The Right Place

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.

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

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

• Economic development services
• Site location consulting
• Business incentives coordination
• Manufacturing innovation support
• Regional workforce development

Headquarters

HQ city

Grand Rapids

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. 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

Core 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

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hello West MichigancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic 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)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSince 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)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState'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 CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIdentifies 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 AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrivate 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)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides comprehensive economic development services including business retention, expansion, and attraction support to Ionia County businesses.
• Lake County Economic Development Alliance (LCEDA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMission to create a unified vision promoting Lake County resources including historical, natural and cultural amenities to enhance local economy.
• Chamber Alliance of Mason CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMission 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)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRe-energized in January 2015 and partnered with The Right Place to provide economic development services for Montcalm County.
• Newaygo County Economic Development Partnership (NCEDP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished 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)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated 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 LLCminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDeveloper 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

Others

• 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

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC6x_e30lREf2VNRv8BNt4qw
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheRightPlaceGrandRapids
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-right-place
• Instagraminstagram.com/therightplaceinc
• Xx.com/TheRightPlaceGR

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Right Place