Most data teams don’t struggle because of bad tech. They struggle because of unclear strategy and lack of business alignment.

That insight has shaped everything I’ve built this year: from my consulting work to community, courses, and content.

As AI adoption advances, the gap is widening between teams that simply deliver dashboards and those that drive outcomes. Between those just reacting to stakeholder requests, and those influencing strategic direction.

If you’re reading this newsletter, chances are you don’t just want to build things - you want to build things that matter. You want to turn data work into business value, and AI into competitive advantage.

What this newsletter is about

This final edition of 2025 is a reflection.

A recap of an eventful year filled with big bets, humbling lessons and (sometimes) uncomfortable growth.

And a look ahead: at the future of this newsletter and a critical fork in the road that I need your help navigating.

But before we look into the future, let’s look back.

2025: The Year of Building, Scaling and Shifting Gears

If I had to sum up 2025 in one word?

Breakthrough.

But not the “everything-went-smooth” kind of breakthrough. It was intense. Messy. Unpredictable. And honestly, exhausting in the best way.

A few highlights from the journey:

• I launched my first ever digital product, the Data Strategy Masterclass "From Dashboard Factory to Strategic Partner" which has helped hundreds of students across 40+ countries build impactful data teams and level up their careers
  → Best feedback: “I got more value from your $350 course than a $3,000 University of Berkeley executive education course.”
• Grew my LinkedIn following from 6K to 26K and briefly held the title of #1 LinkedIn Creator in Data Science in Germany - before losing it again. That’s okay. I’ll be back. 💪

• Started the 10x Data Team Collective - a paid community for data leaders focused on building AI-first data teams.
• Pivoted the community to become an educational platform that helps data experts thrive in the age of AI and create more business impact
• Built my second course "Build a Premium Data Consulting Offer in 3 Weeks". Official Launch in January but it's already avai lable exclusively for newsletter subscribers.
• Grew this newsletter from 200 to 4,500 subscribers.
• Built two data infrastructures from scratch for one PE-backed client and one VC-backed venture and led their data teams before handing them over to a full-time leader.
• Launched a cohort program and mentored 5 aspiring data consultants to launch and grow their data freelancing businesses.
• Traveled a bit less than usual but managed to visit: Maldives, Thailand, Korea, Germany, Italy, China (twice), Japan, and still worked 12+ hours on 172 days. (Yes, I tracked it.)

What’s coming in 2026: A clear shift in focus

2025 was about proving things.

2026 is about prioritizing.

I have two main goals for next year:

1. 50/50 Revenue Split

→ Right now, 75% of my income comes from consulting, and 25% from digital products (courses, communities, etc.)
→ In 2026, I want that to become 50/50.

What that means:

• I’ll likely take on just one major consulting project, building AI-first data infrastructure for a VC-backed consumer company (starting in January).
• We’re building an AI agent-powered semantic layer that connects to company goals and proactively suggests initiatives if targets are at risk. Super exciting.

What this means for you: More content, tools, and systems you can apply directly to your work as I will be sharing my learnings from that project with you.

2. Build for you - my community

→ I want to spend a maximum of 30% consulting and at least 70% of my time building services, tools, courses, and programs for data experts like you.

What’s in the works:

More courses, programs and micro-communities tied to specific learning goals, such as crafting a winning data strategy or launching and growing a data consulting business. Stay tuned! 2026 will be BIG!

Also: I want to finally finish visiting every country in Europe. Only 4 to go: Lithuania, Cyprus, Moldova, Bulgaria.

Lastly, I want to hit 50K followers on LinkedIn and reach 10K Newsletter Subs.

Yes, it’s a lot. But I’m excited.

The Crossroads: Where this newsletter goes next

Here’s the honest truth:

I’m at a decision point.

There are two big passions inside me:

1. Helping in-house data experts

→ Build impactful data strategies, align with business goals, and integrate AI into the core of what they do.

2. Helping data consultants/freelancers

→ Launch and scale their business, move away from hourly billing, and build productized premium offers.

These two worlds do have an overlap. But not everyone of you will be as passionate as me about both topics.

• 25% of you are data freelancers or consultants
• 75% of you are in-house data professionals

That creates a challenge for this newsletter.

Should I try to serve both groups in one place - or split this into two focused newsletters?

Here's what I'm considering:

• Newsletter A: Focused on data strategy, AI integration, and team-building for in-house data experts and leaders
• Newsletter B: Focused on data freelancing/consulting - launching, scaling, and productizing your business

It’s not final yet. But I want to make the decision with you.

Bottom line: It’s been a ride - and it’s only just starting

2025 was the year of building foundations.

Now it’s time to focus, scale and deepen the impact.

I’m incredibly grateful for your time, attention, and support this year. Whether you bought a course, joined the collective, forwarded this newsletter, or just quietly read along - thank you. 🙏

Next year, I want to be more useful to you than ever before.

But I need to know: what do you need most from me?

Click one of the buttons. Let me know who you are. Also feel free to reply to this email and let me know your thoughts. I read every email and will do my best to reply to everyone of you.

Let’s build the future of data together - whether you’re in-house, on your own, or somewhere in between.

See you in 2026.

Cheers,

Sebastian

P.S.: Next week I will venture out on thin ice and take a look into the future of the data analyst, dashboards and analytics agents. Stay tuned!