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Launch HN: Hightouch (YC S19) – Sync data from data warehouses to SaaS tools

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Re: Launch HN: Hightouch (YC S19) – Sync data from data warehouses to SaaS tools

#11

Post by kashishg »

PhoenixReborn wrote: post #9

I am probably missing something here, but how is Hightouch differentiated from other similar tools like Census ( https://www.getcensus.com/ )?

Great question! We have a whole page about this here (https://hightouch.io/blog/hightouch-vs-census/).

But the TLDR is that Hightouch has more developer focused features (like a live debugger, alerting, version control with Git, and more here: https://hightouch.io/data-features/), a dedicated UI for business users to visually filter models (called Hightouch Audiences), more transparent pricing, as well as more integrations (70+) that are also deeper and customized for each tool.

Re: Launch HN: Hightouch (YC S19) – Sync data from data warehouses to SaaS tools

#12

Post by dang »

theboat wrote: post #2

I've been a hightouch customer for nearly a year now, and I have to say the team and product are both great. That being said, isn't it a bit late for a Launch HN post? :P

Well...

Launch HN: Rainforest QA (YC S12) – No-Code UI Test Automation - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28947689 - Oct 2021 (88 comments)

Launch HN: RescueTime (YC W08) – Redesigned for wellness, balance, remote work - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28683597 - Sept 2021 (141 comments)

The basic rule is that each YC startup gets one. We've made a couple exceptions in cases of complete reinventions.

Re: Launch HN: Hightouch (YC S19) – Sync data from data warehouses to SaaS tools

#13

Post by bleonard »

Congrats on the launch! Hightouch looks great and this need is real. Things seem to be going well, so I don't think I'm taking too much away by mentioning that we have been been working on Grouparoo, an open source alternative that solves similar pain points.

A few differences: git developer workflow focused (branches, CI, PRs, etc), ability to self host, segmentation in destinations (tagging people in mailchimp based on rules, for example)

https://www.grouparoo.com

Re: Launch HN: Hightouch (YC S19) – Sync data from data warehouses to SaaS tools

#15

Post by tejasmanohar »

tomnipotent wrote: post #14

Really, really love that it's just SQL. How is data mapped to the target API from the SQL projection? Are the columns themselves the actual API contract?

Cofounder here! Not quite. In Hightouch, you define your model (SQL) and create a sync (point-and-click or JSON/YAML).

The syncs are declarative, not imperative. They don't map 1:1 to API calls by design. You tell us what you want the destination to look like, and we figure out how :). Kinda like how a database creates the best plan for your SQL query before executing it.

Here's an example - https://i.imgur.com/05T5iKK.png. This sync maps your users table to Salesforce "Contacts" and the mapping interface also encodes the foreign key relationship between Contact:Account in Salesforce. Under the hood, we do all the lookups, caching, batch API calls using the bulk API, automatically handle rate limits, and only send changes from your database.

This is one of our key design differences compared to iPaaS tools like Tray, Zapier, Workato, Mulesoft, etc., which tend to just map actions to API calls 1:1. Data integration being declarative is something I'm really passionate about personally... wrote a blog with more examples at https://hightouch.io/blog/the-future-of-data-integration-wha...

Re: Launch HN: Hightouch (YC S19) – Sync data from data warehouses to SaaS tools

#16

Post by tomnipotent »

tejasmanohar wrote: post #15
tomnipotent wrote: post #14

Really, really love that it's just SQL. How is data mapped to the target API from the SQL projection? Are the columns themselves the actual API contract?

Cofounder here! Not quite. In Hightouch, you define your model (SQL) and create a sync (point-and-click or JSON/YAML). The syncs are declarative, not imperative. They don't map 1:1 to API calls by design. You tell us what you want the destination to look like, and we figure out how :). Kinda like how a database creates the best plan for your SQL query before executing it. Here's an example - https://i.imgur.com/05T5i…

> You tell us what you want the destination to look like

Implicit mapping between SQL to target is great, but how does the SQL author know what SQL to write in the first place?

I've done no shortage of integrations like this, and there is no avoiding reading the target SaaS documentation to know what their schema looks like so I can shape data accordingly. Without that step, I can't even start writing SQL.

