Diogo: Driven by Data, Inspired to Serve Small Business

by enFocus

Meet Our Fellows Blog Series: Diogo Poubel Batista

Many who are wrapping up their final year of undergrad are uncertain of where life will take them next. Expecting to eventually take over my family’s business, I did not have this uncertainty. Then 2008 happened.

The economic crash caused my family's business to go under, and my future plans disappeared. Instead of taking over the family business, I had to explore other opportunities. That led me to come to the US to study for a Master's degree in Business Analytics—and eventually to join the enFocus team.

Diogo (far right) talks with enFocus Fellows and community stakeholders at the 2021 enFocus Meet Our Fellows event held in October at ETHOS Innovation Center in Elkhart, Indiana. 

My family was always running different businesses: a gas station, grocery store, cattle farm, etc. Thus, I grew up amid operations, management, and business decisions. I also took entrepreneurship into my own hands by starting my own company. In this role, I performed various tasks, including hiring employees, developing products, and finding and managing suppliers. I learned to trust in data and not rely only on my feelings.

Eventually, I found myself unable to compete against foreign companies, so I moved on from my business and went to work as COO for a well-established healthcare clinic in my town. I developed new processes, managed 30 employees, coached them on new procedures, implemented strategic sourcing, managed current suppliers, and found new ones. In the end, those years gave me a holistic view of different organizations and how each department is interconnected within an organization.

After having those experiences, I decided to push myself into unknown waters and pursue a master's degree in the US. My work experience showed me that transforming data into actionable information is one of the most critical capabilities for a company to have. Data-driven decisions should drive all businesses. The Master's in Business Analytics program at DePaul University gave me the knowledge that I needed in order to do this analysis.

Coming from a small town, I know the importance of small businesses. I analyzed the Brazilian market and discovered that 80% of Brazil's GDP comes from big corporations and 20% from small businesses; however, big corporations represent only 20% of the workforce in Brazil. In comparison, small businesses are 80% of the workforce providers, which means that small businesses are the true spread of wealth throughout the country, especially in small towns. What compelled me to join enFocus was the opportunity to help small businesses compete against big corporations. I hope to help the South Bend-Elkhart community become even more competitive in the market throughout my time at enFocus.

Learn more about the 2021 enFocus Fellows weekly in our Meet Our Fellows Blog Series.