When Thiago Valentin joined Go Auto as their first Data Scientist Lead in January 2024, he faced a familiar challenge: a complete lack of documentation. As the company's auto retail business expanded across Canada and into the United States, handling over 65 dealerships and 4,000+ employees, their Business Intelligence team needed a scalable way to manage and share knowledge.

The challenge: Scaling knowledge with growth

Go Auto's BI team was growing rapidly, evolving from a small group of three into a dynamic team of seven. With this growth came increasing pressure on team communication and knowledge sharing.

"When I joined, I would often have to spend hours with my manager to get answers to my questions. He would transfer as much knowledge as he could, but there was nowhere I could go read and learn on my own." " recalls Thiago.

As the team expanded, the pain points became more acute. Each new hire meant more questions, more interruptions, and more time spent repeating information.

The solution: Building a culture of documentation

Before joining Go Auto, Thiago had already worked with Slite at Helcim, a Calgary-based payments firm. He'd been quite happy with the experience, and so he immediately thought of Slite when faced with the documentation challenges at Go Auto.

In April 2024, he implemented Slite as the team's knowledge hub and launched a systematic approach to documentation.

To ensure adoption, Thiago instituted "Slite Power Hours", dedicated weekly sessions where the team would document one topic or project. This structured approach quickly built momentum, and soon team members were independently contributing to the knowledge base.

The BI team now uses Slite to document:

• Project requirements and planning
• Meeting notes and technical documentation
• Data catalog and tech stack information
• Processes and standard operating procedures
• Personalized onboarding guides

Slashing time to answer

One of the most significant improvements has been in what Thiago calls "Time to Answer" (TTA): the time it takes team members to find the information they need. What previously could take days of back-and-forth communication can now be accomplished in minutes using Slite's AI-powered search.

"I had a very technical question about finding specific tables and databases. I used the AI tool, and it showed me the information spread across four different documents. I know it would have taken me much longer if I had to chase someone down and ask those questions." — Thiago Valentin, Data Scientist Lead

Beyond metrics, the impact on team culture has been profound. Slite has become central to the team's onboarding process, with personalized guides that include everything from technical requirements to local coffee shop recommendations for newcomers to Edmonton.

Looking forward

What started as a solution for documentation has evolved into a cornerstone of team collaboration and culture. While currently used by the BI team, the success of their knowledge hub demonstrates the potential for wider adoption across Go Auto's operations.

The team continues to expand their use of Slite, exploring new features and finding innovative ways to structure their growing knowledge base. For Thiago and his team, Slite isn't just a documentation tool: it's the foundation of how they work together and scale their impact across the organization.