Data Sidekick
Senior data and IT help for Dutch businesses that need practical fixes, fast.
Tagline
Data, dashboards, and fixes without the agency circus
The Dutch sidekick for data, automation, and IT chores
Senior help for small-business data problems, fast
Stop wasting time on spreadsheets and broken systems
The Dutch-sidekick for data, automation, and IT chores your team keeps postponing.
This works because the brand already uses the sidekick metaphor and the page emphasizes being the practical helper for anything that is stuck, not a broad consultancy.
A better alternative to large analytics and software agencies for small-business problems.
The page repeatedly stresses small team, senior people doing the work, direct contact, and lower overhead versus layers of account management, which makes this an obvious alternative-to angle.
Stop wasting time on monthly spreadsheets, broken exports, and disconnected systems.
The strongest proof points on the page are dashboards, automation, integrations, data cleanup, and the example of a monthly report that costs too much time; this makes the product a pain-killer, not a platform story.
Primary user
Owner-operator or operations manager at a Dutch SMB who needs reporting or workflow problems fixed without managing a large agency
ICP #1
Operations manager at a 20-100 person Dutch services company using Exact Online, Excel, and Power BI
Pain
Every month they manually pull numbers from multiple systems, reconcile spreadsheets, and chase down inconsistent reports before leadership meetings.
Why this solves
Data Sidekick explicitly builds live dashboards, connects existing tools, and automates recurring work so monthly reporting stops being a manual spreadsheet exercise.
ICP #2
Finance lead at a Dutch SMB with messy admin data and repetitive exports
Pain
They waste hours cleaning duplicates, fixing broken Excel files, and reformatting exports for accounting, invoicing, or management reporting.
Why this solves
The page directly offers Excel automation, data cleanup, migration, and system links, which map exactly to the repetitive finance ops work this persona hates.
ICP #3
Founder or managing director of a small business that has outgrown off-the-shelf software
Pain
They need a simple internal tool, portal, or workaround that standard SaaS does not provide, but they do not want to hire a full development team.
Why this solves
Data Sidekick positions custom software as small, practical builds with senior execution and transparent pricing, which is a good fit for these narrow, high-friction gaps.
Strengths
- +Very clear service menu: dashboards, automation, custom software, data advice, cleanup, and general IT help.
- +Strong trust signals for SMB buyers: small team of three, senior people doing the work, direct contact, fixed price or hourly, based in the Netherlands.
- +Good friction-reduction copy: it explicitly says the project does not need to be big and gives examples like a stubborn spreadsheet or two systems that do not cooperate.
Weaknesses
- −The page is too broad and risks sounding like a generalist handyman service instead of a sharp specialist offer.
- −There is almost no proof: no case studies, client logos, before-and-after metrics, or concrete examples beyond the mock 'Omzetdashboard' card.
- −The conversion message is weak for the seriousness of the work; 'Neem contact op' is generic and does not push a specific first step like a diagnostic call or audit.
- −The product mix is confusing: it is both a consultancy website and appears to include a Shopify translation QA app link in the footer, which muddies the core offer.
- −The value proposition is aspirational but not quantified; there is no estimate of time saved, reporting accuracy improved, or typical project size.
Fix these
- Pick one lead wedge, such as 'Power BI dashboards + automation for Dutch SMBs using Exact Online/AFAS,' and make everything else secondary.
- Add 3-5 case studies with hard numbers: hours saved per month, reduction in manual exports, faster closing, fewer errors.
- Replace the generic contact CTA with a concrete offer like 'Plan a 20-minute problem scan' or 'Send your spreadsheet for a free triage.'
- Show screenshots of actual work products: a dashboard, an automation flow, a cleaned data table, and a custom internal tool.
- Clarify whether Data Sidekick is a consultancy, a productized service, or also a software app company; right now the footer app link creates brand confusion.
Drop-in replacement copy
Headline
Fix reporting without the agency circus
Dashboards, automation, and IT help for Dutch SMBs that need practical work done.
Stop monthly spreadsheet chaos
We build dashboards and recurring reports that refresh automatically, so your team stops chasing exports every month. Better numbers, less manual work.
Automate the annoying stuff
If your team keeps copy-pasting between Excel, Exact, AFAS, and other tools, we can remove the repeat work. That usually means fewer errors and more time back.
Get custom tools that fit the gap
When off-the-shelf software does not quite fit, we build small internal tools, portals, calculators, and workflows that do. No big product roadmap required.
Work with senior people directly
You describe the bottleneck, we scope it with you, and then we build the fix. Plain language, clear pricing, and a team you can actually reach afterward.
