1. Where does the data come from?

We use a variety of data points, mainly focusing on employees reported on Linkedin but also incorporating proxies like locations and web traffic.

2. How is growth calculated?

We run each proxy 2-3 times per quarter and estimate monthly and quarterly growth based on a linear interpolation.

3. Why do my Grata growth numbers not match Linkedin Insights?

Sometimes Linkedin "rewrites history" by retroactively changing past employee counts. Grata saves data points at the time they're detected. Occasionally, we also see the following:

a. Ownership change (inorganic growth): A company is acquired by a larger entity or acquires a smaller company. Employee counts may change drastically as a result. Grata detects this a growth or a decline.

b. Multiple entities: Sometimes, a company has multiple foreign entities or subsidiaries. After a link between them is established in Grata, the employee numbers may increase and reflect a sum of those entities. Linkedin rewrites history when they link company entities.

c. Fluctuations: Our data is pulled 2-3 times per quarter. There may be seasonal fluctuations, personnel changes, or other variations outside the time we collect our data. We timestamp the latest data point so you know how recent our data is.

d. Other data points: We use other data points in our algorithms. Through testing, we find that our numbers are generally consistent with Linkedin Insights but may occasionally vary.

4. Why are companies missing growth numbers?

a. New companies: We're growing our company set very quickly and sometimes we don't have enough data points to estimate growth. Wait a month or two and you should see it populate!

b. No size data: Other times, very small or "offline" companies may not have enough data points for us to estimate their size. In these instances, we can't reach a growth number either.

c. Anomalies: Finally, we run anomaly detection algorithms. Anomalies account for approx. 3% of employee growth numbers and are hidden from you. We take data quality very seriously and don't want to mislead you! Anomalies include large disconnects in employee growth numbers not substantiated by consistent growth or triangulation. These may be a result of unreported ownership changes, multiple foreign entities, contractors adding a company to their Linkedin profile, Linkedin bugs, or other data errors.

5. I know the company's actual growth. Why are your numbers different?

Our numbers are outside-in proxies. They aren't perfect but they generally reflect changes happening in a company that may lead or lag growth.

Take, for example a company that recently received funding and is hiring. They may not have revenue growth, but we detect that the company is growing its headcount.

6. Do you have historicals?

We have historicals from the day we started tracking a company. That means we'll only have more data over time. For now, we help you spot growing companies as they're growing, so you can be the first in front of them. If you're looking too far back in history, you may be too late to the party!

7. Do you have growth data for small companies, with under 30 employees?

Yes, we do! Just set the employee filter to smaller companies with under 30 employees to see for yourself.