LightsAmerica
LightsAmerica is a bootstrapped, founder-led SaaS platform that provides independent lighting showroom retailers across North America with website design, a proprietary 150,000+ SKU e-catalog, SEO tools, and digital marketing integrations on a freemium-to-Premium subscription model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersWheeling, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What LightsAmerica does
LightsAmerica is a privately held, bootstrapped SaaS company founded circa 2004 by a former Chicago-area lighting showroom owner. It provides website design, hosting, e-catalog management, SEO, and digital marketing tools purpose-built for independent lighting showroom retailers across North America. The company's proprietary platform delivers a three-tier offering (free Basic with advertising, paid Lite, and fully customizable Premium) plus a catalog of 150,000+ SKUs from 200+ lighting manufacturers, with up to 5 new vendors added each month.
The underlying technology stack consists of a custom website builder, a proprietary e-catalog with extensive product attribute capture, the exclusive Product Configurator tool, a wish list system with QR-code-enabled showroom price tags, and a PDF Wizard for Premium members. Distribution is via direct sales (led by National Sales Manager Julie Traughber) and self-service website signup, supported by SEO, free demo requests, and an 11-question self-assessment quiz used for lead qualification.
The business model is subscription-based SaaS with a freemium entry point: Basic is ad-supported and free, Lite and Premium charge recurring monthly fees, and Premium unlocks e-commerce, sub-website creation for B2B customers (interior designers, contractors), and exclusive tools. The customer base spans over 200 independent showroom retailers across the US, Canada, the Caribbean, and Central America, collectively generating 5.5 million monthly page views.
LightsAmerica firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- LightsAmerica
- Legal name
- LightsAmerica
- Website
- https://lightsamerica.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- LightsAmerica is a bootstrapped, founder-led SaaS platform that provides independent lighting showroom retailers across North America with website design, a proprietary 150,000+ SKU e-catalog, SEO tools, and digital marketing integrations on a freemium-to-Premium subscription model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
LightsAmerica industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Lighting Retail Vertical SaaS
- NAICS
- Graphic Design Services (541430)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Outdoor & Landscape Lighting Retail (Path, Flood, Security, Deck) (CRAIAHAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Lighting Design Services (BPAHAKAJ)
Keywords
Where LightsAmerica is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Wheeling
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
LightsAmerica business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Website Platform Subscriptions: Monthly subscription fees for website hosting and platform access across three tiers (Basic, Lite, Premium). Basic tier is free with skyscraper web ads; Lite and Premium tiers offer paid monthly subscriptions with additional features.
- Premium Feature Upgrades: Additional revenue from upgrading Basic tier members to remove ads or add e-commerce capabilities. Premium features include back-end controls, PDF Wizard, Showroom Price Tag software, and sub-website creation for customers like interior designers and contractors.
- E-Commerce Integration Fees: Showrooms can add e-commerce functionality to their Lite package for an additional monthly fee, enabling online transactions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free website with basic features and advertising |
| Subscription | Monthly | Low-cost website with unlimited vendors and basic features |
| Subscription | Monthly | Full-featured customizable e-commerce platform |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
LightsAmerica product offering
Product offeringCore offering
LightsAmerica provides a proprietary SaaS website platform built specifically for independent lighting showroom retailers. The platform includes a customizable website builder, a proprietary e-catalog with more than 150,000 lighting fixtures from 200+ manufacturers, a product configurator, SEO tools, wish list functionality, and e-commerce capabilities, delivered through three monthly subscription tiers (free Basic, Lite, and Premium). It also offers a free mobile website, email marketing via iContact integration, and exclusive add-on tools such as PDF Wizard and Showroom Price Tag software.
Product overview
LightsAmerica provides a multi-tiered website platform with three distinct packages (Basic, Lite, Premium) for independent lighting showroom retailers across North America. The Basic package is free with limited vendor access and advertising support, while Lite and Premium offer enhanced features including unlimited vendors, e-commerce capability, and exclusive tools like PDF Wizard and Showroom Price Tag software. The core offering includes a proprietary lighting e-catalog with over 150,000 items from 200+ manufacturers, The Configurator for custom fixture building, Wish List functionality for customer follow-up, and search engine optimization services. The Premium tier adds advanced tools including sub-website creation for B2B customers, and the company also offers free mobile websites and email marketing integration through iContact as standard benefits.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Basic Website Package Free, fully functioning website tier for lighting showrooms including Wish List, 'about us' page, products from up to 20 vendors, location/contact info, store hours, and directions. Supported by advertising and upgradeable to remove ads.
- Lite Website Package Low-cost monthly subscription website tier with unlimited vendor selection, custom URL, free Google Analytics reports, SEO, and the ability to add e-commerce functionality for an additional monthly fee.
- Premium Website Package Top-tier monthly subscription offering a fully customizable e-commerce site with extensive back-end controls, PDF Wizard, Showroom Price Tag software, and the ability to create sub-websites for best customers such as interior designers and contractors.
- Lighting E-Catalog Proprietary e-catalog containing over 150,000 lighting fixture products from 200+ manufacturers, with optimized product images, detailed specifications, and search filtering by category, brand, collection, finish, fixture size, style, price, colored glass, number of bulbs, and keywords.
- The Configurator Exclusive product configuration tool that allows lighting showrooms to build exact fixtures their customers want and customize the appearance, search results, and content presentation of their websites.
