Listening well in a chorus of data

Singapore

BUSINESSES exist to serve their customers' needs. But what exactly do customers need? It does not take a genius to figure out the answer, according to Markit co-founder and president Kevin Gould. Listen.

"I'm not going to pretend to you that we're clever," said Mr Gould, whose firm provides financial information services. "We're not. We're really not. We just listen ... When do we start thinking about a new pricing service? When do we think there's critical mass? Just listen. When enough people start talking about a problem, you move to solve the problem."

The financial information services firm was founded in London in …