Meeting Title: Brainforge Product Analyst Interview Date: 2026-03-19 Meeting participants: Allyson Marks, Kaela Gallagher
WEBVTT
1 00:01:10.020 ⇒ 00:01:12.660 Kaela Gallagher: Hey, Allison. How’s it going?
2 00:01:13.180 ⇒ 00:01:14.899 Allyson Marks: It’s going good, how about you?
3 00:01:15.160 ⇒ 00:01:19.049 Kaela Gallagher: Oh, oh, sorry, I’m having issues hearing you.
4 00:01:19.410 ⇒ 00:01:21.470 Allyson Marks: Oh, can you hear me now?
5 00:01:21.470 ⇒ 00:01:23.859 Kaela Gallagher: Yes, got emails. Amazing.
6 00:01:24.090 ⇒ 00:01:26.870 Kaela Gallagher: Thanks for taking some time to meet with me!
7 00:01:27.090 ⇒ 00:01:28.690 Allyson Marks: Of course! Happy to be here.
8 00:01:28.690 ⇒ 00:01:42.370 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, yeah, we were connected, I think, through a mutual connection and through Robert, so just curious, like, how you kind of found Brainforge and, like, what’s putting you on the market.
9 00:01:42.760 ⇒ 00:01:54.159 Allyson Marks: Yeah, absolutely. So, the mutual connection was Beth Saunders. She leads the community at Amplitude, and she and I have worked together quite a bit over the years, as I’ve been an Amplitude customer.
10 00:01:54.160 ⇒ 00:02:04.100 Allyson Marks: So that’s how I found the opportunity, and then why I’m on the market is kind of twofold. I was laid off last month, so I’m looking for work, but also I have been…
11 00:02:04.100 ⇒ 00:02:10.409 Allyson Marks: looking for a bit of a change. I’ve been in my current… er, my previous company for about 4 years, so I was just…
12 00:02:10.410 ⇒ 00:02:11.020 Kaela Gallagher: Bye.
13 00:02:11.020 ⇒ 00:02:14.320 Allyson Marks: having an eye open for other opportunities, and now I’m on the market.
14 00:02:14.630 ⇒ 00:02:19.880 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, and what kind of, like, roles have you been looking into so far? Like, what’s kind of catching your eye?
15 00:02:20.060 ⇒ 00:02:26.869 Allyson Marks: Yeah, just product analytics in general, data analyst is where I’ve been and where I’d like to keep focusing.
16 00:02:27.280 ⇒ 00:02:32.710 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, okay. Can you tell me more about, like, the kinds of projects that you were working on at Amplitude?
17 00:02:32.950 ⇒ 00:02:38.150 Allyson Marks: Yeah, absolutely. So I was actually at a different company, but we were using Amplitude, but…
18 00:02:38.150 ⇒ 00:02:38.790 Kaela Gallagher: Got it. Okay.
19 00:02:38.790 ⇒ 00:02:42.810 Allyson Marks: Sorry for the confusion. But I’ve been using Amplitude for
20 00:02:42.910 ⇒ 00:02:51.160 Allyson Marks: four years now? Four and a half, and I know that was, that’s why I was referred, and then I saw that that’s a big part of the job description, but…
21 00:02:51.230 ⇒ 00:02:59.809 Allyson Marks: basically, I was the product analyst at my previous company, and also kind of the only analyst at the company, so… Okay.
22 00:02:59.810 ⇒ 00:03:16.060 Allyson Marks: owned all of the product analytics from end to end, from, like, the event tracking and taxonomy to the experimentation. I started and led our first experimentation program, all of the reporting and insights, to both the product team and the executive team, and then
23 00:03:16.110 ⇒ 00:03:24.630 Allyson Marks: I reported to the product team, but like, as I said, I was the only analyst, so I spent some time supporting marketing, finance, CX2, and kind of…
24 00:03:24.990 ⇒ 00:03:33.129 Allyson Marks: getting Amplitude adopted across the whole company. Again, because I was the only analyst, there was a mix of, enabling others to
25 00:03:33.780 ⇒ 00:03:38.039 Allyson Marks: Do their own analytics, and then also me doing the more complex things.
26 00:03:38.230 ⇒ 00:03:41.999 Kaela Gallagher: Okay. What was the size of the company, like, if you were the only analyst?
27 00:03:42.470 ⇒ 00:03:52.999 Allyson Marks: Yeah, so we… when I joined, it was about 70 or so, I think, and then we got acquired by private equity, and then we were up to, like, 150.
28 00:03:53.570 ⇒ 00:04:01.280 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, okay, got it. And what did, like, what did, AirDNA do, I guess, or what was the service?
29 00:04:01.280 ⇒ 00:04:19.719 Allyson Marks: Yeah, so it was a subscription SaaS company. Basically, it was like a Zillow, but for Airbnb, so if you’re trying to see if you should buy an Airbnb in New York City, or in Fort Lauderdale, or something, you can kind of look it up, see if it would make enough money to be worth your time, how you should set your rates, all that kind of stuff, so…
30 00:04:19.970 ⇒ 00:04:24.989 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, okay, awesome. Cool, idea. Awesome.
