including me; so, it is critically
2. important our managers make our team feel comfortable taking time away from work to focus on their mental and physical health.
3. Ensure everyone’s voice is heard. Some of our best ideas have come from our youngest or newest hires. They bring a
4. fresh perspective. Our leadership makes time to listen and to enable all people to feel empowered, speak up and voice their ideas.

As Lovelytics prepares to return to the office, what is the company’s plans for its employees as they return? Are you considering a hybrid approach for the Lovelytics team?

Prior to the pandemic, we already had a very flexible work-from-home policy. We trust our employees to be productive, whether they work from home or in the office. That has always been our mindset. As a result, our policy will not really change as go back to the office post-pandemic. We love for the team to be in the office as it fosters innovation and collaboration, but we also respect some people work better from home. I anticipate employees will settle into a hybrid work environment with some days in the office and other days from home depending upon their own needs and those of Lovelytics.

When you speak to other companies about Arlington, what are some of the main factors you talk about on why it’s a great place for tech companies?

Arlington is an incredible place to not only start a business but to scale your business as well. Arlington has an incredible pool of talent to hire from, plus it allows us to attract exceptional talent from around the country and the world. Having support from the AED team is another huge advantage for tech companies.

When I first started Lovelytics, I relied on and had access to SCORE advisors for guidance, BID team members to help me navigate the Arlington business scene, and AED team members to help us scale and take advantage of business programs Arlington offers.

What are Lovelytics’ plans for growth in the next 24-36 months? Will strategic partnerships with public and private organizations aid in that growth?

At Lovelytics, our goal is to double our revenue this year and we’re on track to make that happen This year, we have expanded our Arlington team and will continue to hire locally here in Arlington. We have added to our regional offices in Toronto and Cleveland plus establishing a new West Coast sales and support presence with a few new employees in California, Washington, Colorado, and Texas. Lovelytics is focused on expanding our client base supporting both public and private organizations across the US and Canada. Arlington is the home of Lovelytics and an ideal location for attracting talent and establishing partnerships.

For more information on Lovelytics and its products and services, visit https://lovelytics.com/. If you are a startup tech company looking to launch or grow your business in Northern Virginia, please visit AED's resource page and contact Adam Henry, Business Development Manager, for more information.

About this Profile Series

Arlington's startup ecosystem has been rapidly expanding over the past five years and is quickly becoming recognized as an established innovation hub in the United States. Since 2015, Arlington-based companies have generated 250 venture activity deals totaling over $35.7 billion covering several industries, including software, cybersecurity, fintech, big data, digital media, and more. AED launched its monthly TechConnect Profiles to highlight and profile companies in our technology startup ecosystem.