Tracy Young is unstoppable.
In 2018, Tracy and her co-founders sold PlanGrid for $875 million. By 2021, she launched a new startup: TigerEye.
TigerEye creates AI-powered planning and revenue management software for businesses, using AI and machine learning with a company’s data to forecast their future. It’s “Moneyball but for business,” according to Tracy.
We recently discussed:
- Her motivation to start TigerEye as a founder/CEO
- An inspiring YC interview that led her to enterprise software
- The introspection before starting anew, and what’s different this time
- The challenges of joining a big company post-acquisition, advice for new founders in YC, and more!
Our conversation, lightly edited for clarity and length, follows.
After PlanGrid’s success, you launched TigerEye. What motivates you?
Good question.
My kids motivate me. I constantly need a project; I’m industrious like that. I enjoy working with talented people.
My kids also have their own lives, so I channel my energy into a startup instead of being overly involved with them. Watching my parents work hard as Vietnam War refugees impacts me profoundly, and I want to pass that on to my kids.
What came first: the idea for TigerEye or the urge to keep building?
Building.
[My co-founder] Ralph and I were working at YC between PlanGrid and TigerEye, seeing all kinds of tech during interviews and in applications. Enterprise solutions seemed ripe for building, especially for those who understand the problems firsthand.
We knew the enterprise world from our startup experience and big company acquisition. We saw ten good startup ideas within enterprise software failings.
What does TigerEye do? What was the pitch?
Ralph pitched TigerEye as a simulator to auto-generate data. He used simulation theory from his time at Johns Hopkins University, and applying it to business intrigued me.
What does TigerEye simulate?
CRMs like Salesforce miss version control, losing interesting historical data. TigerEye captures data snapshots frequently to leverage AI, machine learning, and statistics with historical data to predict business outcomes, like Moneyball for businesses.
This becomes crucial for public companies trying to forecast results.
How was it transitioning from running a startup to being part of a larger corporation?
Challenging for me. Startups are quick-paced. At a 40+ year old public company, cultural and decision-making differences were noticeable. I felt restricted.
How did you retrospect before starting again?
Leaving Autodesk in March 2020 coincided with global lockdown. My co-founder and husband, Ralph, and I reflected on our past, identifying what worked and what didn’t. We sorted out potential collaborators for TigerEye, some of whom we had worked with before.
What determines if you want to work with someone again?
Someone talented and enjoyable