Building on its success in the North American market, Griffeye has opened a new branch office in Fort Collins, Colorado to serve as a base for a growing U.S. team.
This will allow the company to better support investigators, broaden its reach, and advance its mission, “To serve those who protect,” on a larger scale.
Johann Hofmann, CEO Griffeye and John Madsen, COO Griffeye Inc. Fort Collins
To help North American investigators face their challenges in the fight against child sexual abuse (CSA), Griffeye established its U.S. subsidiary, Griffeye, Inc., in 2017. The company also hired two law-enforcement liaisons to support customers from coast to coast.
The response since then has been overwhelmingly positive. Due to the steadily growing stream of new users, as well as the vast number of U.S. agencies the company has yet to make contact with, Griffeye is scaling up its North American operations – opening a branch office in Fort Collins, Colorado and building its team on the ground.
“We have a proven formula for success in the U.S.,” says Johann Hofmann, CEO at Griffeye. “We have a solid footprint and deep knowledge of the market. We have strong relationships, as well as a product that is both much needed and greatly appreciated. Every day, major CS Enterprise customers and thousands of investigators around the country use our software to solve cases. But the United States is a huge and complex market – we’ve only scratched the surface in terms of the impact we can have.”
“By scaling up in North America and growing our user base, we are in a better position than ever to ensure that every agency, task force and investigator working to fight child sexual abuse can expand their capabilities and get the best possible results for their efforts.”
User training is key
A main reason for the rapid growth of the U.S. user base is user training. It enables investigators to quickly get to grips with the product’s full functionality, be more productive and, most importantly, get better and quicker results in their investigations. Along with the user base, the number of Griffeye Analyze Instructors in the U.S. has also grown. Today, more than 10 active law enforcement officers are also working as software instructors for Griffeye.
“Many of our customers started out with the freemium software. Thanks to online or in-person training, they saw for themselves just how powerful our solutions really are and upgraded their licenses as a result. Now, with the full Griffeye toolset at their disposal, their workflow and methodology are much more efficient – and they have a much greater capacity to achieve fast, accurate results,” says Johann.
More boots on the ground
With demand growing from agencies across the U.S., scaling up operations is a natural next step. The new Fort Collins office is set to hire 10 employees in the first round of what is to be an ongoing recruitment effort.
“We’re not just building a team in the U.S.,” says Johann, “We’re also building a culture. As we grow, we’re going to be as deliberate as possible to be sure it’s done right.”
The first order of business is to recruit sales and service personnel, whose objective will be to ensure the success of existing customers, as well as to broaden Griffeye’s reach and build new relationships with agencies across the country.
Overseeing operations in Fort Collins is John Madsen, a former law enforcement officer, ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) Task Force Commander and Griffeye Head of Training. Together with the Swedish headquarters, John and his office will plan and execute a strategy customized for the U.S. market.
“By scaling up in North America and growing our user base, we are in a better position than ever to ensure that every agency, task force and investigator working to fight child sexual abuse can expand their capabilities and get the best possible results for their efforts,” says Johann. “Our team on the ground is there to support them at every step.”
