In a recent episode of MRII’s Insights and Innovators podcast, host Katie Gross sat down with Dan Coates, serial entrepreneur and co-founder/CEO of YPulse, to explore the lessons he’s learned over a 25-year journey of innovation in the market research industry. Dan shared valuable insights into entrepreneurship, team building, adapting to change, and sustaining innovation — all shaped by experience and a deep commitment to helping brands understand youth. Here are five key questions and answers, edited for brevity and clarity, that capture his entrepreneurial wisdom.
1. How did you identify the market need that led to founding YPulse?
“Serving youth has always been this Gordian knot of the market research industry… And we realized that social media was going to be this wonderful way to connect with young people that would allow us to spark those conversations and be able to untie this Gordian knot… Started with the hardest problems and then just kept solving for those hardest problems and expanding up from there.”
2. What advice would you give someone trying to identify a niche market today?
“Pick a lane and just one, right? Own it completely… Once you’ve dominated that first niche, then you can think about expanding beyond that niche. But not until… You could do anything that you want, but you can’t do everything that you want.”
3. How did you build a passionate and effective team at YPulse?
“We’re just interested in people that are really interested in youth, right? And they come to us. We don’t have to go out and find them… Over 120 days, my small but mighty product team designed, prototyped, developed, beta tested, iterated on the beta feedback and then launched an AI assistant… Four people have totally changed the trajectory of the YPulse organization.”
4. Can you share a failure and what you learned from it?
“In 2022, we invested six figures into a spending tracker that fell short… Brands weren’t interested in how much people spent. They were much more interested in what people bought… Now we know exactly how to structure our spending tracker in the future… Every failure is an opportunity to learn and to take things in a new direction and eventually succeed.”
5. What is the most rewarding part of being an entrepreneur in market research?
“Our industry represents a thriving ecosystem with wonderful upward mobility… While I feel super lucky to have spent the last 30 years in this industry, I envy the next generation. They’ll take what we’ve achieved and they’ll multiply it by a thousand… I see this constant evolution of the industry. It’s really exciting.”
Dan Coates’ entrepreneurial journey is filled with powerful takeaways about focus, passion, resilience, and embracing change. Whether you’re launching your first venture or looking to innovate within your current role, these lessons can guide and inspire your next move.
Ask yourself: What are you doing tomorrow? What are you starting today?
Listen to the full episode on MRII’s Insights and Innovators podcast for more inspiration from Dan and other leading voices in market research.
