Fueling Product-Led Growth with Data Science with Anahita Tafvizi, VP and Head of Data Science & Business Operations at Instacart

This episode features an interview with Anahita Tafvizi, VP and Head of Data Science & Business Operations at Instacart. Instacart is the leading grocery technology company in North AmericaAs a senior executive at Instacart, Anahita drives key operations and strategic decisions across all company product pillars and ensures data investments are aligned with the long-term business strategy. She leads a team of over 150+ Data Science and Strategy individuals across all company product lines including consumers, shoppers, advertisers, and retailer products. Previously, Anahita was the Director of Finance for Google Commerce, Retail & Travel, as well as the Head of Finance for YouTube Ads and Head of Analytics & Data Science for eBay Ads. She is passionate about building high-performance data and strategy organizations with a focus on agility and impact. Anahita earned a Ph.D in Physics from Harvard University.In this episode, Anahita talks about structuring her data science team to reveal opportunities for new efficiencies that guide Instacart’s 4-sided marketplace, her approach to hiring the leadership team and overseeing 150+ employees, and reveals recent data science initiatives fueling product-led growth.Bio:Anahita Tafvizi is currently the Vice President and Head of Data Science & Business Operations at Instacart. As a senior executive of the company, she drives key operations and strategic decisions across all Instacart product pillars and ensures data investments are aligned with the company’s long-term business strategy. She is passionate about building high-performance data and strategy organizations with a focus on agility and impact. Key Quotes:“How can we make the experience of buying groceries on Instacart not just more convenient but also more efficient and delightful? To inspire product strategy, we spend a lot of time trying to understand patterns of shopping so we can build personalized experiences.” - Anahita TafviziEpisode Timestamps(01:17) Anahita’s path to data science(03:04) Instacart’s 4-sided marketplace(04:56) Structure of the data science team(07:10) How business teams can unlock new insights(09:51) Benefits and drawbacks of virtual teams(12:45) Data needs of product-led growth(14:30) Key data science techniques, tools, and skills(16:30) Recent data science initiatives fueling PLG(19:16) Instacart's data maturity(20:20) Data access for business context(22:00) Approach to hiring data science leaders(23:30) Career growth paths in data science(26:37) Increasing internal talent bench(27:59) Driving efficiency in an economic downturn(32:08) Key insights on grocery delivery services(34:35) TakeawaysLinksAnahita Tafvizi's LinkedInInstacart WebsiteThomas Dong’s LinkedInVijay Ganesan’s LinkedInNetSpring Website