Lumen Labs | Data & Automation Consulting for Small Business

The cost of bad data

Sound familiar?

These are the problems we hear most from small and mid-size businesses before they come to us.

Data Chaos: Your business data is scattered across spreadsheets, inboxes, and disconnected tools, with no single place to see what's actually going on.

Wasted Time: Your team spends hours on manual data entry and reporting instead of focusing on the work that actually grows the business.

No Clear Picture: You lack a real-time view of your operations, assets, or performance, so decisions get made on gut feel instead of current data.

Reporting That Drags: Reports take days to pull together and still aren't consistent, making it hard to trust the numbers or share them with confidence.

Systems That Don't Talk: Your tools and platforms operate in silos, forcing someone to manually stitch data together every time you need an answer.

No Data Leadership: Without senior guidance, your data strategy stalls and systems get built without direction, creating technical debt instead of business value.

What we build

The systems behind better business decisions.

We help small and mid-sized companies turn complex data into clear, actionable insights. By combining data engineering, geospatial analysis, and AI, we make it easy for you to understand what your data means and how to act on it.

Data Platforms & Reporting

Problem: Your data is scattered across spreadsheets, making reporting slow and unreliable.

Solution: We create centralized data systems that integrate all your operational, financial, and third-party data, giving your team access to accurate, real-time information for better decision-making.

Geospatial Intelligence & Maps

Problem: You lack visibility into your locations and assets, relying on static PDFs and spreadsheets.

Solution: We develop interactive maps and dashboards that display properties, infrastructure, and geographic risks in one live view, helping operators and investors understand their assets better.

AI Document Processing & Extraction

Problem: Your team spends too much time manually entering data from invoices and contracts, leading to errors.

Solution: We automate data extraction using AI tools, transforming documents into clean, queryable data, saving time and reducing mistakes.

AI Workflow Automation

Problem: Repetitive tasks eat up your team's time, slowing down processes.

Solution: We build AI-assisted workflows that automate recurring reporting and data prep, improving efficiency and consistency without needing to hire additional staff.

Operational Databases

Problem: Your business data is spread across disconnected tools, making reporting tedious.

Solution: We create custom operational databases with clean data models, streamlining reporting and ensuring your data works for your business needs.

Fractional CDO & CTO Services

Problem: You need senior data and tech leadership but can't hire full-time.

Solution: We provide fractional Chief Data Officer and CTO services, guiding your data and technology strategy on a flexible retainer basis, tailored to your business stage.

Who we serve

Built for businesses with real data problems and no in-house team to solve them.

Lumen Labs works with small and mid-size businesses that have outgrown spreadsheets but aren't ready to hire a full data team. We also bring deep experience serving investment firms and energy operators who need the same clarity at a higher level of complexity.

Small & Mid-Size Businesses

Operational databases, automated reporting, and workflow tools for businesses that run on data but don't have the staff to manage it.

Real Estate & Property

Asset tracking, portfolio maps, and operational dashboards for owners, developers, and managers with properties across multiple locations.

Construction & Field Services

Project data, crew and asset location tracking, and reporting systems that keep field operations and back-office in sync.

Professional Services

Workflow automation, client reporting, and document processing for firms where time spent on manual work is time not spent on clients.

Private Equity & Family Offices

Deal tracking, underwriting support, portfolio analytics, and investor reporting infrastructure.

Energy Investors & Operators

Geospatial asset intelligence, acreage mapping, and operational data systems for E&P, midstream, and energy investment contexts.

How we work

Practical engagements with measurable outcomes.

No multi-year retainers before value is delivered. Engagements are scoped, purposeful, and designed to show results fast.

SCOPE

BUILD

ITERATE

01 — Discovery & Scoping

Define the problem clearly.

We start with a focused conversation about your biggest data challenge, including what's broken, slow, or costing you time or decisions. We define a clear, bounded scope before any work begins.

02 — Build & Deliver

Ship something real, fast.

Project-based engagements with defined deliverables: a dashboard, data pipeline, map, or an automated workflow. You see real work quickly, not a roadmap to future work.

03 — Support & Iterate

Grow at your pace.

Ongoing retainer support for clients who want continued development, maintenance, and iteration. Built around your team's actual cadence, not a fixed billable hour model.

Common questions

Things clients usually ask.

How long does a typical project take?

Most project engagements deliver a working result within 4–8 weeks. We prioritize getting something real in front of you quickly rather than long planning phases. More complex builds are broken into phases with clear deliverables at each stage.

Do we need a large in-house data team to work with you?

No. Most clients come to us because they don't have a dedicated data or engineering team and need someone who can own the build end-to-end. We work directly with business stakeholders, not just technical teams.

We don't have an IT team. Who supports the system after it's built?

Most of our clients don't have internal IT staff, and we build with that in mind. Every deliverable is documented and designed to be manageable by non-technical staff wherever possible. For clients who want ongoing support, we offer retainer arrangements that cover maintenance, updates, and continued development at a pace that fits your budget and needs.

About

Daniel Matranga

Founder, Lumen Labs

Daniel Matranga has nearly two decades of experience building data and mapping systems that empower businesses to make faster, smarter decisions. His diverse background includes starting and running a vending and coffee service business, designing digital products for Bayer's golf and forestry divisions, developing competitive intelligence platforms at Apache Corporation, and leading data infrastructure at a private equity firm analyzing and valuing hundreds of deals.

Throughout his career, Daniel encountered a common challenge: talented people making critical decisions based on incomplete, unreliable, or hard-to-access data. This inspired him to create Lumen Labs, a solution for businesses that need effective data systems without the resources of a full data team.

Daniel holds a Bachelor of Science in Corporate Communications from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MBA from Rice University. He is an active member of St. Michael's Episcopal Church, where he often volunteers in the kitchen. In his free time, he enjoys playing outside with his two kids and tinkering around the house.

Get started

Let's talk about your data challenge.

Whether you need a better reporting foundation, geospatial intelligence, document processing automation, or a clearer data strategy, we can help you scope the right next step.

Intro call: 30 min scoping conversation, no commitment

Project engagement: scoped build with fixed deliverables

Ongoing retainer: continued development and support

Fill out a quick intro form and we'll reach out to schedule a call. It takes less than two minutes.