BUILDING THE FUTURE TOGETHER
BEST ADVICE
Secrets of
Success From
123 Entrepreneurs
Who Matter
THE FASTEST-
GROWING
COMPANIES IN
к ••	VJ М ГА IN I Lb UN
••.. AMERICA у'' А
%©=
OUR NO. 1
COMPANY
SAVING
LIVES AND
GROWING
157,144%
LEADERSHIP
NOW
1,000+ CEOs
ON THE STATE
OF BUSINESS
BUILDING
FAST TO LAST
HOW 13
FOUNDERS
DID IT
CapitalOne Business
cheers to this year’s honorees
Capital One Business congratulates this year’s list of America’s
fastest growing, most successful companies. Welcome to the
Inc. 5000 community. You’re in great company.

THOR Kitchen: a complete line of full-featured, superbly
crafted, stainless steel warriors. Dual fuel, gas and electric
options. 4,000-18,000 BTU burners. Infrared broilers.
LED panel lights. Continuous cast iron grates. Heavy-duty
tilt panel controls. Massive capacities. Lightning Boil™ speed.
Brilliant blue porcelain oven interiors. And more.
The real value in pro-grade performance.
MEMBER
A NATIONAL
TODA ASSOCIATIONH THORKITCHEN.COM
#COOKLIKEAGOD
© Copyright 2023 THOR Kitchen, Inc. I All Rights Reserved.
WINE COOLERS I ICE MAKERS I DISHWASHERS I BBQ GRILLS I PIZZA OVENS
BOTH PUSHES THE
NEEDLE AND THREADS IT
THE LEXUS LC
©2023 Lexus, a Division of Toyota Motor Sales, U.SA, Inc
58
The Inc. 5000
Our annual list of
the fastest-growing
private companies
in the United States
celebrates the best
of entrepreneurial
excellence.
Ф
HOW I DID IT
Tales of success, told by the
founders themselves
78 I FarmboxRx
Distributing produce through
a private-public partnership.
80 | SportsGrid
Building a media company that
taps into sports-betting mania.
82 | Nottingham Agency
Defeating the odds to become
a Hollywood power player.
86 Songfinch
Putting music lovers in the
position of producer.
94 Kapco Futures
Getting into the cattle-herding
business to woo customers.
96 | T&T Industrial
Scaling a mechanical solutions
shop by doing it all—at speed.
98 Zap Mortgage
Finding new clients by way of
theTikTok algorithm.
founder Anthony Lee
brings home owner-
ship within reach for
veterans (page 98).
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ZACK WITTMAN
5
Contents
HOW I DID IT
102 | Visit.org
Perfecting a pivot after a
competitor’s rapid gains.
104 Gasochem International
Pushing past sexism to make
waves in the chemicals biz.
146 | Eco BCG
Re-engineering plants to help
big business be sustainable.
148 | Squared Away
Creating job opportunities for
an underserved group.
152 J. Brooks Boutique
Growing an apparel business
that suits all customers.
154 | Pyx Health
Creating a plan to fight the
loneliness epidemic.
13 | A Note From Inc.
The real message of success.
14 | Publisher’s Letter
On making business personal.
Pine. Insider
17 Copycats
The best way to respond when
your product gets ripped off.
18 I Competitive Advantage
A practice that taught one
founder how to pick his battles.
20 | Tip Sheet
How to use A.I. to level up your
customer-service game.
24 | I Was Wrong
Looking for C-suite leadership
in all the wrong places.
26 How I Got the Idea
Turning wedding stress into a
major business opportunity.
27 | Pitch Perfect
What two investors look for in
early-stage companies.
33 I Gail Becker
Busting fundraising barriers.
34 | Chip Conley
Howto grow with your firm.
36 | Daniel Lubetzky
The art of channeling frustration.
CEO Survey
1,000-plus leaders
dish on their hopes,
dreams, and fears.
PAGE 61
Top Honors
The 500 fastest-growing
U.S. companies, by rank.
PAGE 63
Rankings by Sector
The top 500, filt ered.
PAGE 116
HOW I MADE IT
Companies bringing innovative products from idea to reality.
100 Blueprint Lighting Building on a major lightbulb moment.
114 Balloon Therapy Events Decor blowing up, bigtime.
144 BLK & Bold Keeping everyone caffeinated.
150 Defender Safety Powering up protective gear.
156 KinderFarms Developing filler-free OTC remedies.
T f Nugget co-founders (from left) David Baron, Hannah Cocca,
I  and Ryan Cocca learned how to rise above imitators.
46 | Founderto Founder
Honest Tea’s Seth Goldman
tells Woof bowl’s Ron Holloway
the secrets of scaling.
52 7 Ideas
Chobani’s Hamdi Ulukaya
shares his tried-and-true
recipe for success.
1
165 | Self-Care Doesn’t Mean
You’re Selfish
Leader-approved advice for
putting yourself first.
о
§
5
6 Inc. September 2023
YOUR TO-DO LIST CAN BE A LOT.
WE MAKE ONE THING EASY—
-
3^ I
' J
>* ;
Progressive Casualty Ins. Co. Coverage provided
and serviced by affiliated and third-party insurers.
As a small business owner, you can’t escape your to-do list.
That’s why Progressive makes it easy to save with a commercial
auto quote, so you can take on all your other to-dos. Get a quote
in as little as 6 minutes at ProgressiveCommercial.com
PROGRESSIVE
COMMERCIAL
Contents
Shahaband Durana Elmi
are a perfect match in
business, life, and tennis
(page 158).
Features
72
Taking Care
The No. 1 company on
the Inc. 5000 is healing
the health care industry
with a straightforward
prescription: better
preventive care.
84
Two for the Money
Identical twins and
co-founders Christian
and Rasmus Mikkelsen
are making bank by
teaching others how
to do just that.
88
Driving Rapid Growth
A refugee-turned-tennis
champ-turned-serial-
entrepreneur has a
plan to help the nation’s
independent bus
operators step on the gas.
106
Not for Sale
How Anthony Coombs
realized the value of his
company after a long
journeyto secure a
sizable exit led him
down a dead-end road.
158
Better Together
Married couples who
have made the Inc. 5000
together share how
they navigate love and
business—even when
the going gets tough.
8 Inc. September 2023
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JULIAN BERMAN
FRISCO
X
s
WHAT IS
A CULTURE
OF UNRIVALED
PERFORMANCE?
A GROWTH MINDSET THAT NURTURES INGENUITY
BARRIER-DEFYING LEADERSHIP
TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN CREATIVITY
FIELDS TREAD BY CHAMPIONS


• SPACES THAT GENERATE CULTURAL WAVES
•ART THAT INSPIRES IDEAS
Top 10 City to Move to 2.2 Million Potential
for Diversity (U.S.) Workforce
Highly Educated
Talent Pool
READY TO THRIVE?
Build your business with the best and discover
our culture of unrivaled performance.
friscoedc.com
Inc.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Scott Omelianuk SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT. SALES Jennifer Henkus
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Richard Baker DIRECTOR. EDITORIAL OPERATIONS Janice Lombardo DEPUTY EDITOR Ту Wenger
EXECUTIVE EDITORS Laura Lorber, Diana Ransom
FEATURES EDITOR Graham Winfrey SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR Eric Hagerman
SENIOR EDITORS Tim Crino, Sara Deeter EDITORS-AT-LARGE Christine Haughney Dare-Bryan, Tom Foster,
Christine Lagorio-Chaf kin, Bill Saporito SENIOR WRITERS Sam Blum, Jennifer Conrad
STAFF EDITOR Rebecca Deczynski POLICY CORRESPONDENT Melissa Angell STAFF REPORTERS Ali Donaldson, Sarah Lynch, Ben Sherry
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Brittany Morse EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Nick Hawkins, Alyssa Khan
SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Andrea Hardalo SOCIAL MEDIA PRODUCER Zoe Yu Gilligan
RESEARCH DIRECTOR Karen L Smith-Janssen COPY CHIEF David Sutter PRODUCTION MANAGER AND STAFF ILLUSTRATOR Grey Thornberry
SENIOR COPY EDITOR Pam Warren
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Jessie Adler ART DIRECTOR John Yun DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL TOOLS Joel Froude
ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Caya Tull ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR Nathan Bajar
EVENTS DIRECTOR Helen-Ashley Gamba
SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Norm Brodsky, Chip Conley
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Jason Aten, Justin Bariso, Teneshia Carr, Valerie Chiang, Mark Coatney, Keith Ferrazzi, Jeff Haden,
Andrew Kupfer, Bill Murphy Jr., Marcel Schwantes, Carey Smith, Jessica Stillman, Minda Zetlin
INTERNS Jenna Anderson, Sydney Sladovnik, Etta Washburn
EDITORIAL FELLOW Roy Stephen Canivel EVENTS FELLOW Jennifer Choi-Nakama
BOARD OF ADVISERS Elizabeth Gore, Chris Heivly, Phil Libin, Pooneh Mohajer, Doug Tatum, Amir Tehran!, Noam Wasserman
HOW TO
REACH US
SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE
Inc., P.O. Box 3136
Harlan, IA 51593-0202
800-234-0999
subscriptions@inc.com
OFFICE OF
THE PUBLISHER
7 World Trade Center
New York, NY 10007-2195
212-389-5300
mansueto.com
EDITORIAL PHONE
212-389-5377
FAX 212-389-5379
WEB inc.com
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
mail@inc.com
PERMISSIONS
permissions@inc.com
INC. 5000
INFORMATION
feedback5000@inc.com
REPRINTS
866-636-4355
kudos.inc.com
BACK ISSUES
800-234-0999
Our subscribers list is
occasionally made available
to carefully selected firms
whose products or services
may be of interest to you.
If you prefer not to receive
information from these
firms, write to the subscription
service address above.
inc.com/customercare
INC. INTEGRATED MARKETING
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT Damian Slattery
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. INTEGRATED MARKETING
Christine Fulgieri
SENIOR MARKETING MANAGERS
Benjamin Granath, Eric Purpura
MARKETING MANAGER Roshni Kamta
MARKETING RESEARCH DIRECTOR Ben O’Hara
INC. SPONSORSHIP SALES
VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES. MIDWEST Meredith Wisniewski 708-929-B126
NEW YORK SALES DIRECTORS Amy Christiansen, Meredith DeLuca,
Tony Haskel 212-389-5300
LOS ANGELES SALES DIRECTOR Tony Imperato 818-299-0865
NORTHWEST SALES DIRECTOR Judy Hayes 925-785-9665
SOUTHEAST REPS Jason Albaum 404-783-0682, Patti Trow 404-772-4111
DALLAS REP Steven G. Tierney 489-877-1898
SENIOR ADVISER Irvin V. Falk FRANCHISE AND MARKETPLACE Tom Emerson 516-442-5248
MANAGING DIRECTOR Pete Franco DIRECTOR OF REVENUE AND CRM Jeff Miner
MANSUETO VENTURES LLC
CHAIRMAN Joe Mansueto
CEO Stephanie Mehta
CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER
John Donnelly
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Mark Rosenberg
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Anne Marie O’Keefe
CHIEF PEOPLE AND CULTURE
OFFICER Joe Johnson
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
VICE PRESIDENT. BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT Patrick Hainault
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF LICENSING
Evelise Rosario
ASSISTANT MANAGER. LICENSING
Marion Griffiths
ASSISTANT MANAGER. CUSTOMER
RELATIONSHIPS Blas Morera
MV ENTERTAINMENT
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION
Sandra Pasquariello
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Karlyn Michelson,
Vanessa Singh
DIRECTOR OF PODCASTS
Joshua Christensen
SENIOR VIDEO PRODUCER
Brian Corneliess
VIDEO PRODUCERS Emma Gordon,
Paige Wollensak
VIDEO EDITOR Frank Zadlo
LEAD ANIMATOR Holly Bernal
MANAGING PODCAST PRODUCER
Avery Miles
PODCAST PRODUCER Julia Shu
ASSOCIATE PODCAST PRODUCER
Blake Odom
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Lee Havlicek
POST-PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR
Anna Quinlan
VIDEO CONTRIBUTOR Chris Beier
JUNIOR EDITOR Mikey Lullo
SOCIAL VIDEO FELLOW
Melina Scott
MV CUSTOM STUDIO
VICE PRESIDENT. EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Ben Baer
DIRECTOR OF CUSTOM PRESALE AND
NEW BUSINESS Dan Skahen
SENIOR PRODUCER. CUSTOM EVENTS
Nicole Sawyer
MV WORKS
VICE PRESIDENT Darcy Lewis
DIRECTOR. CONTENT OPERATIONS
Jennifer Bobbin Holland
DIRECTOR, ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
Caitlin Pike
SENIOR ENGAGEMENT MANAGER
Matt Cohen
SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER
Caroline Murphy
ACCOUNT MANAGERS
Kyra Devoliere, Liz Morgan
INTEGRATED MARKETING
PRODUCER Stephanie Williams
FREELANCE PRODUCER
Michelle Tarnok
PRINT PRODUCTION
GROUP DIRECTOR
Kathleen O’Leary
ADVERTISING OPERATIONS MANAGER
Sung Woon Kil
FINANCE MANAGER Bob Bronzo
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Dave Powell
MV DIRECTTO CONSUMER
VICE PRESIDENT. CONSUMER
MARKETING Tyler Adams
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY
Morgan Brady
DIRECTOR. CONSUMER
MARKETING Rebecca Sullivan
ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS. CONSUMER
MARKETING Alyssa Parsons,
Zalini Persaud
MANAGERS. CONSUMER MARKETING
Nick Becker, Christina Kim
ASSISTANT MANAGER. CUSTOMER
RELATIONSHIPS Olivia Finnegan
ASSISTANT MANAGERS. CONSUMER
MARKETING Antonia Mallozzi,
Ian McCarthy, Sarah Rampulla
MV LIVE
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
Kristin Mooney
DIRECTOR OF EVENTS
Megan Harding
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF EVENTS
Ashley Roseman
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF EVENT
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Jamie Rudolph
ASSOCIATE EVENT MARKETING
MANAGER Kathryn Mainello
EVENT ASSISTANT Lillian Curry
EVENT FELLOW Nicole Lam
MV ENGINEERING
VICE PRESIDENT. ENGINEERING
Gerald Killeen
ENGINEERING MANAGERS
Amine Belkadi, John Guaragno
SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEERS
Brian Griffin, Harry Guillermo,
Patrick Piwowarczyk
STAFF SOFTWARE ENGINEER
Will Faris
SOFTWARE ENGINEERS
David Chan, Gary Coltrane,
Bryan Cuellar, Hung Huynh,
Brian Jin, Adam Noonan-Kelly
DIGITAL DESIGN
VICE PRESIDENT ANO CREATIVE
DIRECTOR Haewon Kye
SENIOR DIGITAL ART DIRECTOR
Jessica Robbins
ART DIRECTORS Heda Hokschirr,
Kathleen Orzeck
DESIGN DIRECTOR. DIGITAL PRODUCT
Eric Perry
ASSOCIATE DESIGN DIRECTOR
Carly Stern
SENIOR DESIGNER
Daria Wilczynska
JUNIOR DESIGNER
Montse Fernandez
INTERN Bo Cheng
DATA OPERATIONS
DIRECTOR. AUDIENCE AND DATA
STRATEGY Wyatt Hnatiw
MANAGER. DATA OPERATIONS
Kat Muckalli
COORDINATOR. DATA OPERATIONS
Nick Trentacosta
AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Sabine Cherenfant
SEO SPECIALIST Suruchi Mittal
DIGITAL OPERATIONS
VICE PRESIDENT. DIGITAL PLANNING
AND REVENUE OPERATIONS
Jonelle Lasala
DIRECTOR. DIGITAL BILLING AND
REVENUE ANALYTICS Joel Alba
DIRECTOR. DIGITAL PLANNING
AND CAMPAIGN STRATEGY
Nina Rubio
SENIOR DIGITAL CAMPAIGN
STRATEGIST Michelle Montevago
INTEGRATED PRODUCTS
AND PLANNING
VICE PRESIDENT Chrissie Lamond
DIRECTORS. PRODUCT Ella Forster,
Samantha Woodcock
FINANCIAL AND
CORPORATE SERVICES
FINANCIAL DIRECTOR
Bill Strickland
CONTROLLER Kayode Lemaitre
ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE MANAGER
Jacqueline Nurse
SENIOR ACCOUNTANT
Sharita Neverson
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE MANAGER
Marilou Ordillas
PEOPLE AND CULTURE GENERALIST
Chloe O’Connor
PEOPLE ANO CULTURE INTERN
Alvin Chen
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. FACILITIES
Randy Davis
LEGAL AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS
Alison Anthoine
EDITORIAL FELLOW/ADMINISTRATIVE
ASSISTANT Rebecca Barker
OFFICE ASSISTANT Lily Dixon
10 Inc. September 2023
GET THE GROUND ADVANTAGE.
www.usps.com
Reliable, affordable 2-5 day shipping
for packages.
Learn more about the new
USPS Ground Advantage™ service
at usps.com/gettheadvantage
Scan to experience the
USPS Ground Advantage
UNITED STATES
POSTAL SERVICE *
DELIVERING
FOR AMERICA"
See www.usps.com/ship/ground-advantage.htm for exceptions to delivery windows.
©2023 United States Postal Service®. All rights reserved. The Eagle Logo is among the many trademarks of the U.S. Postal Service®.
Verifying his business credit score
before considering a new location
Scheduling erne with a barker
before starting on dessert
Wondering hew many miles
he’s walked this shift
Monitoring payment approvals
between bites
Business solutions so powerful,
you’ll make every move matter.
BANK OF AM ERICA
What would you like the power to do?®
Learn more at bankofamerica.com/bankingforbusiness
Access to Dun & Bradstreet business credit score information in Business Advantage 360. our small business online banking platform, is solely for educational purposes and available only to U.S.-based Bank of
America. NA. Small Business clients with an open and active Small Busmess account, who have Dun & Bradstreet business credit scores and have properly enrolled to access this information through Business
Advantage 360 Dun & Bradstreet's business credit scores (also known as "The D&B’ Delinquency Predictor Score" and "The D&B' Small Business Financial Exchange (SBFE) Score") are based on data from
Dun & Bradstreet and may be different from other business credit scores Bank of America and other lenders may use other credit scores and additional information to make credit decisions.
Screen images simulated Sequences shortened.
©2023 Bank of America Corporation All rights reserved. | MAP5423867
A Note From Inc.
The Real
Message of
Success
Big messages, sometimes they arrive
quietly. Sometimes you don’t even
notice when they land.
I don’t know, that’s just a thought that
keeps coming to me as I write this letter,
which is supposed to be about the Inc.
5000. So let me set it aside and get on
track. OK...
My first Inc. 5000 season came smack
in the middle of the pandemic. You see, I
joined Inc. right when the virus went, uh,
viral—basically at the same moment this
year’s class of Inc. 5000 honorees was
ramping up the growth journey tracked
in your applications. One of the things that
had attracted me to this job—persuaded me
to abandon my own broken entrepreneurial
pursuit and return to working for someone
else—was the idea of meeting so many
people who are so successful in a way that
I clearly was not. But, of course, the pan-
demic stepped on that vision.
To be honest, I didn’t always think I
was going to make it. There were times I
thought I needed to quit. I thought I was
down to one strike left in my career, having
failed at launching a business and now
being kept from building the
community I thought I could
with Inc. Obviously, I didn’t
quit, but I had to whisper to
myself, more than once, some-
thing I had learned along my
own journey: Know when to
stop, but never give up. That’s
a lesson I think some of you
know well, right?
Anyway, the first sign that I
might survive was, in fact, our
first event after the dark days
of lockdown—in September
2021, on a hotel rooftop in
L.A. for a small group of the
latest Inc. 5000 honorees. It
was a cocktail event that we
weren’t sure anyone would
attend. But 150-plus people
did come. Great people. Mem-
orable people. Fantastic entre-
preneurs. That’s where I met
Anthony Coombs, founder
and CEO of Splendies, a 2021
Inc. 5000 honoree and the
subject of “Captain Under-
pants,” on page 106.
Since then, we’ve hosted
dozens of events. I’ve spent
time with Anthony in Baja at
a retreat Inc. hosts, and again
in L.A. and Phoenix. And I’ve
visited dozens of other cities
meeting dozens of you.
In fact, as I write this, I’m
between a week in Cincin-
nati—where I saw Inc. Mas-
ters Jeff and Mackey and
Ingrid and Princess—and a
night in Chicago, where I’ll
see Brian and Sarah and Tim.
The discussions I’ve had with
you have helped me reframe
things for myself. I think
Anthony’s story—his building
Splendies, his expectation
to sell it, his being hobbled by
outside influences and not
being able to do so at a fair
price, and, ultimately, his
recommitment to the busi-
ness—is a great example of the
notion that the success you
have is not always the success
you sought.
Reflecting on it, I want to
share a message that he sent
one night after I’d read his
story and told him I like how
it all turned out—the story
we’re publishing and his
journey, I mean. “I didn’t
really have a choice but
to change my headspace,” he
texted after I’d silenced my
notifications. “It’s an ongoing
thing, for sure.”
The next morning when I
saw his note, I realized that
was the big message. My time
at Inc. may not have unfolded
as I imagined it would. And,
though I may no longer be an
entrepreneur, I do have the
best job in the world. I really
can’t imagine a better way of
spending my time than meet-
ing, knowing, and celebrating
all of you. So congratulations
on your achievement! Mak-
ing the Inc. 5000 is an even
bigger message—one worth
shouting about.
SgotO-
Scott Omelianuk
scotto@inc.com
September 2023 Inc. 13
Publisher’s
Letter
What’s Our Business?
Celebrating
Your Success
> here business gets personal.”
\ш\ш That’s Inc. editor-in-chief Scott
w W Omelianuk’s theme for the
expanding roster of Inc. Founders House
experiences that we now host across the
year and around the country. It’s also the
theme of this letter.
Like Inc., I was born in Boston in 1979.
I’ve worked here for 16 years and counting.
Having attended every Inc. 5000 Confer-
ence & Gala during this span, I’ve met so
many of you brave founders and entrepre-
neurs. And each and every one of you—
your lives, your journeys, your failures,
and successes—informs Inc.’s mission and
our responsibility to you.
I’m not an editor of this mighty brand
dedicated to small and medium-size com-
panies, their leaders, and their teams. But
I listen to all of you, and I absorb what I
hear. And if I were to offer a manifesto
rooted in my nearly two decades at your
side, it might be this: Inc.’s mission is to
help people start, run, and grow a business.
Sounds simple, but it’s not. Inc. is not
at all simple.
Like the founder’s journey, Inc. is
blood, sweat, and tears. It is
advocacy, road maps, your
own voices and experiences
writ large.
Inc. is an incubator of ideas,
of community, of risk takers; a
club for innovators who won’t
settle for the status quo. You,
our audience, are passionate
about new ideas, but you
admit you’re not all experts in
running businesses. You fail.
You fumble. You get up again.
You carry your loved ones
along for the ride.
And when you, the found-
ers, succeed, all of us win.
You create products, services,
and processes that advance
our world, create jobs and
wealth for your communities,
employees, families, and
yourselves. Your impact rip-
ples far beyond any walls
(physical or virtual) of your
companies.
In this issue, we honor
5,000 leaders running fast-
growth companies coming
out of a pandemic. You found
opportunities to serve at a
time when people needed the
basics, feared for their lives,
and learned to live through
unprecedented times.
In all of this, Inc. serves
you. And celebrates you. No
other media brand has such a
deep, rich purpose and con-
nection to its audience, to all
of you.
As the head of ad sales and
partnerships for the entire
portfolio of Inc. Business
Media, I also understand that
to start, run, and grow your
businesses, you rely on the
products and services that our
marketing partners have
to offer. They care deeply for
your success too—and so
many are as invested as I am.
At this year’s Conference, we
will celebrate your success
alongside long-standing part-
ners including Principal,
a Conference partner for 22
years, Insperity (13 years),
Mercedes-Benz Vans (14
years), and Capital One
Business (five years).
I look forward to seeing
many of the honored 5,000
at the upcoming Conference,
and I am eager to connect you
with peers, clients, and advo-
cates who exist to help you
build better businesses—
smarter, more stable, more
sustainable, and, yes, more
profitable ones.
Since my first day at Inc.,
December 5,2006, it has been
an honor and a privilege
to represent this brand. Con-
gratulations to the newest
class of the 5,000-and to all
of you. For me, and for each
of you, business, I’m sure, will
always be personal.
Jennifer Henkus
Senior Vice President,
Sales
14 Inc. September 2023
Insight Into Your Portfolio
Morningstar Investor helps you evaluate your portfolio through our
expert lens. Get rich, personalized context for your investment
decisions with analysis, rating changes, news, and commentary
specific to your holdings.
Investor's clear-cut research, data, and tools give you a deeper
understanding of your portfolio, so your strategy holds up for what
lies ahead.
Learn about Morningstar Investor
and start your free 7-day trial
today at investor.morningstar.com
MORNINGSTAIT
52023 Mwiwigs
Inc.
The Essential Resource
for Starting, Running,
and Growing a Business
< Hom*
Inc.
FEMALE
FOUNDERS
THEY MAKE SUCCESS LOOK EASY,
THOUGH WE KNOW ITS ANYTHING BUT.
NOW THEY'RE SHARING THE STRATEGIES
THAT HAVE PUT THEM AHEAD.
PHOTOGRAPHY tn PtOOY SIROTA
Stay inspired and informed on your entrepreneurial
journey with the Inc. Magazine App.
Download the app today: *
Insider
Expert advice from
Inc. 5000 honorees
past and present
Copycats
Just Beat Them
to the Next Thing
W
hen schools shut down in 2020
and living rooms everywhere
turned into full-time jungle
gyms, a little company called Nugget,
from Butner, North Carolina, answered
the call It began selling its modular foam
play couches for kids in 2014, and cart-
wheeled to popularity, landing at the
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CORNELL WATSON
17
Copycats
Competitive Advantage
No. 159 spot on the Inc. 5000 in 2019 and
jumping to No. 11 in 2020.
But as many consumer product com-
panies on the Inc. 5000 can tell you, pop-
ularity has its downsides. Demand for
Nugget’s signature modular play couch,
which starts at $249, gave way to a slew
of copycat products that are essentially
indistinguishable from Nugget’s original:
foam blocks encased in bold-colored,
washable covers. Just search “nugget
knockoffs” and you’ll find countless alter-
natives, from startups like Madison,
Wisconsin-based Figgy, which began
selling a $269 modular play couch by the
end of 2020, to offerings from big-box
stores. Sam’s Club’s budget option costs
$189, while Walmart sells the smaller
Huddle couch for $139, and Target’s
Pillowfort line has a modular kids’ couch
for $175, which one online reviewer
called a “perfect Nugget dupe!”
So what’s a brand to do? Nick Holmes,
a trademark associate at Caldwell IP in
Boston (No. 434 on the 2021 Inc. 5000),
sees imitation as inevitable. And though
patents and trademarks can give a law-
suit more teeth, litigation isn’t always an
ideal response because of the time and
money it requires. Instead, he says, it’s
possible to discourage rip-offs by “really
getting out there with your branding,
marketing, and product—and putting
your trademark on everything.”
That’s been Nugget’s approach. While
CEO David Baron says they do send the
occasional cease-and-desist to companies
that use Nugget’s images or logo, he and
his co-founders mostly shrug off the
knockoffs, focusing instead on their own
product’s quality and branding, and their
communication with customers. “I’d be
kind of confused if others didn’t enter
that market,” Baron says. “We knew if it
caught on, there would be competitors.”
Plus, Baron and his co-founders don’t
have time to worry about who’s nipping
at their heels—they’re too busy develop-
ing new products. “We’ll beat them to the
next thing,” he says, “and the thing after
that.”—Christine Lagorio-Chafkin
Nugget’s modular
foam blocks.
When to Let Go
It’s not a proven fact
that martial arts can help
you scale your company
quickly. But it did help Ranil
Piyaratna. The co-founder
of Lathrop, California-
based Human Bees, a staff-
Piyaratna, 44, to look for
a new framework for
со-leading. He found it in
tai chi, a meditative martial
art he’d trained in since
his late 20s.
“I learned from tai chi
ing company that ranked
No. 1 on the Inc. 5000
in 2021, says that when he
and co-founder Geetesh
Goyal launched their com-
pany in 2017, “we believed
that we had to know the
details of each other’s
worlds to make the proper
decision.” When a sales-
person wasn’t performing
well, for example, they
wasted precious resources
debating each other.
The dynamic became
unsustainable when the
company began expanding
quickly in 2019, prompting
how to yield, and when
to push back,” he says.
“With a business partner,
you have to pick your
battles, and find the right
times to cave when one
person is passionate about
something.”
In the end, the co-
founders agreed that
Goyal, 45, would take the
lead as a true CEO, manag-
ing sales and recruiting,
while Piyaratna would
make financial and back-
office decisions, as CFO.
The
Copycats
Nugget created
demand, and
these products are
helping fill it.
Clearly, the work on their
partnership—which Goyal
says allows them “to func-
tion yin and yang”—has
paid off. After making the
Inc. 5000, the company’s
sales numbers climbed to a
new high of $100 million in
2022.—Jennifer Conrad
Ranil Piyaratna
practices tai chi.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
JASON HENRY
18 Inc. September 2023
D<>LLTechnologies
Welcome to Now
Delivering
innovation to any
environment.
Including yours.
Dell Technologies and Intel are supporting
scientists as they tackle one of the biggest
challenges in conservation-protecting
the coral reef. We are also helping small
businesses everywhere manage their
challenges, big and small. With the power to
collect critical data, reduce IT complexities
and keep systems secure, technology
is helping businesses protect many
environments. See what we can do for yours.
Explore more at
Dell.com/WelcomeToNow
intel
Intel® Innovation Built-in
Tip Sheet
Real Talk From
the Class of 2023
Rather than
trying to counter
anxieties and
stresses with
brute force by
working harder,
/ started to work
on myself—
through therapy
and execu tire
coaching—and
it made a huge
difference at my
company.. it
some point, you
hare to learn to
let go a little. "
Jamie Rosenberg,
founder and CEO,
ClassWallet
“If it’s all
destroyed
tomorrow,
I'll start
orer and do
it all again."
Caleb Martin,
co-founder and
CEO, Thorum
20 Inc. September 2023
ILLUSTRATION BY NAJEEBAH AL-GHADBAN
How A.I. Can Turn Your
Customer Service
Agents Into Champions
The idea of removing humans
“ from customer service is not
new,” says Jeff Galak, associate
professor of marketing at Carnegie
Mellon’s Tepper School of Business. And
with recent rapid advances in generative
A.I. technology, marked by the launch
of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and its numerous
offspring, many business owners might
be tempted to eliminate their human
customer service teams altogether. That’s
especially true of companies on the Inc.
5000, which are fielding an ever-increasing
number of calls from their growing cus-
tomer bases.
Even so, Galak says a shift to full auto-
mation right now would be premature. The
reality is that many businesses are going
in the opposite direction—employing A.I.
to enhance, rather than replace, their
customer service agents. Here’s what we
learned from a few of them about using
A.I. to supercharge service teams.
Reduce Tensions
Many customer service inquiries—like
whether a purchase has shipped—can be
addressed with a simple yes or no. And
those are the tickets worth automating,
says Liz Tsai, founder and CEO of Dallas-
based customer service firm HiOperator
(No. 276 on the 2022 Inc. 5000). Typically,
though, such automation has been done
with traditional chatbots, which don’t
use A.I. to function, and can be limited
for customers who really just want to
speak to a human. But giving those bots
conversational A.I. abilities, akin to
ChatGPT’s, allows them to seem more
human—and to answer more complex
questions that might not lend themselves
to preprogrammed responses. “You can
really leverage generative A.I. to give
that conversational, branded feel,” says
Tsai. Those enhancements can reduce
customer frustration when they’re inter-
acting with chatbots, leaving your human
agents with fewer relationships to patch
up because of a poor chatbot experience.
Add a Personal Touch
A.I. can have a particularly positive impact
on customer loyalty, even behind the scenes,
says Mike Murchison, co-founder and CEO
of Ada, a Toronto-based A.I.-powered
customer service automation company.
By rapidly pulling up historical data about
customers, A.I. can give agents better con-
text for how to personalize the interaction.
Eliminate Menial Tasks
Leaving simple stuff to chatbots can also
enable brands with smaller teams to
handle larger volumes of customer inquir-
ies—and devote more time to solving prob-
lems that aren’t so black and white, says
Adrian McDermott, CTO of Zendesk,
a San Francisco-based maker of customer
service software. “A.I. can clear off so
much of the repetitive work in customer
service, which gives you an opportunity
to upskill and broaden agents’ reach,”
he says. These employees can then take on
more of a salesperson role by upselling
and cross-selling to customers.
Streamline Decision Making
In addition to taking busywork off service
agents’ plates, A.I can help them get
through what’s left, faster. While human
agents engage with customers, McDermott
says A.I. can help them answer customer
queries by combing through company pol-
icies, suggesting potential means of reso-
lution, and drafting personalized conver-
sational replies so that all an agent has to
do is approve and hit send. This can be
especially useful at the end of a long day,
when customer service workers are vul-
nerable to a common side effect of the job:
empathy fatigue. —Rebecca Deczynski
21
BRANDED CONTENT
Inc.5000
HONOR ROLL
8X
Inc. 5000
Honor Roll
1M+
People
Hired
5M+
Real Jobs
Offered
25K+
Employers
Served
A Real-Time Revolution
in Talent Engagement
Through innovation and data, Capital Markets Placement (CMP)
is changing how job candidates and companies connect.
Anyone who has ever applied for a job listed on a
job board, and suspected it was fake or closed,
knows the frustration that led Boris Rozman to start
Capital Markets Placement (CMP) and CMP.jobs.
Rozman had been studying the recruitment marketing
industry, and he discovered that job seekers often
didn’t end up at the right place and instead “run in
circles" becausejob boards are designed to generate
revenue from clicks, not from job offers.
“The focus of the job board industry shifted from
connecting people to jobs to generating clicks and applies
[job applications] for revenue," says Rozman, CEO of the
New York City-based company, which first appeared
on the Inc. 5000 list in 2014—and has landed a spot on
the list every year since. He says that CMP is ushering
in a new era of talent engagement and unprecedented
income mobility for workers by combining real-time
technology and 15 years of persistent innovation.
Rozman says that the pandemic was a catalyst for a
once-in-a-generation disruption and, “we are now at the
beginning of a major shift in how people look at work and
engage with opportunities." He believes that the new-
found freedom of being able to spend more time with
family will drive a systematic shift in employment, as peo-
ple will gravitate less to traditional jobs and instead choose
more flexible employment options and gigs. While some
people call this shift “the Great Resignation," he sees it as
the next phase in the natural evolution of work-life balance,
akin to the industrialization and urbanization that came
before. “We are building technology products that match
the current and future reality of people’s expectations and
preferences," he says. "Most companies are struggling
to staff up because they are not in step with the shift,"
Rozman says. He expects employers will adapt, and the
turmoil will subside over the next five years.
T Boris Rozman, founder and CEO, Capital Markets Placement and CMP.jobs
REALJOBS IN REALTIME
A serial entrepreneur who started programming and
launched his first internet business in 1994, Rozman is
now a subject-matter expert in talent acquisition and
real-time technology platforms. He decided to use
his experience to create a more modern and effective
way to match talent with opportunity. CMP.jobs is the
first platform that connects in real time thousands of
job sites, communities, websites, and apps. Ultimately,
this helps companies pinpoint the perfect talent and
helps candidates find their perfect jobs. “Real jobs in
real time” has been the company’s mission and ban-
ner since 2009.
The platforms also use artificial intelligence to
facilitate communication and connection between pro-
spective employees and companies. Rozman is bullish
on Al’s impact on recruitment. “There is much talk about
how Al is going to negatively impact the job market, but
there are also many positives. Al can communicate with
people naturally and effectively, help them find real job
opportunities quicker, prep for interviews, and even
help write compelling resumes," he says.
GROWING FORWARD
“The company's recruitment arm leams from human
interaction to help build smarter technology.” The human
factor is also a driving force in the company's growth,
Rozman says. He and his team regularly optimize the
work experience, using technology to automate and
remove rote, boring tasks. The company also uses
technology to provide metrics on performance that are
visible to the team. Rozman calls them “auto-mobility
KPIs" [key performance indicators], which allow employ-
ees to self-regulate, reducing the need for oversight and
encouraging them to support each other.
AVISION FOR THE FUTURE
The company is currently raising Series A funding to
scale and go international. Rozman says, “Ourjourney is
only beginning. We will bring real-time talent-matching
technology to the world." As CM P's technology is
adopted by more platforms, it will boost efficiency of
talent acquisition manyfold by removing barriers that
currently prevent talent and companies from connecting.
Later this year, the company plans to launch three new
platforms-JobGig.com, RealJobs.ai, and Local. Jobs—
which will be next-gen platforms helping people earn
more in modern ways. CMP’s proprietary technology
(and access to millions of jobs) will soon be available via
the ReaUobs brand as a white label solution to empower
thousands of communities, sites, platforms and apps.
Beyond business growth, Rozman also has avision
for the force these technologies can play in the world.
“I am driven by the idea that everything I do will
ultimately have a positive and lasting impact on society,"
he says. “Helping people optimize their job search will
maximize their income, give them more freedom, and
reduce poverty in this country and worldwide. It's up
to entrepreneurs to lead the fight and use technology
in a way where it helps people move upward."
CMP.JOBS
т
Boris Rozman’s
company, Capital
Markets Placement,
has made the Inc.
5000 list eight times.
CREATED BY INC.STUDIO
I Was Wrong
I Should Have Hired
From Within
A
fter cycling through
three presidents
in two years, Jenni
Kayne was ready to give
up her executive search.
The entrepreneur had
stepped back from the day-
to-day management of her
eponymous clothing business
in 2013 to focus on creative
direction and let someone
with more financial chops
lead her team—at the time
just 30 people—and scale up
the Los Angeles-based brand.
But with all three presi-
dents she hired, it became
evident early on that they did
not understand the brand as
well as they seemed to during
the vetting process. To make
matters worse, they clashed
Jenni Kayne (right),
founder of Jenni
Kayne, with the
brand’s CEO, Julia
Hunter.
with employees, who com-
plained of feeling overworked
and criticized to such an
extent that the camaraderie,
which once propelled the
office, evaporated.
“It was a very emotional
time for me,” recalls Kayne,
40. “I thought, ‘Well, maybe I
want to back off a little and
not grow this to be so large.’ ”
Just as Kayne was set
to abandon the search and
step back into the role her-
self, Julia Hunter, her senior
director of strategic planning,
pitched herself for the job.
“She was like, give me a year
to turn things around,” recalls
Kayne. “It was either down-
size or trust this person.”
Kayne hadn’t worked
closely with Hunter, but saw
that she had the right resume.
An early career in investment
banking propelled Hunter to
strategy roles at Louis Vuitton
and J.Crew and gave her the
financial skills Kayne lacked.
And unlike her predecessors,
as an insider Hunter knew
what the brand needed
to expand. Plus, she had
the team’s endorsement.
“Everybody rallied around
me,” recalls Hunter, 39. “That
actually earned a lot of trust
from Jenni.”
Kayne’s bet on Hunter
paid dividends. When
Hunter took over in 2015,
the brand generated about
$4 million in revenue. Five
years later, the company
landed a spot on the 2020
Inc. 5000. And this year,
Hunter projects $150 million
in revenue. Despite that
trajectory, don’t expect to see
too many job postings from
the brand. Today, the 223-
employee company rarely
makes outside hires for lead-
ership positions, preferring to
promote from within.
—Ali Donaldson
Real Talk From
the Class of 2023
"I'd never been a
CEO and I hare
no idea what I'm
doing leading
a $5 million
business. Bid
I'm living up to
my potential,
pushing myself
outside my
eomfort zone,
and growing”
Letizia Alto,
co-founder and CEO,
Semi-Retired MD
"Obviously,
growing a
company
requires a lot
of hard work,
but the tuck
factor is huge.
That and
timing. ”
Steven Sashen,
co-founder and
CEO, Xero Shoes,
a seven-time
honoree
24 Inc. September2023
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHANTAL ANDERSON
Embracing E-Waste J
CST’s role in achieving
sustainability for Saudi
Vision 2030
In 2022, 1.21 billion smartphones were sold globally. These will become obsolete within 5 years. While landfills
have traditionally served as disposal sites, environment friendly solutions need to be pursued. Saudi Vision 2030
aims for a sustainable and innovative society, assigning the Communications, Space, and Technology Commission
(CST) the role of developing sustainability practices for a thriving digital world.
Rare earth metals used in smartphones need to be recovered to reduce mining, and save the environment. CST’s
“Recycle your Device” initiative, launched in September 2022, aims to promote sustainability through
public-private coordination.
Through this initiative, CST has recycled over 240,000 devices, and saved 240 tons of material, helping
to curtail carbon emissions. This marks the beginning of our global efforts towards enabling green technology in
the Kingdom and promoting a robust community.
In other endeavors, CST has signed an agreement with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to
spearhead the E-waste movement by enforcing circular economy regulations and global best practices.
CST’s 2022 sustainability report showcased 12 successes, with 34 entities contributing to a sustainable Saudi
future across the environmental, economic, and social realms. CST is walking the talk to make our planet greener
and sustainable. We stand committed to share the roadmap of our success with the world.
Download our 2023
Space and ICT
Sustainability Report
for more details:
CST
Communications, Space &
Technology Commission
How I Got the Idea
Taking the Stress Out of Saying Yes
im Chi jerked awake
T in his Newport Beach
hotel room. Despite
the unkind hour, he woke up
his wife, Tracey Thomm, to
tell her, “I’ve got to do some-
thing about this.”
It was October 2005, and
the couple had just wrapped
a grueling run of eight wed-
dings—including their own.
As they’d bounced from
Wyoming to Hawaii witness-
ing unions of friends and
family—all while finalizing
their nuptials—Chi couldn’t
help but notice that every
bride and groom groused
about the same problem: the
stress of planning. It’s just the
sort of Spidey-sense we see in
so many Inc. 5000 alums.
The months of matrimonial
project management drained
joy from the happiest day of
the couples’ lives to the point
that receptions felt more like
sighs of relief than celebra-
26 Inc. September 2023
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JABARI JACOBS
Pitch Perfect
tions. “It’s very high stakes,
high emotion,” says Chi, 46.
“This is a series of 45 different
purchase decisions—and
you can’t redo a wedding.”
But how to make those
decisions? Chi felt distress
himself on three scouting
trips to Toronto, where he
and Tracey wed. Apparently,
everyone was the best photog-
rapher, the best caterer, the
best florist. Chi didn’t need a
spiel; he wanted a recommen-
dation. Would the photogra-
pher show up on time? Would
anyone get food poisoning
from the fish course?
That night in Newport, Chi
sketched out his idea: a
Yelp-style online marketplace
for weddings where couples
could shop for vendors, read
reviews from other custom-
ers, and make bookings. He
wanted every vendor contract
to be an informed decision,
not a leap of faith. He was see-
ing user-generated opinions
for restaurants and travel, and
wondered, “Why does this not
exist for weddings?” Thomm,
a Harvard Business School
graduate, thought her hus-
band was onto something.
Chi left his educational
technology company,
Blackboard, in 2005, to
launch WeddingWire with
three co-founders out of his
living room in Chevy Chase,
Maryland. The startup
quickly outgrew the space
and landed on the Inc. 5000,
at No. 309, in 2012, and made
the list five more times before
merging with XO Group in
2018 to become the Knot
Worldwide, which includes
850,000 vendors across 16
countries. Chi still serves as
the company’s CEO, and is
working on his next longterm
project: getting all four Chi
kids to plan their weddings
on the site.—A.D.
Real Talk From
the Class of 2023
"Ijoke that
were an 18-
year overnight
success. My
journey is really
a combination
of a whole
lot of failure
that pushed
us to where
we a re today."
Katy Mimari,
founder,
Caden Lane
"Long story
short, you
can't really
do good
business with
bad people."
Tom Kostopoulos,
founder and CEO,
StemWave
How to Pick a Winner
Cameron Newton and his brother, Dean, have
quite the track record. In the decade since the launch
of their Nashville-based Relevance Ventures, the com-
pany has invested in no fewer than three early-stage
startups that have gone on to make our list of the
fastest-growing private U.S. companies. Their secret?
Backing founders who are already thinking about how
to sell—and not counting on big tech to provide the
payday. That’s how these Inc. 5000 alums got the
brothers’ attention and, as a result, their funding. —J.C.
Betting on Success
PASSPORT No. 4,552 in 2022 (also 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
A platform for collecting municipal parking payments
Winning pitch: “They had early traction, revenue, and
customers," says Cameron, including the promise of a
major municipal contract.
PETSCREENING No. 485 in 2023 (also 2022)
Tenant pet screening platform for landlords
Winning pitch: “The company is building a recurring
revenue stream backed by a rich data set,” says Dean.
“That makes it valuable to potential acquirers seeking
to capitalize on the multibillion-dollar pet market.”
RENT READY No. 3,370 in 2021 (also 2019)
Property-transfer platform for management companies
Winning pitch: “A lot of property owners were still
using dry erase boards,” Cameron says. “It was very
easy to make a case for a software system.”
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC RYAN ANDERSON
27
MATTHEW SKARUPPA
CFO, Duolingo
Pittsburgh
For Duolingo, what began
with a simple mission to teach
languages for free has grown into
one of the world’s most popular
learning apps. Since Skaruppa
came aboard as CFO in 2020,
Duolingo’s monthly active users
have grown by more than 80%
—a success in any language.
DR. GEETA GUPTA-FISKER
CFO and Cofounder, Fisker
Manhattan Beach, CA
Dr. Gupta-Fisker cofounded Fisker with her husband, Henrik, in 2016,
to build ultrasustainable electric vehicles with jaw-dropping curb
appeal. The debut Fisker Ocean reached its first customers in May, and
the company recently announced plans for Pear, a compact electric
vehicle designed for city drivers.
ARIBEL AGUIRRE-BECK
CAO-CFO, Naturipe Farms
Estero,FL
In 2020, the longtime CFO
of berry producer Naturipe
Farms also took on the job of
chief administrative officer. In
addition to overseeing financial-
related matters, Aguirre-Beck
now heads Naturipe’s expansion
growth opportunities, a key role
amid rising global demand for
the company’s products—and
promising bumper crops for
years to come.
GILLIAN MUNSON
CFO, Vimeo
New York City
In recent years, video-sharing platform
Vimeo has made a heavy push into the
enterprise market. Since Munson was
hired as CFO in 2022, Vimeo Enterprise
has seen booked revenues grow more
than 60% and has inked deals with blue
chip clients such as Warner Brothers
and Johnson & Johnson.
RAMIRO FERNANDEZ
CFO, PIM Brands
Park Ridge, NJ
PIM Brands’ roster of fruit snacks, candies,
and other treats have satisfied American
cravings—and filled kids’ lunchboxes (think
Sun-Maid Raisins, Welch’s Juicefuls)—
for 44 years. Consumer package goods
industry veteran Fernandez has helped the
company carve out market share despite
several years of supply chain challenges.
TINAHETZER
Director of Finance, Pink Lily
Bowling Green, KY
A savvy approach to social media
has helped online boutique Pink Lily
become one of the fastest-growing
e-retailers in the country. As director
of finance since 2021, Hetzer has had
a hand in guiding Pink Lily’s evolution
from small side hustle to hundreds of
millions in revenues.
JOHANNA HONEYFIELD
VP of Finance and Strategy, Impossible Foods
Redwood City, CA
Impossible Foods’ goal is to transform the global food system
by making delicious and nutritious meat from plants. Under
Honeyfield’s leadership the company has, well, done the impossible:
keeping year-over-year revenues growing at a double-digit clip
despite a sharp downturn in the plant-based meat industry.
JOHN COLLINS
CFO, LivePerson
New York City
LivePerson’s Al-driven customer service platform has helped
companies such as HSBC, Chipotle, and Virgin Media reimagine the
customer experience. CFO Collins isn’t a typical finance exec—his
background as a data scientist has helped drive his quantitative yet
human-centered approach to strategic decision-making.
PAMELA JOHNSON
CFO, OppFi
Chicago
Mission-driven fintech
platform OppFi aims to help
everyday Americans gain
access to credit and rebuild
their financial health. Since
being named as CFO in early
2022, banking industry
veteran Johnson has helped
guide OppFi to record annual
revenues and an eighth
straight year of operating
in the black.
STEPHEN WEILAND
CFO, Boom Supersonic
Dove Valley, CO
Boom Supersonic aims to
make sustainable supersonic
travel widely accessible
by 2030. Since Weiland
joined in 2022, the company
has taken off, inking deals
with key suppliers for its
flagship Overture jet and
forging partnerships with
industry leaders such as
Northrop Grumman and
American Airlines.
ROSANNA GODDEN
CFO, Four Hands
Austin
Furniture brand Four Hands has long been a favorite of interior
designers. More recently, consumers have embraced the
company’s chic designs, leading to a surge in demand. Godden,
a veteran of Amazon and Whole Foods, is leading the charge
to more than double annual sales to $1 billion.
FRED COOPER
MITCH REBACK
CFO, Window Nation
Fulton, MD
Window Nation earns consistent
accolades from consumers as one of
the country’s top window replacement
companies. Since joining the company
in 2020, Cooper has helped supercharge
expansion efforts—Window Nation
launched in three new markets in 2022—
and more than double revenues.
CFO, Sweetgreen
Los Angeles
Reback has drawn on decades of
consumer products experience as CFO
of Sweetgreen. The fast-casual eatery
with a health-conscious bent has
continued its growth trajectory under
Reback’s leadership, with annual
revenues up nearly 40% and dozens of
new locations sprouting across the U.S.
SCAN TO SHARE
... and to learn more
about the Growth Agents.
CREATED BY INC. STUDIO. COMMISSIONED BY
seize the
moment
READY
2023 SAP SE <x an SAP j t1 iiate cotnpar у AU i ®hts reserve^.
Learn more
With SAP Cloud ERP, your business can
be ready for anything that happens next


