
From Custom Builds to Fivetran: Evolving Our Data Pipeline Strategy
From The Dashboard Effect by Brick Thompson, Jon Thompson, Caleb Ochs, Landon Ochs
August 14, 2025 · 8 min · Episode 159
About this episode
Brick and Landon discuss their shift in thinking on data connectors and the impact of APIs on data pipelines.
In this episode of The Dashboard Effect, Brick and Landon discuss their shift in thinking on whether to build custom data connectors or use third-party tools like Fivetran. They share the pros, cons, and lessons learned from their proof-of-concept with Fivetran, and why APIs are changing the data pipeline game. Key Moments: 1:15 – Why custom connectors made sense in the past 2:00 – The rise of APIs and the challenge of building connectors for them 2:39 – Realizing the variety of systems—and...
People in this episode
Hosts: Brick Thompson, Landon Ochs
Topics covered
- data pipeline strategy
- custom data connectors
- third-party tools
- Fivetran
- APIs
- lessons learned
Keywords
- data pipeline
- custom connectors
- Fivetran
- APIs
- data strategy
- proof-of-concept
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Fivetran, APIs
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