The Right Place
The Right Place is a Grand Rapids, Michigan non-profit economic development organization founded in 1985 that provides confidential site selection, incentives coordination, manufacturing support, and talent attraction services to companies across the seven-county Greater Grand Rapids region.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1985
- HeadquartersGrand Rapids, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Right Place does
The Right Place, Inc. is a Grand Rapids, Michigan-based non-profit economic development organization founded in 1985. It provides confidential, comprehensive business support services to companies evaluating, expanding, or relocating operations in the seven-county Greater Grand Rapids region (Kent, Ionia, Lake, Mason, Montcalm, Newaygo, and Oceana). Core services include site location, state and local incentive coordination, international business development, manufacturing innovation support, workforce and talent attraction, and regional business intelligence. The organization claims to have spurred more than $6 billion in regional investments and 50,000+ jobs created or retained over its 40-year history.
The Right Place firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Right Place
- Legal name
- The Right Place, Inc.
- Website
- https://rightplace.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1985
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Right Place is a Grand Rapids, Michigan non-profit economic development organization founded in 1985 that provides confidential site selection, incentives coordination, manufacturing support, and talent attraction services to companies across the seven-county Greater Grand Rapids region.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Right Place industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Economic Development Services
- NAICS
- Management of Companies and Enterprises (55111)
- SIC
- Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)
Keywords
Where The Right Place is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Grand Rapids
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
The Right Place business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Investor/Partnership Funding: The Right Place operates as a nonprofit economic development organization funded by investors from the business community. Companies invest in The Right Place to support regional economic growth and receive access to economic development services, networking, and business intelligence.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
The Right Place product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Right Place, Inc. is a nonprofit regional economic development organization that provides confidential, comprehensive business support services to companies looking to locate, expand, or retain operations in the Greater Grand Rapids region of West Michigan. Its core services include site location assistance, state and local incentives coordination, workforce development support, supply chain and partner connections, manufacturing innovation consulting, and regional business intelligence, all delivered at no direct cost to the businesses served and funded through investor partnerships.
Product overview
The Right Place operates as a comprehensive economic development organization offering a unified portfolio of business support services rather than a traditional software product. The core offerings center on confidential site location services, business development consulting, incentives coordination, and regional workforce development. Supplementary services include industry-specific consulting through the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center-West partnership, talent attraction via the Hello West Michigan program, and digital resources including industry reports and business directories (Investor Directory, Tech Directory, Diverse Business Directory). The organization serves as a single point of contact for companies seeking to establish, expand, or relocate operations in the Greater Grand Rapids region of West Michigan.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Economic Development Services
- Manufacturing Innovation & Product Development
- Tech Week Grand Rapids
- West Michigan Business Research & Industry Reports
- Investor Directory
Quantifiable outcome
- $6 billion+ in investments facilitated for the region
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use The Right Place
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
The Right Place technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Right Place partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Hello West MichigancoreStrategic partner that works to attract and retain world-class talent and companies in West Michigan. Offers services including a one-stop shop website for relocating, job portal, candidate database, and events like career fairs. Co-located in The Right Place's office.
- Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center-West (MMTC-West)coreSince 1991, MMTC-West has acted as trusted advisors to small and medium-sized manufacturers for operational excellence, innovation, and profitability. Strategic partner allowing The Right Place to offer comprehensive economic development services for manufacturing companies.
- Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)coreState's marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, talent and jobs, tourism, film and digital media incentives, arts and cultural grants, and overall economic growth. Key partner for state incentives and programs.
- Michigan Defense CenterminorIdentifies growth opportunities for Michigan businesses based on Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) needs. Helps businesses access R&D resources in universities, federal laboratories, and industry.
- Regional Air AllianceminorPrivate sector initiative dedicated to providing world-class commercial air service in the region. Focused on airport passenger service quality, airline service retention and recruitment, and air service economic impact analysis.
- Ionia County Economic Alliance (ICEA)coreProvides comprehensive economic development services including business retention, expansion, and attraction support to Ionia County businesses.
- Lake County Economic Development Alliance (LCEDA)coreMission to create a unified vision promoting Lake County resources including historical, natural and cultural amenities to enhance local economy.
