# Joel Grossman

> Joel Grossman is the co-founder and president of Numa, an AI customer-operations company for automotive dealerships. His career runs from product work on Windows, MSN Explorer and early connected devices at Microsoft, through a rise from unpaid summer associate to COO at Location Labs, and into a second act building Numa with several of the same colleagues. His operating philosophy is unusually consistent: hire for growth, make disagreement safe, keep communication candid and build systems that help people respond when attention is scarce.

- **Role:** Co-founder and President at Numa
- **Organizations:** Numa, Location Labs, Microsoft, Montlake Capital, The Seven Hills School
- **Education:** MBA with Distinction, Harvard Business School, ScB in Computer Science, Brown University, High school, Roxbury Latin School
- **Known for:** Helped grow Location Labs from roughly 15 people into a company acquired by AVG for a reported $220 million., Ran sales, business development and operations at Location Labs while the company reported a 95% employee-retention rate., Co-founded Numa with former Location Labs colleagues and helped guide its focus toward AI customer operations for automotive dealerships.

## Career timeline

- **1999-2004** — Worked as a lead program manager at Microsoft, contributing to Windows XP, MSN Explorer and early SPOT/MSN Direct connected-device work.
- **2004** — Worked as a summer associate at Montlake Capital while completing his MBA.
- **2005-2008** — Joined Location Labs, initially through an unpaid summer role, and became its first vice president of product management.
- **2008-2010** — Served as senior vice president of product management and marketing at Location Labs.
- **2010-2016** — Served as COO of Location Labs, overseeing product, sales, business development, people and operations.
- **2014** — Location Labs was acquired by AVG for a reported $220 million after reaching more than 200 employees and five consecutive years of profitability.
- **2016-present** — Co-founded NumberAI, now Numa, and serves as president. The company moved from broad small-business conversational AI to a platform focused on automotive dealerships.
- **2020-present** — Serves as a trustee of The Seven Hills School in Walnut Creek, California.
- **2024** — Numa raised a $32 million Series B led by Touring Capital and Mitsui; the company said the round brought total funding to $48 million.
- **2026** — Numa acquired Ficus to expand from fixed operations into dealership sales and said it served more than 1,300 dealership rooftops.

## Achievements

- Helped grow Location Labs from roughly 15 people into a company acquired by AVG for a reported $220 million.
- Ran sales, business development and operations at Location Labs while the company reported a 95% employee-retention rate.
- Co-founded Numa with former Location Labs colleagues and helped guide its focus toward AI customer operations for automotive dealerships.
- Numa ranked No. 168 overall and No. 4 in the AI category on the 2024 Inc. 5000 after reporting 2,248% three-year revenue growth.
- Numa raised a $32 million Series B in 2024 led by Touring Capital and Mitsui.
- Named inventor on Microsoft contact-interface patents and on Numa communication-intelligence patents.
- Serves on the board of trustees of The Seven Hills School.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Numa announced its acquisition of fixed-operations software company SocketTime and was selected by FordDirect as a strategic engagement AI vendor for Ford and Lincoln retailers.
- **2026-04** — Numa acquired AI sales platform Ficus, said it served more than 1,300 dealership rooftops across the United States and Canada, and reported 200% revenue growth.
- **2024-10** — Numa announced a $32 million Series B led by Touring Capital and Mitsui, with participation from Costanoa Ventures, Threshold and Gradient Ventures.
- **2024-08** — Numa ranked No. 168 on the Inc. 5000 and No. 4 in the AI category after reporting 2,248% three-year revenue growth.

## Links

- Website: https://numa.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelg

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/joel-grossman
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-27