About
Build Grow Forward.
A founding team, a family of companies, one direction.
Build Grow Forward is a family of companies that shares a founding team. This page explains who is behind it, how the pieces fit, and why they are presented together.
Founder and Principal
Gabbie Mac
Tennessee. Real estate and software.
The founder
Gabbie Mac is the founder and principal of Gabbie Mac Holdings LLC. Tennessee-based, with a background in real estate and software, Gabbie built the family of companies around a single observation: the businesses that last are the ones with the right tools, a clear story, and people who can see the next step.
Those three ideas became three studios. Software became My Build Studio. Story and reach became My Growth Studio. The next step became The Forward Project. Real estate, the founder's other discipline, is held separately in Forge & Field Holdings LLC. And the intention to give back, formalized as By Grace Foundation, stands on its own.
Co-Founder
Melissa "Missy" Lighty
Gabbie Mac Holdings LLC
The co-founder
Melissa "Missy" Lighty is co-founder of Gabbie Mac Holdings LLC. The mission this company serves is work she carried long before any company existed: helping people find the next step and take it. Build Grow Forward is hers as much as anyone's.
The company
Gabbie Mac Holdings LLC
A Tennessee limited liability company formed 2026. It operates this website under the Build Grow Forward name and does business as three studios. They are not subsidiaries. They are the same legal entity, presented under the names their work deserves.
- 01
My Build Studio
Custom software and business tools, for clients and our own products. A DBA of Gabbie Mac Holdings LLC.
- 02
My Growth Studio
Marketing, social media, and content creation. A DBA of Gabbie Mac Holdings LLC.
- 03
The Forward Project
Practical guides, kept within reach. A DBA of Gabbie Mac Holdings LLC.
Separate by design
Affiliated and independent.
Two names on this site are not part of Gabbie Mac Holdings at all. They are shown here because they share a founder, and because anyone reviewing the family of companies should be able to see the whole picture in one place.
Affiliated company
Forge & Field Holdings LLC
Forge & Field Holdings LLC is an independently held Tennessee company, affiliated with Gabbie Mac Holdings through common founding.
Independent nonprofit
By Grace Foundation
By Grace Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) public charity currently in formation, founded by Gabbie Mac.
Leadership
Small, by choice.
- Founder and Principal
- Gabbie Mac
- Co-Founder
- Melissa "Missy" Lighty
- Based in
- Tennessee
- Background
- Real estate and software
With
- Leslie, design and brand artistry.
- Traci, operations and books.
For a one-page overview built for lenders and applications, see the fact sheet.
Talk to the founder.
Every inquiry through this site reaches Gabbie Mac directly and is routed to the company it concerns.
Prefer email? hello@buildgrowforward.com
Response within two business days.