Gail Becker I in it to win it
Take Your Time Before
You Take the Money
I knew raising venture funding would be punishing;
I didn ’t expect it to also be profound.
I PROCLAIMED MYSELF an entrepreneur eight
months after the passing of my father, Martin
Becker. Dad was a Holocaust survivor who came
to America at age 12 with no money, family,
education—or ability to speak English. He started
a small salvage business in San Francisco, because,
having been drafted to serve in the Korean War, that’s
where he disembarked upon his return. He sold
dented cans and jars with the labels torn off at steep
discounts, and then became an importer/exporter,
wholesaling canned foods to hotels and restaurants.
I’d accompany him on sales visits. We would always
follow the meetings by eating dinner in whichever
restaurant he had made the sale to. He later told me
those were the happiest days of his life.
My father’s courage to bet it all stuck with me,
and in May 2016, in the wake of his death, I left my
corporate life to bet everything I had, too. Little
did I know that I’d be setting off on a journey of self-
discovery, not unlike the one all of us face when
we make the leap into entrepreneurship. For me,
I learned deeper truths about money and how
my relationship with it changed when everything
was on the line.
In February 2017,1 launched my L.A.-based
frozen-food company, Caulipower, in Whole Foods.
To this day, Whole Foods has a program that allows
you to pitch products to your local region. In my case,
that was Southern California. I’ll never forget drop-
ping off my four sample cauliflower-crust pizzas with
the receptionist. It was like dropping your child off at
daycare for the first time. A week and a half later, the
buyer emailed me and said they loved the pizzas and
were bringing them into 30 stores.
Just a few months after that, our pizzas were in
Walmart. By the end of 2017, we’d reached $5 mil-
lion in revenue, which was virtually unheard of for
a startup in the market less than a year.
Despite playing host to a universe of more than
400 brands, the $6 billion frozen-pizza industry
had, since the 1950s, held a shockingly bland view of
dough. With the exception of Kraft’s DiGiorno pizza,
which in 1995 introduced America to “rising crust,”
innovation was nonexistent. When Caulipower
arrived, customers were hungry for change. The
world had caught on to the benefits of a gluten-free
Gail Becker is
the founder
of Caulipower,
the Los Angeles-
based frozen-
food brand
whose cauli-
flower pizzas
and other prod-
ucts are sold in
roughly 25,000
stores and 5,000
restaurants
nationwide. The
business hit
No. 260 on the
Inc. 5000 in
2021, with 1,771
percent three-
year revenue
growth.
diet, which I was familiar with. Both of my sons
were diagnosed at a young age with celiac disease,
an autoimmune disorder that hinders one’s ability
to metabolize gluten. That others saw our potential
proved validating. Within three years, Caulipower
became a top 10 frozen pizza, and we reached
$100 million in annual revenue.
But while consumers had flocked to us, investors
had not For the first year and a half, I’d self-funded
Caulipower. I sold my dad’s small, pink house in the
heart of San Francisco, which he bought in the 1970s
for a fraction of its current-day price; I dropped
every cent into the company. I depleted my savings,
maxed out my credit cards, and downgraded my
lifestyle. I sold my clothes and belongings online.
All the while, I kept my father in mind. I knew how
hard he had worked for every dollar, so I spent each
one cautiously.
I waited as long as I could before seeking outside
funding, and when I did, like a lot of you, I was
purposeful about it. To me, amassing capital is not an
indicator of success, but of how many people will be
looking to you to deliver. Still, by the summer of 2017,
we needed more money to support larger manufac-
turing runs, so I began what I (not so) lovingly refer
to as my summer of sell. My female leadership team
and I spoke to more than 30 potential investors. Some
flat-out turned us down: “Cauliflower-crust pizza?
I give it a year.” Most offered, “We’d like to wait to see
how you’re going to perform in Walmart. If it works,
we’ll give you money.”
It was then I understood what’s long been said
about women entrepreneurs: We’re not given risk
capital. We’re given “come back when your ideas
are already successful” capital.
I ultimately managed to raise funds that round by
hammering home data and articulating my vision.
It’s something I had done all along, but as is true
with many things, fundraising takes self-assurance
and stamina. It’s as my Dad taught me: If you’re
going to bet it all, you’d better play the long game.
Today, my only regret is that he didn’t live to see
the business he helped me build; he passed away
at 87.1 think he would have been proud, and I think
he would have again relished sharing a meal with
me—even a frozen pizza. О
ILLUSTRATION BY CRISTINA SPANO
September 2023 Inc. 33
Chip Conley I getting it right
Your Company
Has Grown. Now
It’sYourTurn
If your self-worth is dependent on your startup’s
success, you’re in need of some personal growth.
I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU, but I’ve learned
the hard way that I don’t know my limits
(or my company’s limits) until I’ve surpassed
them. This can be a painful lesson, the raw
material for your future wisdom.
I love passing on that wisdom to aspiring entre-
preneurs. My metaphorical “skinned knee” could
save a younger entrepreneur from the same mistake.
It’s part of the reason I’ve written a half-dozen
books and been a mentor to younger CEOs from
organizations as diverse as Airbnb, Burning Man,
and Zappos.
As an undergrad at Stanford (which has been
dubbed the Farm since its founding), I sold two-
quart calf-nursing bottles at football games that
I had bought from a farm near Stanford and filled
with booze. But my entrepreneurial career really
started at 26, when I launched one of America’s first
boutique hotel companies, the San Francisco-based
Joie de Vivre, which grew to 52 hotels over the two
dozen years I was CEO. I loved that this company of
3,500 employees was a laboratory at the intersection
of psychology and business; I was always cooking
up new ideas that innovated our culture, strategy,
and approach to customer service.
My ego, though, grew as fast as the company.
People often asked me, “Chip, how are you doing?”
and my immediate answer would be an attempt to
impress them with my company’s growth. Then my
friend Vanda—an executive coach—took me by the
shoulders, looked me in the eye, and said, “No, Chip,
I asked you how you were doing, not your company.”
I heard her, but I also got distracted by seeing my
picture on the cover of magazines and being asked
to deliver TED Talks.
Yes, my company had its failures, as any hotel
or restaurant will—what I called noble experiments.
There was that San Francisco fondue restaurant
in one of my hotels that was going to create an Amer-
ican culinary trend, and that boutique camping resort
that opened seven years before the word glamping
was coined. Both failed miserably.
Wisdom at Work
author Chip
Conley led the
boutique hotel
line Joie de Vivre
to $240 million in
annual revenue
before selling it
to Geolo Capital
in 2010. Inspired
by his experience
as Airbnb’s
“modern elder,”
he launched the
Modern Elder
Academy in 2018
to help students
reframe their
perspectives
on aging and
purpose.
Still, I was emotionally and financially ill-prepared
to handle three once-in-a-lifetime downturns in the
same decade: the dot-com crash, 9/11, and the Great
Recession. Because my emotional state was so tied
to my company’s fortunes, my nervous system was
strapped to what felt like a never-ending roller
coaster. I lost five male friends to suicide between
2008 and 2010, three of them entrepreneurs, and
Vanda stopped me in my tracks when I told her I was
on my way to the Golden Gate Bridge one early eve-
ning, feeling like I couldn’t handle any more. I was,
in fact, serious about a potential jump, as I believed
I had few options to save myself from my circum-
stances and my unrelenting negative emotions.
Vanda helped me see all the options that were
hiding in my blind spots, but it took a little divine
intervention for me to realize I could press the
reset button on my life, and that I needn’t jump
off a bridge. Soon after giving a speech onstage in
St. Louis, I had an allergic reaction to antibiotics
and my heart stopped nine times in 90 minutes.
This was truly a hotelier wake-up call. Impending
death can be a remarkable operating principle for
how to live your life.
I realized that the qualities I was looking for in
starting the company—creativity, innovation, and
freedom—had slipped through my fingers now that
we were a big, undercapitalized company. I was
far removed from those qualities on a day-to-day
basis and I was deeply unhappy.
It was nearly two years after my flatline experi-
ence when I sold the company, at the bottom of
the Great Recession, to an heir of the Hyatt fortune.
It wasn’t an easy thing to do; I’d had a goal to run
the company for 50 years and it had been, at the
time of the sale, barely 24. But I realized that my
personal growth as a human could be disengaged
from the growth of my company. I was no longer
my company. I was myself. And that was the kind
of freedom I desperately needed.
When I entered my 50s, I understood a principle
that I now teach at the world’s first midlife wisdom
34 Inc. September 2023
ILLUSTRATION BY CRISTINA SPANO
school (a place I founded called the Modern Elder
Academy, or MEA): same seed, different soil. Our
life and career lessons are a gift, even when they’re
painful, and we take that gift to whatever new habi-
tat suits us. I didn’t realize that my best years were
still ahead of me.
In 2013,1 was in my early 50s and curious about
how to stay relevant in the modern workplace. I
received an unexpected phone call from the three
young founders of Airbnb, asking me to help them
“democratize hospitality” at a time when very few
had ever heard of the company. I became their
in-house “modern elder.” And in this new soil (odd
that a technophobe like me was leading hospitality
and strategy for a tech company), I planted my seed
of experience in building a fast-growing company
with a resilient culture and magnetic brand. Rather
than being the sage on the stage, I was the guide
on the side. My job was to accelerate the leadership
skills of the brilliant founders. This was a form
of rightsizing my ego. And, yes, that Airbnb story
turned out very well.
So, what are my lessons? Growth is good, no
doubt about it. It helps you build a better business
and can provide evidence that you’re on the right
track. But be careful about equating your self-
worth with your net worth. Just when I felt like
I’d crashed my own net worth by selling my com-
О
READ MORE
ABOUT
CHIP CONLEY AT
INC.COM/
MAGAZINE.
pany at the bottom of the market, a new door
opened that allowed me to share my wisdom in
a way that gave me a great sense of meaning—
and a great boost to that net worth.
Here are three questions you can ask yourself
when it comes to exploring the upside and down-
side of your company’s fast growth:
1.	What were you seeking from your company in the
first place? For me, it was creativity, innovation, and
freedom. Are you still experiencing those qualities
today, and if not, are there new qualities super-
seding them that are satisfying you?
2.	Who is providing you with the emotional insur-
ance you deserve for your down times? You have
property and liability insurance for your home’s
rainy days, but you also need a personal safety net to
help you realize that you’re more than your company.
3.	What wisdom are you gaining as you learn your
lessons? These are the seeds for your future success.
My Joie de Vivre experience was fresh fertilizer for
my time at Airbnb. While your domain knowledge
may grow obsolete over time, your human wisdom—
often related to how you understand yourself and
others—only grows in value over the course of your
life and career. О
REGISTER NOW FOR INC. MASTERS BAJA
MEA’s beach-
front campus
has spaces for
relaxation and
recharging.
Next April, you can connect
with Chip Conley in person
at Inc.’s most exclusive event
of the year: Inc. Masters Baja.
An all-inclusive retreat
experience co-hosted
by Conley and Inc. editor-
in-chief Scott Omelianuk,
Inc. Masters Baja is designed
to foster intensive connec-
tion and collaboration for
the innovative founders and
CEOs who have earned a
spot on the Inc. 5000. The
five-day, five-night program
will include guided yoga
and meditation as well as
workshops, lectures, and
exercises designed by both
Inc. and Conley’s Modern
Elder Academy. Above all,
Inc. Masters Baja will bring
together a community of
like-minded entrepreneurs
who are determined to help
one another optimize their
business achievements,
impact their teams, and
even change lives.
Inc. Masters Baja is an
intimate experience—next
year’s retreat is open to
just 22 founders. Reserve
your spot today, and
learn more, at inc.com/
masters-baja-2024.
35
Daniel Lubetzky I managing yourself
When Your Fuel Becomes
a Flaw, Listen to Your Team
Fast growth requires strong drive. But when my drive became
problematic, itwasmyteam who held the answer.
О
IT WAS AROUND 2012, when Kind Snacks made
the Inc. 5000, that our business seemed to take
off. We were doubling sales every year while
remaining cash-flow positive and profitable.
It is exhilarating for an entrepreneur when
your brand breaks through—when suddenly the
person sitting next to you on an airplane is eating
your product. But that newfound notoriety also
brought fresh challenges. For Kind, as it is for any
brand at a similar stage of growth, one of those
challenges was the emergence of copycats. Some
of our team members jokingly refer to this part of
our journey as the Age of Imitation. It seemed like
everywhere we looked, fruit-and-nut bars that
weren’t Kind bars were now popping up on shelves,
attempting to grab market share with products that
mimicked our own.
Making a Kind bar may seem simple—presumably,
anyone in their home can combine a few “ingredients
you can see and pronounce” (as our legal trademark
holds), pop them into the oven, and create a fruit-
and-nut bar. But the magic of Kind has always come
from preserving the integrity of what nature gave
us without sacrificing taste and texture. Our actual
recipe was hard for competitors to replicate.
I came to expect imitators, but what I didn’t
foresee was a copycat from one of my own retail
partners. We founders view our ventures as our
babies, and forge relationships as if we were rais-
ing those babies in our communities. So, when this
partner introduced a product that imitated Kind,
and discontinued Kind in its stores, I was not just
upset about the business implications. I was also
personally hurt.
Overwhelmed by emotion, my first thought was
to launch an ad campaign that would call out the
impostor products and educate consumers on how
Kind was different. I wrote an 11-page letter to my
retail counterparts, which I fortunately never sent.
I recall vividly the exchange that unfolded in my
office as two of my most valued teammates and men-
tors talked me off the ledge. Elie Lanning, who now
leads our Camino Partners business-building and
investment platform for entrepreneurs, urged me to
channel my emotions constructively. “I understand
that you take this personally,” she empathized, “but
Kind Snacks
founder Daniel
Lubetzky took
the company to
No. 889 on the
2012 Inc. 5000
before negotiat-
ing a $5 billion
purchase in
2020. He retains
a meaningful
stake in Kind
and, in 2023,
launched
Camino Partners
to invest in and
build enterprises
like the Mexican
food company
Somos.
it’s not worth it for you to burn this bridge. Play the
long game.”
“How can I do that?” I asked. “They are literally
copying our hard work and trying to appropriate it.”
“For starters,” Elie said, “go for a run.”
Fred Schaufeld, a mentor and board member,
told me to “look my former retail partner’s repre-
sentative directly in the eye and yell every insult
and indignity” at him, at the top of my lungs at
close range. He told me to do that first thing in the
morning, into a pillow, with my eyes closed, imag-
ining the representative.
I took both Elie’s and Fred’s advice: I screamed
into my pillow. I went for the run. By the time I’d
come back, my head felt clearer. I could see it now;
they’d been right. As the founder, I had stood too
close to the decision to view it rationally. My team-
mates, on the other hand, had the emotional dis-
tance to recognize what I could not.
I wound up letting our retail partner know that,
while we were disappointed, we wished the com-
pany the best. I also said that if it ever changed its
mind, we would be here, ready and waiting for it to
call when it made sense. Sometime between six and
12 months later, that retail partner did call. Shortly
after that, we were on its shelves again. In the end,
our partner even chose to discontinue its competi-
tive line. Over the following years, more imitation
brands emerged, but I had learned my lesson. Invari-
ably, the retailers that tried to replace us wound up
bringing Kind back, most often discontinuing their
own imitation items.
The passion that had won me these valued
partnerships could have been the same force that
destroyed those relationships had I not surrounded
myself with a team empowered to keep me in check.
As a founder with so much at stake, you need to have
the conviction in your vision to persevere when
times inevitably get tough. But the same quality that
makes for a great entrepreneur can, at times, make
for a poor business leader. This is why it’s so critical
to build a team of people around you who are not
clones, but complementary partners. You must give
those people the agency to push back and tell you
no, or not now. And when they do, you must practice
the humility to listen to them. О
ILLUSTRATION BY CRISTINA SPANO
September 2023 Inc. 36
NEW FROM AN INC.ORIGINAL
TIER1PERFORMANCE.COM
AnIncOriginal.com
Are you ready to break from conventional
business structures and norms?
If you want your business to make a difference
in people s lives, this book is for you.
Implement systems and practices
that build love and trust
Create value and profit
Make a meaningful impact
AVAILABLE NOW
EVERYWHERE BOOKS ARE SOLD
ORIGINAL
DEVELOP HIGH-PERFORMING
ORGANIZATIONS WITH A
POSITIVE IMPACT
BUILDING
BUSINESS
FOR A
BETTER
Greg Harmeyer
In Impact with Love, Greg Harmeyer shares
insights, experiences, and frameworks to help
leaders create healthier work cultures and
higher performing organizations. Discover
how to think differently about using your
position of leadership to:
Skiing in the middle of summer?
That’s a bad idea.
Looking for a good idea?
Partner with a PEO to get
customized HR, benefits,
payroll, and compliance
support for your business.
Focus on the core of your
business and reduce
administrative work
Offer competitive,
Fortune 500-level
benefits to your workers
,	, Navigate complex
J government regulations
wjth a team of experts
NAPEO.org/goodidea
NAPEO
6Э
INC. BRANDED CONTENT / HR: PEO
How PEOs Can Help SMBs
Improve Employee Engagement
With employee expectations continuing to rise,
competition for the best talent has never been tougher.
Even with the ongoing threat of
recession and waves of tech
company layoffs, job openings
have still been averaging about
10 million a month through the first half
of 2023. In addition, unemployment rates
continue to hover near historic lows.
The battle to recruit and motivate good
employees in this environment remains
extremely challenging for millions of small
and midsize businesses (SMBs). Some
are finding answers with the professional
employer organizations (PEOs) that are
helping them meet their goals.
Employees are the lifeblood of
successful SMBs, so keeping
engagement and satisfaction levels
high is crucial. After climbing steadily
for several years before the pandemic,
employee engagement levels declined
in 2021 and 2022, according to a recent
Gallup poll. However, SMBs that partner
with PEOs are outperforming their peers
in this area.
Research conducted by the National
Association of Professional Employer
Organizations (NAPEO) found that
employees working in businesses that
are PEO clients report significantly
higher scores on key measures related
to overall employee satisfaction and
company management compared with
employees at businesses that do not
partner with a PEO.
Higher engagement
and retention levels
In the NAPEO study, engagement
levels and confidence in the employer's
approach to growing the company were
5 percent higher among employees at
INC. BRANDED CONTENT/ HR: PEO
PEO-affiliated businesses. Trust that
the employer is supporting employees
in delivering excellent customer service
was 7 percent higher, and intention
to stay with their current employer
until retirement and belief that their
employer is taking the right steps to be
competitive were both 8 percent higher.
The research also found that compared
with employees working in businesses
that are not PEO clients, employees at
PEO clients are significantly more likely
to report that their employer:
•	Demonstrates a commitment to them
as employees
•	Uses good hiring practices
•	Has strong HR policies and practices
•	Does a good job of designing
employees' jobs
•	Provides strong training and
development opportunities
"It makes sense that employees who
feel they are being cared for and their
needs are being met would be more
engaged in the workplace and have
higher levels of employee satisfaction,"
says Pat Cleary, NAPEO's president and
CEO. "PEOs really are HR partners for
their clients; that's not just a slogan.
SMB owners get a sense of security from
knowing they have someone they can
reach out to when they are having any
kind of issue with an employee."
Meeting foundational needs
PEOs help SMBs deliver a better
employee experience, which can lead to
higher levels of employee engagement
and retention. "Employees want financial
security, attractive benefits—especially
a good health care plan—opportunity
to save for the future, and ongoing
development of their skills and
capabilities," says Kristen Appleman,
senior vice president/general manager,
service for ADP Totalsource. 'These are
foundational basic needs.
"What creates the better employee
experience are those organizations that
focus on the whole employee, what they
need professionally and personally, and
supporting them to show up as their best
self each and every day," she adds. "PEOs
Culture is the ability
to unify a group
of people behind
a core mission
and deliver results,
and employee
satisfaction plays
a critical role.
—Burton Goldfield, president and
CEO, TriNet
provide the access to these benefits, the
solutions, tools, and the consultation on
crafting the employee value proposition.
When an employee comes to work as
their best self, they are more productive
and engaged, leading to stronger
business growth and results."
Paul Sarvadi, chairman and CEO of
Insperity, notes that the pandemic and
The Power of PEOple
Recruit. Hire. Grow. Retain... Don't do it alone
With a PEG (Professional Employer Organization), you'll
save time on HR, benefits, payroll and compliance tasks.
ADP TotalSource® lets you focus on your business.
Dedicated	IRS Certified &
Largest PEO HRpros	ESAC Accredited
Learn more at adp.com/inc
ADP TotalSource’
clients save
30% more time.*
• Client survey Dec 2022
ADP, the ADP logo and ADP TotalSource are registered trademarks of ADP, Inc. All other marks
are property of their respective owners. Copyright © 2023 ADP, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Always Designing
for People’
INC. BRANDED CONTENT / HR: PEO
the rapid shift to remote work were
important factors behind the declines
in employee engagement in 2021 and
2022. He is not at all surprised that SMBs
that are clients of PEOs have fared better
than their non-PEO counterparts.
"One of the things PEOs are best known
for are the comprehensive benefits
solutions they provide to the employees
of their small and midsize business
clients," he says. "Employees at these
companies are more likely to feel that
their employers are invested in their well-
being, and that is a very important aspect
of employee engagement."
Accessibility is another important
consideration in maximizing employee
well-being and engagement, Sarvadi says.
"On a practical level, it is very important
that employees have a number they
know they can call at any time to ask
any and every question they might have
about their benefits and other HR-related
issues. Not all PEOs provide the same
level of service for this important aspect,
so prospective clients need to do some
due diligence and dig down a bit when
choosing a provider."
Change is a constant for SMBs
As recent events like the pandemic,
rising interest rates, the banking crisis,
and the IRS backlog of unprocessed
employee retention credit (ERC) claims
make clear, change is a constant for
small and midsize businesses. "The most
successful SMBs are those that have the
resilience, agility, and velocity to adapt
very quickly, and the key to doing that
is a highly motivated, highly engaged
workforce," says Burton Goldfield,
president and CEO of TriNet. "SMBs
need great people who are able to react
quickly and not wait for direction, and
partnering with a PEO can help them
create that kind of workforce."
Goldfield emphasizes that culture
is critical to SMB success. "It's about
everyone in the company pulling together
as one team toward a very clear set of
goals to deliver better results, so culture
is not a soft concept," he explains.
"Culture is the ability to unify a group of
PEOs Keep Growing
Over the past decade or so, the PEO industry has quadrupled in size, which NAPEO
president and CEO Pat Cleary attributes to a variety of internal and external factors.
Looking ahead, he sees even more growth for the industry.
A major internal factor behind the industry's growth was
NAPEO's decision to start evangelizing the benefits PEOs provide
to small and midsize businesses (SMBs) about 12 years ago.
Before that, the PEO industry had been notably insular, and
NAPEO’s marketing budget was correspondingly small.
With an increased marketing budget—now about $1.4 million
annually—the association ramped up the production of research,
surveys, and white papers documenting the benefits that accrue
to businesses using a PEO. Chief among them are double the
survival rate of comparable businesses not using a PEO, median
revenue growth rates twice those of non-PEO companies, higher
profitability, and significantly lower employee turnover rates.
The industry got a big external boost with the passage of the
Small Business Efficiency Act (SBEA) in 2014. The SBEA amended
the Internal Revenue Code to treat PEOs certified by the IRS as
employers for employment tax purposes. That allows them to
pay wages and collect and remit taxes on behalf of an employer.
"Being written into the code provided a real stamp
of legitimacy in my eyes," Cleary says. "I don't think it's a
coincidence that interest in the PEO industry increased
dramatically among private equity investors soon after the
passage of the SBEA."
Offloading those responsibilities to a PEO frees up SMB
owners to devote more of their time to core business issues and
to their own private lives.
A September 2022 NAPEO white paper found that:
•	Two-thirds of PEO clients have 10 to 49 employees.
•	Approximately half of all PEO clients are in Florida, Texas,
or California, although PEOs have clients in all 50 states.
•	Across all businesses with 10 to 99 employees (the PEO
"sweet spot"), the industry penetration rate is 11 percent.
While Cleary jokingly admits to having a bit of a superman
complex about the PEO industry's future growth prospects,
he cites both past performance and emerging trends to justify
his optimism. He points out that the PEO industry continued
to grow through past recessions, including the COVID pandemic.
Emerging trends that bode well for the industry include a steady
increase in the amount of employee-related legislation (paid
leave, minimum wage) being enacted at the state and municipal
levels and the continued growth of remote work.
"The more complicated these things get, the more SMBs
are going to turn to PEOs for help,” he says. "Offloading those
responsibilities to a PEO frees up SMB owners to devote more of
their time to core business issues and to their own private lives."
people behind a core mission and deliver
results, and employee satisfaction plays
a critical role. Employees today have a
set of expectations that include great
benefits, great leadership, and a mission-
driven company. The right PEO can
help SMBs attract, retain, and meet the
elevated expectations of top-performing
employees," he says
PEOs can also play an important role
in helping SMBs level the playing
field in their competition with larger
organizations for the best employees,
says Darryl Rice, assistant professor
of management in the Farmer School
of Business at the University of
Miami. "Oftentimes, small and midsize
businesses do not have the same level
of in-house resources and expertise
dedicated to improving employee
experiences, compared to larger or
multinational organizations," he says.
"A PEO, which typically has expertise
in many human capital advisory and
human resource management roles,
can effectively be used to offset these
challenges that SMBs commonly face."
Rice adds that the right PEO should also
be able to help SMBs in a few ways. 'The
combination of aligning the right skill set
with the right job and the right people
with the right culture boosts employee
engagement and retention," he says.
Improved focus
on core competency
Partnering with a PEO is an investment
that can pay off in multiple ways for
SMBs. "PEOs help their clients stabilize
the cost of their labor burden and focus
on improving the bottom line," Appleman
notes. "By assisting PEO clients with
routine administrative tasks and related
compliance requirements, a PEO allows its
clients to focus more time and resources
on their core competency."
By shouldering the burden of many non-
core administrative activities, from payroll to
benefits administration, PEOs enable their
clients to sharpen their focus on growth.
"PEO clients benefit from a variety of
employee benefits solutions to attract
and retain talent, while mitigating certain
employment-related risk through the shared
responsibility arrangement," she says.
CREATED BY INC.STUDIO
While uncertainty is inevitable, a
solid people strategy can propel
your business forward in changing
times. Insperity’s scalable HR service
and technology can help you stay
compliant and competitive at every
stage of growth. Persevere and
prevail with Insperity behind you.
FULL-SERVICE HR
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
HR TECHNOLOGY
Turn questions
into confidence
with the right
HR partner
® Insperity
HR that Makes a Difference'
Learn more at insperity.com
or call 855.402.7325.
INC. BRANDED CONTENT/ HR: PEO
Employees at
these companies
are more likely
to feel that their
employers are
invested in their
well-being.
—Paul Sarvadi, chairman
and CEO, Insperity
PEOs can also help SMBs improve their
performance at a strategic level, Sarvadi
points out. "It's the people function that
drives all other strategies in a business,"
he says. "If a company has a financial
plan, a sales and marketing plan, an
operations plan, a technology plan, then
its leaders make sure they understand
what needs to be done to execute those
plans effectively. The most important
factor is the people performing the
required actions, so getting the people
strategy right is paramount."
Great benefits are a linchpin
From an employee attraction, retention,
and satisfaction standpoint, the ability
to provide great benefits is one of
the most important advantages PEOs
provide to SMBs. "There have been
so many surveys done on this topic,
and benefits always come up on the
top of the list of what matters most to
employees," Goldfield says. "Many of the
best candidates are coming from larger
companies that offer a broad range of
flexible benefits, and they want the same
options from smaller businesses."
Kristie Abston, associate professor
in the department of management
at Middle Tennessee State University's
Jones College of Business, suggests that
SMBs looking to partner with a PEO pay
particular attention to finding the right
fit. "Organizations of all sizes must
ensure that the PEOs they use are
providing services that are aligned
with their values regarding people,"
she says. 'These people-centered
values trickle down to employees in
a number of ways."
For example, system design plays
an important role in communicating
an employer's level of concern for
its employees. Things like user
friendliness, help features, and
accessibility play a role in how
appreciated employees feel, Abston
says. "If employees are uncomfortable
with a system, a benefit, or a service, or
if they find it to be a hassle, then they
may not use it. They could also resent
the organization for saying it offers a
service or benefit that is essentially
useless to them."
The challenges SMBs face today are
growing in number and complexity.
In response, more and more
companies are turning to PEOs for
help. "Awareness of the value that a
PEO can add to a small business is
on the rise," Cleary says. "PEO clients
have lower employee turnover, higher
levels of employee engagement, and
faster growth than non-PEO clients.
Word of those accomplishments is
spreading rapidly throughout the SMB
community." 
CREATED BY INC. STUDIO
ADVERTISEMENT
HR Check-In: Thriving
During Times of
Economic Uncertainty
benefits, payroll processing, staying
compliant, and more. The right HR
products and solutions—including
an HR technology platform that meets
the modern needs of employees—
are crucial to this effort. Consider
key features such as:
The right HR products and solutions can help SMBs
support employee morale and team cohesion.
There are many challenges
facing small and midsize
businesses (SMBs) today
and being prepared for
all aspects is vital. Uncertainty in the
economy leads to uncertainty about
how to take care of your business
and—most importantly—your people.
We cannot predict the next crisis, but
if we utilize HR operations and people
effectively during economic turbulence,
SMBs can persist and even strengthen
their business for the long term.
HR solutions for the people
who matter most
The workplace has changed drastically
with the shift to remote work, flexible
hours, and a highly competitive labor
market. This means employers have
had to pivot, adjust, empathize,
and clamor to retain their top talent.
Keeping your business moving forward
is a must despite the economic
conditions. There are, however,
measures that can be taken to help
ensure that your business is in a better
position despite economic turbulence.
Keeping the lines of communication
open is necessary to maintain
employee morale and team cohesion.
Full-service HR for business success
Managing HR during the best of times
can be a daunting task. Doing so
during economic uncertainty adds an
extra layer of complexity to go along
with the regular functions of managing
•	Real-time technology, including
mobile capabilities, which empowers
employees to manage many of their
critical HR functions anytime, anywhere
•	Onboarding capabilities that help
employers make a good impression
from day one
•	Workforce analytics that enable
smarter HR decisions in real time
•	Compensation consulting and
benchmarking data to help strategize
compensation offerings to attract
top talent
•	A comprehensive employee benefits
offering that today’s employees demand
•	Industry-specific HR consulting
expertise to provide strategic support
necessary to cultivate an engaging
company culture, professional growth
opportunities, and additional perks
that help them stand out from other
employers
•	Risk mitigation and compliance
services for a distributed workforce
to help SMBs protect their businesses
while navigating complicated
and evolving employment laws and
regulations
SMBs will continue to be resilient
through the challenges—both
anticipated and unpredictable—that
are to come. Likewise, TriNet will
continue to provide the HR solutions
and products they need to help their
businesses thrive.
CREATEDBY f | Q 0
46 Inc. September 2023
Founder to
Founder
Woofbowl Built
a Food Truck
Just for Dogs.
Honest Tea’s
Seth Goldman
Has Experience
Driving Grow th
By Kevin J. Ryan
The co-founder of seven-time Inc. 5000
company Honest Tea helps Ron Holloway,
co-founder of healthy dog treat brand
Woofbowl, grow his company on wheels
into a brand with staying power.
WHEN NAVY VETERAN Ron Holloway was diagnosed with
PTSD after he’d served two tours in Iraq, a counselor recom-
mended a therapy pet. Holloway brought home a French
bulldog, which he named Latto, but soon noticed that his furry
friend was sluggish and having digestive issues. As an experi-
ment, Holloway’s wife, Solo, an electrical and biochemical
engineer, started serving Latto fresh food she made herself.
Almost immediately, Latto had noticeably higher energy and
no more digestive problems. He even started shedding less.
“He was like a whole new dog,” Holloway says. “That led
us to ask, ‘How can we teach what we’ve learned?’”
In 2017, the Holloways launched another experiment in
canine nutrition: a food truck for dogs. Today, Brooklyn-based
Woofbowl makes all-natural dog treats cooked from scratch
47
Founder to
Founder
and served fresh, mostly at street fairs,
private bookings, and corporate events.
The meals are made to look like human
foods—tacos and cheeseburgers—and
come in packaging that is mostly com-
postable, biodegradable, or recyclable.
While the Holloways have acquired
a second French bulldog, Dino, to keep
Latto company, they’ve learned that
acquiring new customers is much more
difficult. That’s where serial entre-
preneur Seth Goldman comes in. The
co-founder of seven-time Inc. 5000
honoree Honest Tea, which he sold to
Coca-Cola in 2011, Goldman has plenty
of experience bringing healthier,
more sustainable ingredients to the
masses. Seven years after joining
the board of plant-based-meat brand
Beyond Meat in 2013, he co-founded the
vegan fast-casual chain PLNT Burger
and the nutritious snack company Eat
the Change. The latter created a sister
program in 2020 that makes annual
donations to nonprofits that promote
climate-friendly eating.
“We’re able to create planet-friendly
foods that are better for the consumer,
but without the same level of fear that
we had when we were first starting, 25
years ago,” Goldman says.
We brought Holloway and Goldman
to Eat the Change’s office in Bethesda,
Maryland, to talk fear—namely the fear
of raising money—and how Woofbowl
can make the leap from a bootstrapped
business to a scalable one.
HOLLOWAY All of your companies have
a mission-driven focus. What’s your
advice for being idealistic but pragmatic
at the same time?
GOLDMAN You have to listen to the
market to make sure you’re bringing
something it wants but doesn’t have. It’s
like water flowing down a hill. You don’t
know exactly where it’s going to go, but
the market will lead you where it makes
sense. On the other hand, you don’t want
to go just anywhere. We knew we could
sell plenty of sweet tea—that’s what
people were buying—but our goal was
to make a less-sweet tea commercially
viable. So we had to find a balance
between listening to the market and
not listening to the easiest answer. One
of our most successful innovations at
Honest Tea was Honest Kids, a less-
sweet kids’ drink. Of course, every self-
respecting kid wants the sweetest drink
possible, but the parent doesn’t want
the sweetest drink. So we had to find
that perfect spot where it was just sweet
enough that the kids wouldn’t reject it,
but the parents knew it was healthier.
HOLLOWAY That’s great. What’s your
approach to incorporating sustainability
into your products?
GOLDMAN You have to figure out
where your biggest areas of impact
are and what you can do about them.
Everything we do is organic. That way,
we’re not putting chemical pesticides
or fertilizers into the ecosystem. Food
waste is another area where you can be
very conscious. We have a snack line
made with carrots, and we’re using the
whole carrot—the large carrot, the small
carrot, the misshapen carrot—with no
detriment to the taste or the sensory
experience. But remember that you
can’t do everything. For example, our
products are in single-use packaging, so
we’ve gone for glass instead of plastic.
Someone can say, “The best impact you
can have is to not have any packaging.”
Well, it’s hard to deliver a beverage with
no packaging. I have to operate within
the context of my product. So do the
best you can through the lens of your
company.
HOLLOWAY One of the core values of
Woofbowl is democratizing healthy pet
food and treats. You’ve said that democ-
ratization is part of why you launched
PLNT Burger. What challenges are
inherent to that and how have you dealt
with them?
GOLDMAN Democratization is why we
do everything. Whether it’s for pets or
humans, the healthiest and highest-
quality products shouldn’t be available
only to the wealthiest people. As found-
ers, we always want the best ingredi-
ents, but it has to be scalable, and your
margins have to make sense. At Honest
Tea, we wanted to make Fair Trade
Certified bottled tea, but it took us a few
years to get there. Early on, there was so
little certified tea available, which made
it too expensive to bring it to scale. We
see that at Beyond Meat as well. Some-
times you have to reinvent the recipe a
little bit. Maybe there’s a perfect taste
you get from certain ingredients, but
can you get that same taste from other
ingredients? Can you work with your
farmers and your supply chain to get
some of the same taste but at a lower
cost? It doesn’t mean sacrificing quality,
but it does mean occasionally rethinking
how you deliver.
HOLLOWAY A large component of what
we do is educating our customers.
What’s your advice on that?
GOLDMAN Context is so critical with the
kinds of products you and I are present-
ing to the market. We’re going through
that right now with our carrot chews.
We’re looking at a package design that
will allow us to basically create a whole
back panel of information about what
the product is and how it’s made. We’ve
got to be able to help people understand
why what we’re doing is different and
better. If you don’t do that, it’s just
another product.
HOLLOWAY So far, we’ve been focused
on inside sales, SEO, and social virality.
We want to start to scale, but we want
to make sure we do it in the right way.
What do you think our next steps are?
GOLDMAN I know a big part of your
business is that the ingredients are
fresh, but if you can make it shelf stable
48 Inc. September 2023
and ship it through the mail, it will
change your whole model. You need to
be able to follow up with a customer
after the truck leaves their city. That
said, the truck is an amazing form
of marketing, and there’s a powerful
opportunity to convert the loyalty and
engagement you’ve already created
with it. Try to find a retailer that will
not only carry your product, but also let
you set up your truck outside once or
twice a month. These days, brick-and-
mortars are always looking for unique
experiences they can offer that someone
can’t get online. If you can show them
metrics on the places you’ve gone and
how many people you’ve brought there,
it’s hard to imagine them saying, “Oh,
no, we don’t want more foot traffic.”
HOLLOWAY That’s amazing. I have a bit
of paralysis when it comes to raising
money. I’m afraid of being taken advan-
tage of. Do you have advice for someone
like me who is bootstrapping and terri-
fied of raising money?
GOLDMAN Don’t set your goals too high
too early. If you have to raise $500,000,
that’s a lot. But if you have to raise
$5,000 to get that first test with a store,
that’s more doable. Then, just keep
moving forward and addressing what
you can address with the money you
have. As long as you keep demonstrating
that the concept works, and that it’s
making financial sense, getting to that
next step isn’t that hard.
HOLLOWAY Interesting.
GOLDMAN And here’s something to keep
in mind on the manufacturing side. Most
plants want a minimum run, but you
don’t want to make 25,000 cases on the
first run. It’s going to cost you a lot of
money and load you up with inventory
that you have to store. Plus, that first
MORE HEALTHY DOGS
One of Woof bowl’s goals: furthering
what Holloway calls “the real dog
food and treat movement.”
production run is like the first pancake—
make it and then understand how you
can improve on the second one. So you
have to find the manufacturer willing
to work with you and give you a small
run of, say, 1,000 cases. Show them the
traction you already have, and convince
them that it’ll work out for both of you.
HOLLOWAY Part of being bootstrapped
is that we don’t have money for market
research. How do we make informed
decisions as we scale?
GOLDMAN Take what’s working best
and figure out how you can deepen it. Is
there a particular ingredient or format
that people are loving? Once you know
that, keep iterating until you feel like
you’ve perfected it. The beauty of your
business is that you have active, engaged
customers. They stroll up to your truck
with their dogs and they’re probably not
in a rush, so you can do market research
right there. Ask them, “Which of these
messages makes the most sense? Which
of these images resonates? Which pack-
aging do you like best?” Then use that
research to make magic.
HOLLOWAY That’s great. Last question:
How did becoming a successful entre-
preneur change your family dynamic?
GOLDMAN I have always made sure that
my family comes first. I was coaching
my son’s baseball team throughout
the most intense and stressful days of
Honest Tea. Going out and being able to
stand on a baseball field with a bunch
of 8-year-olds was really important for
my mental health, and frankly, it helped
the business that I got to have some
time away. I never stay in the office past
5:30. So make sure you’re committed to
your family. Part of that is taking care of
yourself. Don’t sit at a desk all day. Don’t
let the stress overwhelm you. Find other
releases outside of your work. You can’t
take care of other people if you’re not
taking care of yourself. О
49
BRANDED CONTENT
Inc.5000
HONOR ROLL
5X
Inc. 5000
Honoree
$20B
Credit Transactions
Processed, 2022
200+
Employees
45K+
Merchant
Partnerships
5 ElectronkPayments ’
The Long Game: Payment Processor
Consistently Expands Services
With $20 billion in 2022 credit card transactions,
Electronic Payments strives for more.
Some might say that a founder and CEO of a
company with 1,000 sales partners should not
be selling and installing new merchant accounts, as
Michael Nardy does on occasion. Nardy, founder and
CEO of Electronic Payments, Inc. (EPI), knows how to
delegate to his sales partners and 200 employees.
But he finds value interacting with the sales and instal-
lation teams, seeing what works well and what needs
improvement. This hands-on attention to detail helped
build EPI from a company he incorporated as a Boston
College student in 2000, to one now processing $20
billion in annual credit card volume.
The English and history major taught himself pro-
gramming, creating online auction software with credit
card processing for small businesses. By 2005, Nardy
was making enough to hire his first employee, his col-
lege roommate, who is still his chief operations officer.
BOOTSTRAPPED GROWTH
Instead of taking on investors to help his company
grow, Nardy trusted his vision and did not want to
dilute his ownership. He used a banking line of credit,
reinvested his revenue in the business, and put off
some expenditures. He also built his own products
and services, provided customer service and tech and
sales support, and conducted risk management and
underwriting. Still, he experienced flashes of frustra-
tion when he couldn't be everything to everybody. “I
sometimes saw competitors offer a solution I couldn’t
build right away," he says. He finally accepted that a
competitor could launch a product, and it was okay if
he didn’t have the same one.
It's possible the lack of outside help slowed EPI's
growth, but by most metrics EPI has grown impres-
sively during the last 23 years. "When you have
-» Michael Nardy, CEO, taking the stage at IMPACT22
investors and a board of directors advising your busi-
ness, it can sometimes be helpful to your company,"
Nardy says. In 2015, EPI bought a point-of-sale provider
and built out the product. “It’s a long game, and I trusted
my gut for the direction we needed to go," he says.
Nardy measures company growth in a lot of ways
including total revenue, merchant growth, and process-
ing volume. He is most interested in the total processing
volume and is proud that in the last few years, EPI has
become the 97th largest transaction processor glob-
ally and the 18th largest domestically. EPI processes
more than a million transactions per day. He sees its
direct credit card processing network, Cygma, as EPI’s
greatest future growth potential. Cygma allows EPI to
bypass dependence on incumbent processors.
KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER: A DIFFERENT TAKE
Knowing EPI’s customers is vital to Nardy's vision.
Some of his customers are now friends. “It’s a true
'shop local’ experience. I go to the fish market, and
the fish market is my customer," he says. Nardy loves
receiving an online invoice and realizing that it’s pro-
cessed through EPI, even though he didn't sell that
account himself.
Nardy built a national sales team that engenders the
same sense of loyalty with merchants in their respec-
tive communities. “I want to find like-minded individuals
as partners, who are members of their local cham-
bers of commerce, with ashop local and support local
mentality.” These customers become an integral part of
EPI’s business success, with a higher likelihood they'll
call when they have a need or want to upgrade.
Some sales partners have been with EPI for 18
years, building their own businesses with the EPI plat-
form of services and products. EPI does not compete
with the partners—there's no internal sales team.
"We’re partner-focused," he says. While partners can
sell competing products and services, “ultimately we
feel if we're building the better mousetrap, we’ll catch
more of the mice."
EPI also attracts partner loyalty by paying on time,
and offering competitive compensation packages that
don’t change with the economy. "We bring a level of
stability," he says. EPI hosts an annual conference for
partners, paying most of the costs for the 300 who
attend. In addition to fun activities, the conference
offers networking and training and reveals new prod-
ucts and services.
This corporate model and philosophy have worked
so well that Nardy often receives gratitude via cards,
emails, and phone calls from partners and clients,
including one partner who paid off their house early.
“It's not my credit—it is the work they put into it. But
it’s exciting when it's your vision that started the com-
pany,” he says. “It's great to help our 1,000 partners
build wealth for their families.”
ELECTRONICPAYMENTS.COM
t
Electronic
Payments team
and agent partners
at IMPACT22
CREATED BY INC.STUDIO
3
Hamdi
Ulukaya
As told to Christine Lagorio-Chafkin
In Chobani, the reluctant
businessman developed a
taste for entrepreneurship.
Here’s his recipe for success.
HAMDI ULUKAYA WAS born to nomadic
dairy farmers in eastern Turkey’s Erzincan
Province and immigrated to the U.S. for
college. In time and with the help of a Small
Business Administration loan, he purchased
a struggling Kraft plant in New Berlin, New
York. He would call the strained yogurt he’d
make there Chobani, after the Turkish word
for shepherd, $oban, and within four years
of shipping its first product in 2007, it was
America’s leading yogurt brand. In 2012,
Chobani was No. 117 on the Inc. 5000, eclips-
ing $1 billion in annual revenue. Today,
Ulukaya, 51, insists he never wanted to be
a businessman; he aimed to make healthy
food and revive a woebegone town, which
was also home to many fellow immigrants.
Along the way, he embraced entrepreneur-
ship—and gleaned a few notions on what it
takes to succeed.
ILLUSTRATION BY MERCEDES DEBELLARD
WALK INTO
UNKNOWNS
To plan is good. But walking
into an unknown can
encourage growth. You
discover a side of yourself
that you never knew existed.
When I started Chobani, I
was in the dark, but I knew
a couple of things: I truly
thought I could build that
factory back—and bring
this community back. All of
the meaning behind what
we do grew organically
from there.
SEEK HARMONY
In the early days of Chobani,
those first seven years, I
barely left the factory. I’ve
gotten better. But I still don’t
know what people mean by
“balance.” I’m more into
finding harmony. If you are
a passionate entrepreneur,
what you do is going to be
with you when you’re hav-
ing dinner. It’s going to be
with you when you’re travel-
ing. It’s going to be with
you when you’re with your
children. Don’t be bothered
by it. Find harmony in it.
THINK LIKE AN
IMMIGRANT
There’s an excitement, a
can-do attitude, a magic to
thinking like an immigrant.
When I started out, the
biggest advantage I had
was not knowing many
other people, not knowing
business, and not knowing
where this journey would
lead. It allowed me
to concentrate, to stay
in the moment and find
ways to solve one
problem after another.
4
LET YOUR BUSINESS
BE PERSONAL
Business values are no
different from personal
values or family values. I
don’t know who separated
these things from each
other. You interact in
your life on the basis of
your values. I don’t think
we change when we
are on an entrepreneurial
or business journey.
EMBRACE DISCOMFORT
Entrepreneurs are not comfortable. The
reason you start something is because
you don’t accept how things are.
Being uncomfortable brings you
to an edge. And from there,
you have a better perspective.
TRUST IN YOUR
OWN IDEAS
When you are in that zone,
and have one big conviction,
don’t listen to too much
outside of yourself. Not
knowing so much can be a
beneficial thing. Just focus
on that moment. See what’s
in front of you and what kind
of answers come to you.
That stage of being elevated
is very powerful.