31 00:04:25.240 ⇒ 00:04:30.190 Kaela Gallagher: I… so right now, you’re based in Denver?
32 00:04:30.190 ⇒ 00:04:30.990 Allyson Marks: Correct.
33 00:04:30.990 ⇒ 00:04:37.470 Kaela Gallagher: Okay. Are you open to, like, relocation in the future, or are you looking for, like, local and remote roles?
34 00:04:37.740 ⇒ 00:04:46.659 Allyson Marks: A little bit of both. I’m mostly looking for local or remote right now. I want to move to the East Coast in the future, but I don’t think that’s, like.
35 00:04:46.930 ⇒ 00:04:49.090 Allyson Marks: In the next few years, necessarily.
36 00:04:49.480 ⇒ 00:04:55.079 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, okay, got it. We are fully remote right now, we have
37 00:04:55.080 ⇒ 00:04:59.930 Kaela Gallagher: A team kind of all over the globe, especially, like, technical talent.
38 00:04:59.930 ⇒ 00:05:15.800 Kaela Gallagher: But we are starting to hire quite a bit in, like, the LA and Austin areas, so I’m based in LA. We meet up, like, all the time in person, so right now it’s just kind of a bonus if people are willing to, like, be in LA or Austin, so that’s why I asked.
39 00:05:15.860 ⇒ 00:05:18.349 Allyson Marks: I’m definitely willing to travel, if that’s helpful.
40 00:05:18.350 ⇒ 00:05:26.540 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, okay, cool, yeah. Yeah, just to give kind of an overview of, what we’re… what we’re looking for and what we do.
41 00:05:26.540 ⇒ 00:05:39.760 Kaela Gallagher: So, Brainforge, we do data and AI consulting. We work with a variety of clients, but mostly, like, small and mid-sized companies. We have 3 streams, 3 kind of,
42 00:05:40.000 ⇒ 00:05:46.590 Kaela Gallagher: services that we can provide to clients, so we have a data team, an AI team, and then a strategy team.
43 00:05:46.590 ⇒ 00:06:05.210 Kaela Gallagher: A lot of times, those teams are, like, working in tandem on clients, but, that’s how our company’s kind of structured. And we’re about 25 people right now, so, it’s kind of, like, all hands on deck in certain things, so, like, even our engineers that we’re hiring are, you know, hopping into client calls.
44 00:06:06.700 ⇒ 00:06:18.819 Kaela Gallagher: So that’s kind of our current structure. We do need support on, like, the product analyst, data analyst side of things, which falls within our strategy service line.
45 00:06:18.980 ⇒ 00:06:33.500 Kaela Gallagher: So that’s kind of an overview. Right now, we’re hiring on a 1099 basis, so, contracting with hourly pay. Just curious if you have any, like, questions or anything I can help answer.
46 00:06:33.970 ⇒ 00:06:42.539 Allyson Marks: Yeah, so I saw that it was full-timer contract. Would there be a term to the contract? Like, how long it would last, and is there potential for full-time hire?
47 00:06:42.790 ⇒ 00:06:58.419 Kaela Gallagher: So the way that we set up, our contracts currently is we typically do, like, a 3-week trial to start, so the initial contract we’ll read as, like, a 3-week engagement. But then after that, like, we kind of just have it open-ended.
48 00:06:58.420 ⇒ 00:07:16.110 Kaela Gallagher: We do have plans to convert people to W-2 in the future. That’s actually, like, a big part of why I was brought into the organization. But just, like, we can’t promise that off the bat, and, you know, we wouldn’t, like, hire you into W-2 to start. That would be something further down the line.
49 00:07:16.470 ⇒ 00:07:17.780 Allyson Marks: Okay, that makes sense.
50 00:07:17.780 ⇒ 00:07:22.089 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, cool. What’s, like, the compensation range you’re looking into?
51 00:07:22.400 ⇒ 00:07:31.330 Allyson Marks: Yeah, so I haven’t necessarily thought about the contract rate, but in terms of salary, I was shooting for 130, so however that would translate into an hourly rate.
52 00:07:31.710 ⇒ 00:07:51.469 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, okay, I think that’s… that’s fair. Yeah, in terms of, like, what our interview processes look like, we have 3 rounds. The first one is just kind of, broad, like, cultural and about your experience. The second one is diving, like, a little bit deeper into maybe, like, the more technical aspects of the job.
53 00:07:51.550 ⇒ 00:08:00.089 Kaela Gallagher: And then the final round, we actually do, like, a challenge, so we’ll basically give you, like, a set of data, and a problem, and
54 00:08:00.090 ⇒ 00:08:17.809 Kaela Gallagher: That’s like a take-home assignment, basically, that you can prepare a little presentation on, bring that to the final panel, and then they’ll ask, like, some questions, just dig in a little bit deeper. So, that’s kind of how it’s structured right now. We could move through it pretty quickly. I think within, like, a couple weeks, we could have all three of those.
