About restecher

The Leading Voice in Market Research Technology

Today’s most successful market research companies are technology companies first. Research technology, or Restech, is transforming the industry as we know it, and opening up new opportunities for investors, owners and leaders. restecher is your source for news, information and thought leadership on this fast-growing market segment.

restecher was co-created by Patrick Comer, Founder of Lucid and Board Member of Cint; and Sima Vasa, Founder and CEO of Infinity Squared Ventures, Managing Director at Oberon Securities, and Host of the Data Gurus Podcast. Together, Patrick and Sima developed the Restech Landscape, which defines categories within the Restech market, and identifies key players within each segment.

The Restech landscape is a valuable tool that helps investors and companies better understand the market, competition, and important stakeholders in the industry.

See the Landscape

Our Mission

restecher’s mission is to define and organize the Restech landscape, provide thought leadership into how technology and data are impacting the insights process, attract more capital and attention to the sector, and support maturity growth by providing advisory and investment banking services to Restech companies and investors.

Our Vision

Our vision is to be the public marketing voice for the Restech sector, generating greater awareness and new business opportunities for companies, investors and stakeholders across the industry.

Our Founders

Patrick Comer

Co-Founder, restecher
Founder, Lucid
Board Member, Cint

Patrick Comer is a transformative figure in Research Technology, or “Restech,” a term officially coined under his leadership. With a career spanning over two decades, Patrick has been at the forefront of the industry’s evolution, from its nascent stages to its current digital prominence. Together with collaborator Sima Vasa, Patrick co-founded restecher in 2013, with a goal of sharing thought leadership in the Restech space and supporting investors, individuals and companies by providing leading-edge content and a high-level view of the Restech landscape.

Patrick’s Restech journey commenced at iFilm in 2003, where he was Director of Surveys. He initiated key partnerships with loyalty programs such as eRewards and Mypoints there. In 2004, he co-founded SampleCzar, a pioneering market maker in the sampling space with its own proprietary supply management system.

Patrick then moved to OTX, a global research and consulting firm, to oversee its third-party supply chain. His stewardship led to the creation of RSX, OTX’s market-making division, which significantly contributed to the company’s revenue and Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) growth. OTX was eventually sold to Ipsos for $71 million in 2010.

Successful Entrepreneur

However, it was with Lucid that Patrick’s vision for Restech fully materialized. Founded in 2010, Lucid introduced programmatic concepts from Adtech and pioneered the industry’s first buy-side and supply-side application programming interfaces (APIs). Lucid’s revolutionary products, including its unique reverse auction marketplace and quality-first scoring system, have set new standards in market research technology. Cint AB acquired Lucid for $1.1 billion in 2021, and Patrick became the chairman.

Industry Innovator

In 2013, Patrick founded SampleCon, a dedicated forum for the sample industry. The conference has grown exponentially, attracting key players from across the industry. It was at SampleCon in 2019 that a vote was taken to officially name the evolving industry “Restech,” a term that has since become synonymous with innovation in market research.

Education and Leadership

Patrick holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Columbia Business School and a Bachelor’s degree from Sewanee: The University of the South. As a visionary and a leader, Patrick continues to shape the future of Restech, ensuring its growth and relevance in the digital age.

Sima Vasa

Co-Founder, restecher
Founder and CEO, Infinity Squared Ventures
Managing Director, Oberon Securities
Host, Data Gurus Podcast

Sima Vasa is a growth-focused strategic advisor, investment banker, and entrepreneur with industry-leading expertise in market research and data ecosystems. Together with collaborator Patrick Comer, she co-founded restecher in 2013. As a research technology leader, Sima has founded multiple successful companies in the market research industry, and she enjoys connecting and engaging with Restech CEOs, investors and business owners, and supporting maturity growth in the industry. She co-created restecher in order to attract more capital and attention to the Restech space, and share information across the industry about how technology and data are impacting the insights process.

In addition to her role at restecher, Sima is a Managing Director with Oberon Securities, a New York investment bank, and CEO of Infinity Squared Ventures, an organization focused on advising middle-market data and analytics companies in business strategy, product innovation, and growth. She is also Host of the weekly Data Gurus podcast, and is a frequent speaker at national conferences on market research, insights and investment banking.

Strategic Advisor and Investment Banker

Sima works closely with CEOs and executive teams to build and evaluate strategic options relating to the future direction of their businesses. She also works with founders to assist with organizational design, resource planning and overall business strategy. Executives rely on Sima for her proven experience as an innovative entrepreneur and successful business operator.

Sima’s areas of expertise include Profit and Loss (P&L) Management, Operations, Business Development, Marketing, Acquisitions, Research Design, and Analysis in Global Markets. She is accomplished in identifying opportunities and leveraging competitive advantages to help businesses gain market share and acquire new customers. Sima combines market insights, business-savvy ideas, and technology to build innovative new products and services, and keep up with the ever-changing marketplace.

Experienced Entrepreneur and Operator

Sima has founded several businesses and invested in many more, with proven success. She is the co-founder of online data collection company, Paradigm Sample, recognized two times as an Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Private Company, and currently serves as a board member. Sima has also held positions as President of NPD Techworld at The NPD Group, one of the largest market research companies, and as Program Manager of IBM Market Intelligence Group.

Industry-Leading Speaker

Sima is a sought-after public speaker on data, market research and investment banking. She is a frequent speaker for organizations including Insights Association, the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR), Innovation Insights Exchange / Artificial Intelligence (IIEX/AI), NewMR, Customer Conferences, The Market Research Event (TMRE), and the former Market Research Association (MRA).

Education and Industry Leadership

Sima holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing degree from Drexel University’s LeBow School of Business, and a Master of Business Administration in Finance degree from New York University’s Stern School of Business. She is a Former Chairman and current Executive Member of Samplecon, Co-Chair of CEO Summit – Insights Association, a former Advisory Board Member and current Executive Member of Women in Research (WIRe), and a former member of Chief, a private membership network for women executive leaders. Sima is also on the steering committee for the Global Data Quality Initiative.

Consultancy

In addition to their roles as co-founders of restecher, Patrick and Sima can also provide consulting and financial advisory services to Restech companies and investors.