executive summary, situation analysis, problem, potential options (to solve the problem), criteria (to select one option), and explain actions to implement the selected options for the following case: Burning Glass Technologies: From Data to Products

0 HARVARD | BUSINESS | SCHOOL 3 G'G 9-122-015 DECEMBER 13, 2021 SURAJ SRINIVASAN AMY KLOFFENSTEIN Burning Glass Technologies: From Data to Product In May 2021, Burning Glass Technologies CEO Matt Sigelman (HBS 1999) prepared to meet with his leadership team. They planned to discuss whether the company should take on a new client, a large consulting firm that wanted to license Burning Glass's data to inform their clients\" diversity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. Until recently, they would have easily agreed to the sale, but it now represented a broader question about how and whento transition from a data to a product company. For more than 20 years, Burning Glass had used job postings, resumes, and web-based labor statistics to offer insights into hiring trends. As the company matured, it underwent a series of pivots which Sigelman referred to as \"epochs\" within its business model and underlying technology. Accordingly, it evolved from a job-matching engine to a comprehensive map of the labor market. By 2021, Burning Glass licensed data and data-based insight toals to clients across several markets. The potential client presented the opportunity to continue selling data. However, Burning Glass had recently launched DEI Insight, a tool that gave clients custom recommendations for improving racial and gender diversity. It was one of several products under development, and Sigelman hoped that its rollout would mark the beginning of Burning Glass's next epoch as a product company. He believed that DEI Insight and the company's other forthcoming products could ultimately generate more revenue and drive deeper social impact. However, the products were not yet proven in the market, while Burning Glass's data was a steady source of revenue. Sigelman also knew that the prospective clientand other companies who licensed their datacould use Burning Glass's data to develop their own DEI tools, creating competition for products like DEI Insight. Were Sigelman and his team creating future competitors by licensing their data? Should they exclusively focus on selling DEI Insight and developing a new suite of products, fully transforming into a product company? Or should they pursue a hybrid option, selling both data and products? The CEO reviewed his notes for the meeting, reflecting on the company that Burning Glass had been, what it currently was, and what he ultimately hoped it would become