55 00:08:17.840 ⇒ 00:08:24.400 Kaela Gallagher: rounds completed. So, yeah, is that something that would be, like, of interest to you, starting that process?
56 00:08:24.560 ⇒ 00:08:25.690 Allyson Marks: Yeah, absolutely.
57 00:08:25.690 ⇒ 00:08:32.099 Kaela Gallagher: Okay. Okay, cool, yeah. After this, I can send you an email with a link to book the first round.
58 00:08:32.210 ⇒ 00:08:35.819 Kaela Gallagher: Any other, like, questions that I can help answer?
59 00:08:36.080 ⇒ 00:08:42.350 Allyson Marks: Yeah, I’m curious, is this a new hire for product analyst, or is it a backfill for an existing?
60 00:08:42.769 ⇒ 00:08:48.509 Kaela Gallagher: This would be new. So right now, we have, one person…
61 00:08:48.659 ⇒ 00:09:01.489 Kaela Gallagher: in an analyst role. She’s been with the company for over a year now. We do have one person on a trial as well, but we’d be looking to add, like, one more, I would say.
62 00:09:01.670 ⇒ 00:09:08.079 Allyson Marks: Okay, perfect. And what’s kind of the typical, I guess, client load that this role would have?
63 00:09:08.610 ⇒ 00:09:20.400 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, I would say we’ll probably have you on, like, two to three clients, is… is, like, realistic. Probably, like, one large, and then 2 small to medium size.
64 00:09:20.800 ⇒ 00:09:28.780 Allyson Marks: Okay, perfect. That sounds good. And I guess, so, you said this role would be on the strategy team.
65 00:09:29.120 ⇒ 00:09:35.179 Allyson Marks: I’m guessing the people I work with day-to-day would depend on what the client needs are and, like, what we’re consulting for?
66 00:09:35.360 ⇒ 00:09:50.110 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, yeah, exactly. So, our strategy team right now, we do have the one analyst, and then we have, like, a senior, kind of, associate, and then we have, like, our managing partner. So, I guess it’s 3 people right now.
67 00:09:50.220 ⇒ 00:09:54.850 Kaela Gallagher: And… Wait, what was your question again? Sorry, I lost my train.
68 00:09:54.850 ⇒ 00:09:57.810 Allyson Marks: I was… no, you’re fine. I was just curious, kind of, like.
69 00:09:57.960 ⇒ 00:10:03.430 Allyson Marks: what types of people I’d be working with, but also probably with the caveat that it depends on the client needs.
70 00:10:03.430 ⇒ 00:10:19.480 Kaela Gallagher: Yes, yes. So, for example, like, if you get assigned to our, like, big CPG client, like, you would be partnering with, probably, like, one other strategy person on that client, but then also, like, our, data engineers.
71 00:10:19.760 ⇒ 00:10:32.450 Allyson Marks: Okay, perfect, that sounds good. And I forgot to mention earlier, I started my career in agency work, so I am familiar with, like, consulting, managing clients at once. It’s been a few years, but I do have background in that as well.
72 00:10:32.650 ⇒ 00:10:35.169 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, what do you mean by, like, agency work?
73 00:10:35.460 ⇒ 00:10:51.859 Allyson Marks: Yeah, so I actually started out at a marketing agency, and I was on the client services team, so I was, like, an account manager for a while, and then also a project manager, but still client-facing at that point, so I’ve managed the relationship side and the structure of the contracts and such.
74 00:10:52.200 ⇒ 00:11:08.369 Kaela Gallagher: Okay, oh, that’s super good to know. We’re actually, like, also looking to fill a gap right now for what we call, like, CSO, Client Success Owner, and this is, like, basically the account manager for the client, somebody that just makes sure that they’re happy, and, like, all the work streams that we’re providing them are
75 00:11:08.370 ⇒ 00:11:12.969 Kaela Gallagher: going smoothly. So maybe that’s something else we could explore, too.
76 00:11:13.620 ⇒ 00:11:14.600 Allyson Marks: Definitely.
77 00:11:14.600 ⇒ 00:11:24.730 Kaela Gallagher: Okay. Okay. Awesome. Cool. I will get this, email sent over to you for the first round. It’ll be with Amber, who is the analyst that I mentioned.
78 00:11:24.840 ⇒ 00:11:30.869 Kaela Gallagher: And then, yeah, just let me know if you have any questions at all throughout the process. I’m happy to help.
79 00:11:31.310 ⇒ 00:11:33.620 Allyson Marks: Sounds good, thank you so good time.
80 00:11:33.620 ⇒ 00:11:37.649 Kaela Gallagher: Yeah, appreciate your time as well. Thank you, and have a good one.
81 00:11:37.790 ⇒ 00:11:39.009 Allyson Marks: You too. Bye.
82 00:11:39.010 ⇒ 00:11:40.669 Kaela Gallagher: Thanks, bye.