7
GET OUT OF
THE OFFICE
One thing I fight against is
a packed schedule of meet-
ings. I need freedom. If I
am on the verge of making
a big decision, I usually go
to the factory floor. I walk
around town. I interact with
people. Most of my ideas
come when we are having
conversations with one
another, just talking freely.
That’s when I’ll get inspired.
Inc. 53
INC. BRANDED CONTENT / ATLANTA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The Metro Atlanta
Advantage
Metro Atlanta's diverse talent pool, innovation
ecosystem, and unique culture make the region one of
the top-ranked cities in the country to grow a business.
Metro Atlanta has become
a magnet for successful
businesses. A growing
number of iconic companies
have opened locations in the region,
including Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Gsco,
and Visa. They are joining giants like The
Coca-Cola Company, Delta Air Lines, UPS, and
The Home Depot that call Atlanta "home."
In all, more than 330 global and North
American businesses have chosen the
metro Atlanta region as their headquarters.
Startups and small and midsize businesses
(SMBs) are doing so, too. More than 200
Inc. 5000 honorees are based in the
region. Organizations in all stages of growth
are opening tech and innovation hubs in
metro Atlanta because of its leadership
role in software engineering, cybersecurity,
clean energy, and artificial intelligence (Al).
People are coming in droves, as well,
drawn by the affordable housing, a
thriving job market, and high quality of
life. In 2022, Atlanta was among the metro
areas with the largest population growth
in the country. The Economist ranked
Atlanta the most livable city in the U.S.,
behind Honolulu. Money.com ranked
Atlanta as the best place to live. And Area
Development magazine declared Georgia
the No. 1 place to do business for an
unprecedented nine consecutive years.
Katie Kirkpatrick, president and CEO
of Metro Atlanta Chamber (MAC)—an
organization that brings together businesses,
colleges and universities, and nonprofits
to promote policies and programs that
advance economic growth and enrich life in
metro Atlanta—has lived in the area almost
her whole life. She says companies have
recognized Atlanta as a talent pipeline for
decades. In the past, though, businesses
would come to the area to recruit hires, then
ask them to move away. Not anymore.
"Companies are recognizing that they can
have their businesses here, adjacent to
the talent they want to recruit and retain."
Kirkpatrick says.
For SMB owners, the region's appeal
is multifaceted. Founders might cite
a thriving economy, business-friendly
policies, or a range of public-private
initiatives. The biggest factors, though—the
heart of what makes Atlanta so desirable
for entrepreneurs—are the people, an
unbelievable innovation ecosystem, and
an electric and diverse culture.
A fantastic fusion of backgrounds
and disciplines
MAC interfaces with companies of all
sizes and industries, so it has a unique
understanding of local business trends.
Kirkpatrick says company leaders often
say one of the main reasons they choose
Atlanta is its diverse talent pool. According
to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 48.2
percent of Atlanta residents are Black or
African American, 41 percent are White, 5
percent are Hispanic or Latino, 5 percent
are Asian, and 3.7 percent are two or more
races. The result is true multiculturalism.
The region's robust higher education
system acts as a feeder for the companies.
The nationally recognized Technical
College System of Georgia, composed of
22 colleges and 88 campuses, boasts a
99 percent job placement rate. More than
57 colleges and universities in the region,
including four top-ranked Historically Black
Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), have
campuses in metro Atlanta.
"You see a concentration of companies in
our Midtown area because they want to
be near Georgia Tech, which graduates
more female and minority engineering
students than any other school in the
country; Georgia State University, which
graduates more Black bachelor-degree
candidates than any other school; and
SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design),
which is where our creative professionals
are being produced," Kirkpatrick explains.
SCAD Atlanta has more than 40 top-ranked
degree programs, including animation, film
and television, interior design, industrial
design, creative business leadership, and
fashion design. The university is currently
expanding its Midtown location, which
opened in 2005, to support the 10 percent
increase in enrollment experienced during
the 2022-2023 academic year. Students
are attracted to the city for many of the
CREATED BY INC.STUDIO
same reasons companies and their teams
want to be here.
"In Atlanta, SCAD students are surrounded
by Fortune 500 companies, a thriving
arts scene, and limitless opportunities
for professional growth. SCAD students
are able to take advantage of this
diverse urban environment bursting
with museums, parks, theaters, shops,
music venues, and professional sports
—all while pursuing their creative
careers," says Paul Stonick, vice president
of SCADpro, the university's collaborative
innovation studio that generates business
solutions for some of the world's most
influential brands.