- Chamber Alliance of Mason CountycoreMission to promote business, enhance economic and community development, and serve as a catalyst for improving quality of life in Mason County.
- Montcalm Economic Alliance (MEA)coreRe-energized in January 2015 and partnered with The Right Place to provide economic development services for Montcalm County.
- Newaygo County Economic Development Partnership (NCEDP)coreEstablished in 2022 with The Right Place collaborating with community leaders to ensure long-term job creation, investment, and economic prosperity for Newaygo County.
- Oceana County Economic Alliance (OCEA)coreCreated to assist business development needs in Oceana County with a mission to create a diverse economic environment by strengthening talent, leveraging resources, and supporting retention, expansion, attraction, and creation of businesses.
- Venerly LLCminorDeveloper working with The Right Place on Project Peninsula, a large data center campus development near Grand Rapids. The Right Place facilitated negotiations between Venerly LLC and Solon Township since last year.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Right Place competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Site Selection Group: Independent site-selection consultancy that competes for the same corporate relocations as The Right Place. Useful as a private-sector counterpart illustrating how the EDO model must differentiate on incentives access and pro bono delivery.
Direct peers
- Detroit Regional Partnership: Regional economic development nonprofit for Southeast Michigan. Most comparable peer because it shares a state (Michigan), the MEDC relationship, and a manufacturing-heavy heritage, but operates a different sub-region.
- Ann Arbor Spark: Michigan-based economic development organization focused on the Ann Arbor region. Comparable as a state-level peer with overlapping tech/life-sciences focus and similar MEDC-linked service model.
- Greater Des Moines Partnership: Mid-sized Midwest regional EDO with similar multi-county coalition governance and data-driven industry-targeting approach. Closest apples-to-apples scale comparable.
- Pittsburgh Regional Alliance: Northeastern peer with a manufacturing-retooling narrative similar to West Michigan's. Comparable multi-county coalition model and cluster-based economic development focus.
- Greater Cleveland Partnership: Cleveland-based regional economic development chamber. Comparable as a Rust-Belt, manufacturing-anchored EDO delivering confidential site selection, incentives navigation, and minority business support to a multi-county footprint.
- Tampa Bay Economic Development Council: Regional EDO with a similarly diversified industry targeting model (manufacturing, tech, life sciences) and investor-funded governance. Useful mid-sized EDO comparable.
Broad incumbents
- Greater Phoenix Economic Council: A top-tier Sun Belt EDO. Comparable because it pairs confidential site-selection services with marketing/PR campaigns to attract relocating employers, but operates in a much faster-growth geography.
- World Business Chicago: Chicago's public-private economic development partnership. Comparable as a large, investor-funded EDO running flagship events (e.g., industry thought-leadership programming), but with vastly larger resources.
- Greater Houston Partnership: Large, established regional chamber/EDO that serves a much larger metro. Comparable operating model (investor-funded, multi-county, business attraction/retention) but at national-scale budget and headcount.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Right Place social profiles
Digital presenceThe Right Place financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Right Place leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
The Right Place funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Right Place M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Right Place
What does The Right Place do?
The Right Place, Inc. is a nonprofit regional economic development organization that provides confidential, comprehensive business support services to companies looking to locate, expand, or retain operations in the Greater Grand Rapids region of West Michigan. Its core services include site location assistance, state and local incentives coordination, workforce development support, supply chain and partner connections, manufacturing innovation consulting, and regional business intelligence, all delivered at no direct cost to the businesses served and funded through investor partnerships.
Is The Right Place a public or private company?
The Right Place is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Right Place founded?
The Right Place was founded in 1985. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Right Place based?
The Right Place is headquartered in Grand Rapids, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Right Place make money?
One revenue line is on record: investor/Partnership Funding.
Who are The Right Place's main competitors?
Site Selection Group is listed as an others. Direct peers are Detroit Regional Partnership, Ann Arbor Spark, Greater Des Moines Partnership, Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, Greater Cleveland Partnership and Tampa Bay Economic Development Council. Broad incumbents are Greater Phoenix Economic Council, World Business Chicago and Greater Houston Partnership.
Does The Right Place have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Right Place.
What industry is The Right Place in?
The Right Place's product category is Economic Development Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGALAC, Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts). Its NAICS code is 55111 and its SIC code is 6531.