FAQ
Do we need a big project to work with you?
No. Many of our jobs are small, practical fixes: one dashboard, one automation, one broken workflow, or one integration.
Do you work with Exact Online and AFAS?
Yes. Those are common in Dutch SMBs, and we often help connect them to Excel, Power BI, APIs, and other internal tools.
Can you just fix one spreadsheet problem?
Yes. If one stubborn file is costing time every month, that is exactly the kind of thing we like to clean up.
How do you price projects?
We work fixed price or hourly, depending on the job. We agree on the scope first so you know what you are getting.
What happens after the work is done?
We stay reachable. If something needs a tweak, a handover, or a follow-up question, you are not left alone.
If your team spends days pulling numbers from Exact, Excel, and random exports just to prep one meeting, that's not reporting. It's admin debt. Data Sidekick builds the live dashboard or automation so the manual mess disappears.
We launched Data Sidekick for the jobs big agencies ignore: broken exports, messy Excel files, Power BI dashboards, and weird system integrations. You bring the bottleneck. We scope it, build it, and stay reachable after.
Instead of chasing 4 files every month, you get one dashboard that refreshes itself. Exact Online, Excel, Power BI, APIs, cleanup, automation. Less copy-paste. More numbers you can trust.
Small Dutch companies rarely need a giant transformation. They need one stubborn spreadsheet fixed, one dashboard that updates automatically, or one system to talk to another. That is the work Data Sidekick does.
When a client says 'we stopped doing that monthly export by hand,' that's a win. No drama. No big reorg. Just less admin, fewer errors, and faster reporting.
They're just using Excel as a database, an ETL tool, and a reporting layer at the same time. That breaks eventually. We clean it up, automate the flow, and make it understandable again.
Data Sidekick helps Dutch businesses build practical Power BI dashboards, automation, and small internal tools. Senior people do the work. No account manager layer. No jargon. Just the fix.
That is usually where the time goes. We connect the tools, map the data, and remove the manual export step. If it has an API, Excel file, or database, we can probably make it behave.
The market doesn't need another general IT consultancy pretending to do everything. We want the awkward middle: data cleanup, automation, dashboards, integrations, and custom tools for SMBs who need action now.
Small businesses don't pay for slideware. They pay when a dashboard refreshes automatically, an export stops breaking, or a custom tool saves hours every week. That's the whole game.
Angle: Alternative to big agencies
Most Dutch SMBs do not need a 12-person analytics agency. They need one senior person who can look at the mess, say what is actually broken, and build the fix. That is why we started Data Sidekick. We help small and mid-sized businesses with: - Power BI dashboards that refresh automatically - Excel automation and recurring reporting - System integrations and API connections - Data cleanup, migration, and plain-language analysis - Small internal tools, portals, and calculators The pattern is always the same: someone in operations or finance is stuck doing manual work every month. They export data from one system, clean it in Excel, merge it with another file, and spend too much time just getting a number they can trust. That is not a strategy problem. It is an execution problem. We built Data Sidekick to be the practical sidekick for that work: small team, senior people, direct contact, fixed price or hourly, no jargon. If you have one annoying reporting or workflow problem that keeps coming back, send it over. We will tell you if we can fix it and what it would take.
Angle: Pain of monthly reporting
The worst reporting setups are not broken in a dramatic way. They are broken in a quiet way. Every month someone in finance or operations spends 4 to 12 hours: - pulling exports - cleaning duplicates - fixing formulas - copying numbers between files - chasing down why two reports disagree And then everyone pretends that is normal. It is not normal. It is just common. Data Sidekick exists for exactly this kind of work. We build dashboards, automate Excel workflows, connect systems like Exact Online and AFAS, and clean up the data flow so the monthly ritual stops being a manual spreadsheet exercise. The nice thing about these projects is that they are usually smaller than people think. You do not need a massive transformation program. You need one person who can scope the bottleneck properly and then build something that works. That is the offer: - explain the problem in plain language - get a clear scope - receive a working solution - stay reachable after launch If your team has a recurring report that wastes time every month, that is probably a good candidate.
Angle: Plainspoken, anti-jargon positioning
We wrote our homepage in normal language on purpose. Because most Dutch business owners do not want a lecture about data strategy. They want the spreadsheet to stop breaking. They want the dashboard to update itself. They want the two systems to talk to each other. That is the whole idea behind Data Sidekick. Not a broad consultancy. Not a PowerPoint factory. Not a team that disappears after handoff. Just practical help with: - dashboards and recurring reports - automation and workflow fixes - custom internal tools - integrations and REST APIs - data cleanup and migration - general IT problems that are annoying enough to delay, but important enough to keep coming back The brand tone matters here. If a business problem is simple, the explanation should be simple too. Altijd gewone taal. If you run a Dutch SMB and have one stubborn data or IT task sitting on the backlog, that is the kind of thing we like.