'The design solutions our students
and faculty have created at SCADpro
Atlanta have elevated this thriving
community and translated to hundreds
of job opportunities and internships
for SCAD students and alumni,"
Stonick says.
In a first-of-its-kind degree program, a
SCAD student uses virtual tools to design
the footwear of tomorrow.
THE FUTURE OF
BUSINESS
STARTS HERE
с д De So,e Sch°o1 of
Business Innovation
Advertising and branding
Business of beauty and fragrance
Creative business leadership
Design management
Luxury and brand management
Service design
Social strategy and management
Apply now at scad.edu/innovation.
INC. BRANDED CONTENT / ATLANTA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
In addition to working with global brands
like Delta and Coca-Cola, SCADpro
recently partnered with the Atlanta Police
Department to redesign their patrol cars.
The update included new technology,
more cargo space, and a sleek design.
In March 2023, SCADpro launched an
interactive experience at THE GREEN, a
lavish green space for outdoor events,
dining, and entertainment at Phipps Plaza,
a new modern mixed-use development in
Buckhead, a sought-after commercial and
residential area in Atlanta. SCADpro's work
blended augmented reality with a mural
to create a "phy-gital" experience that
celebrated the plaza, and the city.
A hotbed of (green) innovation
Whether the challenge is building a more
sustainable future or making continued
strides in social justice, Atlanta is leading the
way. The area is positioned to be a leader
in smart cities, electric vehicles (EVs), battery
technology, and solar energy. Companies
committed to lowering emissions, for
themselves and society, have invested more
than $11.5 billion in Georgia since 2018,
according to MAC. Kirkpatrick hopes the
region will someday be recognized as the
nation's clean tech capital.
In 2022, Hyundai Motor Group
announced plans to build an electric
vehicle factory near Savannah valued at
$5.5 billion. Hyundai is also partnering
with the Korean manufacturer SK to
build an electric battery plant in Bartow
County, northwest of Atlanta. Rivian
Automotive, an electric vehicle company
founded in 2009, plans to build a $5
billion electric vehicle production campus
near Atlanta. This year, Qcells, a solar
power company, announced the largest
investment in U.S. solar power's history:
$2.5 billion to build a "complete solar
supply chain" by opening two facilities
in Georgia, according to the company.
Qcells predicts this investment will create
2,500 new jobs in Georgia.
Collaborative efforts bolster the
investments of individual companies.
Drawdown Georgia Business Compact
is a consortium of Georgia businesses
working collectively to advance climate
solutions and achieve net zero carbon
emissions in Georgia by 2050. TK
Elevator, a global leader in mobility
products and services with an expansive
presence in metro Atlanta, is one of the
consortium's 16 founding members.
TK Elevator's North American Regional
Business Support Center and local
sales and operations branches account
for more than 320,000 square feet of
commercial space and employ nearly
900 people. The company opened
the Regional Business Support Center
campus in February 2022 to consolidate
corporate functions from Atlanta,
Texas, Florida, Utah, and Tennessee.
Operations in Atlanta support more than
100 branches that install, maintain, and
modernize mobility equipment.
TK Elevator is also one of the 40-plus
companies to choose metro Atlanta for its
innovation center. At 420 feet, its Innovation
and Qualification Center (IQC) is the tallest
building in Cobb County and features the
tallest elevator test tower in North America.
Jeremy Rainwater, chief executive officer,
Americas, TK Elevator, says the company
selected Atlanta because of its breadth of
engineering and STEM-focused talent and
collaborative business climate.
"The support and collaboration
between corporations, universities,
and entrepreneurs has created a
remarkable ecosystem where innovators
push one another to achieve more and
bring creative solutions," he says.
One such collaboration is InnovATL, a
platform started by MAC to unite the
region's innovation leaders, including
startups, corporations, and universities,
and connect all the independently
organized innovation-focused events.
Another public-private partnership of
note is ATL Action for Racial Equity, a
multiyear effort spearheaded by MAC
to dismantle the effects of systemic
racism in the region, in part by providing
companies with playbooks for inclusive
economic development, equitable
corporate policies, education, and
workforce development. "Companies
and public sector partners are engaging
together to advance this work, so it is
an exceptional example of how Atlanta
moves together," Kirkpatrick says.
A great place to work—and live
James "Jay" Bailey, CEO of Russell
Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs
(RICE), an economic mobility engine
that invests in Black entrepreneurs to
strengthen businesses and communities,
describes Atlanta as a "small town
wrapped in tall buildings." While the area
has all the amenities and resources of
a commercial center, residents share a
collaborative, inclusive, and friendly spirit.
CREATED BY INC.STUDIO
"Anyone can live here and make their
mark and find their community,"
Kirkpatrick explains. "If you're an individual
looking for urban living and mass transit,
we have that. If you're looking for a small
community, maybe one that has a
small-town feel with a city center and
a town square, those exist in abundance.
If you're looking for an exceptional arts
and culture community, we have that.
If nature is your passion, we have the
Chattahoochee River National Recreation
Area running through our region. We have
hundreds of miles of trails."
Also, uniquely Atlanta has the rich civil
rights history that courses through the
veins of the region; a diverse music scene
that includes legends and newcomers
in hip-hop, R&B, country, and rock; and
a deep love of sports, particularly the
city's professional sports teams, including
the Falcons, Braves, Hawks, and Atlanta
United. In 2026, Atlanta will host the 2026
FIFA World Cup, joining Los Angeles as the
only two U.S cities to have been selected
to host a Summer Olympics, Super Bowl,
and World Cup. There is always something
to do in the city, which is part of what
attracts students and professionals to
the region. Atlanta continues to invest in
infrastructure to make it easier to get out
and explore the far corners of the metro
area. The Atlanta BeltLine is one of the
largest urban redevelopment programs
in the country. It is designed to connect
diverse communities through a 22-mile
network of outdoor parks and street cars.
And for those who need to travel further,
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
Airport puts the world at your fingertips
and is consistently ranked the busiest,
most efficient airport in the world.
The startup advantage
Metro Atlanta is rich with entrepreneurs
and small businesses, from bootstrapped
startups to venture capital-funded
companies. These business leaders can
draw from an exceptional network of
mentors and peers. "You are not alone
in the journey of running a company
here, because we have this exceptional
concentration of small and medium-
size enterprises," Kirkpatrick says. She
believes the region will remain the top
metro area in the country for business.
In addition, she predicts startups and SMBs
will continue to flock to the city and its
surrounding counties to take advantage of
unique resources, including the Curiosity
Lab at Peachtree Corners, a publicly
funded living lab for testing next-generation
mobility and smart city technologies in the
real world, and RICE.
"Atlanta has the opportunity to be one
of the most consequential cities of the
next century," Bailey says. "With our
colleges, our culture, our assemblage of
Fortune corporations, and quite frankly
our 'cool,' we have the ability to do what
others have not; truly make opportunities
in innovation and entrepreneurship
inclusive, all while living in a city that is
still affordable enough to dream." 
TALES OF TOWERING SUCCESS
123 INSIGHTS FROM ENTREPRENEURS WHO KNOW
1,220 VOICES CHIMING IN ON OUR
ANNUAL CEO
58 Inc. September 2023 TYPE DESIGN BY JUAN CARLOS PAGAN
SURVEY, AND ...
If today is any indication, tomor-
row is looking pretty amazing. That
may sound a bit starry-eyed to some, but
we here at Inc. have a unique perspective.
You see, we’re steeped in the stories of the
founders who’ve built the fastest-growing
private companies in our nation. They are
by turns astonishing, harrowing, fascinat-
ing, and—most of all—inspiring. • Con-
sider FarmboxRx (p. 78), the company
founded by a formerly single mother on
food stamps that delivers produce as
medicine under health care plans. Or Pyx
Health (p. 154), an intervention platform
built to tackle the loneliness epidemic by
a couple who lost their daughter to it. Or
CareBridge (p. 72), this year’s No. 1 com-
pany, which grew, like gangbusters, out of
the collaboration between serial entrepre-
neur Brad Smith and former Tennessee
senator Bill Frist. CareBridge is on a mis-
sion to convert Medicaid to value-based
care, but it’s no nonprofit: It grew revenue
157,000 percent over the past three years
to a staggering $872.6 million in 2022. •
These examples come from just one slice
of the economy, and just a few of the
pages that follow. Overall, median revenue
growth for the top 500 companies in 2022
ticked up to 2,238 percent from 2,144
percent the previous year. In all, Inc. 5000
companies added 1,187,266 jobs to the
economy over the past three years. Those
metrics add up to a lot of very determined
entrepreneurs lookingfor solutions to the
biggest problems facing us today. As we
said, amazing.
COMPANIES BUILDING
THE FUTURE TOGETHER
59
 INC. BRANDED CONTENT / SALESFORCE
Ready for Whatever Is
Next Thanks to a Cutting-
Edge CRM Platform
How Ncontracts, an integrated risk and compliance
management solution company, supported a pivot and
powered steady growth.
Any software solution provider
or customer will tell you that
high-performing technology is
only part of any success story.
Companies must also offer exceptional
support and service to provide maximum
value. Ncontracts, a Nashville based risk
and compliance management company,
does exactly that for financial institutions.
Customers use Ncontracts software and
services to manage risk, lower costs, and
unlock efficiencies. Behind the scenes,
the Inc. 5000 honoree relies on Salesforce
for both software and strategic guidance.
Brayden Smith, senior vice president,
vendor management services, at
Ncontracts, has watched the company's
relationship with Salesforce evolve.
When he joined Ncontracts in 2013,
the company had 25 employees, 250
customers, and an office-based culture.
Salesforce was an optional tool for
salespeople, who primarily operated
from the field. The pivot to remote work
and inside sales during the pandemic
fueled Ncontracts' growth and helped
diversify its workforce. A decade after
Smith started at the company, almost
all of its 300 employees, many of whom
work remotely, use the platform to power
inside sales and to meet the needs of
more than 4,000 customers as they
navigate compliance challenges. In 2022,
Ncontracts ranked on the Inc. 5000 for
the fourth consecutive year with a three-
year growth rate of 263 percent. The shift
and rapid growth would not have been
possible without Salesforce, Smith says.
From selling to servicing
"Salesforce helps organizations to find,
win, and keep their customers happy,"
explains Lizanne Kiel, executive vice
president, SMB Sales, Salesforce. "For
small and midsize businesses, this
starts with creating a single source of
truth for their customer data." Whether
Ncontracts employees are using the
Salesforce Sales, Marketing, Service, or
Experience Cloud, they have a full view
of the customer's history necessary
to provide high quality service. And they
don't need to "look in a hundred places
to find the information," as everything
is at their fingertips, Smith explains.
Smith also praises Salesforce
Appexchange: "It allows us to extend
Salesforce even beyond the core
capabilities within their clouds." For
example, Ncontracts uses TaskRay, a
Salesforce native app, for customer
onboarding. When an Ncontracts
team member has a question about
any solution, their Salesforce partners
are always responsive. For immediate
troubleshooting and to learn new
skills, Ncontracts turns to Trailhead,
the Salesforce online learning platform.
Powering whatever is next
Smith plans to continue to "go deeper"
with the Salesforce platform and explore
new artificial intelligence (Al)-powered
tools Salesforce is developing. "I couldn't
be more excited to work with a business
that embraces change in technology
and harnesses it to fuel their growth
strategies," explains Salesforce GRB
account executive, Lucas Berlin, who
works closely with the Ncontracts team.
Smith is careful to focus on challenges
and opportunities, not just the allure
of technology, when devising his
Salesforce growth plan. "People come
to my team to ask, 'Can Salesforce solve
this for us?' That is not really the right
question. The reality is Salesforce can
do almost anything you need to do as
an organization," he says. The "right
questions" include those related to the
potential impact of a solution and the
effort needed to add a new technology.
Berlin admires the approach and the
way Ncontracts uses technology to
improve the customer experience and
drive continued growth: "Ncontracts is
a prime example of how a business can
exceed its goals when a unified vision
is in place with its software vendor,"
he says. 
CREATED BY INC. STUDIO. COMMISSIONED BY
2*23
CEO SUIVEY
Every entrepreneur is different, but the CEOs of America’s
fastest-growing companies have a lot in common. You’re bullish on A.I.
You’re wary of investment. And most of you have built
more than one small business. Here’s how you see the world in 2023.
—G rali a in 117 nj 'rey
CONTINUED ON PAGE 69
WHO YOU ARE
AGE
MARITAL STATUS
GENDER
Male	Female
0% of respondents identified
themselves as transgender
or nonbinary.
s24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
I 0.2%
6%
Married Single
5%
Part-
nered
were born outside
the United States.
265
 «%
4% of respondents reported
being separated or divorced;
0% widowed.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY GOLDEN COSMOS
September 2023 Inc. 61
Find, win,
and keep more
customers
Marketing
Find
customers where
they are with +36%
campaign efficiency.
Meet the top 500 of the class
of 2023, in ranked order with
the No. 1 company at 157,144
percent revenue growth.
Then check out the full list of
5,000 all-stars:
inc.com/inc5000/2023
Three-Year Growth
1	CareBridge	157,144%	126	Transactly	3,852%	251	CRR Hospitality	2,236%	376	Optimus Futures	1,551%
2	CharterUP	111,130%		Red Lab Logistics	3,830%		VA Wholesale Mortgage	2,230%		SMB Media Consulting	1,547%
3	Birch Creek Energy	87,665%		OpenFortune	3,817%	253	MyHealthAngel	2,208%	378	•myDigitalOffice	1,539%
4	Green Light Distribution	41,090%		Amivero	3,773%	254	Over the Top Marketing	2,199%	379	•Hoodsly	1,536%
5	LiveShopper Sassie	37,386%		•••Powur	3,762%	255	Care Solace	2,194%		3c Industries	1,533%
6	FlexCare Infusion Centers	35,012%	FBI	Puffin Coolers	3,752%	256	•AVM Consulting	2,188%	FBI	Resident	1,522%
7	Upward Health	30,808%	^3	The Call Gurus	3,749%		•Pie Insurance	2,186%		The Wolfe Companies	1,521%
8	Marketcall	30,716%	FBI	Valor Capital Real Adjustment	3,738%		Encore Landscape Management	2,182%		Jess Lea	1,519%
9	EverHive	25,801%	E3	••20/20 GeneSystems	3,736%	259	••Stord	2,171%		Semi-Retired MD	1,517%
	Sonoran Roots	24,397%		Sakari	3,723%			2,151%	FB|	Darkroom	1,502%
LaJ	•Songfinch	23,991%		•Prize Picks	3,712%		••Distributed Technology Group	2,141%	FB|	Pathology Watch	1,500%
13	•Thesis	19,648%	FBF	Trillion Health & Hormone	3,698%	262	Schubring Global Solutions	2,130%	387	•RP Professional Services	1,498%
13	•Blue Hammer Roofing	19,510%	FBI	•TransLoop	3,692%	FBI	•Medmetry	2,127%		•••••Stability Healthcare	1,492%
14	•eTrueNorth	19,130%	FBF	CELTIC Restoration Group	3,683%		•Gen3 Technology Consulting	2,123%	E3	•Fun In Motion Toys	1,491%
	••Specialty! Partners	18,747%		Flexlt	3,681%	265	Focused Labs	2,119%		RUD Fleet	1,483%
u	Mandala Scrubs	17,773%
КЗ	•The Surefire Group	17,599%
ЕЗ	••Tryfacta	16,762%
	| Publishing.com	16,497%
		
