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First Insight has moved its headquarters from Wexford to a 13,000 square feet at Warrendale's Keystone Summit Park and is hiring.
This is an inflection point for First Insight, according to its president and CEO, Greg Petro.
In March the company raised $14 million in a Series B funding round led by Washington D.C.-based Updata Partners. It counts major retailers Abercrombie & Fitch, David's Bridal and colorful accessory distributor Vera Bradley among its customers, and this year, employment is expected to at least double.
"We've been growing, but now, it's happening even quicker," he said.
Petro declined to provide a specific number of jobs First Insight will be adding, but said the company will have a substantial presence in the region.
First Insight, which was started in Petro's basement in 2007, will be continuing to hire for sales, marketing and engineering positions.
First Insight's technology provides consumer-driven predictive analytics that can help retailers make faster and more accurate buying and pricing decisions.
Along with its physical expansion, Petro said the company is using some of its latest capital raise to expand its technology as well as place a stronger focus on providing clients with analytics to support marketing efforts.
"Once we understood the manufacturing side—what should be brought to market—we can then look at understanding what customers want and customer profiling," he said.
Petro said the company is working to expand into multiple verticals, including consumer packaged goods. First Insight is also investing in international growth. The company has a presence in Europe and is looking to expand into Latin America and Asia.
Petro said First Insight, which already has a second office in San Francisco, may have another regional office in its future, but Pittsburgh will always be home.
"We have no intention of moving anything out there," he said. "We've been able to find great resources here in the region. We're working on some pretty exciting stuff, and we want to continue to do that in Pittsburgh."
