Startups often overlook the importance of data and databases when planning tech strategies.Optimizing data involves techniques like indexing, normalization, query optimization, and partitioning.Proper planning for data can be sacrificed for rapid growth in the startup environment.Understanding database types like SQL and NoSQL is crucial for effective data management.Designing data structures with future functionalities in mind ensures scalability and ease of integration.Stressing databases with heavy loads and testing data retrieval efficiency is essential for optimal performance.Data protection measures, such as backups, access restrictions, limiting human writes, and monitoring, are vital.Keeping data clean by avoiding soft deletes, archiving least retrieved data, and optimizing storage is key to efficiency.Data is often the most crucial yet overlooked aspect of software development, impacting overall system performance.Adhering to principles like choosing the right database, optimizing queries and I/O, and maintaining data integrity is essential.