GrowthFactor Is Made in America

‍Products are built by teams of real people, and our team is proud to be based in America. You don’t often hear “Made in America”  from a software company, but it’s important to us. Here’s why.
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I grew up in American retail.

My dad ran a retail company. I’d visit my dad after work - he sat in the corporate office - and I’d shadow him during meetings. At 9 or 10 years old, he had me sitting in a conference room listening to the team ideate on how to improve margins and problem solve on store operations. I wanted to play Pokemon on my Gameboy Advance, but I also loved my dad, so I tried to pay attention and learn.

As I grew up and became a teenager, I wanted to start working with him. It was in my blood. I asked him how he started working in retail, and he encouraged me to start first with what ground-level, front-line employees do.
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The jobs that built me. 

My first job was flipping burgers after classes in a hole-in-the-wall burger joint, Boho Burger. I was fifteen. My mom would sit in the shotgun seat of her car while I practiced driving it to work. I learned, from older cooks, how to cook a hamburger. I learned how to feel the texture of the meat and compare it with my hand to make sure it was cooked all the way through. I learned how to clean a grill, how to clear a greasetrap, and how to mop the floors. I learned how to use the frier, and how much seasoning to put on our fries. 

I liked cooking, but some days, I was asked to take customer orders. I remember one day, when things were particularly busy, a mailman came in to order lunch. I took his order, and I could’ve sworn I hung the ticket up for the cooks, but somehow it ended up on the ground. I kept taking orders and handing customers their meals, but I watched the mailman wait 15 minutes, then 30, then 40. Where was his order? I asked an ordering customer to hold on as I looked through the tickets and couldn’t find it. I looked on the ground, and there it was. I was furious at myself. We finished his meal, I comped him for it and gave him a gift card, obviously, but I also couldn’t get over the feeling that I had failed to serve our customer. I’ve never forgotten how that felt – having someone disappointed because of my actions.

My second job was loading trucks in a warehouse at Books-a-Million. That was hard work. For whatever reason, my work in the warehouse felt more laborious than cooking burgers – at Boho Burger, at least I was snacking on fries between preparing meals. The warehouse, on the other hand, felt laborious at first. We were packing pallets, moving boxes, and counting inventory. It was nonstop.

I learned a lot, though. There were so many moving pieces in the warehouse that I never fully understood – the tracking software, the vehicles to load pallets, the schedule of trucks coming. The restaurant didn’t need tools or software to operate, but the warehouse absolutely did. I remember the process of logging and tracking inventory. I remember the amount of effort that went into fact checking what our records showed. I remember being excited when I found a mistake in the inventory – it felt like I had helped our business.

Of all the jobs I’ve worked, I don’t know if I’ve ever appreciated a lunch break as much as working in that warehouse. By the time 1pm came around, I was covered in sweat. I tried to eat relatively healthy at the time – I was playing football and wrestling for my high school – but during my time in the warehouse, I was HUNGRY. Most days, I would drive to Firehouse Subs or Subway and put down as much food as I could. By 5:30pm, I was hungry again.

My third job was being on the front lines stocking shelves and serving customers in the Books-a-Million in Brookwood mall. This was a pretty big shift to me – although I had been customer facing in the restaurant, a bookstore is radically different. No two customers were the same. One wanted a cookbook, another wanted trading cards, and the next wanted a new fairytale to read to their daughter. I needed to be able to serve any and every customer.

I learned the ins and outs of the store. I learned about end caps and tables, and how we might find books in places we didn’t expect. I learned what was on those tables and how frequently it changed. I learned our sorting system, alphabetical by the author’s last name, but also where a book could be if it wasn’t in the store. I learned how to use our concierge software to know if we had a book, and what to do if we faced “phantom stockouts,” when the number on the software was different from the actual number in the store.

For the first time, I learned how to really have a conversation with a customer. Not every customer knew what they wanted – sometimes they wanted to talk through what was on their mind. Their wife had joined a book club and they wanted to support her, their nephew was turning 13 and they wanted to buy a gift. All kinds of discussions, thoughts, conversations, all to pick out the right item.

I have a vivid memory of one customer, a young mother. She wanted to start reading to her daughter, but she didn’t know what books her daughter would like. I listened, walked with her through different sections of our store, and ultimately helped her choose something she felt great about. When I scanned the item at checkout, I was so happy – my actions had led to a deeper connection between a mother and daughter.
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A turn towards today.

My fourth job, and ultimately what inspired GrowthFactor, was in the real estate department of a retailer. All day I would obsess about where we would put our next store. I’d evaluate properties sent by brokers, I’d pull spotty demographic information from wherever I could find it, and I’d put together slides for our real estate committee. 

I remember my first site visit. We flew from Birmingham, AL to Baltimore, MD. Our flight had a connection, and our first flight landed a bit late, so I sprinted with my senior associate through the tunnels of ATL to make our flight. We made it, and as soon as we landed, we started “driving sites”. We counted parking spaces, took pictures, and drove through every angle to feel what our customers would feel as they approached the site.

