Intro to Clay 101: Jigsaw Framework 

Mastering Clay can feel overwhelming at first, but there’s a simple framework that can accelerate your learning and help you build powerful workflows efficiently. We call this the Jigsaw Framework—because working with data in Clay is like assembling a puzzle.

Just like any puzzle, you start by identifying the corner pieces, then build out the edges, and finally fill in the missing details. This structured approach ensures accuracy and efficiency when enriching data in Clay.

In this lesson, we’ll break down the Jigsaw Framework so you can build functional workflows fast. 

The Jigsaw Framework

Step 1: Identifying Your Corner Pieces

Before you can enrich and manipulate data in Clay, you need key identifiers: your corner pieces. These are the essential data points that allow you to connect and enrich records effectively.

For company data, your corner pieces are always:

• Company Domain
• Company LinkedIn Profile URL

‍💡Tip: If you only have a company name, you can use Google searches or Claygent to find the domain or LinkedIn URL.

For people data, your corner pieces are always:

• Personal LinkedIn Profile URL
• Full Name

💡Tip: If you don’t have a LinkedIn URL, you can use Claygent and Google searches to find it based on full name, job title, and company domain. Alternatively, you can use full name and company domain to start an email enrichment waterfall, though results will always be more accurate when you have a LinkedIn URL.

Step 2: Building Your Edges with Enrichment

Once you have your corner pieces, it’s time to build out the edges by enriching your data. In Clay, you do this using Enrich Company and Enrich Person actions.

Enrich companies with firmographic details like:

• Headcount
• Headquarters location
• Industry
• Company description

Enrich people with key demographic details like:

• Job title
• Bio
• Education
• Work experience

At this stage, your dataset transforms from basic identifiers into a fully contextualized list of companies and contacts.

Step 3: Filling in the Rest of the Puzzle

With Clay’s 100+ data providers, AI web scraping, and HTTP/API integrations, you can gather nearly any data point that exists on the web.

Once you’ve enriched the core data, you can:

• Use AI to summarize insights and personalize outreach
• Run additional enrichments to add missing details
• Automate segmentation and lead qualification

And much more.

Conclusion

If you ever feel stuck on your data journey in Clay, use the Jigsaw Framework:

1. Find your corner pieces: Identify key company and person data points
2. Enrich your edges: Use Clay’s enrichment actions to add details
3. Fill in the puzzle: Add advanced data layers as needed

With the Jigsaw Framework, you can systematically break down any Clay workflow into structured steps, making data enrichment seamless and scalable. 

Now it’s time to put this into practice. In the next lesson, we’ll show you how to build your first table and find target companies.

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