Businesses large and small that are interested in collecting and interpreting data in order to create improved outputs should pay attention to the work being done by Picasso Analytics in Lake Charles.

The company has been a participant in the Alliance/Chamber SWLA – Business Incubator program since 2020. During that time, owner/operator Jared Oakley has been creating a business with the sole purpose of helping owners and managers improve efficiencies. 

“I have had a desire to transform business to the digital age by implementing technology for industry turnarounds and other business sectors,” Oakley said. “For me it is about helping industry and business.”Prior to starting Picasso Analytics, Oakley worked almost 20-years in industry. He left SASOL as the Manager of Turnarounds. Prior to that he worked for the company as a project manager.

Oakley graduated from McNeese State University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical). “When I worked in industry, I noticed data was disparate and all over the place. You would have multiple platforms, spreadsheets and scheduling software for turnarounds. Oakley is passionate about improving the process that large and small projects experience. He does not like chaos and believes clients feel the same way.

“The problem we face is CHAOS. So why the chaos? Because we have no insight to manage. We are trying to manage attachments in emails, mondo excel spreadsheets, text messages, schedule reports, cost reports, contractor software, SAP and the list goes on. This is no way to manage $100M events. We are accepting chaos but it doesn’t have to be this way. We shouldn’t accept the phrase “industries don’t accept this so why should we? 

“At Picasso Analytics we have built many turnaround and business processes into our application so event progress can be viewed real-time in dashboards and proactively managed to keep or beat the schedule,” states the company’s website.

Oalkey also believes in working with companies to generate a key element in decision making. He has coined the phrase – Single Source of Truth. “One thing my company has been  able to do is create software and systems that bring all that data that is generated into a specialized data hub. In turn, a single source of truth is created for project teams to receive actionable insights and data to better their project outcomes,”“We work to eliminate ‘he said, she said’ with fact based, uniform updates available to all contractor, shop, and owner/operator stakeholders. 

Oakley has steadily been developing his business model in the Business Incubator program that is housed inside the SEED Center located at 4310 Ryan St. in Lake Charles. 

“Being around other entrepreneurs and start-ups has strengthened my thought process in developing my business,” he said. “I am allowed to think through issues and problems with my business with others who are either dealing with similar issues are they have insights for me and vice versa” Oakley appreciates the facilities amenities that are available to Business Incubator program participants. “It is hard to find a professional atmosphere within a building like the SEED Center. You have a business
environment created in the meeting rooms. You can present to clients using the presentation equipment too. This is a really nice venue to start and grow,” he said.

The SEED Center is home to the Business Incubator program and Small Business Development Center at McNeese State University. A process has been created for selection into the Business Incubator program 

We are looking for companies like Oakley’s that are ready to be intentional with their business start-up. If you are ready to do your homework, we are ready to assist. Eric Cormier serves as Senior Vice President of Entrepreneurship
and Strategic Initiatives as the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance/Chamber SWLA – Business Incubator.