The only two things that still matter: intent and taste | Dr. Luca Fiaschi und Rocky Khan - #15

Dr. Luca Fiaschi has earned the right to say that.


In the latest episode of Masters of Data & AI, I sat down
with Luca Fiaschi, Partner at PyMC Labs and former Chief Data
& AI Officer at Mistplay. Someone who has been both the
enterprise buyer AND the boutique consultancy expert. That dual
perspective is rare — and it makes for a very different kind of
conversation.


A few things that stuck with me:


Pricing is the most powerful data problem there is. At Alibaba —
15% reduction in delivery time through route optimization. At
HelloFresh — massive retention lift by splitting discounts across
boxes instead of front-loading them. At Mistplay — revenue
tripled in three years through dynamic pricing engines. The
pattern? Whoever understands price elasticity with data, wins.


"$40 discount" vs. "10 free meals." Exact same offer. Completely
different conversion rate. Because people don't love discounts —
they love free things. That's behavioral data science in its
purest form.


AI is eating software — but the timing matters. Luca sees two
remaining competitive moats: exclusive data access and
distribution networks. Features, UX, security compliance?
Increasingly copyable. What used to buy you years of advantage
now buys you maybe a few months.


What VP Data should actually be asking — but isn't. Not just "how
trustworthy are your agents?" — that's table stakes. The real
question is: "How can we rethink our entire business processes
around AI?" The difference between automation and actual
transformation.


What most people in data are dramatically underestimating: The
pace. Exponential growth is nearly impossible for the human brain
to intuitively grasp. Luca's mindset: if a problem seems
unsolvable today — wait three weeks. Some new model is probably
already solving it.


And what's left for humans in a world where AI writes the code,
builds the models and runs the analysis?


Intent — knowing what you actually want. And taste — whether what
comes out is good or just slop.


____LinkedIn Profile____


LinkedIn Profile of Dr. Luca Fiaschi:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lfiaschi/


LinkedIn Profile of Rocky Khan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/khanrocky/


____Business Buch_______


Hard things - Ben Horrowitz.