245: The Future of Data: Postgres, Iceberg, and Operational Analytics with Pranav Aurora of Mooncake Labs

This week on The Data Stack Show, the guys chat with Pranav Aurora, Co-Founder of Mooncake Labs. Pranav shares his innovative approach to simplifying data infrastructure by bridging Postgres and Iceberg technologies. He also discusses his journey from Single Store to launching a startup that aims to solve real-world data challenges, focusing on creating a seamless, developer-friendly extension that allows businesses to easily sync row and column store tables with minimal configuration. The conversation explores the complexities of modern data stacks, the importance of first-principle thinking, and how startups can leverage AI and community feedback to build transformative technologies. Key takeaways include Mooncake's mission to provide operational analytics with just a few lines of SQL, the potential of Postgres extensions, the value of solving genuine pain points for developers and data teams, and more.

Highlights from this week’s conversation include:

• Pranav’s Background and Journey in Data (1:10)

• Backstory of Mooncake Labs (2:05)

• PostgreSQL as a Force (4:47)

• Curiosity in Product Management (7:33)

• Challenges with Iceberg (11:12)

• Go-to-Market Strategy (13:52)

• Building Community Engagement (15:56)

• Importance of Feedback (18:26)

• AI Integration in Mooncake Labs (21:29)

• Innovation in data interaction (23:49)

• PostgreSQL and startup growth (28:41)

• Core component of business strategy (31:20)

• The Origin of the name Mooncake Labs (34:12)

• Upcoming Product Release (38:40)

• Connecting with Mooncake Labs and Parting Thoughts (42:49)

The Data Stack Show is a weekly podcast powered by RudderStack, the CDP for developers. Each week we’ll talk to data engineers, analysts, and data scientists about their experience around building and maintaining data infrastructure, delivering data and data products, and driving better outcomes across their businesses with data.

RudderStack helps businesses make the most out of their customer data while ensuring data privacy and security. To learn more about RudderStack visit rudderstack.com.