Scope: client-engagement. Emil Barr’s GovGrid business decision, made inside work Michael advises on. Not a Rye Valley decision; do not roll into Rye Valley decision logs or scoreboards.
- Date: 2026-10-11
- Decider(s): Emil Barr (stated to DataCow, Michael present)
- Status: decided
Decision
GovGrid opens data licensing relationships with a small, scoped pilot around a specific use case. Exclusivity is on the table only after a pilot proves the working relationship, and only at a scale where the economics justify not selling government data to anyone else.
Context
First substantive pilot buyer call (DataCow, Oct 11). DataCow’s standard flow is API connection plus automated eval plus quote; GovGrid’s data runs through its own pipelines, and the buyer raised whether others could resell the same data. Emil set the posture: pilot first, exclusivity later and only at scale.
Options considered
- Offer exclusivity up front to win the deal: Rejected. Locks GovGrid to one broker before pricing and working relationship are known; Emil noted conversations with several companies are in flight.
- Large terabyte-scale dump first: Rejected as the opening move. Higher ingest burden for the buyer, more risk for GovGrid before trust exists.
- Scoped pilot, then expand (adopted): Lets both sides test pricing and partnership before a “100x bigger deal.”
Consequences
- Pilot scope with DataCow likely centers on back-office finance/accounting data (their stated current interest).
- Same posture applies to other broker/lab conversations (Mercor, labs on the Oct 9 list).
- Owner: Emil. Michael supports outreach and broker conversations.
Linked meeting: DataCow <> GovGrid - Oct 11, 2026