We recently connected with Elie Y. Katz and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Elie , thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

The idea for NRS was born out of my own frustration. Before founding the company, I had been an entrepreneur in the trenches, owning and operating over a dozen different food and retail businesses. I’ve been the dishwasher, the HR manager, the employee of the month, and the boss. I lived the relentless, 24/7 reality of running a small business.

During that time, I experienced firsthand how difficult it was for independent mom-and-pop shops and bodegas to compete. We were constantly battling massive corporate chains that had access to advanced technology, and we were frequently taken advantage of by dishonest merchant service providers with hidden fees and poor support. I realized these independent ‘brick-and-mortar’ retailers—which are the literal lifelines of their neighborhoods—were being left behind.

I founded National Retail Solutions (NRS) in 2015 to level that playing field. I wanted to build an ecosystem that didn’t just process credit cards, but actually gave these small business owners the same powerful tools the big guys use—inventory management, customer loyalty programs, e-commerce integrations, and even safety features. The idea was simple: build a system with the empathy of a small business owner, but the power of a major enterprise.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Elie Y. Katz, founder and CEO of National Retail Solutions (NRS). My journey into the point-of-sale industry started in the trenches—before founding NRS in 2015, I owned and operated over a dozen food and retail businesses. I experienced firsthand how hard it was for independent mom-and-pop shops to compete against massive corporate chains with superior technology, and how often they were exploited by dishonest merchant service providers.

I started NRS to be a true advocate for these local brick-and-mortar stores. We provide what we call the ‘World’s Greatest POS System,’ built specifically for independent convenience stores, bodegas, and grocers. Beyond just a cash register, our platform is a full ecosystem that includes inventory management, customer loyalty programs, transparent payment processing, and seamless e-commerce integrations with apps like DoorDash.

What sets us apart is our deep empathy for the retailer’s daily reality. For instance, knowing the safety risks of running a neighborhood store, we built a patented panic alarm into our POS systems to silently alert police during emergencies while opening the cash drawer to protect the clerk.

I am most proud that today, NRS is the technological backbone for over 40,000 independent retailers across the U.S. The main thing I want people to know about our brand is that we exist to level the playing field. We ensure these vital community businesses have the tools they need to thrive, while also actively giving back to their neighborhoods through our philanthropic arm, NRS Cares.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn the industry myth that independent, mom-and-pop retailers are resistant to modern technology.

When we first launched National Retail Solutions (NRS), a common assumption was that the ‘onesies and twosies’ of retail—local bodegas, convenience stores, and single-operator shops—only wanted basic cash registers. The prevailing view was that advanced features such as digital loyalty programs or e-commerce integrations were too complex for them. However, I knew that if these independent stores didn’t embrace modern technology, they risked getting left behind.

The backstory is that these hard-working owners aren’t tech-averse; they were simply profoundly underserved. In a small business, the owner is juggling everything themselves—they are the employee of the month, the pot washer, the HR person, and the boss all at once. They didn’t need a clunky enterprise system built for a massive corporation; they needed technology built with empathy for their specific, relentless daily reality.

Once we unlearned that bias, we focused on building an ecosystem tailored strictly to their needs. We introduced seamless POS integrations that connected their store inventories directly to online marketplaces like DoorDash and Grubhub. Because we also understood the physical risks of running a street-level neighborhood store, we built a patented ‘panic alarm’ workflow directly into the register that can silently alerts for help during an emergency situation while opening the cash drawer to prioritize the clerk’s safety.

Once we provided tools that actually solved their daily problems and helped them unlock new revenue, they embraced the technology immediately. Unlearning that initial bias is a major reason NRS has successfully deployed tens of thousands of point-of-sale registers across the U.S. and Canada today.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Honestly, the foundation of our growth hasn’t been a massive advertising budget; it’s been a relentless commitment to building a product that actually helps store owners, not exploits them.

For a long time, the merchant services and point-of-sale industry had a terrible reputation for essentially ‘robbing’ independent, mom-and-pop shops. These business owners were frequently targeted with hidden fees, opaque contracts, and clunky hardware that didn’t actually solve their day-to-day problems. At National Retail Solutions (NRS), we decided to flip that script. We built an ecosystem designed to be completely transparent and genuinely beneficial—giving them the tools to manage inventory, run loyalty programs, and increase their revenue without predatory pricing.

Once you prove that you are a true partner there to protect and grow their business, the second part of our growth strategy takes over: organic word of mouth. Independent retail is an incredibly tight-knit community. Bodega owners, convenience store operators, and local grocers talk to each other. When one store owner sees their profits go up and their stress go down because they are using our POS system, they naturally tell the shop owner a few blocks over. You simply cannot buy that kind of authentic, peer-to-peer endorsement.

Finally, we scaled this grassroots trust through a dedicated network of resellers. Instead of relying solely on a disconnected corporate sales team, we partner with independent resellers across the country who are often part of these very same communities. They understand local neighborhood dynamics, often speak the same languages as the store owners, and can look a merchant in the eye and stand behind the product.

Combining a truly honest product with community word-of-mouth and a localized reseller network has been the ultimate engine of our growth.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nrsplus.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nationalretailsolutions/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NationalRetailSolutions
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katz07666/
• Twitter: https://x.com/nrsplus
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NationalRetailSolutions