Talking Data, Analytics, and AI with Mike Carlo

Mike Carlo is a data guy through and through. From mechanical engineering to running a data consulting firm to building apps — his journey mirrors what a lot of technical professionals experience when they discover they love solving business problems with data.

The Consulting to Product Journey

Mike shared something that resonated with me: the shift from pure consulting to building products. Consulting revenue is feast or famine — you're either billing or you're not. Products provide recurring revenue that smooths out the gaps.

The challenge? Building products takes significant upfront investment with no guaranteed return. Mike's approach: take the most common problems you solve in consulting and productize those solutions.

AI in Data Analytics

Mike is deeply embedded in the Microsoft data stack (Power BI, Fabric, Azure), and his perspective on AI in analytics is pragmatic. His take: AI is incredible at accelerating the repetitive parts — writing SQL, generating visualizations, summarizing data. It's not replacing the analytical thinking that decides what questions to ask.

The Skepticism We Share

Both Mike and I are skeptical of the "AI will build your million-dollar app overnight" narrative. He shared a story about spending four hours debugging an AI-generated Google Analytics implementation, then rebuilding the entire project from scratch in the same time. The takeaway: AI is a tool, not a magic wand.

The Integrity Factor

Mike's philosophy on consulting matches ours: lead with integrity. Sometimes that means giving away an hour for free because the work needs to be done right. The short-term cost is nothing compared to the long-term trust you build.