Pinterest's Thea Carp on on Why Data Alone Is No Longer Enough

Welcome to Takes from the Field, our interview series with research leaders pulling back the curtain on how research really works inside today’s most influential companies. Each edition, we’ll share candid conversations with leaders shaping strategy, navigating chaos, and pushing the industry forward (offering the kind of truths you’ll never hear on stage).

For this issue, we sat down with ​Thea Carp​, Director, North America Insights @ Pinterest.

‍Note: The perspectives shared below are Thea’s own and don’t represent those of Pinterest or any other employer, past or present.

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The TL;DR

The insights industry has outgrown the old divide between “data people” and “storytellers.” Today, impact comes from professionals who can analyze with rigor, edit with precision, and translate findings into stories that audiences care about.

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Takes from the Field

Thea Carp is Director of North America Insights at Pinterest, where she’s spent nearly a decade shaping how some of the world’s most influential brands understand consumers. With a career spanning Yahoo to Pinterest, she’s known for her rare ability to fuse deep analytics with sharp storytelling, cutting through noise to deliver insights that move business leaders to action. Her work redefines what modern insights leadership looks like: design-inspired, audience-first, and relentlessly impactful.

‍Two Cents Team: When your team is translating Pinterest's complex datasets into a narrative for business or sales leaders, what do you focus on to make sure the story lands? Any best practices or frameworks you use?

Thea: When translating Pinterest’s complex datasets into compelling business stories, I always start by identifying who is in the room and what matters most to them. Knowing the audience’s priorities, and doing my homework on the client’s unique challenges and opportunities, lets me frame the data in ways that are actually relevant.

The next step is ruthless editing: I adopt a ‘less is more’ approach, similar to what Coco Chanel was doing. Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off. That might seem strange, but it talks about refinement and immediate impact.

With stories, I build out the narrative, then step back and strip away anything that doesn’t truly add value. After taking time away, I look with fresh eyes: does every slide, every insight, earn its place? Am I telling them something new, not just what they already know? There are many frameworks for data storytelling (like the HERO framework, the ABT structure, Challenger), but at the end of the day, it comes down to delivering meaningful, actionable insights—making sure each part of your story is worth the audience’s time.

Two Cents Team: At Pinterest, design is part of the DNA. How has that shaped your own standards for what a great research output should look and feel like, especially when going to sales and marketing folks?

Thea: Pinterest’s design culture has deeply influenced how I approach research storytelling. It’s not just about using appealing images, it’s about creating a whole experience through visual narrative and flow. Great outputs go beyond just ‘adding pictures’ to slides. For example, when I’m mapping something like the evolving path to purchase for beauty consumers, I focus on visually interpreting complex shifts in behavior, not just showing product shots or charts.

Two Cents Team: In your experience, which quantitative or statistical techniques are overrated (and underrated) when it comes to driving meaningful insights?

Thea: Ha, I would never label any statistical method as overrated or underrated (that's my fam!! 😊 ). Ultimately, it’s not the technique, it’s how and why you use it. Even the most advanced analysis means little if it doesn’t connect to what the audience actually cares about. The most powerful insights come from knowing your audience and applying the right methods to answer the real questions at hand. Technique is just a tool; the value comes from its thoughtful use.

Two Cents Team: What’s a truth about working in insights that rarely gets said out loud, but that you believe insights professionals should know if they want to grow and advance in their careers?

Thea: One truth that rarely gets said out loud: you can’t be purely a data person or just a storyteller anymore. Early in my career, there was a sharp divide, and people told me you had to choose to be either an analyst or a researcher. It took 10 years to prove me right, but now real impact comes from people who blend rigorous analytics with clear, resonant storytelling. Going forward, the insights leaders who’ll make the biggest difference will be those who can use new tools like AI to power up their analytical thinking, then interpret, humanize, and communicate those findings in ways that move people to action. The secret sauce is being able to do both, and I think that will be even more true in the next era of our industry.

Two Cents Team: Anything else you'd add that we didn't ask?

Thea: Just my favorite quote: "In God we trust, for others we need data." by Mr. W. Edwards Deming.

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The Take™ from the Two Cents Team

Every project and conversation leaves sparks. The Take™ is where we add our Two Cents: the interpretations, debates, and connections that stuck with us long after the interview.

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What resonated most for me was Thea’s perspective on design, not as surface-level polish but as a powerful tool for clarity and influence. Her approach reframes communication as an experience to be designed with intention, not just a transfer of information. It is a reminder that whether you are sharing data, pitching a strategy, or aligning a team, how you shape and guide the narrative is just as important as the content itself.

Nylea Rosenberg  Two Cents Chief of Staff

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For me, it was Thea’s reminder that our craft can be elevated by borrowing from other disciplines. Her Coco Chanel framework - removing what doesn’t add value - feels like a design principle, a fashion principle, and an insights principle all at once. At the end of the day, the psychology is the same: people respond to what is simple, striking, and moving. That’s the bar for everything we put our name on, too.

Steph Kumar Two Cents Founder

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