From Newsletter and Podcast to Platform: How Sitehunt is Transforming Economic Development

Hey Econ Dev Show community!

When I started this newsletter and podcast back in 2021, my goal was simple: interview economic developers nationwide to understand the real challenges facing our profession. After hundreds of conversations with EDOs across the country, one theme kept emerging: the time-consuming, manual processes that slow down our ability to respond to prospects and showcase our communities effectively.

Those insights didn't just make for great content; they sparked the creation of something bigger.

The Birth of Sitehunt

What started as conversations about industry pain points has evolved into Sitehunt, a purpose-built platform designed specifically for business attraction and retention. We're not just another tech solution—we're economic developers who built a tool for economic developers.

The platform addresses one of the biggest bottlenecks in our field: RFI responses. You know the drill. A hot prospect inquiry comes in, and suddenly you're scrambling through spreadsheets, calling site owners, and spending weeks pulling together a competitive response. By the time you submit, the opportunity may have already moved on to more responsive communities.

Sitehunt flips this script entirely. What used to take weeks can now be completed in minutes, giving your community a real competitive advantage.

How It Works

The magic happens through intelligent site scoring and automated response generation. When an RFI comes in, the platform analyzes your inventory against the prospect's requirements, ranking sites based on fit and readiness. Sites fall into three categories: qualified matches, partial matches, and those missing critical data.

Here's where it gets interesting: for sites with missing information, the platform can automatically invite local EDOs to fill in the gaps, then rerun the scoring with updated data. It's collaborative economic development at its finest.

Once qualified sites are identified, the system generates professional RFI responses complete with drag-and-drop functionality for adding marketing materials, reports, photos, and maps. The result? Polished, comprehensive responses that position your community as organized and responsive.

Beyond Individual Communities

One of the most exciting developments is our EDO Partnership Model. This isn't just about individual communities using the platform: it's about creating networks of economic development organizations that can collaborate seamlessly.

Partner accounts come with custom branding, multiple user roles, and the ability for EDOs to manage their own site inventories while participating in regional responses. Imagine being able to present a unified regional offering while maintaining individual community identity and control.

The Data Advantage

What really sets Sitehunt apart is the depth of integrated data. We're talking comprehensive demographics, workforce analytics, infrastructure details, housing market data, and even optional add-ons for foreign direct investment tracking and consumer expenditure patterns.

This isn't just about having more data, it's about having the right data, properly organized and instantly accessible when you need it most. No more hunting through multiple databases or hoping your spreadsheet is up to date.

Real Results, Real Communities

The feedback has been incredible, but more importantly, we're seeing measurable improvements in response times and proposal quality. Communities are getting back to prospects faster, with more professional presentations, and ultimately winning more projects.

Looking Forward

What excites me most about Sitehunt isn't just the technology, it's the potential to elevate our entire profession. When economic developers can respond quickly and professionally to every inquiry, when we can collaborate seamlessly across jurisdictions, and when we can present our communities with data-driven confidence, we all win.

This platform represents everything I've learned from our newsletter and podcast conversations, my years in consulting, and decades of experience in economic development. It's built by practitioners, for practitioners, with a deep understanding of what actually works in the field.

The economic development landscape is becoming increasingly competitive. Communities that can respond faster, with better information and more professional presentations, will have a significant advantage. Sitehunt isn't just keeping up with this trend—it's helping to lead it.

The Bigger Picture

As we continue growing the Econ Dev Show and expanding Sitehunt, I'm reminded why I got into this field in the first place. It's about communities, opportunities, and the people whose lives are improved when we do our jobs well.

Every successful project attraction means jobs for families, investment in communities, and economic growth that ripples through entire regions. If we can help economic developers be more effective, more efficient, and more successful, we're not just improving a profession: we're strengthening communities across the country.

The future of economic development is collaborative, data-driven, and technology-enabled. I'm excited that both the Econ Dev Show and Sitehunt are playing a role in shaping that future.

Keep doing the important work you're doing out there. And as always, if you have a story to share or lessons learned, I'd love to have you on the show.

Dane Carlson is the founder and CEO of Sitehunt and host and publisher of the Econ Dev Show newsletter and podcast. Contact him for a demo at dane@sitehunt.io or via his calendar.