Re: Launch HN: Hightouch (YC S19) – Sync data from data warehouses to SaaS tools

#17

Post by PhoenixReborn »

kashishg wrote: post #11
PhoenixReborn wrote: post #9

I am probably missing something here, but how is Hightouch differentiated from other similar tools like Census ( https://www.getcensus.com/ )?

Great question! We have a whole page about this here ( https://hightouch.io/blog/hightouch-vs-census/ ). But the TLDR is that Hightouch has more developer focused features (like a live debugger, alerting, version control with Git, and more here: https://hightouch.io/data-features/ ), a dedicated UI for business users to visually filter models (called Hightouch Audiences), more transparent pricing, as well as more int…

Very cool and thanks for the response! I will definitely give Hightouch a try.

Re: Launch HN: Hightouch (YC S19) – Sync data from data warehouses to SaaS tools

#18

Post by gurubavan »

bleonard wrote: post #13

Congrats on the launch! Hightouch looks great and this need is real. Things seem to be going well, so I don't think I'm taking too much away by mentioning that we have been been working on Grouparoo, an open source alternative that solves similar pain points. A few differences: git developer workflow focused (branches, CI, PRs, etc), ability to self host, segmentation in destinations (tagging people in mailchimp base…

Hightouch user here. HT actually has a lot of that - git integration [0], visual segmentation [1]. Not sure about self-hosting though. Open-source is cool, will check it out.

[0]: https://hightouch.io/docs/integrations/git-sync/

[1]: https://hightouch.io/docs/hightouch-audiences/overview/

Re: Launch HN: Hightouch (YC S19) – Sync data from data warehouses to SaaS tools

#19

Post by tejasmanohar »

gurubavan wrote: post #18
bleonard wrote: post #13

Congrats on the launch! Hightouch looks great and this need is real. Things seem to be going well, so I don't think I'm taking too much away by mentioning that we have been been working on Grouparoo, an open source alternative that solves similar pain points. A few differences: git developer workflow focused (branches, CI, PRs, etc), ability to self host, segmentation in destinations (tagging people in mailchimp base…

Hightouch user here. HT actually has a lot of that - git integration [0], visual segmentation [1]. Not sure about self-hosting though. Open-source is cool, will check it out. [0]: https://hightouch.io/docs/integrations/git-sync/ [1]: https://hightouch.io/docs/hightouch-audiences/overview/

Haha thanks. Love some friendly competition :). In all seriousness, though we're focusing elsewhere, the OSS angle is cool.

If you're interested in self-hosted though, just reach out at hello@hightouch.io.

That said, IMO one of the coolest parts of our tech is our "hybrid architecture". Out of the box, no data is stored in Hightouch - it's all in your cloud (warehouse, s3 bucket). This is how fintech (Plaid, Blend, Betterment, + some banks now!) and healthcare brands like Headway use us. We've also done a ton of compliance work and have certificates for SOC2 Type II and whanot.

Re: Launch HN: Hightouch (YC S19) – Sync data from data warehouses to SaaS tools

#20

Post by bleonard »

gurubavan wrote: post #18
bleonard wrote: post #13

Congrats on the launch! Hightouch looks great and this need is real. Things seem to be going well, so I don't think I'm taking too much away by mentioning that we have been been working on Grouparoo, an open source alternative that solves similar pain points. A few differences: git developer workflow focused (branches, CI, PRs, etc), ability to self host, segmentation in destinations (tagging people in mailchimp base…

Hightouch user here. HT actually has a lot of that - git integration [0], visual segmentation [1]. Not sure about self-hosting though. Open-source is cool, will check it out. [0]: https://hightouch.io/docs/integrations/git-sync/ [1]: https://hightouch.io/docs/hightouch-audiences/overview/

There are probably some nuances one level down. Things our users have told us they can do in these areas that, to my knowledge, Hightouch doesn't do:

* Combine data from different sources to define a model. We'v seen using Postgres as a source of truth and supplementing with Snowflake data, for example.

* Add tags to contacts in mailchimp, zendesk or make lists of them in customer.io, Pardot, etc based on segmentation. I believe Hightouch Audiences is more like a filter.

* Full workflow with branches, PRs, test suite in a repo. I saw Hightouch added git syncing to a known branch yesterday and it looks cool, but it's not the full workflow yet.

I'm certainly trying to keep it in the friendly-competition area, especially on this thread :-)

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