Tagline
Practical data help for Dutch SMBs
Description
Data Sidekick helps Dutch small businesses fix reporting, automate Excel work, connect systems, and build small internal tools. Senior people do the work, in plain language, with fixed-price or hourly options.
Maker's first comment
I kept seeing the same pattern over and over: a Dutch SMB has one reporting task, one messy Excel flow, or one system integration that keeps getting pushed to next month because nobody has time to own it properly. The team is smart, but they are buried in exports, formulas, and tools that do not quite fit together. Data Sidekick is our answer to that gap. We wanted something that feels less like hiring a big agency and more like having a senior technical sidekick who can just step in, understand the bottleneck, and build the fix. That means Power BI dashboards, Excel automation, custom internal tools, integrations, cleanup, and practical advice in normal language. No theater. No giant discovery phase just to tell you what you already knew. We built this for owners, ops managers, finance leads, and internal generalists who need things to work now, not after a long consulting process.
Pinned maker comment
Would love feedback on the positioning and the homepage. The core question: does this read as a sharp specialist for Dutch SMB reporting and automation problems, or too broad?
Meta
Still doing monthly reports by hand?
Hypothesis: Dutch SMB owners and ops managers using Exact Online + Excel are paying for hidden admin time, not software. Data Sidekick fixes the reporting flow with dashboards, automation, and cleanup so the monthly scramble disappears.
Google Search
Power BI help for Dutch SMEs
Hypothesis: searchers looking for Power BI, Excel automation, or Exact Online integration want a senior freelancer/consultancy, not a big agency. Data Sidekick builds practical dashboards and fixes broken workflows fast.
Reddit Promoted
If Excel is running your business,
Hypothesis: small business owners in founder and ops communities are frustrated by manual reporting and duct-tape workflows. Data Sidekick helps with dashboards, automation, integrations, and data cleanup without the agency overhead.
Subreddits
r/sideproject
Share the build: how you turned a messy reporting workflow into a clean dashboard or automation service for SMBs.
Rules: No pure promo; show the problem, what you built, and what you learned.
r/Entrepreneur
Post about the hidden cost of manual reporting and why small businesses should buy execution, not agency theater.
Rules: Self-promo is heavily scrutinized; lead with insight and discussion, not a sales pitch.
r/consulting
Discuss how small firms can sell productized, fixed-scope data and automation help to SMBs.
Rules: Be useful; avoid obvious marketing language and direct selling.
r/Excel
Show a before/after of an Excel workflow that was automated or cleaned up.
Rules: Must be genuinely helpful; avoid spam and include specifics about the automation.
r/smallbusiness
Talk about the cost of manual admin and broken reports in a 20-100 person company.
Rules: Practical advice only; no hard sell, and focus on owner pain.
Communities
Post build logs and teardown-style lessons about productized consulting, pricing, and landing page messaging. Comment on other makers' automation and B2B service posts with real advice.
Only post when you have a concrete lesson or useful breakdown, like 'I replaced monthly Excel reporting with a simple Power BI flow for a Dutch SMB.'
Answer questions about reporting, exports, and integrations first. Use your profile and occasional posts to show practical examples, not pitches.
Cold outreach template
Hi {firstName} - noticed {context} and thought of Data Sidekick. We help Dutch SMBs fix messy reporting, Excel workflows, and integrations without dragging in a big agency. If you want, I can take a quick look at the bottleneck and tell you in plain language what would be easiest to automate.
Product Hunt timing
Launch on Tuesday at 8:00 AM CET. That catches European business users at the start of the workday and gives enough time for US makers and founders to see it later the same day.
Indie Hackers post ideas
- 01How we turned 'messy Excel reporting' into a productized service for Dutch SMBs
- 02What Dutch small businesses actually pay to fix reporting and automation bottlenecks
- 03Why we chose plain-language positioning instead of sounding like a data agency
Competitor alternatives
Current tone of voice
Friendly, plainspoken, and anti-jargon, with a slightly playful mascot-led brand. The clearest example is "Altijd gewone taal" and "Jij runt het bedrijf. Wij helpen met data, dashboards, automatisering en IT-vragen."
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7 more X posts · 2 LinkedIn · Product Hunt copy · ad hooks · 100-user playbook · landing critique