Who we are
Focal Systems is the industry leader in retail automation solutions. By digitizing store shelves hourly and unleashing FocalOS, retailers unlock huge operational efficiencies, optimized merchandising, and streamlined supply chains which deliver impactful financial results. Focal is transforming retail by empowering store management to make automated, data-driven decisions. We are the operating system of retail.
OUR MISSION
Lower the cost of living for all mankind by automating and optimizing Brick and Mortar Retail with the latest advancements in AI
Brick-and-mortar retail is crucial for our daily needs like food, clothes, and toiletries. Unfortunately, retail prices are on the rise due to increasing variable costs such as labor, fuel, and supply chain inefficiencies. Focal's AI can help retailers eliminate over half of these inefficient variable costs, resulting in lower prices for consumers. Focal's mission is to develop affordable automation and AI to optimize retail, improve working conditions, and reduce food waste. Without this, technology-enabled retailers may consolidate, leading to a higher cost of living and reduced quality of life. Join Focal in our mission to lower the cost of living for everyone.
Our Core Values
When we founded Focal Systems in 2015, we recognized that we had the opportunity and responsibility to create the DNA of our company culture, so we began with developing a strong set of mutually agreed upon Core Values.
We gathered in our conference room and put up two posters. On the left, we wrote down everything we didn’t like about companies we’d worked for before. On the right, we listed everything we loved and sought to become.
After hours of brainstorming, discussion and debate, we consolidated everyone’s feedback into the Focal Ten Core Values that have guided us ever since.
We live these values everyday in all that we do. They define how we treat one another, who we recruit hire, and develop, how we lead and manage our work, and how we make key strategic decisions. Our Focal Ten Core Values have guided us during challenging times and will continue to guide us into our shared future.
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BE THE BEST TECHNOLOGY PARTNER YOU WORK WITH
“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” - Mother Theresa
Focal’s first and most important Core Value is focused on what type of partner we want to be. Retailers have been chronically underserved by the technology community for over 50 years. Legacy retail technology companies have treated retailers like data spigots they can monetize. They have closed off their systems with no intention of opening them up. They have fired all of their engineers and replaced them with sales personnel and expensive dinners. This is why retailers are skeptical to work with any technology vendor other than themselves.
We will never be one of those companies. We will strive in every interaction to treat retailers as we ourselves would like to be treated. We will never ask to own your data. We will never stop investing in great relationships. We will never stop inventing great solutions that solve your problems in a cost effective and scalable way. This is our promise to you.
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WE ARE A DEEP LEARNING FIRST COMPANY
“Many times experts fail because they’re experts in the past version of the world.” - Vinod Khosla
Deep Learning has enabled computers to solve tasks never before possible, and it is only five years old. Just imagine what value it will unlock in the next five years. It is clear as day to us that Deep Learning enabled software will eat the world over the next 30 years in the same way that software ate the world over the past 30 years. We are at the precipice of the next major Renaissance of computing. For this reason, we are a Deep Learning first company. We have strong expertise in it, and will continue to grow this expertise every day, every hire. This belief is important to state formally since the start-up journey can take you meandering in many different directions to solve attractive but unsolved problems. We choose to focus on the unsolved problems of the world that can be addressed with the new advancements in Deep Learning because this is where we can make the most impact.
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ONLY WHEN YOU TEST YOUR LIMITS DO YOU REALIZE YOU HAVE NONE
“I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough." - Marissa Mayer
The people in this organization do what it takes, going above and beyond the job requirements. Sometimes that means a graphic designer needs to go on a sales call. A CTO needs to pull 2 all-nighters in a row to meet a deadline. A VP Marketing needs to learn how to code. In these cases, and countless more, the job got done, and the individual surprised him/herself. This infectious, can do attitude, has not only powered this company through many obstacles allowing us to whiz past the competition but also has allowed individuals to challenge themselves and grow.
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THE HARDEST WORKING, MOST DEDICATED TEAM WILL WIN
"If other people are putting in 40 hours in a week, and you're putting in 100, you will achieve in four months, what it takes them a year to achieve." - Elon Musk
When playing chess, if you are allowed to move twice every time your opponent moves once, winning gets a whole lot easier. This team works hard, very hard, to keep this advantage. It is the reason we have made it to where we are today. We hire hardworking, dedicated, creative, and intelligent people.
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OWN YOUR WORK
“Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet” - Bob Dylan
Plenty of companies offer a 9 to 5, narrow scoped position building widgets or something, where you can check out Friday and pick it up on Monday. We are not one of them. We expect you to own your work, to flaunt it, to breathe it, to feel empowered by it, to believe in what you do every day, and to achieve your life's work.
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ROW AS ONE
“We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.” - MLK
We leave our egos at the door for the benefit of all. We collaborate with our teammates and clients alike. When challenges arise, we work to collectively identify issues and obstacles, and then we improve or reimagine our process. We show respect at all times, for each other, our vendors, and especially our clients. We understand that we sink or glide together.
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FOCUS AND SOLVE ONE PROBLEM AT A TIME
“We wanted Nike to be the world's best sports and fitness company. Once you say that, you have a focus. You don't end up making wing tips or sponsoring the next Rolling Stones world tour.” - Phil Knight
Big audacious goals are achievable, but they require unwavering focus and persistence. A core tenet of engineering is to break down complex problems into easier and easier sub-problems. At Focal, we set our sights on a specific goal, then break it down into it’s root elements. We then iteratively work our way through each one at a time, day after day, night after night, holding fast to the original goal. Singular focus helps us solve real problems in real time.
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HYPOTHESIZE, EXPERIMENT, MEASURE, REPEAT
“If we don’t communicate with the outside world –to gain information for knowledge and understanding–we die out to become a non-discerning and uninteresting part of that world.” - John Boyd
We go to the world to settle our disputes. Data wins all squabbles! If a debate arises whether something will work or not, we test it, measure the results, and let the world tell us which is right or wrong. This principle, guess and test thinking, has led to all major scientific discoveries to date, and should be our guiding star. It has informed every decision this company has made. Hypothesize, Experiment, Measure, Repeat. And let the data speak for itself.
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CRAVE CHANGE, EMBRACE DISCOMFORT
“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” - John F. Kennedy
Never accept the world as it is today as the gold standard, but as a best effort, that can and will change. We should always be aiming for that next rung on the ladder. But when you do, it is usually coupled with more work, higher risk, louder headaches, more stress and risk of failure. But if you are not pushing for this day to day, you are playing it safe, and you are selling yourself, your team, and your clients short. In the limit, this converges to irrelevance. We look to improve the status quo at every opportunity. We crave change, we strive for that next rung, and welcome the discomfort that comes with it.
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BURN THE BOATS
“Burn the boats.” - Hernán Cortés (Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire)
It takes great courage to dock your boat, jump off of it, stare into unchartered territory and expect to come out the other side victorious. Retreating back to the boats sometimes seems like a better option. Not here. Burn those boats. We are going for gold, not a participation award. The decision is a bit easier if there is only one option. Forward.
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LOVE LIFE, LOVE THE WORLD
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it" - Ferris Bueller
For as hard as we work, we never forget to enjoy the rest of what life has to offer. We have a lot of fun here. We go to concerts and festivals. We surf. We ski. We eat together. We cook together A LOT. We love music. We love our friends. We love our families. We bring them along to many of our events. We try to enjoy every moment. Life is short. Don’t miss it.