20	| Skyline Solar	15,824%
21	I Sunlogix Energy	13,047%
22	Advanced Medical Resources	12,428%
23	Spiff	12,342%
Е£Я	••Summit Medical Staffing	12,053%
|25	Awestruck	11,247%
	| Sword Health	10,960%
		
27	WeCall Media	10,933%
28	| Vital Contingent Planning	10,718%
ЕЁ1	•ArtsAI	10,658%
	| B2 Capital Solution Provider	10,446%
		
31	| Dossier	10,342%
		
32	I Terco Enterprises	10,320%
33	•Gridiron Tire	10,294%
		
34	••Goldschmitt and Associates	10,293%
35	Rarebreed Veterinary Partners	10,293%
кН	| Forest Media Group	10,291%
37	Dan-O’s Seasoning	10,077%
38	Novo	9,906%
ЕЯ	MOXFIVE	9,622%
ЕЯ	| Capital i	9,370%
	| Dr. Contact Lens	9,229%
ЕЗ	OLIPOP	9,115%
43	Defender Safety	8,983%
44	MyFBAPrep	8,773%
45	| KinderFarms	8,744%
ЕЗ	Zero Hash	8,589%
—		
47	•Marcella	8,445%
		
48	Sierra Solutions Group	8,433%
49	Crusoe Energy	8,148%
50	| ChartHop	8,010%
51	••Kayo Energy	7,932%
52	I Opkalla	7,931%
53	Kaplan Laboratory (H-PROOF)	7,886%
54	Cribl	7,658%
		
	•AFC Logistics	7,609%
I 141	SMARI SIMPLE SOLUTIONS	3,672%	266	••Gymreapers	2,118% |	391	| Chunker	1,481%
	TalentWoo	3,646%		Print Your Cause	2,115%	^£3	•Epigen	1,470%
	Earth Right Mid-Atlantic	3,642%	ЕЯ	Missio Digital	2,097%		| *Gasochem International	1,469%
вз	Maveneer	3,630%		Percent	2,087%		В DA Systems Co.	1,468%
E3	Ashland Greene	3,617%		•Qwick	2,085%		| Alkemi	1,467%
E3	• Meraki Solar	3,587%	ЕЯ	GoodQues	2,082%	m	| «Lucidia IT	1,466%
147	•AMA Consulting Group	3,579%	272	•Shred America	2,079%	397	| «Golden Tax Relief	1,462%
148	Rainmaker Family	3,577%	273	Digital Blue Solutions	2,076%	398	| Medable	1,453%
	Spartan Fitness Holdings	3,576%	274	Crest Security Assurance	2,036%	^£3	I Wellthy	1,451%
	••Freight Plus	3,576%	275	•••••Impact Analytics	2,035%	Eg g	• •••E78 Partners	1,449%
	• Partake Foods	3,570%	276	•Mile Auto	2,034%		| CoVenture	1,447%
	•Physical Therapy Biz	3,542%	277	••OpenExchange	2,029%		| AC Disaster Consulting	1,446%
	J2 Company	3,467%	278	Intentsify	2,027%	403	| •HomeLight	1,444%
								
154	AdVictory	3,453%		Skyrush Marketing	2,018%	404	ElectroNeek	1,443%
155	•Curis Functional Health	3,444%	ЕЯ	•Marc Nolan	2,007%	405	| Strand Marketing	1,438%
	Rimsys	3,443%		Ridge IT	2,007%	eg	| Caladwich Consulting	1,425%
	Ampla Technologies	3,404%	ЕЯ	•Cole Transportation	2,005%	E3	| Appfire Technologies	1,417%
	Blue Lake Capital	3,275%		| Principle Services	2,003%	E3 E3	| ««Axiom Consultants	1,416%
	Hatching Time	3,274%	284	•Tenna	1,994%		| «Great States Construction	1,414%
E3	••Quick’rCare	3,251%	285	Taylor Chip	1,993%	a E3	Digital Axis	1,413%
	• Knocking	3,232%		JMA Resources	1,979%		| American Facilities Professionals	1,407%
	Intervene K-12	3,207%	ЕЯ	•Lease End	1,976%	ЕЯ	| «Element 26	1,406%
	Broad Range Logistics	3,198%	ЁЗ	•Medefy Health	1,964%	ЕЯ	MHW Live Music	1,399%
	Neighborly Software	3,183%	ЕЯ	•Blankfactor	1,961%	E3	DUJUD	1,397%
	Visit.org	3,165%		Top Line Growth Partners	1,947%	ЕЯ	| Gorilla Netting	1,396%
	Busy Baby	3,151%	ЕЗ	The Simple Life Hospitality	1,947%		| «Achuti	1,395%
El	•Alexandra Lozano Immigration Law 3,149%		ЕЯ	BODY20	1,931%	ЕЯ И	| «Penguin Home Solutions	1,388%
	• Baltic Born	3,140%	293	Nottingham Agency	1,920%		| Why Unified	1,387%
El El	•Kwikly Dental Staffing	3,132%	294	•Zap Mortgage	1,915%	ua	STAFFWORXS	1,385%
	••Omni Interactions	3,112%		•Aimpoint Digital	1,914%		Axela Construction	1,375%
Bl	•Sourcegraph	3,Ю4%		Crux Informatics	1,911%		| Tackle	1,369%
	•Hexaview Technologies	3,096%	ЕЯ	Squared Away	1,908%		| Ludwig Plus	1,369%
173	Evolution Veterinary Specialists	3,074%	298	•••••Wendel	1,903%	423	• ••American Hartford Gold	1,369%
174	ImmiPartner	3,060%	299	••Integris	1,888%	424	•Piedmont Global Language Solutions (PGLS)	1,363%
175	•TimelyCare	3,015%	300	| SportsGrid	1,888%			
								
176	Veda Data Solutions	2,998%	301	•••Spartan Investment Group	1,888%	^£3	| Fat Earth Media	1,358%
177	Winnie	2,985%	302	••Birdsey Construction Management 1,880%			| *OG Living	1,357%
178	Evisort	2,979%	303	eShocan	1,878%	427	•Prysm Group	1,357%
179	•FlyCore Distribution	2,972%	304	StatPearls	1,877%	428	| Skillionaire Enterprises	1,356%
	LeasePoint Funding Group	2,920%	^23	Guardian Dentistry	1,876%		| ••WellRithms	1,355%
о я	| «Empower Finance	7,595%	| | Cloud Destinations	7,537%	| | ITJuana (ITJ)	7,442%	| | «OneRail	7,409%	| | Wildfire Systems	7,404%	| | BLK & Bold	7,404% | simpliHOM	7,299%	| | ««Movers+Shakers	7,245%	| | MedOP Solutions	7,212%	| | Charter Research	7,130% | Hometap	7,061% | City Mobile Group	7,026% | The Naked Market	6,902% | Revive	6,852% | Fusus	6,709% | Vytalize Health	6,687% | VOLO Events Agency	6,545% Branch Furniture	6,436% | Little Sleepies	6,354% | Omega Accounting Solutions 6,268% I Byzfunder NY	6,228% HVN Travel Group	6,057% Empower Solar	5,981% | 1440	5,764% | Virtual Latinos	5,762% | Hawthorne Capital	5,574% | «Athena Club	5,561% | «i80 Group	5,431% Penelope Bourbon	5,384% | «Archer Review	5,378% | «SureLock Technology	5,312% | «Integrated Management Strategies 5,3tt% | Relevance	5,301% | «Valiant Capital	5,223% | Norwood	5,189% | «IDEALAGENT	5,123% I COREONYX Government Solutions 5,113% | Caylent	5,071%	El	Bounce	2,918%	| CORE Boiler & Mechanical Services 2,913%	| MarketerHire	2,902%	| •Fluid Truck	2,880%	| TAP Innovations	2,873%	| CityLight Homes	2,870%	| | «Cymbiotika	2,868%	| | Redbird Realty	2,842%	| •Flock Safety	2,836%	| | «Summit Logistics Group	2,834%	| I Associated Logistics Group	2,824%	| Backd	2,819%	| CertifID	2,807%	| | Upfront Healthcare	2,785%	| StaffPro Agency	2,774% PatientFi	2,772%	| | «Marie Nicole Clothing	2,758%	| | Night Watch Urgent Care	2,757%	| | «ENTRE Institute	2,749%	| | Fluency	2,747%	| | «Clearcover	2,739%	| | PHNTM	2,735% | District Partners	2,729%	| | Honest Digital	2,727%	| I Mission Driven Meat and Seafood 2,720% I •• Maverick Payments	2,712%	| | PostPilot	2,687% I ««Vegamour	2,674%	| Space Theory	2,670%	| | «Sodalis Senior Living	2,657% apiphani	2,654% | Media Tradecraft	2,640% | hyrUP	2,632% | Azuca	2,628% | «Rove Supply	2,610% | Clients & Community	2,595% | RoofMarketplace	2,580% | «Tax Relief Advocates	2,565%	
		183 184		
				
		В □ В!Я		310 311
				
62 63				
64				
65 66		190 191		315 316
67 68		□		И
ел Е1				
				320 321
72 73				322 323
		197 198		
Е1 КЗ				
76				
77 78		202 203		
				327 328
Е1		204		329
		205		330
				
81 82				331 332
83				333
84 85 86		209 210 211		334 335 336
87		ExJ ЕЯ		337
88				338
89 90		214 215		339 340
91 92				341 342
ЕЯ				
Atmosphere	1,865% I		Antean Technology	1,351%
••Webforce	1,862%	ЕЯ	Datad Solutions	1,344%
Elizabeth Rosario Law	1,848%	432	•Zapps Wholesale	1,343%
Vizex	1,841%	433	•Albers Aerospace	1,342%
•Summit Human Capital	1,841%	434	Zenith Design + Build	1,341%
Lucas James Talent Partners	1,836%	435	JRI Cards	1,339%
•••Direct Components	1,832%		•EvidenceCare	1,329%
T&T Industrial	1,830%		Mira	1,323%
•365Labs	1,816%		••Adlumin	1,320%
EntreMD	1,816%	439	| InTouch Med Supply	1,318%
OncoLens	1,816%	440	• Mission Veterinary Partners	1,316%
•••American Foods International	1,805%	441	| Supreme Jewelers	1,315%
•Greater Than	1,798%	CH	•Givebacks	1,312%
Newron Tech	1,796%	443	| Rocktomic	1,311%
••••••Goldco	1,795%	ЕЯ	| Delaware Limo	1,308%
NETFLY	1,760%		| •The Indoor Golf Shop	1,306%
Monarchy Media	1,759%	446	J. Brooks Boutique	1,296%
•Jiminy’s	1,758%	447	| ScrumLaunch	1,294%
RippleWorx	1,747%	448	| Condor Agency	1,290%
Enspira	1,746%	449	| «Summit Facility Solutions	1,288%
Outsource Access	1,745%	450	| Aditude	1,277%
VitalTech	1,745%	451	| Eastern Standard Provisions	1,272%
Tibbott & Richardson	1,739%	452	Yellow Tail Tech	1,268%
Codoxo	1,738%	453	| Cboe Vest	1,266%
RapDev	1,733%	454	| M. Gordon Publishing Group	1,266%
Just About Foods	1,726%		| Artium	1,264%
ADVOCATE	1,725%		| Shactee Engineering	1,264%
•••Helpware	1,725%		| *ISI Elite Training	1,263%
Bette rBot	1,722%	458	CVS Technologies	1,259%
Pet Media	1,719%	459	•Sierra?	1,257%
Aisera	1,717%		| *Raydiant	1,256%
Sphere Rocket VA	1,716%	ЕЯ	| Benchstrength Coaching	1,253%
TKO Sales	1,699%		I Nexton	1,252%
SendCutSend	1,696%	463	I ••Bastille Networks	1,252%
The Influencer Marketing Factory 1,693%		464	| *Unite Us	1,251%
•Campspot	1,693%	Еш	| Camillus Staffing	1,251%
TruEd Consulting	1,692%	CD	| The Product Boss	1,249%
••Windsor Group	1,689%		| WhizAI	1,247%
	Javara	5,070%
E3	•MO Studio	4,959%
96	ModifyHealth	4,875%
97	Blazy Susan	4,811%
98	OptiFunder	4,767%
99	Woxer	4,757%
ВЯ	FarmboxRx	4,748%
101	Veterans Security Operations (VSO) 4,659%	
102	Selecta Resources	4,658%
103	NoBid	4,562%
104	•24HourNurse Staffing	4,520%
105	Novakid	4,488%
Eg	Reel Paper	4,468%
E3	Horatio	4,468%
	Black Box Safety	4,457%
И	•Kin Insurance	4,342%
	Advantis Medical Staffing	4,302%
□	Next Dimension Construction & Roofing	4,266%
	CloudServus	4,215%
	GO Ventures	4,213%
E3	ClickUp	4,182%
	rockITdata	4,169%
	PRAY.COM	4,142%
E3	Inxeption	4,089%
О	Caribe Juice	4,079%
О	Legendary Lady Labs	4,066%
	••Fox Ordering	4,043%
	Eco BCG	4,030%
	Epic Golf Club	4,017%
	The Launchpad	3,900%
	Confetti	3,885%
| 125	Lula Smarter Property Maintenance 3,871%	
219	Ensemble Music Schools	2,564%
ЕЯ	•HCM Unlocked	2,559%
	Collectiv	2,547%
222	Compose.ly	2,505%
223	Caden Lane	2,491%
	Jane Technologies	2,491%
225	Cure Hydration	2,489%
226	QualSights	2,483%
227	Stem Wave	2,460%
228	Alliance Global Advisors	2,449%
229	Orion180	2,441%
230	•Fox Logistics	2,424%
(^1	WyCo Services	2,416%
232	AllVoices	2,396%
233	Get Staffed Up	2,381%
	IntellaTriage	2,366%
235	•ULTRAVIEW Archery	2,364%
236	TrovaTrip	2,363%
	Main Digital	2,361%
	Howdy.com	2,322%
239	•Ironside Human Resources	2,312%
	| Pulumi	2,300%
	Tite Home	2,291%
	HAVERHILL	2,290%
	SonderMind	2,289%
244	•MySpectrum Counseling & Coaching	2,285%
	•Athletic Brewing Company	2,281%
	Thrasio	2,264%
	•PCF Insurance Services	2,257%
	Llama Naturals	2,240%
	•Autobooks	2,240%
250	Splinterlands	2,240%
• The number of dots indicates how many times a company has been a past Inc. 5000 honoree.
NOTE: The growth rates used to determine company rankings were calculated to four decimal places.
There were no ties among the top 500 of this year’s Inc. 5000.
344	Datarails	1,689%	468	Cloverleaf	1,243%
	| Abstrakt Cloud Solutions	1,684%		•LoanStar Technologies	1,241%
	| Off the Muck Market	1,683%	ЕД	SchoolWise Partners	1,240%
	| Chattahoochee Construction Group 1,675%		□	Dynepic	1,234%
	KEVANI	1,675%		•True Shot Gun Club	1,233%
	| Authenticx	1,672%		VADE Nutrition	1,232%
	Credique	1,659%		•72SOLD	1,232%
351	•Creation	1,652%	475	•Tradebloc	1,225%
352	•Tractor Beverage Co.	1,651%	476	•Moloco	1,224%
353	•SocialBook	1,637%	477	•ClassWallet	1,217%
354	••connectRN	1,626%	478	GoLinks	1,217%
355	North Square Investments	1,618%	479	Lee County Plumbing and Well Service 1,216%	
	Tuck Consulting Group	1,607%	C3	KeSTA IT	1,216%
	| •Piece of Cake Moving	1,601%	ESI	Gem bah	1,214%
	Klassy Network	1,599%		••Accelerated Brands	1,213%
	•••Resource Innovations	1,589%		•Performance Golf	1,211%
	•Cobalt Engineering	1,588%	El	••Shiftsmart	1,207%
360	and Inspections		из	•PetScreening	1,205%
361	Thorum	1,587%	E3 El	•Cosentus	1,204%
	Pod Digital Media	1,586%		LiveEasy	1,204%
363	Trust & Will	1,584%	El	Tankfarm	1,199%
	DFX5	1,583%	ESI	Just Made Foods	1,198%
	•Hawaiian Bros Island Grill	1,578%	490	Cinematic Health Education	1,195%
	Serenity Kids	1,577%	491	•OneZero Solutions	1,191%
	| Touchland	1,573%		••Emonics	1,189%
	evolv Consulting	1,572%		•Ivy City Co.	1,189%
	Kapco Futures	1,569%	El	Bev-Hub	1,187%
	United Esports	1,563%		••CoinFlip	1,187%
Q3	Kevin’s Natural Foods	1,562%		•SYNERGISTIC	1,181%
	| Pilot Institute	1,558%		•BOSSCAT	1,175%
373	Brutus Broth	1,556%		Yeager Manufacturing Technologies 1,174%	
^Д	•Instawork	1,556%		•Neato	1,174%
	Intellibus	1,554%		Cross Country Creative	1,172%
й
Service
.л*
'?-d
Keep
service optimal
with +34%
agent productivity.

with a single^
platform.
Connect with your customers in а
Start today at salesforce.com/smb
Grow faster
and scale success
with the#l Al CRM.
WHO YOU ARE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 61
51
are serial
entrepreneurs
(and 49%
still own at
least one of
their earlier
companies).
55%
started their
first business
with less
than $10,000.
EDUCATION
V SOME HIGH
SCHOOL 1%
✓ HIGHSCHOOL
12%
✓ TWO-YEAR
COLLEGE/
VOCATIONAL
SCHOOL/
CODING
ACADEMY 7%
✓ FOUR-YEAR
COLLEGE 43%
V BUSINESS
SCHOOL (MBA)
17%
✓ OTHER GRAD
SCHOOL 21%
WHAT THEY EXPECT TO
GET OUT OF A.I.
RACE/ETHNICITY
76% White or 3% Black or African
Caucasian	American
10%	Asian or Asian 0.5% American Indian
American	or Alaska Native
7% Hispanic or 0.2% Native Hawaiian
Latino	or other Pacific
4%	Multiracial	Islander
THEIR TOP FIVE PURPOSES FOR A.I.
♦	“Responding to client
questions quicker and
more accurately.”
♦	“Not exactly sure yet, but
I know A.I. is the future."
♦	“Product design ideation."
♦	“Predictive analytics."
♦	“None of your business.”
THEIR MOST IMPORTANT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS FOR BUSINESS
LinkedIn
Vi.%
Facebook Instagram YouTube Twitter
□
1%
TikTok
YOUR STRANGEST STRATEGIES
MOST UNUSUAL
PRODUCTIVITY HACK
“Cold plunge!”
“Doing a quick medi-
tation circle at a social
area of our office. The
meditation is called
Fuck That.”
“POLYPHASIC
SLEEP.”
WORST LIE THEY’VE TOLD TO HELP
THEIR COMPANY SURVIVE OR GROW
“Telling a prospect that I was going to be
in their town later that week and then
booking a ticket after they said they were
available. Turned into a good client.”
“That we had software
ready to deploy and it was
not even in beta."
CRAZI EST TACTIC THEY’VE USED
“We didn’t have money to pay for
grocery store sales data. Let’s just say,
in the beginning I spent an inordinate
amount of time in grocery stores.”
“I joined a gym to get to know the
community and built a clientele from
that one source.”
September 2023 Inc. 69
FUNDING AND COMPENSATION
have turned down
venture capital.
Instead, to launch
their companies,
they tapped
О THEIR OWN SAVINGS 78%
О CREDIT CARDS 26%
О LOANS FROM FRIENDS
AND FAMILY 24%
77%
have never taken
investment.
HOW INC. 5000
COMPANIES
FUNDEDTHEIR
GROWTH
80% Mostly internally
(revenue)
11% 50-50 internally
and externally
9% Mostly externally
(loans, savings,
or investment)
WHAT
INSPIRES
YOU
WHY THEY BECAME
ENTREPRENEURS
11%
had a great idea
and believed
they could make
it happen.
32%
“We constantly turn down VC
money as well as acquisitions.
We’re a mission-driven company
and we don’t want to lose sight
or control of the work we do.”
$10,000,000
“We were offered $10 million with a 20%
interest rate. We turned it down.”
ON PAYING THEMSELVES
00
Only 20% started paying
themselves a salary upon
starting their company.
OOOO
40% started paying
themselves within a year.
wanted to lead their
own company.
14%
admired
entrepreneurs
and wanted
to be like them.
4%
started their own
business out of
financial necessity.
4%
wanted to do
good by starting
a social venture.
WHEN THEY DID START
PAYING THEMSELVES, 45%
TOOK A STARTING SALARY
OF LESS THAN
$50k
THEIRTOP FIVE EXIT
STRATEGIES ARE
® SELL TO ANOTHER
COMPANY 41%
® SELLTO INVESTORS OR
FINANCIAL PARTNERS 18%
(5) HAVEN’T THOUGHT ABOUT
AN EXIT 15%
@ PASSTO FAMILY MEMBERS 9%
© SELLTO EMPLOYEES 8%
“I’ve been
told told my
company
is worth
$200M to
$400M. But
if I sold it,
I would be
lost. It gives
me purpose
and I love
building it.”
wanted to get rich.
70
WHICH SUCCESSFUL
ENTREPRENEUR
THEY ADMIRE MOST
AND WHY
YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES
“Gary Vaynerchuk,
because he has
endless energy and
has stayed true to
himself.”
WHEN IT COMES TO
MENTAL HEALTH
“Serena Williams,
for her ability to
identify tomorrow’s
category leaders.”
“Sara Blakely.
She was scrappy
and didn’t take
no for an answer
when she was
starting Spanx.”
44%
say their
workforce has
experienced
burnout post-
pandemic.
9%
say entrepre-
neurship has
brought on
or exacerbated
depression.
THEIRTHREE BIGGEST
OBSTACLES TO GROWTH
Hiring and retaining empIoyees
Managing cash flow
Lack of experience
scaling a business
THEIR PRIMARY GOAL
36%
say entrepreneurship
has brought on or
exacerbated anxiety.

