- Proximity combines parking payment technology with hyperlocal business promotions to drive foot traffic in downtown areas.
- The Covington-based startup partners with municipalities to modernize parking systems while supporting small businesses.
- Founded in 2023 by Northern Kentucky native Grant Murray, Proximity is expanding across Kentucky and Ohio.
Proximity founder Grant Murray is turning parking payments into a prime economic development opportunity.
His Covington-based tech company, Proximity, has two intertwined functions: providing municipalities with a streamlined parking management platform and leveraging location technology to connect small businesses with customers through hyperlocal, location-based promotions.
On the parking side, Proximity offers a full-service parking management platform for public and private operators. The system includes automated payment processing, tools for issuing residential and monthly permits, violation tracking and enforcement capabilities, and reporting dashboards that provide insight into transactions and parking revenue.
For businesses, Proximity enables them to promote discounts and specials to customers while they’re paying for parking. This can include everything from happy hour deals at local bars to discounts on goods offered by nearby shops.
From Murray’s perspective, Proximity seeks to turn a mundane activity, such as paying for parking, into a strategic marketing and economic development opportunity. Through Proximity, local businesses can reach customers with real-time promotions when they are actively in the area and spending money – a moment when they would be theoretically most receptive to visiting a local business.
“We want to try to put those businesses that are in any local community that we operate in front of real consumers,” he told LINK nky. “So you have to pay to park when you go down any downtown, now it’s a common place, and it’s a forced visible entry point to those consumers. These local businesses now have the opportunity to use parking to their advantage.”
The app is piquing interest among cities across Kentucky and Ohio. In January, the City of Covington and Proximity inked an agreement for the company to manage the city’s parking payment systems. For Covington, not only is the city supporting a local startup, but it’s also seizing an advertising opportunity to bolster local small businesses amid the 4th Street Bridge closure.
“As we navigate the bridge construction, our focus remains on supporting our local businesses and ensuring our community thrives,” Mayor Ron Washington said in a news release. “Having a local company that shares our mission of strengthening the local economy makes this solution even more powerful. Proximity will drive customers to our downtown businesses and help us showcase what makes Covington a great place to live, work, and play in.”
Lexington was the first city to give Proximity a chance when the Lexington & Fayette County Parking Authority partnered with them in October 2025. It was a homecoming of sorts for Murray, who was a graduate of the University of Kentucky.
“From both of those cities’ perspective, they want parking to be a catalyst for growth in the city,” Murray said. “It might seem counterintuitive, but the whole point of it is to make sure people don’t leave their cars in a spot all day and they, you know, people can’t get into a local business. That’s really the whole point of paid parking.”
Murray founded Proximity in 2023 after leaving his corporate accounting career to pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions. What began as an idea has grown into a company of five employees working to expand.
However much his company grows, Murray said he wants Proximity to remain true to Northern Kentucky. A native of Fort Thomas, Murray acknowledged the Northern Kentucky entrepreneurial community’s impact on Proximity. Covington-based venture capital firm Connetic Ventures was Proximity’s lead investor. Proximity currently operates out of SparkHaus, the capital building of Northern Kentucky’s entrepreneurial community.
Looking ahead, Murray’s focus is on entering new agreements with municipalities to expand the company’s footprint. Despite the personal challenges of entrepreneurship, Murray’s motivation stems from pure belief in his idea.
“I like a challenge,” he said. “I think it’s a great idea. The North Star of what this really could be, I think it’s what keeps you driving there.”