As our economy and society have become more complex, we’ve started to rely on big data, data driven solutions and AI analytics to describe what we do, what we buy, and where we choose to invest. Where does all this data and information come from? And how can these analytics really help us and our businesses do better?

Rachel Verron is founder and CEO of Ruby Research, a Baton Rouge based company that offers data, research and analytics services to nonprofit and government clients. Ruby Research helps clients use data to learn, improve and grow.

Rachel is a mixed method policy researcher with a personal specialty in human services, child and family policy and a passion for the nonprofit space. Before founding the firm in mid-2021, she was director of business intelligence and analytics at the LSU Foundation. Prior to that she was an analyst Louisiana Economic Development.

Rachel says Ruby Research represents a coming home to what she feels is her true vocation: putting the best of her knowledge and energy to work in loving service to her community.

Lex Adams is CEO of Crimer, a software company that uses AI and analytics to predict patterns of a crime, to stop crime BEFORE it’s committed.

Lex and some of his computer science buddies created Crimer in 2018 while they were still students at LSU. In the years since, they’ve gotten a lot of attention with their software, which pulls data from a variety of sources, feeds it into an A.I. system, then it spits information predicting where crime will happen.

You may remember Lex’s name: he was a guest on this show in 2020, during the height of the COVID lockdown when we recorded remotely. Since then, Lex has gone on to form two spinoff companies – Vigilus, a startup that specializes in web and app development for businesses, and Griffin Games, a tiny startup that does video game development.

Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find Photos from this show at itsbatonrouge.la.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.