WHATTHEY’VE LEARNED
FROM THEIR CHILDREN,
YOUNGER EMPLOYEES,
ANDGEN-Z
“To be open-minded
and experiment.
You never fail until
you stop trying.”
“Collaboration
between genera-
tions leads to the
most incredible
ideas.”
“Talent is talent,
regardless of age.”
THEIR MOST SIGNIFICANT
CHALLENGES TO ATTRACT-
ING QUALIFIED TALENT
36% Matching applicants to
their culture
25% Lack of experience in
applicants
21% Limited number of
applicants
7% Applicants whose
preference for remote
or in-office work does not
match the company’s
WHAT KEEPS THEM
UP AT NIGHT
WHEN IT COMES
TO POLITICAL AND
SOCIAL ISSUES
THE TOP FIVE ISSUES
THEY FACE
Taxes
Rebuilding the economy
Inflation
42%
Education
42%
Health care
30%
“Being ready for
a downturn in the
economy.”
44% Companies should
speak out only on
issues that are
directly related to
their business or
industry.
34% Companies should
stay out of political
and social issues
entirely.
23% Taking a stand is
important and
part of building a
strong brand or
company culture.
“The unfavorable
funding environ-
ment. The 2% of
venture capital
funding that
is allocated to
female founders
in my space is
disconcerting.”
INC. GROWTH NETWORK
Learn more about A.I., hiring,
and growth strategies at the
Inc. Growth Network, a free
digital platform for Inc. 5000
companies. Join here:
community.inc.com
“Letting my team
down. We’ve
gotten through so
much together.”
September 2023 Inc. 71
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GABRIEL MCCURDY
TWO WONKS.
ONE SPECTACULAR VISION
How did Brad Smith and Bill Frist create CareBridge,
the fastest-growing company in America?
By aiming to solve not one problem, but two: how to rein
in health care costs, and howto deliver better care.
BY BILLSAPORITO
♦ BILL FRIST WAS ALREADYTHREEOR
four careers deep—surgeon, sena-
tor, venture capitalist, environmen-
talist—when Brad Smith showed up
at his doorstep in 2008 in Princeton,
New Jersey, where Frist was teaching. Smith was then
a 26-year-old whose first job out of Harvard was
chauffeur. • Not for a limo service, but for Bob
Corker, who was running for Frist’s former job, U.S.
senator from Tennessee. For two years, Smith drove
Corker around the state, absorbing politics at the
ground level. Following his election, Corker thought
Frist might be a good person for Smith to know, par-
ticularly since both were interested in education
policy, which Smith had studied in grad school. “I
went to see him, even slept on his couch, which saved
me the hotel room,” says Smith, who got a gig
researching a book out of the meeting. • But the meet-
ing’s big payoff, 15 years later, would be a place at the
helm of the fastest-growing private company in
CAREBRIDGE
Executive
chairman:
Brad Smith
Category:
Health Services
73
America. In 2019, the two men со-founded Care-
Bridge, a value-based health care management
company whose revenue expanded a feverish
157,144 percent last year, to nearly $873 million,
putting it atop the 2023 Inc. 5000. With revenue
likely to surpass $2.5 billion this year, CareBridge
may have a chance to defend its title. That’s
because some of the country’s largest health insur-
ance companies are hiring CareBridge to care
for Medicaid patients who receive home and
community-based services.
It’s a growing business. These clients often
have physical, intellectual, or developmental
challenges, and require a lot of resources. In the
past, many would have been institutionalized. In
recent decades, the emphasis has been on helping
them stay within their community, either at home
with a family caregiver or in group homes with a
paid caregiver. But the change hasn’t necessarily
improved their lives or contained costs. Medicaid
spent $162 billion in 2020 on home and
community-based services (shorthanded as
HCBS), up from $95 billion in 2016, reflecting the
shift from institutional care, but also the growth
in cost per patient. With the aging of America,
demand will increase, and the federal government
lacks the expertise for a fine-grained response.
“The government is too bigto solve this problem.
It can’t individualize enough,” says Frist, a Repub-
lican who certainly tried to solve it in his two
Senate terms: In 2003, he shepherded through a
Medicare overhaul that added drug coverage—and
substantially expanded the role of private health
plans, to improve efficiency. He adds, as it happens,
that the big insurers aren’t able to manage the
details either, and are looking for someone who can.
The promise of CareBridge is to promote well-
being in part by using technology—a two-way tablet
in the hands of each caregiver or patient that mon-
itors health signals and connects the patient with
appropriate services, 24 hours a day. The goal is
fewer hospitalizations or trips to the emergency
department, and healthier, happier clients. That, in
turn, means lower health care costs. CareBridge
pockets some of that savings as income.
Smith, 40, and Frist, 71, are an unusual combina-
tion: exquisitely educated men (Harvard-Oxford
for the former; Princeton-Harvard Med for the
latter) who have a passion for serving vulnerable
populations. “Health care is unique in where it sits
in the U.S. economy,” says Smith. “The kind of
things that health care does for people don’t exist
in other sectors. You can build businesses that have
huge impact.” More important, they’ve backed their
passion with a business model that—within a hope-
lessly inefficient yet complex industry—they say
reduces costs and produces both better outcomes
for patients and profits for investors.
They are also convinced that they can do more
good as entrepreneurs than they would as bureau-
crats or politicians. If you’re a cynic, you can label
TOTAL
HEALTH CARE
SPENDING
2021
$4,255
TRILLION
Ф
2031
(PROJECTED)
them as insiders who have taken advantage of the
revolving door that connects powerful people in
government with highly regulated industries.
(Why, for instance, was the Federal Aviation
Administration recently run by a former airline
executive when airline service is so awful?) And
state Medicaid agencies have drawn criticism for
awarding contracts to companies whose execu-
tives once worked for those agencies.
But health care produces data—measurable
outcomes. And the initial data on CareBridge’s
performance was so compelling that the owners
of four of the largest managed Medicaid plans—
Elevance Health (formerly Anthem), United-
Healthcare, Centene, and Aetna CVS—took a piece
of CareBridge’s $140 million Series В funding
round last year, helping push CareBridge’s valua-
tion past $2 billion. These payers, as the big health
insurers are known, are also CareBridge’s biggest
customers, and they are moving the company into
30 states where they have won Medicaid contracts.
For Frist, a renowned transplant surgeon before
he entered politics, being an entrepreneur is an
extension of what he did as a physician, but on a
broader canvas, which is what makes it attractive
to him. “I took an oath as a surgeon to take one
person at a time and fix their heart, fix their lungs,”
he says. “What I have been lucky with, and blessed
with, is the opportunity to see how to take things
to scale. I keep the same values.” After leaving the
Senate, he partnered with the Chicago private
equity legend Bryan Cressey in what is now called
Frist Cressey Ventures, which invests in early-stage
health care companies, such as Monogram Health,
which offers in-home care for people with complex
chronic conditions.
He and Smith first collaborated in 2009 on a
Nashville education nonprofit called Score, which
Frist funded and Smith ran. In Smith, Frist sees
someone who shares his mission and can also
execute. He describes Smith as a data nerd with a
deeply analytical mind, able to convert numbers
into insights and insights into action—and also as
an entrepreneur who can attract talent. “Those
are the things that make him special at getting to
scale fast,” says Frist. “He builds great teams.”
Throughout his life, Smith has been someone
who flings the door open when opportunity knocks.
When he was a senior at Webb School in Knoxville,
Tennessee, where he grew up, he began applying
to SEC schools such as Tennessee and Georgia. But
a school board member suggested he also apply to
Harvard. That board member was Bill Haslam,
a future Tennessee governor whose billionaire
family founded the Pilot Flying J truck-stop com-
pany. At Harvard, Smith interned at consultancies
and considered a career in the field.
When he returned home after graduation,
Haslam told him about a job opening. “He said,
‘Hey, my brother’s former college roommate needs
a driver,”’ Smith recalls. The brother, Jimmy, is the
74 Inc. September 2023
current co-owner of the Cleveland Browns; Jim-
my’s roommate was Bob Corker.
After Corker won the election in 2006, he helped
Smith get the position of executive assistant to the
White House political director, where he spent six
months before headingto Oxford. When he returned,
he had lunch with Bill Hagerty, a former member
of the White House Fellows selection committee
(and now a U.S. senator from Tennessee), hoping
to get tips on how to apply. Hagerty had other ideas.
Young fellow, he said to Smith, I just got a job run-
ning Tennessee's economic development agency. Do
you want to be chief of staff? Smith was 28.
WITH CAREBRIDGE GATHERING MOMENTUM IN 2020,
Smith did something unusual, crazy even: He left
the company to take a job in Washington with the
Trump administration. Founders almost never
leave their babies unless they’re forced to. But
Smith saw a singular opportunity in becoming
director of the Center for Medicare & Medicaid
Innovation (CMMI), the department within the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
that tests alternative payment models. Besides, he
already had an actual baby girl at home. (Two sisters
would eventually join her.)
When Adam Boehler, then the director of
CMMI, called Smith about succeeding him,
Smith’s initial reaction was “intrigued, but on the
no side.” But he talked to people who had senior
roles in CMS or Health and Human Services, and
they offered similar advice: “They said, to a per-
son, ‘These are the calls you don’t get too often,’ ”
he recalls. Once again, he answered it. He had to
sell his interest in and cut his ties with Care-
Bridge, but for a health care entrepreneur, this
was on the order of starting a private space com-
TOTAL
MEDICAID
SPENDING
2021
$734
BILLION
Ф
2031
(PROJECTED)
$1,198
TRILLION
pany and then running a directorate at NASA.
For decades, CMS has been trying to figure out
how to migrate Medicare and Medicaid from a
hugely expensive, fee-for-service model—which
cost $1,634.8 trillion in 2021—to one based on
value and outcomes. As in, can we get healthier
patients yet spend less? What Smith found during
his 19-month tenure—which also saw him serve on
the Operation Warp Speed Covid-19 response
team—is that value-based care is really hard. CMMI
has funded 54 so-called innovation models—for
example, linking what Medicare pays hospitals for
hip replacements to how well the patients do—to
the tune of some $8 billion, and almost all of them
failed to move the needle. “Only five of the models
saved money,” says Smith, who returned to Care-
Bridge as executive chairman in 2022, “and very
few of them showed quality improvements.” That
lesson informed the company.
The challenge, especially within Medicaid, is the
fiendish complexity of restructuring a basic human
service as vast as health care. It requires expertise
along regulatory, medical, technological, financial,
political, and socio-economic vectors, and you have
to get all of them right. “These are the most needy,
most vulnerable populations in America,” says
Annie Lamont, co-founder of Oak НС/FT, an early
investor in CareBridge, “and there was very little
innovation.” Perhaps the best-positioned people to
solve the value-based care conundrum are entre-
preneurs with experience in both government
bureaucracies and tech-driven health care startups.
People like Smith and Frist.
CAREBRIDGE S HEADQUARTERS ARE IN A NON-
descript, low-rise office building in a precinct of
Nashville on the other side of the Cumberland
Medicaid
,57%
Out-of-Pocket
7%
Hard Choices
CareBridge’s business
lies in the $162 billion a year
Medicaid spends on its
toughest-to-serve clientele.
Other Public and Private
Private Insurance
10%
26%
Home and community-based services spending,
by payer, 2020.
Data throughout from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services: National Health Expenditures.
75
River from the sites the tourists visit But headquar-
ters don’t mean as much in business these days,
even less in health care. The company’s 430
employees—more than double the figure from just
a year ago—are split about 50-50 between the home
office and clinical outposts around the country.
What makes CareBridge interestingas a medtech
company is that it doesn’t have a magical app to cure
diabetes or kidney disease, nor is it positioned to
earn the kinds of profit margins of a SaaS business,
say. Instead, CareBridge is addressing one segment
of an enormous industry and is more than willing
to accept single-digit profit margins to do so. That’s
somewhat antithetical to what tech startups do, but
the dollars in health care are so massive that the
math makes sense. The U.S. spends about $4.5
trillion annually on health care, more than any
other country—about 18 percent of GDP—and for
that gets worse outcomes than almost every other
developed nation. By some estimates, 30 percent of
that spending is waste.
Smith and Frist both knew that across the
HCBS populace, even incremental improvements
could boost the health of millions, reel in spiral-
ing costs, and reward the entrepreneurs who
could scale these responses. According to Smith,
the addressable market is about $120 billion in
annual spending on home and community-based
patients. CareBridge’s investors and customers—
risk-based managed care organizations (MCOs)
run by insurers—control about half of that seg-
ment. “So our market size is $60 billion,” says
Smith. “And we’re only two or three billion into
it.” If the company netted, say, 8 percent on
$3 billion, the profit would be $240 million.
CareBridge is now profitable.
CareBridge isn’t so much a startup created on a
single insight as it is a company assembled from
parts. Smith and Frist lined up the technology, the
IP, and the big customers before forging ahead. For
technology, they bought Healthstar, a company they
found in Smith’s hometown of Knoxville, whose
service geolocates caregivers to make sure they
show up; and Sinq Technologies, a data aggregation
and payment company.
Most important, each of those companies had a
dowry of sorts: big insurance clients, including
Elevance and UnitedHealthcare. That provided
CareBridge with the opportunity to “land and
expand” and upsell its HCBS services. Smith
worked those connections. For instance, at an
industry conference in Israel, he ran into the CEO
of UnitedHealthcare Tennessee, who introduced
him to the company’s VC arm, Optum Ventures.
The health care giant became a client as well as an
investor, and is giving CareBridge a significant
portion of its HCBS patients. (CareBridge won’t
disclose the value of the contract, but in 2023, its
$2.5 billion in revenue will come from five clients.)
Frist and Smith also knew they could gain an
advantage by mastering state Medicaid regula-
INC. GROWTH
NETWORK
CHECK OUT
THE FIRST-
EVER DIGITAL
HOME FOR
THE INC. 5000
COMMUNITY.
The Inc. Growth
Network is a
digital platform
available for
free to all found-
ers and CEOs
of Inc. 5000
companies.
Join here:
community.inc
.com
MEDICAID
SPENDING
PER
ENROLLEE
2021
$8,666
2031
(PROJECTED)
tions. Unlike Medicare, which is a national, feder-
ally administered program, Medicaid is run by
individual states that apply for waivers to use
federal funds. Each state has different, often con-
founding standards for who qualifies for each
benefit. There are 124 patient assessments that
states use to qualify and pay for coverage. “We can
go into 30 states and be experts on those assess-
ments,” says F rist. Part of that expertise came from
hiring a few of the very people who were running
those state programs.
CareBridge is in part an extension of the pair’s
second collaboration, Aspire Health, founded in
2012, and their belief that private enterprise is
better than nonprofits in addressing some sets of
patients. Aspire provided community-based
palliative care, a field that had been dominated by
nonprofits, which were struggling. “The care the
nonprofits were giving was through-the-roofgood,”
says Smith, but unsustainable because they were
losing money providing it. As a physician, Frist had
long recognized the demand. Smith says he was
moved by watching his grandmother struggle in her
final days, confined to a hospital bed. “Nobody could
figure out the business model around it,” says Frist.
“There was a huge need amongthe population that
had severe chronic disease. Most were goingto die
within a year, but not soon enough for a hospice.
We went in and figured it out.”
What they devised was to assign each patient a
care team—nurse practitioner, RN, MD, and
social worker—to proactively coordinate coverage
so they had an option other than an institution.
The outcome was better lives—better deaths—and
lower costs, given that, to be blunt, we spend dis-
proportionate amounts of health care dollars on
the last six months of life.
As they scaled Aspire, staffers kept coming across
patients who already had a caregiver—a potential
source of labor they weren’t tapping. ‘We’d thought
about how to leverage the caregiver, but we never
actually did anything about it at Aspire,” says Smith.
They sold the business to Anthem for $440 million
in 2018.
Smith initially stayed with Anthem after the sale,
but he had negotiated the right to explore new
startups, and he began researching the home and
community care market. In looking at data from
both CMS and private players, Smith discovered
that these patients were among the costliest to
care for: They represented 3 percent of Medicaid
patients but 17 percent of total spending. ‘We could
really build a different model,” he says.
In the CareBridge model, the two-way tablet
received by each patient or caregiver is a health
care switchboard, providing immediate access to
care. Day to day, the tablet manages patient well-
being, logging blood pressure and insulin levels in
people with COPD or diabetes, or transmitting
advice on healthier diets. Each patient has an
initial evaluation to assess the level of services they
76 Inc. September 2023
might need and to map out a plan that will enhance
well-being—as opposed to responding only when
they become sick. And, similar to Aspire, Care-
Bridge assigns them to a disciplinary care team
that includes occupational and physical therapists,
nurses, physicians, behavioral health specialists,
and social workers.
When there’s an issue, the caregiver presses a
red button on the tablet to summon help. That
might start with a call from a nurse practitioner
or social worker but can escalate to a video visit
by a physician’s assistant or a doctor. This kind
of scaled delivery is producing positive results.
Hospitalizations for CareBridge’s patients are
down 23 percent and nursing home days by 16
percent compared with the prior providers.
The company augments medical care with social
care to promote independence and encourage
patients to do more for themselves, like installing a
grab bar and a shower seat in the bathroom with
instruction on how to bathe safely so they can
shower on their own. This would mean that a health
aide isn’t required for the job. The company will
also provide differently abled people with job train-
ing if they’re interested in working rather than
spending all of their time at home.
MEDICAID
ENROLLMENT
2021
84.7
MILLION
Ф
2031
(PROJECTED)
85.2
MILLION
Smith and Frist are
both longtime
healthcare mavens,
but believe their
entrepreneurial
flair is their key
to success.
It works for the payers, too, because essentially
CareBridge is taking patient risk, which is consid-
erable, off their hands. It costs MCOs an average
of $40,000 to $50,000 annually to care for each
HCBS patient. They pay CareBridge a monthly fee
per member (not disclosed publicly) that the
company books as revenue. As part of the contract,
CareBridge also agrees to meet certain standard-
ized quality measures, such as controlling blood
pressure, completing advanced care planning, and
ensuring patients are taking their meds. At year
end, CareBridge splits any savings over the base-
line cost of these patients, as agreed in the con-
tract. Keeping people out of the hospital or the
emergency department by anticipating their
health needs turns out to be a winning strategy.
The company says it is meeting quality measures
more than 90 percent of the time.
Still, this is an experiment in transferring care
from local, if scattered, groups of providers to a
national one. “It’s an intriguing idea that holds a
lot of potential, but I hope it will be vigorously
evaluated,” says Alice Burns, associate director for
the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Program on
Medicaid and the Uninsured. Health care compa-
nies, she argues, are confronting severe labor
shortages of long-term care workers, and the situ-
ation is only going to get worse. To attract more
staff, CMS has proposed a rule requiring that 80
percent of HCBS funds go to workers, as opposed
to profit, administration, and overhead. ‘How does
value-based care play out with 80 percent pass
through?” asks Burns.
And how far can they take this model into other
health care sectors? As CareBridge was rapidly
scaling, Smith, via his own venture firm, Russell
Street Ventures, was launching another company
called Main Street that takes similar teams and
metrics to primary care in rural medicine. That’s
another market that is desperately underserved,
especially in states that have refused to expand
Medicaid.
As health care spending heads toward $7 trillion
by2030, so will the demand for companies that can
deliver value. That’s why firms such as Transcarent,
Somatus, and Clarify Health have reached unicorn
status. For its part, says Oak HC/FT’s Lamont,
CareBridge is “a win, win, win. This is improving
people’s lives, lowering costs, and making money.
It’s the trifecta.”
Granted, Lamont speaks from the perspective of
a winning investor. As companies like CareBridge
expand, the onus will be on them to prove that
private companies are better at public health care
delivery than governments—even if some of the
same actors move from one sector to the other as
management or investors. Because if we don’t cure
our ailing health care system, we will run out of
money long before we run out of patients. О
BILL SAPORITO is an Inc. editor-at-large.
DAILY BREAD

ф	FarmboxRxfounder Ashley Tymer,
39, sees healthy food as a form of
health care. In 2014, she launched Farmbox
Direct, which shipped boxes of fresh food
anywhere in the U.S. In 2019, she pivoted to
focus on the health care market, partnering
with Medicare Advantage and private
health insurance plans to offer produce
boxes as a benefit to members, a business
that had attracted an estimated $200 mil-
lion in public funding through the end
of 2022. The Boston-based company,
rebranded as FarmboxRx, had nearly
$35 million in revenue last year and 46 full-
time employees, but Tymer still recalls what
her life was like in 2010, when she was
newly single, pregnant, and living with her
parents in Casa Grande, Arizona.
“Thirteen years ago, I was on food stamps,
and living in a rural food desert. We would
drive 20 to 30 minutes to a grocery store.
I’m also Hispanic. The issue is so much
more prevalent in Brown and Black com-
munities. Twenty-four million Americans
live in food deserts, and half are low-
income. That’s where the idea for Farmbox
Direct began. I knew how hard it was to
live on benefits while pregnant and trying
to eat healthy.
I moved to New York in 2011 when my
daughter was about 2 months old. I
worked in branding for a fashion designer
for two and a half years, but I wanted to
leave very soon in, to be home more with
my daughter. And I always knew I wanted
to do something to eradicate food insecu-
rity. The wildest thing for me was that
even in New York there are food deserts.
I researched the food market for a year.
I moved into a studio apartment and saved
up a year’s rent before I left my corporate
job because I knew it would be a while
until I could take a salary. I founded Farm-
box Direct in 2014 as a direct-to-consumer
business shipping produce around the
country. Over the next five years, revenue
grew to about $1 million.
In 2019, I heard that the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services was going
to allow produce to be offered to Medicare
Advantage and Medicaid beneficiaries. The
government finally caught on that if we can
fix someone’s diet, we can lower costs on
How I Went
From Food Stamps
to Founding
a $35 Million
Company
FARMBOXRX
CEO: Ashley Tyrner
Category:	Three-year
Health	revenue growth:
4,748%
those who have chronic conditions like
diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular
disease. So I went out to find a health plan
that would work with me.
Nobody would talk to me except an
amazing woman named Sonya Maddox,
the head of product for Vibra Health. She
said, T remember what it’s like to be like
you because I’m a Black woman from the
South, and climbing the corporate ladder
in health care was not easy.’ Her members
needed food, and she would participate in
the program. But she told me, ‘If you can’t
keep up with the volume for my customers,
I’m going to lose my job.’
We decided to focus solely on the health
care market because the government
needed partners in the private sector, and
we could have first-mover advantage. We
already had distribution hubs in different
parts of the country. One of the biggest
produce distributors handles our packing
operations and buying, and FedEx delivers
the box. We really pioneered this space,
where the government or health plan pays
for the food, not the member. We left the
DTC market in 2022, but the beautiful
thing is we still combat food insecurity and
the social determinants of health. We
started with one health plan in 2020, and
we’ve grown to 87 plans.
There were hiccups along the way. I’ve
read a lot of CEO books, and not one of
them ever told me what to do if your bank
has a run on it. When Silicon Valley Bank
collapsed, before we knew we’d get our
money back, it was the worst four days of
my life. We were lucky that we had diver-
sified already. We had money elsewhere.
But we had $10.5 million in SVB. It would
have been a painful blow.
We’ve done this without raising one
dollar of venture capital. Nobody would
give us money early on. When I was out
trying to raise capital in my first year and
a half of business, a VC asked me if I could
tell him how much money was in the busi-
ness bank account, because women in
general are not really good at managing
money. Now VCs try to throw capital at us
because they hear how well we’re doing,
but we don’t need it now. And I’ve turned
down three acquisition offers.”
-AS TOLD TO JENNIFER CONRAD
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALLIE + JESSE
79
No.
О
о
SPORTSGRID
CEO: Jeremy Stein
Category:
Media
Three-year
revenue growth:
1,888%
How I
Launched
a Media
Company
for Sports
Betting at
the Perfect
Moment
ф In 2016, former venture capital
investor Jeremy Stein won$l million
playing fantasy basketball. Then he won
another $1 million playing fantasy football.
Dumb luck? Hardly: Stein, 37, had spent
years developing algorithms to predict the
outcome of games. In 2017, he used them to
co-found Sport sGrid, a sports betting media
company—CNBC meets SportsCenter.
Clutch timing, too: A year later, sports wa-
geringbecame legal in the U.S. Though Stein
is now CEO of a company that has 37 em-
ployees and generated $20 million in reve-
nue last year, SportsGrid’s run has hardly
been a Cinderella story. And the next move
of the Holmdel, New Jersey, company may
be its trickiest: expanding out of the
$60 billion U.S. commercial gambling indus-
try to win even bigger business.
“When I stopped playing daily fantasy
sports full time, I formed an esports ana-
lytics company called Nxtake; I had a lot of
assets in predictive technology. Earlier that
year, I had met Lou Maione, who ran a
media company called the Fantasy Sports
Network. Lou had a lot of assets in content
production and distribution, and we
80 Inc. September 2023
started having conversations about putting
some of our assets together. He had this
idea that sports gambling would become
legal within two to three years. In Septem-
ber 2017, Lou and I merged our companies
to create SportsGrid. We said, We’ll do
some generic sports and fantasy sports, but
we’ll prep for when sports gambling
becomes legal.’
Sports is simply data. We take all of the
data points out there and make a signal
from the noise. Then we feed that infor-
mation in real time to our on-air talent.
We can produce 18 hours of live, original
video content on a daily basis. At a certain
point, we realized the sports wagering
operators like FanDuel and BetMGM
needed an engagement tool. What we tell
them is, ‘Think of us as an out-of-the-box
media strategy at a very low cost. You can
take over our channel and reach millions
of people on a monthly basis.’ We call that
media-as-a-service. That’s how we make
our money, by selling sponsorship pack-
ages. We’re also the number-one free
ad-supported TV sports channel.
Media is a very unsexy business that
trades at really shitty multiples, and inves-
tors didn’t believe in our business model.
There was a good year and a half when it
was pretty touch and go. We would make
payroll for our roughly 15 employees, and
then there would be a two-to-three-day
reprieve when we could relax. And then
we’d say, ‘Oh, shit, we have another payroll
coming up.’ Our bank account went down
to $5.46. It was pretty miserable.
In May 2018,1 was in Costa Rica with
my wife, and all of a sudden my phone got
insanely hot. Paspa, the Professional and
Amateur Sports Protection Act, had been
repealed. Sports betting in the U.S. would
be legal on a state-by-state basis. Everyone
I knew was trying to get ahold of me.
Today our biggest customer is FanDuel.
It has a three-hour block on our network
that is exclusive to it. It’s branded FanDuel,
it has the FanDuel logo, and if we’re talking
about betting, our hosts are discussing only
FanDuel odds. We have a similar agree-
ment with BetMGM. Those two deals put
us in the game.
About two years ago, we had a
$240 million acquisition offer. Two days
before signing the merger agreement, we
had a celebratory dinner with their execu-
tives and our executives. The next morn-
ing, we heard that the deal got blocked by
a company that had the right of approval.
It was crazy. We spent about $1 million in
legal fees for a transaction that did not
happen. We were mad for a couple of days,
but then we looked at the positives: Lou
and I could still run the company the way
we wanted to.
Our five-to-10-year plan is to serve
21-to-45-year-old consumers, and we want
to reach them in new verticals like sports
memorabilia and cryptocurrency. You
could think about sports and sports wager-
ing as the wedge that gets us access to our
audience. It’s going to get hard again,
because anytime you’re tackling a new
environment, things change quickly. Our
assumptions may not be right, and we may
be doing things that won’t bear fruit. We’re
going to have to deal with that down the
road.” -AS TOLD TO GRAHAM WINFREY
PHOTO-ILLUSTRATION BY JOEL ARBAJE
81

293
NOTTINGHAM
AGENCY
CEO: Ernest
Dukes
Category:
Advertising &
Marketing
How I Hustled My Way
Out of My Neighborhood
and Made It to Hollywood
ф When Hollywood stars need to get
the hype train rolling, an increasing
number of them call on Ernest Dukes. As the
founder of Los Angeles-based Nottingham
Agency (2022 revenue: $5 million), Dukes
creates publicity campaigns for musicians,
actors, athletes, films, and TV shows. His
client roster includes William H. Macy, Nick
Cannon, and films like Spider-Man: Across
the Spider-Verse. Dukes, 33, founded the
agency in2009 when he was a teenager—an
exceptional feat for anyone, but especially
for someone who, as a child in Santa Ana,
California, was passed between caretakers
while his father served time in prison and
his mother coped with addiction.
“Santa Ana is a rough community. It’s not
the Orange County you see on TV. I was
the first male in my family to graduate high
school. In a place like that, you can imagine
what kind of job someone has if they don’t
have a high school education. You’re gonna
do whatever you have to do to make
money and provide for your family. I didn’t
always know what I wanted to do, but I saw
how I didn’t want to end up. That created
a fire in me, a desire to get out.
I got my first job when I was 10, sweep-
Three-year
revenue growth:
1,920%
ing hair in a barbershop for like $15 each
weekend. Then I started selling muffins
and bean pies—homemade desserts made
with navy beans. When I realized that you
couldn’t get Girl Scout Cookies in a store,
I bought all the boxes I could and upsold
them to people in my neighborhood. That
was my entrepreneurial thing kicking in.
And it made me realize I always wanted to
work for myself.
For a while, I wanted to be a rapper or
an actor. We were only 45 minutes from
Hollywood, but it felt like a long way. I
saved some money and went to acting
classes and met all these cool kids, and then
everyone in the class started to book work
with the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon
and I didn’t book anything.
Around that time I went to a party, and
my friend’s mom, a publicist named Chanel
Green, was there. I kept going over to the
adults’ circle and asking her about her job.
My thinking was: If I knew all these people
from the acting classes who were booking
things, what could I do to monetize those
relationships? I told her I wanted to learn,
and she let me intern for her.
Her firm worked with high-profile cli-
ents like Solange Knowles, Beyonce’s sister,
so it was a great experience. That’s when I
fell in love with the world of publicity. I
loved being creative, being responsible for
bringing an idea to life. I started working
with a woman fromBasketball Wives. None
of the other ladies on the show had publi-
cists, so they all hired me. Other people in
the reality TV world started calling me. I
was 19 years old. I made a logo in Microsoft
Paint and said, ‘OK, I have a business.’
People in entertainment really looked
down on reality TV. But over time, these
stars became more visible and started
getting invited to red carpets, and I started
getting musicians and TV and movie stars
as clients. Last year, our eight-employee
firm had 40 or 50 campaigns, including
working with Babyface after his album
launch and a multicity event for the BET
Awards. Diddy was receiving a lifetime
achievement award, so we created gift
boxes that would make the guests feel like
him—champagne, gift cards to high-end
restaurants, iPhones with 24-hour con-
cierge service that would make reserva-
tions for you.
As I’ve grown the business, it’s been
challenging figuring out what I don’t
know, what my strengths are, and how to
make up for my weaknesses. For a long
time, I didn’t know how to delegate
because I learned on the job. I didn’t go to
college. So I couldn’t understand how
someone else could know what needed to
be done if they didn’t have the same
experiences I did. But over time, I’ve
realized there are an unlimited number of
ways to learn. It takes a certain amount
of maturity for your mind to get there. A
few years ago, I hired Chanel as my SVP,
which helped bring things full circle.
The name Nottingham Agency comes
from the street I grew up on—the place
where I first started to dream. I didn’t have
a lot of people to look up to as a kid. My
role models were always people I didn’t
know, like Oprah or Diddy. Maybe there
are people out there who are where I was
when I was sellingbean pies, and they’ll be
inspired.” -AS TOLD TO KEVIN J. RYAN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JENNELLE FONG
83
HRISTIAN AND RASMUS MIKKELSEN EARNED
their first million dollars at age 25. The
twins’ second million came four days later,
crowning a swift climb up from rock bot-
tom, when they lived rent-free in a family
apartment in Denmark, smoking weed and
bingeing Breaking Bad. In a flash of self-
awareness, Rasmus—the younger by one
minute—realized “it just was not acceptable
anymore,” and they skulked back to their
parents’ home in New Jersey.
Dad had an idea: college! The
boys enrolled in an associate’s
degree program for exercise
science, and proceeded to ace
every course. • Thus began the
Mikkelsens’ tactical approach to
life and business. With the loose
vision of being digital nomads,
they searched “how to make
money online,” leading Christian
to publish a book on Amazon
titled How to Be a 4.0 Student
in College, Like Me. It sold, so
Rasmus followed suit with a
cross-training manual. Suddenly,
they were in the publishing
business. To scale, they hired
ghostwriters, and once com-
bined earnings grew to around

DARK DAYS
IN DENMARK
Rasmus: “One
night in bed,
I remember
thinking, ‘If I
die, will anyone
even notice?’ ”
STOP
THE PRESSES
Christian, on
Amazon’s pulling
the plug: “This
is the thing we
feared. Could it all
be taken away?”

