#Do the Hard Thing First: How Texture Creates Value Beyond the Transaction

Most companies in the energy sector face a tangled mess of data—spreadsheets, siloed systems, and manual processes that slow down decision-making. The easy approach is to solve one small problem at a time: integrate a single API, automate a single report, or move a dataset from one place to another. But at Texture, we choose to do the hard thing first—because that’s where the real value is created.

Solving technical problems is necessary, but it’s not sufficient. The real challenge—and the real opportunity—is helping our customers turn their data into an asset that drives better decisions, more efficiency, and, ultimately, more impact.

#Value Over Transactions

A lot of SaaS companies focus on getting contracts signed and logos on their homepage. Selling software subscriptions is the goal. But we believe that’s the wrong way to measure success.

Instead, we focus on the value our platform and services create for the organizations we work with. Value isn’t just about clean data pipelines or seamless integrations (though we do that). It’s about helping our customers tell the right story internally—whether it’s proving the ROI of programs, justifying capex investments, or demonstrating compliance with regulatory requirements.

That’s why our work starts with understanding what success looks like for our customers. Not just “Did the API work?” but “Did this data unlock real insights that drive better outcomes?”

#Why the Hard Thing Matters

Many organizations get stuck chasing short-term wins—patching data gaps with quick fixes, stitching together reports, or integrating yet another tool to solve an immediate problem. These solutions seem efficient in the moment, but every quick fix comes with hidden costs: more technical debt, more manual workarounds, and a growing reliance on fragile systems that don’t scale.

The companies that succeed in the long run are the ones that tackle the hardest problems first—even when it’s complex, even when it takes longer, because they know it’s the only way to build a foundation for sustainable growth.

#Consider these examples:

Shopify: In the early 2010s, most e-commerce companies focused on selling individual tools—payment processors, storefront builders, shipping calculators. Shopify took a different approach: they built a fully integrated platform from the start, one that could scale from a solo entrepreneur to a billion-dollar brand. Instead of patching together third-party solutions, they did the hard thing first—creating a seamless ecosystem for merchants to run their businesses. Today, they’re not just a website builder; they power an entire commerce infrastructure.
Netflix: When most media companies were focused on licensing content for digital platforms, Netflix made a bold move: they invested heavily in their own streaming infrastructure and original content production. Instead of being dependent on third-party distributors, they built a foundation for long-term control over their entire content pipeline. The result? They redefined how media is consumed and became a dominant force in entertainment.
Amazon Web Services (AWS): Before cloud computing became the standard, companies were stuck managing their own servers—a costly, inefficient approach. Instead of offering just another hosting solution, AWS tackled the hardest challenge first: building a scalable, flexible cloud infrastructure that could support companies of all sizes. The early investment in foundational infrastructure made AWS the backbone of the internet today, powering everything from startups to Fortune 500 companies.

#The Cost of the Quick Fix vs. the Power of Doing It Right

We see it all the time—companies faced with data challenges opt for quick fixes rather than tackling the core issue. It’s understandable. Short-term solutions are faster, cheaper, and often feel like progress. But they come with a hidden cost: they don’t scale, they create more complexity, and they leave teams drowning in manual work.

Maybe this sounds familiar:

A new data request comes in → Your team builds another FTP site to bridge the gap.
An integration is needed → You patch together a solution, but it only works for one use case.
Leadership asks for better visibility → You implement a dashboard, but the underlying data is inconsistent.

At first, these solutions seem to work. But over time, they stack up, creating a system that is more fragile, harder to manage, and slower to adapt. Instead of moving faster, your team is stuck troubleshooting why numbers don’t match across reports, why automations are breaking, or why decisions are still being made on gut instinct rather than reliable data.

#The Reality of Short-Term Thinking

We've worked with customers who initially relied on short-term solutions—only to find themselves facing increasing operational inefficiencies, frustrated teams, and missed opportunities down the line.

A DERMS that built a network of one-off integrations found itself trapped in a cycle of maintenance hell—constantly fixing broken connections and reconciling inconsistent data, rather than using that data to improve operations.
A renewable energy company needed to share data with partners but had to stand up an FTP site to do it. The process was manual, data was static, and updates moved too slowly, leaving teams working with outdated information. Instead of enabling collaboration, it became a constant source of delays and frustration.
A large enterprise that implemented a quick-fix dashboard realized months later that decision-makers still didn’t trust the data, because underlying issues with data consistency hadn’t been addressed.

These organizations all came to the same conclusion: quick fixes create more work in the long run.

#What Happens When You Solve the Hard Problem First?

Customers who take a different approach—who commit to solving the hardest data problems first—see a very different outcome.

Instead of reconciling reports, their teams trust a single source of truth.
Instead of maintaining brittle integrations, their systems just work.
Instead of spending time fixing broken data, they focus on using data to drive better decisions.

At Texture, we work with companies that recognize this difference. Instead of relying on a patchwork of tools, they invest in a real data foundation. We help them do the hard part first—harmonizing data, securing OEM and partner relationships, ensuring accuracy, and enabling seamless, secure access—so they’re set up for sustainable success.

At Texture, that’s our mission. We don’t just move data; we make data work. And in doing so, we help our customers move faster, make smarter decisions, and create lasting impact.