Growing strong on traditional values

In 2004, when a business-owner friend told Dan Price about the trouble she'd had with her payment processing provider, he knew there had to be a better option. This was the defining moment that spawned the launch of Gravity Payments, Dan's answer to solving his friend's business challenge.

Now, 14 years later, Gravity Payments, and Price himself, have been repeatedly featured by business trade journals and other mainstream media, showcasing the out-of-box approach Gravity Payments was founded on. And, as the company has continued to grow and prosper, it has also persisted in passionately fulfilling the mission Price originally set forth: "To reduce the costs and headaches associated with accepting payments and to stand up for the little gal or guy who believes in the American dream."

In an industry with an abundance of service providers, high-minded words are common, but the more than 90 members of Gravity's team believe the company's actions correspond with its mission. They point onlookers to the company's fundamental values, indicating these are what set Gravity Payments apart from the rest. Honesty, transparency and doing business with integrity are all cited as what makes the company different, and these values are put to practice every day under Dan's focused guidance, according to team members.

As a result, within the company's first decade of business, Price's leadership earned him Entrepreneur magazine's Entrepreneur of 2014, the 2014 Seattle Business CEO Excellence Award, GeekWire's 2013 Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and the 2010 SBA National Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award presented by President Obama. And in 2014, Gravity Payments placed 2,864 on Inc. Magazine's Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies.

Earning merchant trust

In the firm's own words, Gravity is dedicated to "eliminating credit card processing headaches, hassles and hidden fees." The company specializes in helping small to midsize businesses (SMBs) with credit card processing, POS equipment and systems, ecommerce and mobile payment services, and a range of subsidiary services such as gift and loyalty programs, working capital credit lines, and a stand-alone customer analytics application.

The company offers a contemporary complement of terminal-based and payment software solutions, including the latest mobile and EMV (Europay, Mastercard and Visa) applications for SMBs. But, according to Price, it is the company's focus on providing the SMB with enterprise-grade merchant processing solutions that has defined its success.

"We started our company to help our community businesses, because they deserve the same great customer service and low prices that big corporate businesses get, and we've grown our company by earning the trust of each and every one of our valued customers," Price stated.

Dedicated to the client

Also publicly recognized for implementing a $70,000 minimum wage for all team members, Price's intention was to, "provide a better quality of life and improve the success of his clients." Gravity's public profiles also boast customer testimony to substantiate this claim, as well as its merchant-centered provisions, including the 24/7 live human support team and transparent pricing model. According to Gravity, these are some of the practices that help the firm keep clients over five times longer than the industry average.

Staff members are also counseled to operate by the creed that everyone is a CEO and they are urged to, "be the CEO of your own life." As denoted on the company's website, "Our team is encouraged (and empowered) to think independently and act quickly like a CEO, entrepreneur, or even like the independent business owners we serve."

Price feels the simplicity of this concept has completely revolutionized the way the company is doing business and enabled it to develop a corporate culture where staff members are motivated by a higher purpose.

Notice to readers: These are archived articles. Contact names or information may be out of date. We regret any inconvenience.