TWIN ACES
Rasmus, on
getting straight
A’s: “That honestly
changed our
self-confidence
and what we
thought was
possible.”
FLEDGLING
FOUNDERS
Christian: “I didn’t
even know what
entrepreneur
meant.”
8l$
DOES IT GET
ANY BETTER
THAN THIS?
°77 JOlMT INCOME: $75,0°°
The Mikkelsen twins live in
a universe where 1 + 1 = oh,
around $50 MILLION \\
a year. And they created
it entirely themselves.
It’s called Publishing.com
GOODBYE,
COLLEGE
Rasmus: “It was
important to not
have a plan B.”
*Approximate
$3,000 a month, they quit school
and moved to Thailand, where
the internet was fast and the
living cheap. Next stop: Hawaii.
1!»
“It was euphoric,” says Christian.
“I told Rasmus literally every
day, ‘This is the new best day of
my life.’ ” • Indeed it was—until
Amazon shut down Christian’s
primary account. Turns out, you
PUBLISHING.COM
CEO: Christian
Mikkelsen
Category:
Business Products
can’t just run text from a book
in English through Google
Translate and sell it as a foreign-
language edition. Rasmus
lost his account, too (same IP
address). Now what? A pivot to
producing YouTube videos
teaching hopeful souls how to do
what they’d done, with a focus
on audiobooks. They rolled up
their advice into an online course
called Audiobook Income
Academy and promoted it at
a 50 percent discount the day it
launched. It brought in $48,000
overnight. “I’ve never felt richer
in my entire life,” says Christian.
“And here we are now—acciden-
tally—with a $50 million-a-year
business.” —Eric Hagerman
& Services
OPEN
MIKKELSEN U
Rasmus, on the
overnight success
of AIA: “Holy wow.
That’s when the
business began.”
Three-year
revenue growth:
16,497%

,172
UIUUIIIIIIIIIH
DYNAMIC
DUO
“Its no longer
about me and
Rasmus," says
CEO Christian
Mikkelsen
(left). “We’re
in uncharted i
territory."
STAY FOCUSED
Christian: “If you
pour all your
energy into one
thing, it’s going to
yield the largest
output.”
SIMPLE SCALES
Covid lockdowns
boost monthly
revenue from
$20,000 to a peak
of $500,000. “We
have a sickeningly
simple business,”
says Christian.
PUBLISHERS
AGAIN
The twins publish
The Freedom
Shortcut, a Wall
Street Journal
bestseller.
•it.
OUTSIDE INFLUENCES
Christian, on hiring a COO: “I don’t
know how to scale it further. Now it’s
a game of accumulating people who
are way better than ourselves.”
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARCO ARG0ELLO • ILLUSTRATIONS BY RAYMOND BIESINGER 85
How I Transformed the
Music Industry With
a Song and an Ad
SONGFINCH
CEO: John
Williamson
Category:
Consumer Prod-
ucts & Services
Three-year
revenue growth:
23,991%
86 Inc. September 2023
ф	Over his nearly 25years in the music
industry—as an audio engineer, a
manager, and once even a rapper—John
Williamson, 43, has gained a bird's-eye view
of emerging trends. In 2016, after having
exited his music licensing business, he came
up with a new idea: a marketplace where
anyone could commission a song for any
occasion. His foresight was sharp, though it
took a few years for Williamson and
co-founders Rob Lindquist, 36, Josh Kaplan,
47, and Scott Kitun, 39, to figure out how to
make it sell. Today, the Chicago-based com-
pany is celebrating its second year in a row
on the Inc. 5000. Here's how Songfinch
climbed the chart.
“I’m not the greatest public speaker, so
when I was my brother’s best man in 2013,
instead of giving a speech I got a band to
write a song about how he and his wife met.
After the DJ hit play, I watched the
200-person room go through the entire
gamut of emotions, from laughing to
wiping away tears. I wasn’t immediately
like, We need to build a business around
that,’ but it was something that stuck.
The business I started before was a
two-sided marketplace that connected
indie artists to brands for TV licensing,
commercials, and video games; I sold a
majority stake to Coca-Cola in 2011. After
that, Rob and our co-founder Josh kept
coming back to the idea that the future of
the music industry was going to involve
more participation, and thanks to social
media and technology, the role of the fan
wasgoingto change. So when we launched
Songfinch in 2016, we were creating a new
business vertical that would put the cus-
tomer in the shoes of a creator, in a sense.
The idea of personalized music didn’t
yet exist and we had to convince customers
that it was worth paying for music by an
artist they’d never heard of. So in the
beginning, we were very direct—we’d have
an ad that said, ‘Hey, get this for an anni-
versary,’ and the majority of our orders
would be for anniversaries.
That was our approach for the first four
years, but we just couldn’t crack through.
We had raised about $750,000 pre-seed,
but by January 2020, we had $30,000 left
and no staff. We took that last bit of money
and, over the next three weeks, tried to
think of a campaign we hadn’t yet tried.
That’s when the epiphany came.
We realized what we were really selling
was this crazy, incredible, emotive experi-
ence—and we believe personalized music
is the best way to deliver it. In a last-ditch
effort, we ripped videos from YouTube of
people crying and having emotional
embraces and pieced them together in a
Facebook ad that we launched just before
Valentine’s Day. We did more in sales that
week than we had all of the previous year.
Eventually we got hit up by the people in
the ad saying, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’
That was the best week of our lives and
also the worst, and we took down the
video because we didn’t have staff to fulfill
those orders. It was unbelievably manual—
we’d find the right person to write a song,
email them, and email the song back to the
customer. In 2021, with that money we
staffed up. We had to hire a bunch of cus-
tomer success and music supervisor roles
to help with fulfillment during our extreme
growth, but now, a lot of that is automated.
Today, we have 70 full-time employees and
we’re focusing on improving the customer
and songwriter experience with personal-
ized chatbots and generative A.I. tools.
We did $5.5 million in revenue in 2021,
almost $36 million last year, and we’re on
track to do $75 million this year, off this
singular product.
Having that demand has helped us
champion independent musicians—we’re
really selective. We’re taking full-time
baristas for whom music has been a pipe
dream and turning them into full-time
musicians in a couple of months. Right
now, we have about 2,000 artists and have
paid out more than $20 million to them in
the past 12 months.
Customers are creating songs for these
special moments in their lives. A couple
of years ago, we had a woman whose
husband passed away shortly before their
son’s wedding. She got an artist to write
a song from his perspective, basically
saying, ‘Hey, I’m sorry I couldn’t make
your wedding, but I’m still here.’ It was
phenomenal. Those kinds of moments
show the power of what we’re doing.”
-AS TOLD TO REBECCA DECZYNSKI
PHOTOGRAPHY BY EVAN JENKINS
87
02
He fled his homeland at age 8. Began school at 11. Was a
tennis champ at 17. Launched a skyrocketing company at
23, and now an even more skyrocketing one at 29. Armir
Harris—like the business he’s built—knows only one
speed: growing.
By
Christine
Lagorio*
Chafkin
Photography
by
Sarah
Karlan
88 Inc. September 2023

Armir Harris is on a bus. He’s 9 years old, traveling
with his mother and 12-year-old sister from the south
Texas border to Boston. The trip, he’s been told, will take
nearly three days—but his motion sickness makes him miserable, so he tries to sleep
as much as possible, clutching the three action figures he’s been carrying with him
for the past two years, through four countries. He tries not to worry that his mother
has less than $3,000 to last them for ... how long? Long enough for him to learn
English? Long enough for them to find a home? Long enough for her to find a job?
He tries to shove the questions down, deep enough that he can sleep.
When he thinks back to the home his fam-
ily fled in У1огё, Albania, where the
foothills of the Ceraunian Mountains meet the
Adriatic Sea, Armir Harris doesn’t seem particu-
larly wistful. Yes, it was beautiful. Yes, there were
beaches. Yes, they went every weekend. But when
he was 7, a brutal civil war broke out. Gunshots
outside of his window meant his mother kept his
sister and him inside—all day, all night—for
months. Then, one night, at 3 a.m., his mother
hailed a cab to the airport, and they left, with what
they could carry. He tells the story quickly. He’s
eager to move on.
The fact is, fleeing the violence began a nearly
four-year stretch of Harris’s life without formal
education. A stretch that, at times, meant his only
bed was a makeshift one, outdoors, or in an
Amtrak station. Or on a bus. Twenty years later,
he doesn’t love to talk about it. Friends can know
him for years without his telling them he’s a ref-
ugee, or that much of his childhood was spent
homeless, or helping his mom at any job she could
get—including cleaning a restaurant at 2 a.m.
Another thing Harris, today, at 34, gets uncom-
fortable dwelling on? His wins. And they have
been many, bright contrasts from the poverty and
uncertainty of his childhood. For one: In June, he
was named EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year for the
Gulf South region. To celebrate, his team insisted
on taking him out to dinner and drinks. Harris—
and this is classic behavior for him, friends say-
insisted late at night, after the ceremony, that he
needed to get back to work. Take another huge
success: Harris’s last company, Shofur, which
made the Inc. 5000 in 2017, and was named the
2 lst-fastest-growing company in America. But as
everyone around him was basking in the success
and banking on its continuation, Harris saw only
holes in the very system he’d built. He poked at
them until he dismantled it, and a new company
emerged a year later.
Now there’s the fact that his new company,
Atlanta-based CharterUp, is one of the fastest-
growing companies in America—to be precise,
I made a
split-second
decision
and said, ‘I
can get you
60 buses.’ ”
Armir Harris, CharterUp
Founder
the second-fastest. Which he’s proud of, sure. But
pausing to celebrate the highs, or dwelling on the
lows, is, to him, the antithesis of the now. The go.
The identifying of problems—and finding of
solutions. The unlocking of market fit and fast
growth. Meeting demand on the supply side and,
at once, the demand side. For Harris, this is the
way forward. And dwelling on a painful past, or
marking a little victory, is just a roadblock to the
company-building that he lives for.
The first time it happened for him, it seemed
so obvious: He’d dropped out of college to help
his uncle with his limo-and-bus company in
Charlotte, North Carolina, when, in 2012, the
Democratic National Committee called. It
needed 60 buses. Harris didn’t have 60 buses. He
had a few party buses, one of which featured a
central pole—which felt inappropriate for the job.
“I made a split-second decision and said, T can
get you 60 buses,”’ he recalls. He started local,
and realized all the small bus companies had been
booked. He called companies in nearby states,
securing a few buses at a time. “I don’t think I got
more than three or four hours of sleep a night for
days, but I did take a shower, and it was then the
light bulb went on.” He thought: All that calling,
that booking, that inventory management he’d
just pulled off—couldn’t it be done efficiently,
using software? He’d build a website to aggregate
bus booking. In 2013, with $800, he launched
Shofur. By 2017, it had more than $12 million in
revenue, and landed on the Inc. 5000. And that’s
when he started to not want to celebrate.
“Do you know The Innovator’s Dilemma?”
Harris asks. You see, he could have sold Shofur
for $50 million, maybe $100 million, and retired
in Hawaii. But then he couldn’t have tested out
his next thesis. While running Shofur, he’d
uncovered myriad challenges hindering the small
bus companies listing on its site. He knew many
of them were still doing inventory on scratch
paper, or on DOS-based programs, managing
drivers who accepted only cash, booking new
trips through landline phones. He’d built a cool
little startup, but he hadn’t solved their problems.
What if he could? What if he could track inven-
tory in real time, and feed demand based on
availability? It had been done for the hotel indus-
try, airlines, even cargo ships. But charter buses?
No innovation in decades. “I realized that to win
requires really capturingutter market dominance
and turningthe industry over on its head,” he says.
His thriving business be damned. What Harris
needed was to step on the gas.
90 Inc. September 2023
Armir Harris is on
a bus. He’s 16 and
heading from St.
Louis to Mobile,
Alabama, to play in
a junior tennis tour-
nament. He’s scary
good, if uncalculated
in his strokes. He
MILLIONS OF MILES TRAVELED ON 120,000 BUS TRIPS
FACILITATED BY CHARTERUP IN 2022
doesn’t know the competitive
tennis world; he does know how to
buy a ticket fora Greyhound. But
when that bus pulls into the Mo-
bile station, and he has no money
for the three-mile ride to the
stadium, he slings his racket over
his shoulder and sets out on foot
down a four-lane highway.
There was a time Harris
seemed destined for pro-
fessional tennis. It began when
he was about 14 years old and
picked up a racket at a park near
his home in St. Louis. He’d play
anyone: little kids, 65-year-olds.
Sometimes, he’d persuade a local
instructor to teach him strokes.
In exchange, he’d tidy the facili-
ties. Within a few years, he was
playing—and winning—tourna-
ments, a self-taught kid with
wild form and a fiercely compet-
itive nature. “He was a far better
competitor than he was a player,”
recalls friend and former com-
petitor James Bernstein. “When
you played a match against him,
he knew exactly how to get into
your head.” He was annoyingly
kind; too chatty’ during change-
overs. But he was the real deal.
At 17, Harris for a time ranked No.
1 in the men’s U.S.T.A. Southern
Section.
From there, another gap in his
education: The Argentine
Peruvian tennis great Pablo
Arraya offered to take Harris in
and coach him out of his home in
Key Biscayne, Florida. Harris’s
mother, who’d been a literature
professor back in Albania, was
furious at the idea of his leaving
high school. Still, he spent what
would have been his junior and
senior years in Key Biscayne—
where he gained a window into
the disparity of pro tennis. He
saw the world’s top 30 players
living well—and everyone else
struggling to break in, touring the globe on gruelingschedules,
sleeping three to a room in Red Roof Inns. Harris could spend
hours by himself backhanding a ball against a wall; he could
never make up what the privileged kids had amassed: thou-
sands of hours of expensive coaching, private facilities, funding
for travel. The economics didn’t work.
A visit to his older sister at Duke University convinced him
college might be a better bet. She’d landed financial aid; he
figured he’d do the same—and keep working. He finished his
GED in seven months, crammed for the SAT, and got into
Boston University. His freshman year, he earned the first A of
his life, in microeconomics 101; he began to focus on business
and accounting classes. That summer he lasted just three
weeks at a hedge fund internship, which taught him he didn’t
much like wearing suits or working for, well, anyone else. He
spent the rest of his summer getting a real estate broker’s
license. His friends thought he was nuts. Why sell apartments
when he could be having fun? As Harris says: “My mom didn’t
make the sacrifice for us to go to school and party’. I just had
this burning desire for financial independence.”
By senior year, he’d enrolled at UCLA to work a hotter real
estate market. But three credits shy of graduation, when his
uncle fell ill, Harris flew back to Charlotte to run his
limousine-rental outfit. It was a business he already knew,
having helped there as a teen, fueling up cars and cleaning
them at 5 a.m. before school. What had been a one-car outfit
then had by 2012 grown to 25 vehicles: limos, vans, and party
buses. With its books in his hands, Harris now found it to be
both sluggish and capital-intensive. And then the DNC called—
and came his epiphany.
Five years later, working within Shofur, Harris set up a
skunkworks, a tiny team of engineers to test out a marketplace
for charter buses. “I didn’t want to distract the whole team,”
he says. “I just wanted to run a controlled experiment.” He’d
already built better bookings for buses, and turned it into one
of the fastest-growing businesses in the country in 2017. But it
wasn’t solving the real-time problems of the little bus compa-
nies—hundreds of mostly mom-and-pop shops, nearly 70
percent of which own fewer than 10 buses. “A lot of them
lacked the scale to get any sophistication around their sales,
around their marketing,” Harris says. Could he take that all
on? Build software to integrate real-time tracking with ride-
share logistics management—and an online search engine
with a booking platform?
“The pace at which Armir
incorporates new learning is a
key advantage of his. He is not
afraid to say, ‘We have this new
information, and the direction
we were going in no longer
makes sense,’” says Howard
Bornstein, a veteran of Bain Cap-
ital and McKinsey who is now
president of CharterUp. “Other
people—myself included—would
slow down. He will make the
turn on a dime.”
Harris called it CharterUp. A
friend who believed the model
might also work on charter
planes, Nick Parsa, joined. They
tested it in Atlanta, where Shofur
was based. Within months, con-
versions were higher. Customer
retention was higher. “We really
started to lean in,” Harris says.
They hired dozens of people
through 2019 and made plans to
expand to other cities and scale.
And then the pandemic hit.
“It was a 95 percent negative
demand shock,” he says. He fur-
loughed 75 percent of the staff.
By this time, he’d already
seen hesitancy in the businesses
they were aiming to serve:
CharterUp required that track-
ing hardware and third-party
software be integrated into every
vehicle in its fleet. It required
companies to share that data—
and open themselves up to user
reviews. For his idea to survive a
global health crisis, it would need
a stronger foundation.
Operating virtually, Harris and
91
Parsa took product lead, and with a handful of
engineers, focused on rebuilding the back-end
technology to scale fast, and to function for
everything from individual wedding parties to
governments, college sports teams, and disaster
relief. They’d move massive numbers of people,
fast. They’d provide a data-driven case to the bus
owners that it would be worthwhile. They’d
optimize inventory management forthem. If their
fleet was, on average, sitting idle for 70 percent
of the time, they’d aim to use the platform to drive
bookings and flip that ratio. CharterUp software
would become systems of record. They’d take
over marketing optimizing hyperlocal ads and
SEO straight to CharterUp. There was doubt, of
course, this being at the start of the pandemic,
with zero bus bookings, zero revenue, and all
remainingemployees suffering huge pay cuts. But
Parsa, who’d become vice president of strategy,
saw a glimmer of hope: “When people start trav-
eling again, some of these bus companies are
gonna be out of business, and we’re gonna be right
there to scoop it all up.”
Indeed, more than 20 percent of bus compa-
nies—some 500 in all, according to the American
Bus Association—were out of business by January
2021. And by that point, Harris’s team had built a
sturdy software they suspected could do for the
charter bus industry what Sabre, the 63-year-old
now-public distributed systems provider for air
bookings with $4 billion in revenue, did for air-
lines and online travel agents like Expedia: pro-
vide real-time availability and inventory. Only,
CharterUp would serve as the Expedia for buses
too, with rankings, promoted vendors, and a
demand pricing engine. To work with CharterUp,
small charter bus companies pay nothing.
Consider Mark Thronson’s small limo and
charter bus company, Elite Transportation of San
Antonio. When CharterUp first called, Thronson
admits, he was skeptical—but now says working
with the platform saved his company, and
changed his life. “After the first couple of months,
I could see it: There were more runs available,”
he says. “We’d come in in the morning and there
were booking requests to approve.” For one, it’s
eliminated the $10,000 to $20,000 he used to
spend monthly in local marketing. Second, his
fleet is on the road more. He has now expanded
from four charter buses to 11. Before CharterUp,
they’d been running two days a week; now they’re
running seven.
They’re far from the only ones to get on the
bus: CharterUp says its bookings comprise 40 to
60 percent of its customers’ revenue. Today it
works with more than 600 small bus companies—
and has real-time tracking of some 4,000 vehicles.
By its estimates, that’s one-fifth of the country’s
small charter bus businesses—making it the larg-
est network of bus operators in the U.S.
••
Other
people would
slow down.
Armir will
make the turn
on a dime.”
Howard Bornstein,
President of CharterUp
t Armir Harris is on a bus. It’s one
of 40 parked at the Dulles Expo
Center in Chantilly, Virginia; 120
more are on the way. He’s hunched
over, talking to a driver. It’s Septem-
ber 2021, and some 60,000 Afghan
refugees are arriving at Dulles Air-
port. CharterUp got the call to coor-
dinate their transport to Department
of Defense sites around the country. Harris has
barely slept forfive days to coordinate it all. It isn’t
just logistics: This is personal. He was a refugee.
His VP of strategy was a refugee. And now Harris
needs to ensure these new refiigees are treated
with respect by every driver, every staffer.
He’d studied business, accounting, and
finance in college. Still, Harris ignored
requests for meetings from venture capitalists for
years. Finally, in 2021, he grudgingly began poking
around for firms that might offer what he
needed: guidance—and an infusion of funding for
expansion.
Today, he admits to having had hang-ups about
borrowing money and losing equity. He’d begun
his first two businesses with nearly nothing;
Shofur was founded with $800; CharterUp with
profits from Shofur. And the history of his home-
land might, in its own way, offer a reason.
In the 1990s, Albania had undergone a troubled
transition to a market economy. What arose in its
wake were several prominent Ponzi schemes that
duped many Albanian families, Harris’s included,
out of much of their savings. In January 1997, the
collapse of those schemes left many Albanians in
poverty and sparked months of rioting that top-
pled the government and killed thousands—and
spurred his mother to pack her kids and flee.
Easy money, he learned, has consequences.
Despite all that, in October 2022, CharterUp
announced it had raised $60 million from Tritium
Partners—Harris’s first venture funding. With it,
the company has opened a second headquarters,
in Austin. Revenue in 2022 was $114 million. It’s
broadening its reach in the U.S. and Canada.
European expansion is on the horizon.
Still, hypergrowth aside, Harris is quick to note
that CharterUp’s model retains stability, by
design. What, after all, do buses do but meet
everyday human needs: the moving of govern-
ment employees and aid workers and disaster
victims. Support for the sporting events, corpo-
rate meetings, and conferences that unite us all.
The transport of families crossing borders in
desperate search of a new and better life.
And, perhaps, in one of those families—tamp-
ingdown their fears, dreaming of a better future—
the next Armir Harris is on a bus.
CHRISTINE LAGORIO-CHAFK1N is an Inc. editor-at- large.
92 Inc. September 2023

CITY SLICKER
Jeff Kaprelian
brought his
Wall Street ways
How I Became a
Better Founder
by Starting a Side
Hustle Running
Cattle
No.
369
KAPCO FUTURES
CEO: Jeff Kaprelian
Category:	Three-year
Financial	revenue growth:
Services	1,569%
ф While working as a commodities
broker, Jeff Kaprelian, 38, spotted a
problem in the cattle industry begging to be
fixed. Ranchers, like stock brokers, grappled
with the daily whipsaws of the markets, but
without the same tools to hedge against the
price swings. The dusty state of things was
onfiill display at auctions, where buyers still
chose cattle on the basis of how they looked,
eyeballing each meaty investment like a used
car. When Kaprelian looked ata cow, he saw
data points—lots of them. In 2019, armed
with his finance background, he launched
Elgin, Illinois-based Kapco Futures to help
ranchers make data-driven decisions and
improve their returns. The only hurdle? The
city kid didn’t have much street cred with his
customer base. So he started an unlikely side
hustle to prove just how serious he was.
“Our average customer has about 3,500
head of cattle, and our target market is
fewer than 10,000 people. I don’t think
anybody in their right mind in business
would say, ‘I’m going to target such a small
market.’ But we believe that the riches are
in the niches, and that earned us more than
a few million dollars in revenue last year.
Ranches are businesses with enor-
mous amounts of revenue, enormous
amounts of debt, and enormous amounts
of risk. But there was no systematic
approach to manage the risk. Compared
with more academic commodities like oil
or gold, agriculture followed an outdated
approach. Me, being a dorky kid with a
degree in economics and a minor in sta-
tistics, I wanted to bring those Wall Street
concepts to cattle.
For our clients, we do a deep dive into
their costs of production and build models
for the expected value of cattle futures. We
have a variety of models, with history
going back to the 1950s in some cases, so
it’s quite a few data points—in the hun-
dreds of thousands. Demand factors would
be consumption, substitute prices, how
many people are circulatingin restaurants,
and seasonal demand, as well as trade-
focused indicators. On the supply side, it’s
the size of the nation’s cow herd, feed
prices, disease, calving rates, slaughter
rates, transportation costs, even weather.
Take the cost of raising cattle in Texas
versus Illinois. Outside Chicago, we have
cold winters. Cattle gain less weight in
that environment, because they’re outside
in the cold, effectively eating to survive.
But Illinois is also where all the corn is
grown, so our feed costs are low. Down in
Texas, ranchers are far from the corn, but
the winters are mild. When it’s 60
degrees, cattle are comfortable and gain
more weight. That all gets built into our
models. It’s astoundingly basic math. You
smack yourself on the forehead and think,
Why haven’t people been doing this the
whole time?’ It was something that none
of our clients had ever seen.
Agriculture is a face-to-face, sit-down-
at-the-kitchen-table, and shake-your-hand
kind of business. To walk out to a 60-year-
old farmer’s place and ask for money is
intimidating and doesn’t lead to a lot of
trust. I came to those ranchers as both an
expert and an idiot: I had to demonstrate
that I knew enough about things that they
didn’t know about, but also that I was will-
ing to learn what they could teach me.
I decided to buy cattle myself. I didn’t
know the first thing about raising cattle,
so I brought up the idea with a client I have
a very good relationship with. At first, he
looked at me like I was crazy, but then
he was happy to take my money to feed my
cattle and keep them alive. I started with
40 head of cattle on his land.
I manage my risk the same way I man-
age my customers’ risk. I made a bunch of
money on the first group of cattle and
thought I had it all figured out; then I lost
money for six months because I didn’t
understand the physical side of the market.
At first, our models were focused just on
the price of cattle, but our feed costs were
out of control. If we didn’t experience that
ourselves, there’s no telling when we
would have made the change. The hands-
on experience, the pain, putting ourselves
in our clients’ shoes—that’s the thing that
leads to innovation, because we’re solving
our own problems. It was really important
to eat my own cooking.
I’m up to about 750 head of cattle.
That’s bordering on the size of our clients,
so I need to cool off. It’s about as much as
I can handle without becoming a rancher
myself.” -AS TOLD TO ALI DONALDSON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN SERNA
95
ф Carson Tesch, 49, found his fascina-
tion with building and fixing things
early. Growing up in a union household in
Milwaukee, Tesch figured his dad’s path
would be his, too. And it was, until his exper-
tise grew—from steamfitting to welding and
well beyond—and he spotted an opportunity
to apply hisformidable skill set in a booming
city that desperately needed tradespeople.
Tesch founded TStT Industrial in 2018 to
build and maintain mechanical systems for
the burgeoning industrial sector in Okla-
homa City, one of the top 10 fastest-growing
U.S. cities. The company brought in more
than $17 million in revenue last year, and
employs 72 workers. Meanwhile, OKC just
keeps growing—and with it, TEtT’s outlook.
“When I was 8 years old, the chain fell off
my bicycle, and when I told my dad he said,
‘Well, I guess you don’t have a bike until
you put your chain on.’ I tried to figure it
out, and he came out and helped. It went
like that every time I got into something.
Toward the end of high school, he asked
what I was gonna do with myself; he said
they’d saved some money for college. I told
him I preferred working with my hands
and he asked if I would consider the trades.
Not to be an electrician like him, but how
about a pipe fitter? ‘All they do is stand
around and drink coffee,’ he said.
‘Hell, I could do that,’ I thought.
I ended up getting a union apprentice-
ship with the Steamfitters Local 601, and I
was blessed to get placed with a contractor
that served clients like Briggs & Stratton,
Harley-Davidson, and Miller Brewing. I
learned a lot about different systems. I got
really into welding. I have this eye where
I look at things and, if it’s off at all, I don’t
want to show anybody.
I worked about 25 years with the same
company and traveled a lot for install jobs
and repairs. On a trip to Oklahoma City in
2010,1 fell in love with the state. I loved the
weather, the people were nice, and it
seemed like there was a lot of work going
on. I saw that the local contractors couldn’t
meet the needs of the local businesses—
there weren’t enough qualified people to
do all the tasks that came along with the
growth. That was right up my alley. I
moved here full time in 2014.
Three-year
revenue growth:
1,830%
T&T INDUSTRIAL
CEO: Carson Tesch
Category:
Manufacturing
How I Hitched a
Revenue Ride on
a Boomtown—by
Helping Build It
When I started talking about the oppor-
tunity for my own business, my wife was
all in. She’s feisty; we met on a group
motorcycle ride. She’s 51 percent owner,
I’m 49 percent. I didn’t have a ton of
money, just elbow grease. I maxed out my
credit cards and emptied my bank account.
In the beginning, she did the accounting
and handled the customers.
The premise for T&T Industrial was
that we would give our customers—com-
panies in every industry, plus schools and
other public-sector facilities—exactly what
they wanted, in time for them to maintain
their productivity. You know, if a produc-
tion line goes down somewhere in an
Amazon facility, it needs a solution now or
it’s losing millions of dollars a day. And I
just have a mind for developing solutions—
reworking stair systems or chutes or
plumbing or whatever.
Typically, a contractor will call different
vendors—a fabricator, a piping guy, an
HVAC guy—and tell the client, *We can’t get
to that for a month.’ My idea was to bundle
it all together. When a customer calls with
an emergency, we slide them in as soon as
possible, even if it means overtime. I pay my
employees very well, so I’ve retained some
excellent talent as we’ve grown.
One time, Amazon had an injury at a
fulfillment center. Somebody had sliced
their arm open reaching for a box that had
fallen off a conveyor. Amazon wanted a
guard to cover the conveyor so that couldn’t
happen again. Well, I had decided at some
point that we should keep a little bit of
material in stock so that we could respond
to customers even faster. So when Amazon
called at 11 in the morning, I talked to my
guys, we drew up a design, they stayed late,
and by 6 the next morning, Amazon had
120 of these new guards. It really makes
you feel good when the customer is like,
‘Holy crap, I wasn’t expecting it that fast’
My parents passed away January 1 and
January 4, 2021, from Covid. It’s been a
tough thing to deal with. Early in life, I
surpassed my father’s skills. I think that
was a proud moment for him, seeing what
he’d given me come to life. He was a short
man, but I think he walked around like he
was 10 feet tall when he talked about me.”
-AS TOLD TO TOM FOSTER
96 Inc. September 2023
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SEPTEMBER DAWN BOTTOMS
MASTER BLASTER
Carson Tesch
leveraged his
suite of skills to
build a new kind
of business.
No.
ZAP MORTGAGE
CEO: Anthony Lee
Category:
Financial Services
Three-year
revenue growth:
1,915%
How I
Reached My
Mortgage
Customers
Where They
Were—on
TikTok
ф Anthony Lee, SO, missed his high
school graduation, in 1991, because
his daughter arrived that same day. To
provide for his new family, he enlisted in the
U.S. Air Force, shipped off to Iraq for Oper-
ation Desert Storm, and over the next 23
years notched combat tours in three wars
before rising to the rank of major, in a post
at the Pentagon. (Along the way he got
divorced and remarried, and now has five
children.) After retiring from active duty,
Lee started working in real estate and, in
2016, founded Zap Mortgage, now based in
Tampa, a lender that caters to veterans and
service members, many of whom have poor
credit. Business was going well until interest
rates spiked— and Zap’s leads started drying
up. That’s when Lee decided to go after
customers where they scroll.
“I first learned about TikTok in 2019 from
my then-14-year-old daughter. I thought,
‘It’s just teenage girls dancing on video.’ As
it went more mainstream, I watched the
mortgage videos and thought, ‘I can do
better than that.’ Like any good student
would, I took a class—a $500 webinar that
taught me how to shoot, how to pose, the
98 Inc. September 2023
best timeline, how the algorithm works. It
went pretty in-depth, and I took notes.
We started posting on the Zap Mort-
gage account in the summer of 2022. The
videos are anywhere from 5.8 seconds to
7.1 seconds long, and I know that down to
a 10th of a second. There needs to be a
catchy song, and the words have to exceed
200 characters. Here’s why: I need the
viewer to be able to read the screen but not
get through every single word, so then the
video has to play again. Each view turns
into two or three views.
After posting 10 or so videos, I did one
about low credit scores. We got into the
algorithm, and it went viral with 3.5 million
views. The next month, we had a 1,500
percent increase in applications. One of my
production managers was at a gas station
in his Zap Mortgage polo, and someone
said, T)o you work for the guy who dances
on TikTok?’ Those millions of views truly
made a difference. I’m not Rocket Mort-
gage. We were able to get our name out
there for free, and it spread quickly.
Then, you can expand that reach. Our
TikTok is all organic, but you can save those
videos and turn them into paid ads. I test
videos on TikTok. If they hit, I know that
if I go to Facebook, Google, or other plat-
forms and put advertising dollars behind
them, I’ll get more applications.
With that influx of business, we’ve
been able to stay in the fight. Interest rates
are still up. Loan officers and agents have
left the industry in the pastyear and a half.
We didn’t have to close our doors like
other lenders.
When you’re online, as I am now, the
haters come. We get comments on videos
like, ‘Is this a scam?’ People don’t believe it.
What’s different about Zap Mortgage is
that we service clients with low credit
scores—people other lenders wouldn’t
even talk to. We’re experts in government-
backed mortgage loans offered through the
Federal Housing Administration, usually
reserved for first-time homebuyers, and
the Department of Veterans Affairs, which
are specifically for people who have served,
are serving, or are surviving spouses of
military members. Government-backed
loans will go down to a 500 credit score.
From a business standpoint, these are
riskier loans, and you cannot make as
much money on them—there are very
strict guidelines. My profit margin goes
down by about 25 percent, but we make
up for it in volume.
With rents rising, there is this whole
population paying anywhere from $2,000
to $3,500 a month. They could pay a mort-
gage for the same amount, but they aren’t
given the opportunity because of their
credit scores. Why not go after that?
Few other lenders do this, because it’s
hard. We manually underwrite loans—we
have a person sitting there going through
everything in an application. On paper, they
don’t look like the best bet, but we can help
clients improve their credit. We tell them,
After six months to a year of perfect mort-
gage payments, your credit score is going
to shoot up so much that we’ll be able to
refinance you into a much lower rate.’ We
can hear that moment when the conversa-
tion turns. They start believing that home-
ownership—something they never thought
they could achieve in their life—is actually
possible.” -AS TOLD TO ALI DONALDSON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ZACK WITTMAN
99
No.
1,918
Blueprint Lighting
CEO: Kelly Aaron
Category:
Manufacturing
Three-year
revenue growth:
288%
h
€
К
e
HER LIGHT BULB
MOMENT WAS AN
ACTUAL LIGHT
BULB: WHY SELL
VINTAGE FIXTURES
IN MANHATTAN
WHEN SHE COULD
MAKE HER OWN?
Kelly Aaron remembers the day a newly
acquired pair of 1950s Italian chandeliers got
snapped up in a heartbeat at the vintage
furniture and lighting boutique she and her
husband, Josh, owned in New York City’s
Chelsea neighborhood. It was 2016. The sale
was quick—but insufficient to slow the array
of designers and collectors who asked if she
could get her hands on additional fixtures or
anything that looked likethem. “ ‘Do you have
any more?’ is what they’d ask," Aaron, 47,
recalls. “And they wanted them immediately.”
Aaron soon realized that tastemakers don’t
necessarily care about provenance. They
were happy to buy faithful reproductions of
midcentury lighting fixtures—and to place
multiple orders. That light bulb moment
inspired the Aarons to start producing new
fixtures based on old designs. The next time
a pair of the vintage ceiling fixtures came in,
they stripped them down to learn how the
parts fit together, and how they were wired
inside—and how to make new ones that
looked and worked like the real thing.
Working out of their garage, they set up a
powder-coating booth that required them to
unplug their clothes dryer to access their
home’s only 220-volt outlet. And when
demand for the early versions showed no sign
of abating, the Aarons decided to shutter their
furniture store and start up Blueprint Lighting,
which now boasts 20 employees at its Man-
hattan showroom and New Jersey manufac-
turing facility. Revenue has skyrocketed from
$350,000 in 2017—barely half of what the
Aarons’ vintage furniture business earned in
a year—to a projected $5 million in 2023.
“When we started, I had impostor syn-
drome," says Aaron, noting that her uneasi-
ness vanished when she and her husband quit
copying old designs and started developing
their own line of original fixtures. She knew
Blueprint Lighting was on the right track for
sure when The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel came
calling. The set designers of the hit 1950s
period comedy wanted a reproduction of a
nearly seven-feet-wide midcentury chande-
lier, along with 64 wall sconces. The Aarons
and a single fabricator were able to deliver
the goods in about three weeks.
Such nimbleness is one of the selling points
that have helped Blueprint find its niche in the
roughly $106 billion global decorative lighting
market. “We had a restaurant the other day
that said they needed lighting in two weeks
to pass inspections,” says Aaron, “and I said,
‘Let’s see what we can do.’ ” And much to the
customer’s delight, they did. —Sal Vaglica
100 Inc. September 2023
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC HELGAS

