Bert Sperling working

While it’s hard to have a revolutionary idea, it’s just as hard to stay ahead after the world gets a look.

When Bert Sperling created the first version of his “Places, U.S.A.” software in 1985, ranking the best places in the United States, few organizations were trying to gain insight from data on cities. Now in the age of “Big Data,” Sperling has remained the leader in the industry by always keeping a step ahead of the ever-growing competition.

“I don’t have to go to the library or send away for research papers and transcribe them by hand anymore,” Sperling said. “But of course the bar gets raised and one has to work with a lot more data.”

Sperling is the founder of “BestPlaces,” a firm he runs out of his Portland home producing reports, books and other products ranking not only the best places to live, but categories such as the most playful cities, the manliest cities or safest from natural disaster (which just so happens to be Corvallis, Ore.).

While those looking to move often use the rankings, Sperling himself has made a point not to leave Oregon since his family came while he was in high school.

The son of a Navy officer, Sperling’s childhood was full of moves. When his father picked Corvallis as his final landing spot on retirement, the younger Sperling decided he was done being mobile.

“At the end of everything, I was tired of travelling,” he said. “I was happy to go to OSU.”

While Sperling bounced around accounting jobs after college, he started writing software in his spare time, leading to the creation of “Places, U.S.A.”

The business was slow until Sperling’s software was featured in USA Today. The attention brought a call from, among others, Microsoft, wanting to license the software for a new real estate website.

“We came away with a price to license our content per month I would have been happy to have in a year,” Sperling said. “I came down and told my wife, honey, we may have a business model.”

Sperling now produces reports for some of the world’s biggest brands and media organizations, such as McDonald’s, American Express and The New York Times. Despite being the most trusted name in city rankings, Sperling has needed to constantly improve his business to stay ahead as data has become easier to obtain.

“I think that’s what every business faces; how do you evolve as situations change?” Sperling said. “What’s happened is that all the data that used to be our secret sauce is much more available than it once was.”

Sperling differentiates himself by using his experience to stitch the data together and find insights others can’t, making his products more valuable than those just offering more information.

“With all the data that’s out there, it’s been said that trying to get information from the Internet is like getting water from a firehose,” Sperling said. “That’s why it’s important to have a trusted source, and that’s why the media and businesses call us.”

Over the coming years, Sperling is hoping to expand his company’s website and collect data from individuals on the places they live, supplementing the official statistics he uses. No matter where the business goes, he’s happy to have found a place of his own.

“I guess I feel very lucky, very fortunate,” he said. “I’m looking forward to continue working because I enjoy it so much. ”