About us
We believe that tools don’t transform organizations. People do. That’s why we focus on enablement and not just implementation.
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As data teams modernize, the biggest challenge isn’t choosing the right tools.
It’s enabling people to use them well.
Over the past five years, we've seen dbt emerge as the centerpiece of modern analytics workflows, especially in the last two years as adoption has expanded into larger enterprise environments. But across dozens of engagements, whether leading migrations, rebuilding fragile dbt projects, or training teams, we kept running into the same pattern: organizations invest heavily in technology and tools like dbt and Snowflake, but overlook the human side of transformation.
That’s why we founded Breakout Labs: to help data teams succeed not just with tooling, but with the mindsets, workflows, and skills that make modern data work sustainable at scale.
We’ve trained hundreds of professionals, from midsize companies to Fortune 500 enterprises, and seen firsthand how the right enablement strategy, especially when started from day one, can accelerate adoption, reduce rework, and help teams maximize the value of their investment in modern data tools.
To enable data teams to adopt modern tools and mindsets through real, human-centered training.
We’ve supported teams at every scale from mid-sized startups to Fortune 500 enterprises, such as Siemens - where our trainings were the most the most sought-after offering in their internal Learning Academy
We bring real-world context, hands-on labs, and co-teaching techniques that make learning practical, engaging, and sticky.
Meet the People Behind Breakout Labs
Co-founder, Lead Trainer
Simo began his career in software engineering, where test-driven development and clean code principles shaped his thinking. Over time, he transitioned into data, drawn to the challenge of making analytics systems not just functional but scalable, tested and reliable.
He discovered dbt in 2019 and instantly recognized its potential. By early 2021, he was freelancing full-time, helping teams adopt dbt and build sustainable analytics practices. What started as hands-on consulting quickly evolved into mentoring, coaching and delivering training that truly sticks.
For Simo, enablement is the heart of the work. He has taught teams across Europe, the U.S. and India, with a focus on helping people "get it" and use modern data tools with confidence. His original training materials, built and refined over five years, now form the foundation of Breakout Labs’ dbt Fundamentals and Advanced programs.
Co-founder, Lead Trainer
Marvin began his career in e-commerce but found his true path in data. After earning a master’s in Business Intelligence and Analytics, he joined Scalefree, a consultancy focused on building modern, large-scale data platforms for enterprise clients.
He became a core expert in dbt, Snowflake and Data Vault, developing automations, leading implementations and eventually building a dbt plus Data Vault training program. That experience sparked his passion for enablement.
In 2023, Marvin started his freelance journey to gain independence and deepen his impact. His long-term goal was always to build something larger with a like-minded team. When he connected with Simo, their shared vision made the next step clear.
Marvin continues to support enterprise clients like Siemens while co-leading the evolution of Breakout Labs’ training content and delivery.
Analytics Engineering Consultant
Timo spent nearly a decade as a project manager in the shipbuilding and heavy industries, working with enterprises like KONE, Metso and VR. Throughout those years, his curiosity for IT and data kept growing until he made the leap fully into data engineering.
He has built strong hands-on expertise with dbt and Snowflake, designing production-grade data pipelines and analytics solutions. Soon after meeting Simo and Marvin, he joined Breakout Labs as their first team member. Today, he helps shape the company’s growth through high-impact consulting and training for data teams worldwide.
Platform Engineer
Ly's passion for data was sparked during university and grew into a career spanning data analytics and analytics engineering, across companies of various sizes and industries. This breadth of experience gave her a well-rounded perspective on data problems and deep hands-on experience with dbt.
In 2025, she came across Simo and discovered Breakout Labs. Their mission resonated with her immediately. She reached out, expressed her interest in contributing, and was fortunate enough to join the team in 2026 as a Platform Engineer.
Today, she is focused on helping Breakout Labs' clients access the best possible learning infrastructure as well as experience, and being part of a team that's genuinely building something meaningful.
Meet the Instructors that will deliver your trainings
Data Architect & Engineer, Instructor
Gideon started as a data consultant at Accenture and founded his own data consultancy, Velocity Sense, in 2017.
He is based originally in Washington, DC, focused on helping startups and businesses adopt modern analytics stacks.
Working as both a data architect and hands-on engineer, Gideon has delivered end-to-end data projects, enabled companies to run AI-powered analytics from a single source of truth across diverse industries including e-commerce, solar energy, healthcare, marketing, and logistics.
Guided by the principle of "Measure Twice, Cut Once" - prioritizing careful planning over speed, he believes that understanding each business's unique core challenges is the foundation of every successful project.
Senior Data Engineer, Instructor
Samuele began his data career in Bologna after studying Computer Science at the University of Bologna, working on early data warehousing and analytics projects. Afterwards, he moved to Sydney where he worked in data consulting, designing and delivering data platforms across industries.
Samuele then joined Canva as a Senior Data Engineer and later Tech Engineering Lead, working on large-scale analytics pipelines powered by dbt and Snowflake. He had helped grow the analytics engineering practice and mentored engineers as the team expanded across Canva.
Samuel returned to Bologna, continued to build modern data platforms as a Data Engineer specialising in dbt and Snowflake. He now teaches dbt to help teams adopt analytics engineering best practices and build reliable, scalable data workflows.
Data Engineer, Instructor
Miguel started in software engineering before moving into data engineering, where he focuses on building reliable and well-structured data platforms.
He has worked across consulting, small companies, and now at a large tech company, giving him experience working in very different data environments.
Miguel works extensively with Snowflake, dbt, and modern ELT tools to design and maintain production-grade pipelines, with a strong focus on consistent metrics and clean, scalable data models.
Alongside his hands-on work, Miguel delivers training in Foundational and Advanced Analytics Engineering, with an emphasis on practical approaches that teams can adopt straight away.His focus is on helping teams build confidence and autonomy in their data stack.
Data & Analytics Engineer, Instructor
Bijil started in academia before pivoting to data engineering as a consultant at Mantel Group in Sydney, where he built deep expertise working with leading Australian enterprises across retail, finance, energy and marketing — spanning greenfield builds, brownfield migrations and everything in between.
Drawn to the variety of client work, he founded Nimblestax, a fractional data practice serving teams across the UK, US, Europe and APAC. His work spans analytics uplift, data and experimentation platforms, and laying data foundations for startups and enterprises, working hands-on with dbt, Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks and Dagster, underpinned by strong software engineering practices.
For Bijil, the most rewarding work sits at the intersection of strategy and execution — helping teams not just ship the platform, but build the confidence and habits to own it long after the engagement ends.
High-Impact, Hands-On Training for Modern Data Teams