The people
behind Kaavio
Sam Bobb
Sam works toward one mission: "Product data should work as hard as the people who depend on it."
Prior to Kaavio, Sam spent years as a data and engineering leader inside companies that sell technical products to professional buyers, driving 3x conversions and 50%+ revenue growth at Octopart (YC W07), building PIM and search for 10M+ products at Volition, and serving as Head of Engineering.
When he isn't thinking about building revolutionary workflows, you can find Sam skiing, cooking, and spending time with his dog Gus.
Derek Gregg
Derek is an entrepreneur and life-long learner who sits at the intersection of technical systems, messy data, and real-world workflows. His superpower? Getting the ideal and reality to meet.
He first co-founded Vandalia Research where he built products that spanned forensics, scientific tooling, and STEM education. From there, following completion of an MBA at Carnegie Mellon (Tepper), Derek led go-to-market and operations at Quartzy, helping scale enterprise and mid-market SaaS businesses serving scientific and technical customers.
Outside of the time spent partnering with B2B manufacturers and distributors to scale their businesses, Derek is an avid cyclist, sailer, and SCUBA diver.
We've spent decades inside companies that sell technical products to professional buyers, at Quartzy, Octopart, and Volition.
The same issue kept showing up: small teams, massive catalogs, and no tool built for the space between "we have this data" and "this product page is live."
The plumber replacing a water heater at 2 AM. The lab researcher sourcing the right reagent. The contractor on a deadline. They all need product information that's complete, accurate, and findable.
The companies that make and sell products deserve tools that match the importance of the work. They need product information that is complete, accurate, and findable.
The plumber at 2 AM
Replacing a water heater on an emergency call at 2:00 AM. Needs exact specs, compatibility, and availability — not a blank product page.
Researcher
Sourcing reagents for a time-sensitive experiment. One wrong attribute and the order is wrong. Accuracy isn't optional.
Contractor
On a job site, sourcing a circuit breaker. Needs UL listing, voltage rating, pole count — in seconds, not a phone call.
01
Context matters more than structure
The source of truth was always in the documents. Now we have tools that can use them directly.
02
Start with what you have
Every company has a price list. Part numbers, manufacturers, costs. That's enough. The right tool meets you where you are.
03
Human-first AI
Every output is citable. Every decision is traceable. No black boxes. Humans stay in the loop.
