30Under30 Honouree: Christopher Hughes

Great to hear from Significant Insights Global 30 under 30 honouree Christopher Hughes who is a Founding Engineer at Emporia Research, raising the bar on B2B sample quality through advanced verification methods and statistical modelling.

So, how did you get into the industry, and take us through how you got to this point?

During my time at Purdue University, I started my journey as an intern at a startup named Emporia. At the time, it was just me & the three Emporia founders. After a couple years of strategic pivots, we found our footing in the Market Research industry, and have been growing ever since. Today, Emporia Research is a team of 20+ people, providing verified B2B sample to some of the largest companies and agencies in the space.

Why should anyone consider a career in market research, data and insights?

This field is at the core of driving innovation and shaping the future, helping businesses make better decisions. There’s a great amount of opportunity in this space, especially for engineers, since it hasn’t traditionally been a focus area for technical talent. As demand for high-quality, trustworthy data keeps growing, there’s a never-ending supply of interesting problems to tackle. It’s a great space to be building in.

Career paths are rarely without challenges. Can you share an honest moment from your career when things didn’t go quite according to plan, but the lessons remain with you to this day?

Just like any startup in its early days, we faced challenges in gaining traction and finding the right opportunity to pursue. However, consistent, small progress compounds over time, and when looking back, it’s incredible to see how far we’ve come in such a short period. The biggest takeaway for me has been to trust the process and to always keep moving forward.

What two things should junior researchers focus on as they progress in their careers?

Junior researchers should focus on amplifying their voice and building a personal brand. The industry could certainly benefit from more voices and fresh talent to drive innovation and new ideas. Additionally, the market research space is tight-knit, so meeting as many people as possible and building relationships is key!

Do you have any advice for our sector?

My advice for the sector is to go big by tackling fraud head-on. With all the advancements in technology and data verification, fraud shouldn’t be as rampant as it is. Strong verification must always be central when fielding respondents to ensure the collected data is reliable. Going big means not just growing the scale of what we do, but also amplifying the impact of our work by consistently delivering high-quality, verified data.

And do you have anyone who has helped your career so far that you’d like to acknowledge and say thanks or give a shout out to?

I’m incredibly grateful to have joined the Emporia Research team in its early days. A special thanks to the founders—Michael Hess, Jake Roeland, and Mark Hannan—for bringing me on board. They gave me the opportunity to contribute to something meaningful and challenged me to grow. Each of them taught me valuable lessons that will have a lasting impact on my career.