- PDF Wizard Exclusive document creation tool available to Premium package members for generating professional PDFs from product information.
- Showroom Price Tag Software Label writing program for creating consistent, readable price tags throughout a showroom, with QR barcodes that customers can scan with mobile devices to add items to wish lists.
- Wish List Allows showroom customers to create, save, share, and print wish lists, with email sharing to family members, electricians, and builders for collaborative decision-making and use as purchase documentation.
- Free Mobile Website Free mobile website provided with standard LightsAmerica membership to enable showrooms to reach mobile shoppers searching for lighting fixtures.
- Sub-Website Creator Premium-tier feature enabling lighting showrooms to create separate websites for their best B2B customers, such as interior designers and contractors.
- Free Assessment Quiz 11-question self-assessment quiz that helps independent lighting showrooms evaluate their online presence and qualify whether LightsAmerica services would benefit their business, serving as both a marketing and sales qualification tool.
Quantifiable outcome
- 5.5 million monthly page views across the network of 200+ showrooms
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use LightsAmerica
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
LightsAmerica technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature7 records
LightsAmerica partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- 200+ Lighting Manufacturers (E-Catalog)coreLightsAmerica works with over 200 lighting fixture manufacturers to maintain their exclusive e-catalog. They work hand-in-hand with each manufacturer and their sales reps to ensure the e-catalog is complete and accurate. The catalog adds up to 5 new vendors monthly, representing the best lighting manufacturers in the business.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
LightsAmerica competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- ServiceTitan: Vertical SaaS platform for home and commercial service businesses (HVAC, plumbing, electrical). Comparable to LightsAmerica as a deep vertical SaaS model with workflow-specific features, pricing tiers, and customer stickiness — though serving a different vertical.
- Housecall Pro: Vertical SaaS for home service professionals with scheduling, dispatch, and customer management. Analogous to LightsAmerica as a subscription-based niche SaaS purpose-built for an independent business segment with high switching costs.
- Clover (Fiserv): POS and business management platform targeting small and mid-sized retailers. Overlaps with LightsAmerica's mission of enabling independent retailers to operate online and in-store, though Clover focuses more on POS than website/e-catalog depth.
- Houzz Pro: SaaS platform serving home design and remodeling professionals with project management, marketing, and client collaboration tools. Comparable to LightsAmerica as a vertical SaaS for design/home professionals, intersecting with lighting retailers' B2B customers (interior designers).
Direct peers
- Lightspeed Commerce: Vertical SaaS provider for retail and restaurant businesses, offering POS, e-commerce, and inventory tools. Comparable to LightsAmerica as a niche B2B SaaS platform serving independent retailers with subscription pricing and workflow-specific features.
- BigCommerce: E-commerce platform serving mid-market and enterprise merchants with subscription-based website building and selling tools. Comparable to LightsAmerica as a SaaS solution enabling retailers to build online storefronts, manage catalogs, and process transactions.
Others
- Build.com (Ferguson): Large online retailer of lighting, plumbing, and home improvement products, now part of Ferguson. Represents the e-commerce scale competitor whose existence drives demand for LightsAmerica's platform, while also competing for the same end-customer wallet.
- YLighting: Online lighting retailer and design resource. While not a SaaS peer, YLighting represents the e-commerce competitive pressure on LightsAmerica's lighting showroom customers — the same structural force shaping LightsAmerica's market.
Broad incumbents
- Shopify: Mass-market e-commerce SaaS platform serving merchants of all sizes across many verticals. Overlaps with LightsAmerica's website/e-commerce enablement for retailers, but operates at vastly broader scale and serves all retail categories.
- Block (Square): Payments and POS platform for small and mid-sized businesses including retail. Provides POS hardware/software that competes for the same independent retailer's technology budget as LightsAmerica, though at much broader scope.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
LightsAmerica social profiles
Digital presenceLightsAmerica financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
LightsAmerica leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
LightsAmerica funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
LightsAmerica 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 LightsAmerica
What does LightsAmerica do?
LightsAmerica provides a proprietary SaaS website platform built specifically for independent lighting showroom retailers. The platform includes a customizable website builder, a proprietary e-catalog with more than 150,000 lighting fixtures from 200+ manufacturers, a product configurator, SEO tools, wish list functionality, and e-commerce capabilities, delivered through three monthly subscription tiers (free Basic, Lite, and Premium). It also offers a free mobile website, email marketing via iContact integration, and exclusive add-on tools such as PDF Wizard and Showroom Price Tag software.
Is LightsAmerica a public or private company?
LightsAmerica is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was LightsAmerica founded?
LightsAmerica was founded in 2004. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is LightsAmerica based?
LightsAmerica is headquartered in Wheeling, United States, in the North America region.
How does LightsAmerica make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Website Platform Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are premium Feature Upgrades and E-Commerce Integration Fees.
Who are LightsAmerica's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, Clover (Fiserv) and Houzz Pro. Direct peers are Lightspeed Commerce and BigCommerce. Others are Build.com (Ferguson) and YLighting. Broad incumbents are Shopify and Block (Square).
Does LightsAmerica have an API?
No public API is recorded for LightsAmerica.
What industry is LightsAmerica in?
LightsAmerica's product category is Lighting Retail Vertical SaaS. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAIAHAC, Outdoor & Landscape Lighting Retail (Path, Flood, Security, Deck), with a secondary code of BPAHAKAJ, Lighting Design Services. Its NAICS code is 541430 and its SIC code is 7311.