I recently went one-on-one with Manish Sood, founder and CEO of Reltio.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Manish: I grew up in India and was educated as a mechanical engineer. I began my career working on the automation of large-scale power plants. This was during a time when India’s economy was opening up, and I had the opportunity to work with a Japanese multinational. That experience introduced me to CRM, ERP, and a variety of enterprise systems that were being deployed to help global businesses operate more efficiently.
With that foundation, I decided to take an opportunity with a consulting company in the U.S., and that move marked the beginning of my journey in Silicon Valley and the broader enterprise technology space.
Adam: How did you come up with your business idea and know it was worth pursuing? What advice do you have for others on how to come up with and test business ideas?
Manish: My assignments at Naviant opened my eyes to the troubling gaps in data management and operations. Spotting these trends led to amazing and highly gratifying work, helping customers integrate their disparate systems and finding novel ways to rationalize and maximize their data. Understanding this sparked my imagination because master data, also known as the core data or “nouns” of any enterprise in any industry, such as customer, supplier, product, location, is truly the lifeblood of all companies, which remains true today. I architected some of the largest and most widely used data management solutions by Fortune 100 companies during this time. I worked for a few companies helping them unlock the potential of their master data before launching Reltio in 2011. I came up with the idea to take what was known as master data management (MDM) and bring it to the next level, in the cloud as a SaaS offering. Being in the cloud enabled businesses to scale, capture efficiencies, and integrate more data, giving them a fuller picture of not just the nouns, but transactions and interactions. We continue to evolve Reltio today to include more real-time data to fuel analytics and operations, and are working now to integrate unstructured data, such as information from call transcripts, emails, chat logs, and customer reviews, into a 360 profile of an entity.
I think a lot of people get constrained inside a category, thinking like I can’t launch a product because how can I realistically take on a large company? But the successful ideas in tech have turned
Adam: What are the key steps you have taken to grow your business? What advice do you have for others on how to take their businesses to the next level?
Manish: Here are a few core principles that have guided Reltio’s growth. First and foremost is innovation with purpose. We didn’t just build software, we created a new approach to managing data that puts speed, trust, and flexibility at the center. That meant looking beyond traditional categories like MDM and building something that could unify and activate data across the entire enterprise for any use case or industry.
Second, we’ve always stayed incredibly close to our customers. Not just to solve their current problems, but to anticipate where they’re headed next. That means understanding their business models, regulatory pressures, and competitive landscapes, and helping them stay ahead by ensuring their data is trusted and runs at the speed of their business.
Third, we pay close attention to macro trends shaping the enterprise. AI is a perfect example. It’s not just a feature, it’s a force reshaping how software is built and how businesses operate. We’ve leaned into that shift by ensuring the Reltio Data Cloud fuels AI with clean, real-time, context-rich data.
My advice? Don’t let the market define you. Categories can be useful, but they can also become cages. If we had only played within the MDM box, we’d have missed the opportunity to lead in what enterprises actually need today: a real-time, unified data layer to power the age of intelligence. The companies that will win in this new era are the ones bold enough to define the future, not just react to it.
Adam: What are your best sales and marketing tips?
Manish: The best sales and marketing doesn’t start with a product – it starts with a problem. At Reltio, we’ve learned that being consultative and prescriptive is far more powerful than leading with features or functions. Our teams are deep experts in data management and unification, but if we walk into a conversation pitching product, we lose people. If we walk in demonstrating that we understand the real challenges they’re facing – fragmented data, slow time to value, AI initiatives that are stalling – then we earn trust.
We focus on showing customers that we can tailor solutions to their business and their industry. Not just technically, but in terms of outcomes that matter, whether that’s accelerating omnichannel engagement, improving supply chain visibility, or reducing risk.
Also, it’s critical to stay aligned across sales, marketing, and product teams. When your message is consistent and your value is clear, it builds momentum. The best marketing speaks the language of the customer. The best sales conversations feel like strategy sessions, not pitches.
Adam: What are the most important trends in technology that leaders should be aware of and understand? What should they understand about them?
Manish: One of the most important trends reshaping enterprise technology is the move to agentic AI: intelligent systems that can act, learn, and make decisions autonomously. We’re not just talking about chatbots or copilots anymore. We’re talking about AI agents embedded in business processes, driving procurement, enhancing customer engagement, and optimizing supply chains. This is the future of work.
Agentic AI is only as good as the data it’s given; however, a problem many Boardrooms and C-level leaders haven’t been able to comprehend. Most enterprises today are running on fragmented, siloed, and often outdated data. You can’t automate what you can’t trust.
Too many businesses are also still anchored to application-first architectures – platforms like Salesforce, for example, which were designed to run functions, not power intelligence. These systems often trap data within their boundaries, making it harder, not easier, to build the kind of real-time, cross-functional context AI needs to operate effectively. AI won’t save you from your data problems – it will amplify them. To win in this next era, you need a unified, trusted data foundation that spans your enterprise. That’s how you unlock the real value of AI and future-proof your business in the process.
Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Manish: The opportunity to enhance the way we live by changing the way we work is what drives me daily. It’s a passion. If you do the same–find your passion and make it your life’s work, you’ll be happy and give yourself the best opportunity to thrive by doing something you love.
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams?
Manish: I’ve learned that new and massive markets are created at the crossroads of secular trends. I advise looking for these trends and going with what you know. For me, the timely intersection of the inevitable adoption of cloud computing, the need to digitize at scale, and the increasing reality of endless application sprawl created an urgent need for a single source of truth. Hence, Reltio. Our customers range across B2B and B2C businesses, delivering everything from insurance, automobiles, fast food, apparel, medicine, and information. The opportunity to enhance the way we live by changing the way we work is what drives me daily. It’s a passion. If you do the same–find your passion and make it your life’s work- you’ll be happy and give yourself the best opportunity to thrive by doing something you love.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?
Manish: I’ve learned that new and massive markets are created at the crossroads of secular trends. I advise looking for these trends and going with what you know. For me, the timely intersection of the inevitable adoption of cloud computing, the need to digitize at scale, and the increasing reality of endless application sprawl created an urgent need for a single source of truth. Hence, Reltio. Our customers range across B2B and B2C businesses, delivering everything from insurance, automobiles, fast food, apparel, medicine, and information. The opportunity to enhance the way we live by changing the way we work is what drives me daily. It’s a passion. If you do the same–find your passion and make it your life’s work- you’ll be happy and give yourself the best opportunity to thrive by doing something you love.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Manish: Giving up the safety net of working for a large company was daunting. But my wife’s career journey inspired me to act. Just two years out of law school and working for a small firm, she launched a solo practice. And just like that, she did it. She never had second thoughts or a fear of the unknown. She believed that if you knew the “why,” the “how” would come. I did not realize the power of this story at the time, but I drew upon it tremendously ten years later. She asked me, “What’s the worst thing that could happen?” The answer to me was losing our life savings. But that’s not the worst thing that could happen. If you lose your life savings, you can always get another job. So, I took a leap of faith and launched Reltio.
Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?
Manish: Yes – if there’s one thing I’d leave leaders with, it’s this: the AI revolution isn’t coming, it’s already here. But AI won’t transform your business unless your data is ready. That means real-time, trusted, and unified data across the enterprise, not locked inside apps or trapped in silos.
At Reltio, we’re focused on helping companies move fast without breaking trust. We believe every organization deserves a data foundation built for intelligence, one that enables humans and AI to work in harmony.
Don’t wait until your competitors are pulling ahead with AI-powered decisions, experiences, and operations. Now is the time to invest in your data, because data is the fuel and the filter for everything AI can achieve.