A couple days later, I went back to the office and began putting together slides and using the tools I could. I remember feeling frustrated trying to pull together the full picture of what I understood about the location. The gap between how much I could see in the office vs. being there in person was so wide. I felt like I wasn’t able to evaluate sites at all without being there. Sure, we had some data, but it wasn’t enough for me to really think critically about whether or not we should put a store there. When asked “where should we go next,” I didn’t have the confidence to answer.

Ultimately, that problem is what we are solving. We want that young person on the real estate team, the person who is using the tools and building the real estate review decks, to be Superman. We want retailers to feel good about the sites they spend time driving and ultimately to make better decisions about where they put stores, in communities all across America.
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Why be “Made in America”?

I wanted to share a bit of the depth of my background for two reasons.

First, the reality of what runs in our culture is that I, the CEO of our company, am an American Retailer first. No matter how engrained I become in running a software company, I am a retailer. Our culture will always reflect an understanding of and empathy for our customers. We will always put our customers first.

Second, I wanted to officially make some commitments about how we plan to continue to honor American retail companies. Here is what we will always do:

1. Your data does and will always stay in America. We value data privacy highly, and we are implementing safeguards as we grow to keep your data in the U.S. 
2. As a supporter of U.S. retail brands, we are committed to helping retailers compete against large e-commerce companies, like Amazon. Opposing the threat posed by this particular company, we are committing to never directly using AWS for any of our data processing needs.
3. We will always make time for our customers to listen to and understand your business as deeply as possible. We view ourselves, from the local tier to enterprise tier, as partners of all of our customers

Building software for site selection is not new, but we want to do it differently - we want to know and understand our customers, and that starts with the fact that I worked in retail a decade before I opened the terminal on my computer. We will always prioritize American retailers, and we will relentlessly serve our customers to change the way site selection is done.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the main benefits of growthfactor is made in america?

My dad ran a retail company. I’d visit my dad after work - he sat in the corporate office - and I’d shadow him during meetings.

How does growthfactor is made in america work in practice?

I remember my first site visit. We flew from Birmingham, AL to Baltimore, MD. Our flight had a connection, and our first flight landed a bit late, so I sprinted with my senior associate through the tunnels of ATL to make our flight.

How do I get started with growthfactor is made in america?

Begin by auditing your current workflow and identifying where manual processes slow you down. Modern platforms like GrowthFactor consolidate multiple data sources into a single interface, so you can move from research to decision in minutes rather than days. Most teams are fully productive within their first week.

Where is GrowthFactor built and who is it designed for?

GrowthFactor is a retail site selection and location intelligence platform built in the United States, designed for retail chains, franchise developers, and commercial real estate teams that need to make data-driven expansion decisions. The platform aggregates demographic, foot traffic, competitive, and spending data into a unified workflow purpose-built for the U.S. market. Its development reflects a commitment to building tools that serve American businesses expanding domestically.

Why does it matter that retail analytics software is developed domestically?

Domestically developed retail analytics software ensures that data governance, privacy compliance, and customer support operate under U.S. legal frameworks and standards, reducing the complexity of data residency and regulatory compliance for American enterprise clients. It also means that product development priorities are shaped by the needs of U.S. retailers operating in American markets, rather than adapted from tools designed for international markets. For businesses managing sensitive location and consumer data, knowing where their platform is built and maintained matters.

What makes GrowthFactor different from other retail site selection platforms?

GrowthFactor is purpose-built for retail and franchise expansion teams, combining demographic analysis, foot traffic data, competitive mapping, and site scoring into a single streamlined workflow that replaces fragmented legacy tools. Unlike general-purpose GIS platforms, GrowthFactor is designed for business users who need actionable location intelligence without specialized technical training. Its focus on speed and decision-making clarity sets it apart from platforms that deliver data volumes without guiding users toward clear conclusions.

How does GrowthFactor support American retailers competing against larger chains?

GrowthFactor gives regional and emerging retail brands access to the same caliber of location intelligence that large enterprise chains have historically used to gain market advantage. By making demographic analysis, foot traffic insights, and competitive site scoring accessible to growing businesses, GrowthFactor levels the analytical playing field for American retailers at any stage of expansion. Data-driven site selection is no longer a capability reserved for brands with large internal analytics teams.

Is GrowthFactor's data sourced from U.S. providers?

GrowthFactor aggregates data from leading U.S.-based providers across demographic intelligence, consumer spending, foot traffic analytics, and commercial real estate datasets. Sourcing from domestic data partners ensures consistency with U.S. market standards and regulatory requirements for data collection and usage. Users can trust that the underlying data reflects current American consumer and market conditions.

What types of businesses use GrowthFactor for site selection?

GrowthFactor serves a range of users including multi-unit retailers, franchise development teams, commercial real estate brokers, and private equity firms evaluating retail portfolio investments. Any organization making location decisions that depend on understanding consumer demographics, competitive density, and foot traffic patterns can apply GrowthFactor's analytics to improve decision quality and speed. The platform is particularly suited for teams managing ten or more location evaluations per year.

How does GrowthFactor handle data privacy and compliance?

GrowthFactor operates in compliance with U.S. data privacy standards, using aggregated and anonymized location data that does not track or identify individual consumers. All foot traffic and demographic data is processed in accordance with applicable federal and state privacy regulations. Enterprise clients with specific data governance requirements can review GrowthFactor's data practices and compliance documentation as part of the procurement process.