GreenBook Future List Spotlight: Nihal Advani

Exclusive interview with GRIT Future List honoree, Nihal Advani, Founder and CEO of QualSights.

Where do you see the future of insights heading in the next 10 years?

I believe we will see the below three trends over the next 10 years:

1. An increased focus on generating deep/authentic insights but with much more speed/agility, thanks to advancements in video and AI and a blurring of lines between qualitative and quantitative.
2. A significant increase in gathering contextual/in-the-moment insights and observed behavior techniques (done digitally) versus relying on recall-based methods or self-reported surveys.
3. The ability to capture data passively/more naturally to get to true behavior observation & understanding, powered by wearable cameras and biometric sensors.

If you could change one thing about insights, what would it be?

If I could change one thing about insights right now, it would be drastically reducing the reliance on recall-based methods like interviews/focus groups especially in relation to consumer behavior. Behavior is much better seen & discussed in-the-moment versus talked about afterward since recall can be very unreliable.

Who is your career role model or source of inspiration?

Bill Gates is my role model and a major source of inspiration for me. This is not only because of his amazing achievements as an entrepreneur but even more so because of his incredible philanthropic efforts and tackling of world problems. The impact that he has made and continues to make on the world is mind-blowing.

What’s a fun fact about yourself that would surprise people to know?

A fun fact about me is that I spent my teenage years as an internationally ranked tennis player and wanted to go pro. My parents suggested I get a college education first, and that’s when I moved from India to the US – on a full tennis scholarship, playing D1 tennis and getting a degree at the same time. While in college I got the opportunity to work at Google and I loved it so much that I decided to pursue my passion for technology instead of my passion for tennis.

Since starting your career in MRX, what would you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?

I’ve only been in the market research/insights space for around 2 years, but so far I think my greatest accomplishment has been leading product at QualSights to build out a powerful visual insights platform that helps companies develop consumer empathy and generate deeper customer insights at a speed, scale and level of authenticity that was previously impossible. Our platform has already won us multiple awards, including winning the I-COM Global Startup Challenge.