How I Pivoted My
Events Business From
B2Cto B2Bto Spur
Global Growth
VISIT.ORG
CEO: Michal Alter
Category:
Software
Three-year revenue
growth: 3,165%
102 Inc. September 2023
No.
165
ф By her late 20s, Michal Alter had
graduated from the Israel Institute
of Technology, completed her two years of
military service, and started a promising
career as a software engineer. Still, she
wanted a greater purpose, and found it
volunteering at Mesila, a Tel Aviv-based
nonprofit for refugees and migrant workers.
Carrying that sense of fulfillment with her,
she moved to the U.S. in 2011 to enroll in a
graduate program at Columbia University.
There she began developing an idea for a
company to help nonprofits create paid
social-impact experiences for travelers, and
founded New York-based Visit.org in 2015.
The company grew steadily its first few
years, but when Alter, now 44, unintention-
ally enabled a competitor to enter the space
in 2018, the time had come to pivot.
“Young people crave meaning and purpose
in their day-to-day, but can’t find it easily
and organically. We work with nonprofits
to create a valuable experience people are
willing to pay for—so it’s not really volun-
teering—and we ensure that they’re able to
make a profit from those offerings.
For the nonprofits, it’s a way to generate
revenue without depending on anyone’s
charitable heart; for visitors, it’s a unique,
experiential way to learn about a place or
a culture. One popular virtual experience
is in collaboration with CreatiVets, a
Nashville-based nonprofit that empowers
veterans through art and music. Partici-
pants get to meet real songwriters, learn
about the music industry, and hear songs
written by veterans to help process their
experiences at war and at home.
In 2018, we learned that Airbnb was
getting into the experiences business, and
it asked if we’d partner with it to launch
a marketplace specifically for socially
minded experiences. We’d done partner-
ships before with Tripadvisor and Expedia
to sell through their preexisting markets,
and I thought that by partnering with a
younger brand like Airbnb, I could get in
front of more people. We helped it set up
the marketplace, but when I stepped back,
I realized that I’d helped to power up a
direct competitor.
I saw two options: merge with Airbnb
and become a tiny arm within a large cor-
poration, or take the company in a different
direction. Around that time, my business
partner, Gal Leibovich, joined the com-
pany. He came from the corporate world,
and saw that there was this urge by busi-
ness leaders to encourage employee bond-
ing by sending them to socially minded
experiences that were more engaging than
typical volunteer work. So we started
building a version of the product specifi-
cally for corporate teams.
We began to get traction in the B2B
space, and then the pandemic hit. In the
middle of March 2020, we had to make a
very tough call and let everyone on our
team go. But we said that once we found a
way forward, everyone would be invited
back to the company. We relaunched in
July with just three months of operating
funds, left over from what we’d raised a
year earlier, and two major changes. The
first was that we now offered virtual
events, and the second was that we fully
made the transition to a B2B model.
We found that nearly every company
was looking for a way to keep its workforce
engaged and passionate while working
from home. At the same time, companies
were under extreme pressure from inves-
tors, customers, and employees to demon-
strate genuine care for their local
communities. We were in the perfect
position to meet both of those needs.
I could tell that we’d hit on something
because I was on sales calls from 9 a.m. to
6 p.m. for weeks. Once we’d secured
enough new business, we started bringing
our team back. By the end of the year, we’d
rehired everyone, including those who had
found jobs elsewhere. Today we have
around 100 employees, and we brought in
several million in revenue last year.
And now we’re playing a role in getting
employees to come back to the office. By
leveraging our events, our corporate part-
ners are able to give workers who might be
skittish about returning to work a unique
and fun reason to spend a day in the office
and see their co-workers in person.
To this day, some of my closest friends
are the people I met at Mesila; they were
the first people to visit when I had my first
baby. I want everyone to have co-workers
like that” -AS TOLD TO BEN SHERRY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADRIENNE GRUNWALD
103
No.
393
GASOCHEM
International
CEO: Charu Jain
Category:
Manufacturing
How I Overcame Discrimination
Within My Own Family to
Crush It in Chemicals
ф Charu Jain, 45, has had to jump
through some pretty exacting hoops
to win customers such as Ecolab, the USDA,
and the U.S. Navy. Still, the biggest barrier
to her ambition was actually living with her
back in her native India: her own family.
Jain had to leave them all behind to carve
out her slice of the $500 billion U.S. chemi-
cals market with the bulk chemical supplier
she founded a decade ago in Houston. And
now, after clocking more than $3 million in
revenue in 2022, her success is the envy of
everyone back in New Delhi.
“A piece of paper, a bottle, a laptop—to
manufacture anything in this world, you
need chemicals. Gasochem International
gets bulk chemicals from overseas and sells
them to the U.S. government or to the pri-
vate sector in small quantities. We provide
water treatment chemicals, coating chem-
icals for machinery parts, even ammuni-
tionchemicals. Not everybody can do that.
You have to go through a lot of approvals.
For me, it was also a personal challenge
to start a business in a technical field. I
grew up in a very conservative family in
New Delhi, where females get married at
Three-year revenue
growth: 1,469%
21.1 wanted to study engineering, but my
family said no. I kept fighting to go, and
eventually my grandfather supported me.
He told me, ‘I am investing in you.’
I was 8 years old when my father died
in a car accident. He had just started a
chemical manufacturing business; he was
38. The company shut down. I didn’t know
at that age what chemicals were, but I made
up my mind that I had to fulfill my father’s
dream. So after four years of studying in
India, I got a scholarship to a master’s pro-
gram in the U.S., at the University of Texas
at San Antonio. I moved to Texas in 2001.
For 10 years, I worked for KBR, a large
Houston-based government contractor. I
started Gasochem after I got my green
card, in 2012.
Being a woman of color engineer in the
chemical businesses is tough, and there are
very few female CEOs. The chemical
industry is dominated by big boys—old
generation. Whenever I would approach a
private company, I’d explain I used to work
for KBR on chemical projects, but it was
still a struggle to be taken seriously.
Then somebody suggested I try to sell
to the government. I put a bid in for the
City of Beaumont, for $20,000 of fluorosi-
licic acid for water treatment, and I got it.
That was the break I needed.
Government contracts often support
diversity in suppliers and create opportu-
nities for small businesses, veteran-owned
businesses, LGBTQ-owned businesses.
Gasochem at least has a chance with those
jobs, but the orders tend to be small, so we
still needed to sell to the private sector.
That’s why I decided in 2015 to get an MBA
at Rice University: Once you have that tag,
I thought, people will not question you.
Within two years of graduation, I was
supplying large private-sector clients. It
took me 14 years to be able to give a pre-
sentation and have people believe that I
can sell chemicals.
We’ve had exponential growth in the
past six years. I had started getting some
chemicals in greater bulk and storing them
in a warehouse. When Covid happened,
the ports closed, and there was no supply
of chemicals from anywhere. But govern-
ment never sleeps; they kept buyingchem-
icals, and we made a lot of money. We sold
our chemicals at 300 percent markups,
because we had them in stock
We have only 10 full-time employees,
and our size gives us an advantage because
clients don’t have to wait for us to go
through four different approval processes
to get a quote. We offer great customer
service and quick turnarounds. And
because I have employees in India, we are
able to offer 24-hour service. If you call at
1 a.m., somebody will pick up the phone
and help you put an order in.
Now, whenever I go to India, everybody
uses me as an example. I’m the first female
in my family to become a U.S. citizen, earn
two master’s degrees, and start her own
business, and I make more money than the
rest of them. I opened the door for the
whole family: Today, my female cousins are
studying medicine and law. I was able to
bring my mom here and buy her a house.
My family still has the plant where my
father started his business. It’s empty. It’s
been 30 years. I plan to revive it, to use it
to manufacture some new products for the
U.S. market.” -AS TOLD TO TOM FOSTER
104 Inc. September 2023
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ARTURO OLMOS
DREAMCATCHER
Charu Jain built
the business her
father never got the
chance to see.
Anthony Coombs became a hero to the plus-size
market for building online undies brand Splendies.
He never had delusions he would collect a Bezos-size
fortune from his Inc. 5000 company, but he figured
he could sell it after a few years and move on. If only
it were that simple.
By
Alex
Bhattacharji
Photography
by Yasara
Gunawardena
106 Inc. September 2023
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LINDSAY BLAKELY


before he launched Splendies, Anthony Coombs had
an unsettling job interview. It was 2013, the then-33-
уеаг-old had just moved to Los Angeles, and a friend
had arranged for him to meet with a partner at a pres-
tigious tech incubator. Thirty minutes after the inter-
view was supposed to begin, the man popped out into
the reception area and asked Coombs why he was
there, and then he made him wait another 30 minutes.
Coombs was stunned, and even more so when he
finally took a seat opposite the partner, who put
his feet up, crossed his arms, and issued a challenge.
“Impress me,” the man said.
When he got home, Coombs, still fuming, wrote the
words Impress me on a piece of paper and stuck it to
the wall of his apartment. He’d been considering the
idea that would become Splendies but took the inter-
view because he hadn’t yet committed himself to
startup life again. Now he felt driven. “This is going to
get done,” he said to himself.
Eight years later, in mid-2021, Splendies was on track
to do nearly $16 million in annual revenue, and Coombs
had bootstrapped his way there without a dollar of
outside investment or even debt. The company had
finished every year in the black. That fall, Splendies
appeared on the Inc. 5000 as one of the fastest-growing
companies in America. It had grown 347 percent over
the previous three years, putting it firmly in the top
third of the list, at No. 1,373.
Coombs started making the rounds of conferences
and networking events, and everywhere he went, peo-
ple were—there’s no better word for it—impressed. The
reactions filled him with righteous affirmation. But he
also couldn’t help asking himself, “Can someone make
this bigger?” He had always entertained the goal of
selling his company when it was ready, and suddenly
the time felt right. He put together a plan: He’d have a
polished sales deck by February. “And,” he hoped, “by
March, we’re out.”
That’s what he said in January 2022, when he met
with Inc. for the first of what would become a dozen
meetings to document the sale of his company. Sitting
in his living room, where Impress me was still hanging
on the wall, Coombs was confident in his timetable.
But this story is not the one that he or Inc. expected
to publish. As anyone who’s built a fast-growing com-
pany can attest, plans are one thing. How they turn out
is another altogether.
In retrospect, Coombs’s career as an entrepre-
neur seems inevitable. He started negotiating
prices at his grandparents’ Florida flea market
stand as a child. As a high schooler, he watched
his mother struggle to regain her footing after she’d
been laid off, and he and vowed never to put his future
in someone else’s hands. As an undergrad at the Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania, Coombs founded his first
company, Custom Mosaic, which sold ceramic tiles. He
chose the tiling industry not because he loved it, but
because he didn’t: He wanted a real-world business
education without distractions—just the nuts and bolts.
When he sold the company, in 2003, the takeaway was
less about what he had earned—about a year’s tuition
at Penn—and more about what he had learned.
He started an online used-car brokerage next. The
venture was profitable when he shuttered it in 2011,
but he had run out of gas himself, succumbing to his
tendency to work to the point of burnout. Then came
a location-based dating app called Interact, essentially
Grindr for straight people. This time, for the first time,
Coombs was passionate about his idea. “It was the one
I thought would change everything,” he says. He
assembled a small team and worked around the clock
to develop the app using money he’d banked from the
car business, only to be beaten to market by a dozen
similar apps. When Tinder arrived, with its dead-
simple swipe left/right interface, it killed any hope of
Interact making it.
The failure hit Coombs hard, and he spent six months
dissecting the experience and stewing about timing.
Maybe he should have raised or borrowed capital
rather than bootstrapping, he wondered. Maybe if he’d
gotten to market more quickly, he could have had a
better outcome. He moved to L.A. and reconsidered his
career options.
That’s around the time when his cousin, who was
lamenting the trouble she had finding fun or sexy
underwear that fit her zaftig figure, suggested there
might be a business opportunity in her struggle.
Coombs agreed and, after his infuriating job interview
at the tech incubator, launched Splendies (a portman-
teau of splendid and undies) for $500. He built a
Shopify e-commerce site and offered $12 monthly
shipments of three pairs of women’s underwear: some
basic with no frills, some lingerie-like and sexy, and
some in fun prints—in sizes up to 3X (now 4X).
It was, from the start, another scrappy Coombs pro-
duction. As with his earlier startups, he wasn’t inher-
ently passionate about the product category, but the
endless variety of challenges stoked his do-it-all enthu-
siasm. To find the right private-label manufacturer, he
rifled through the racks at Ross Dress for Less, photo-
graphing underwear labels and then researching the
companies. Coombs regularly put in 80-hour weeks,
108 Inc. September 2023
even while trying to streamline every aspect of his job.
He learned to automate tasks such as generating mar-
keting emails. He picked up the basics of Facebook
advertising from a $9 online seminar.
In its first full year in business, 2014, Splendies
brought in $67,000 in orders. Two years later, the com-
pany did $1.4 million. Gradually, Coombs expanded
Splendies’ product mix and subscription offers, and the
revenue graph continued its steep path north. Sales
doubled in 2017 and nearly did so again the following
year—all with a full-time staff of one, Coombs, plus a
few contractors.
Despite its tiny team and narrow focus, Splendies
stood out in the crowd of direct-to-consumer brands
that had emerged over the previous few years in prac-
tically every product category, from dinnerware to
deodorant. Many of the higher-profile DTC brands
raised large amounts of venture capital, sometimes
hundreds of millions of dollars, especially in ultra-
competitive fields such as mattresses—and then strug-
gled to turn a profit when the cost of digital marketing
started to climb. Splendies had been profitable since
six months in.
It helped that Coombs conducted extensive surveys
to better know and appeal to his customer base. Most
of the DTC brands prided themselves on their user data,
but Splendies had an advantage: an audience that actu-
ally needed the products, and needed them delivered.
Coombs learned his customers primarily lived in Mid-
dle America and had incomes below $70,000. Most
faced extended drives to retail stores, which often didn’t
offer options in their sizes. A cult following took shape,
and fans launched a private group on Facebook, 9,000
members strong, where they began to share their Splen-
dies purchases.
Coombs ran an extremely frugal operation—ensuring
healthy margins and retaining absolute control and
ownership for himself. He’d long known his company
was a hit, but when revenue continued to grow during
the pandemic, despite daunting supply chain issues, he
began to see it as an essential service. He figured he’d
found his moment to sell. “There are buyers at every
••
When you’re small
and growing, you’re
working on the day-
to-day, not on how
to get ready to sell.”
step,” Coombs says. “It’s just a matter of what you’re
willing to accept and what you believe it’s worth.”
Great coffee shops in Honolulu,” Coombs
says. “The beach? Didn’t make it.”
If every sale of a company has an unex-
pected hitch along the way, Coombs
figured he overcame his early on when he had to fire
the first two accountants he’d brought on to clean up
the books in preparation for the bankers. The small firm
he hired in early 2021 came highly recommended, but
after four months, he saw they were “nothing short of
a disaster.” The second firm, he quickly saw, wasn’t the
right fit either. Bye.
It was January 2022. He’d already hired yet another
replacement bookkeeper and engaged a data analytics
firm. While they were busy putting everything in
banker-friendly formats, it looked like Splendies was a
few weeks from having its records in order—an oppor-
tune time for Coombs to take a long-delayed break ahead
of the expected series of term sheets and negotiations.
If only things were that simple. Flippingon his phone
after landing on Oahu, Coombs was met with an urgent
message: The data analysis team needed a tranche of
statistics about customer churn. It was important:
Splendies’ strong customer retention was a key selling
point, so Coombs worked all night to gather two years’
worth of data. The following morning, as he prepared
to go on a hike, he got another time-sensitive request:
The analysis would require an additional month’s data.
The team followed that with another request on the
final day of his vacation, which he spent like all the
others, in a cafe because of his hotel’s spotty Wi-Fi. “A
freaking nightmare,” he remembers.
Coombs blamed himself. “It was ambitious to think
I could take five days off,” he says. There was no one
else in his company to manage the detailed process, and
there was no automated fix or cruise-control setting.
He would have to keep his hands on the steering wheel.
Perhaps it was the nimbleness and resiliency Coombs
saw in Splendies as it navigated the pandemic and the
DTC reckoning, but he had developed a sense of excep-
tionalism. He’d heard from numerous entrepreneurs
who’d taken companies through the sale process to
expect the internal preparations to take a year—but he
believed Splendies was different.
As Coombs began meeting with investment banks in
the fall of 2021, he became encouraged when some
foresaw a process as short as three to six months. When
he opted to go with a midsize boutique operation based
in New York City that wanted to pursue a tight sched-
ule, Coombs may have been succumbing to confirma-
tion bias, hearing only what he wanted to hear. But it
wouldn’t be longbefore he began to see speed to market
as crucial, not just personally preferable.
In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. It wasn’t
immediately clear what the long-term economic effects
would be, but Coombs didn’t need to be an expert to see
109

that the largest land war in Europe since World War II,
coming on the heels of a global pandemic, didn’t portend
well. He wanted to move faster, but there was only so
much he could do. His choices in building Splendies on
a shoestring would serve him well once the company
was on the block; Coombs knew that. But for now, his
limited bandwidth was slowing things down.
As impressive as it is that Coombs ran a
company of Splendies’ scale with a skeleton
crew of freelancers, it left him without any
slack. Coombs had no second-in-command
to whom he could delegate the day-to-day management
of Splendies or aspects of the sale process (though, as
a self-described “entrepreneurial control freak,” he
might not have anyway). On a personal level, Coombs
got insights and advice from friends but never shared
much with them. And he didn’t have a partner at home
to help lighten the load. One reason he wanted to sell
the company, in fact, was to create the time and mental
space to settle down. Instead, he managed the sale
preparation alone, on top of his full workload.
“It’s extremely difficult to run a company and run a
sale process,” he says. “It’ll wear you out. It wore me
out.” Coombs naively imagined he’d be able to devote
20 percent of his time to the sale and 80 percent to
running Splendies. “What happens,” he says, “is that
you’re trying to do 100 percent over here and 100 per-
cent over there. But you’re giving less ofyourself to each
place. It just becomes too much.”
After Hawaii, Coombs could see that each step in the
sale-prep process would be a challenge, even when
there were no snags. When the data team delivered its
detailed analysis on schedule, it was a relief. “Every-
thing looked great,” Coombs remembers. The report
highlighted all of the company’s best attributes. “Some-
one could see exactly what they needed to see to take
it in whichever direction they wanted.” Strictly speak-
ing, the analysis was not required for a sale—it was an
extra-credit assignment—but Coombs was confident it
would pay off. The problem was that he had an appe-
tizing condiment now but still no meal—no financials.
Coombs was starting to see meaningful progress in
cleaning up and transitioning the company’s books—
though he began to realize Splendies’ financial records
were messier than he thought. “When you’re small and
growing, you’re working on the day-to-day,” he
explains, “not on how to get ready to sell. You’re not
crossing t’s and dotting i’s.”
He was sympathetic to many of the challenges and
« delays. For example, not all the necessary records were
g	easily accessible, because the company had switched
“	banks a few years before. But other tasks—such as the
g transition to a system known as accrual accounting—
°	tested his patience. Like many founders, he ran Splen-
>	dies using cash-based accounting, which records
a	income and expenses only when money changes hands.
“ This method gave him a clear real-time picture of his
cash flow and streamlined the tax reporting process. It
just made sense. He could understand the basic princi-
ple and appeal of accrual accounting as well: It tracks
revenue and expenses when they are booked, and
therefore offers a fuller picture of a company’s financial
health and future prospects. He knew it was essential
to bring the company in line with the standard account-
ing method for any M&A transaction. But he really
didn’t know what was involved in translating one sys-
tem to the other. Most of all, he could not fathom why
it was taking so damn long.
One thing Coombs no longer had was time. Two
months into the process, in March 2022, he watched as
the price of gas began skyrocketing, inflation topped
8 percent year over year, and the Federal Reserve read-
ied a plan to cool the economy, even if it meant plunging
the country into recession.
As much as he could, Coombs tried to be patient.
Even in the best cases, the transition to accrual is labo-
rious-reviewing and adjusting each piece of historical
financial data. Some revenue, like Splendies’ prepaid
annual subscriptions, had to be broken down into indi-
vidual transactions with 12 monthly entries. When the
bookkeepers said they had one last round of corrections
that they and the bankers assured him would take four
days, Coombs could tell there were still inconsistencies
in the records around inventory and the cost of goods
sold. “This goes way over my level of understanding,”
he recalls thinking, as he wrestled with an 18-tab Excel
spreadsheet and a sinking feeling.
By April, the Federal Reserve had taken action,
embarking on a long-anticipated series of
interest rate hikes to rein in inflation. Sud-
denly, and for the first time since the financial
crisis in 2008-2009, capital was scarce, and that in turn
weakened startup valuations. “It was a big reset within
the entire sector,” says Allan Weinstein, co-founder of
Gainline Capital Partners, a private equity firm special-
izing in midsize companies. “There are always deals to
be done, but you only have to look at the layoffs at invest-
ment banks and their earnings reports to see that M&A
volume and financing were in retreat.”
Coombs never wavered: There were deals to be done,
and he believed there was a good one—if not the dream
one—still out there for Splendies. “Had we sold in 2019,
it would have been a mistake. If we’d sold in early 2021,
it would have been a never-have-to-work-again situa-
tion,” he says. Now he was willing to lower the sale
price, but he maintained a threshold he wouldn’t go
below. (Coombs would not share his price targets, but
Inc. estimates the company’s value to have been in the
low tens of millions.)
He was also open to reconsidering the type of
buyer. At first, Coombs had envisioned a firm from
the apparel or retail space acquiring Splendies. Now,
with those companies exercising new caution, he was
all but certain they were out of the picture. While his
111
investment bankers felt good about prospects in the
private equity community, where they had strong
connections, Coombs thought the best option might
be a so-called aggregator that brings together multi-
ple brands and sellers. Such companies made a lot of
e-commerce acquisitions in late 2021, seemed to move
quickly, and were less likely to buy Splendies for parts.
“I thought it would make a lot of sense,” Coombs says,
“not just for an exit, but also for the future of the
company.”
Coombs knew the aggregators would face the
same economic pressures as everyone else sooner or
later, and sure enough, as 2022 wore on, he started
seeing them making fewer and fewer deals. He tried
to hold his doubts at bay, ratcheting up his sense of
urgency. “You’re seeing the music about to stop,” he
says, “and you’re like, ‘Dude, we need to go.’ ”
Coombs thought he was cleared for takeoff when he
got word that the books were finally complete—but
again he found lingering problems. “It wasn’t clean, it
wasn’t tidy,” he says. He wasn’t so much angry' as ready
to throw up his arms. It was a Friday, and he had plans
with a friend. He held it together through dinner, but
his body started to revolt later that night. “I got physi-
cally sick—throwing up,” he remembers. “That was the
lowest point.” He worried the months of bottled-up
stress had given him an ulcer.
It was like Groundhog Day: Get the books done yet
again, delay the process two to three months yet again,
and fight the doubt monster yet again. Only this time,
Coombs acknowledged a reality he’d so far held off: that
maybe a deal wouldn’t happen after all. The next
Monday, he hired a costly full-service accounting firm
to perform a fine-toothed, near-forensic review of
Splendies’ financials. By then, he says, he’d resigned
himself to “spending a lot of money and time—time was
more important than money.”
He didn’t come to this realization lightly, nor did he
let go of his signature scrappy approach easily, even as
he watched his window of opportunity close. Coombs
believes his standard playbook would have gotten him
to the finish line under normal circumstances—but
these were not ordinary times.
By the middle of 2022, gas prices had risen to their
highest point in a decade. Inflation hit 9 percent in
June, the highest rate since the early 1980s. And inter-
est rates were climbing by 0.75 percent every time the
Fed met. Coombs had options but, in his mind, little
choice. He could go out with less than perfect numbers,
or he could wait for his books to get buttoned up and
follow other founders in a race to the bottom, chasing
ever-lower valuations. He’d seen how that story could
end when a founder he knew put his company up for
sale in 2022, believing it was worth $20 million. Told
he might get $16 million, the friend resisted, and by the
time he came to his senses, that valuation was gone,
and the best offer he could get was $13 million from an
aggregator. Despite his frustration, Coombs’s friend
INC. GROWTH
NETWORK
CHECKOUT
THE FIRST-
EVER DIGITAL
HOME FOR
THE INC. 5000
COMMUNITY.
The Inc. Growth
Network is a
digital platform
available for
free to all found-
ers and CEOs
of Inc. 5000
companies.
Join here:
community.inc
.com
signed a letter of intent, but the market was in free fall,
and his company was performing poorly. The prospec-
tive buyer lowered its offer to $10 million, and then
$8 million, contingent on financing—which it ultimately
couldn’t get. No deal and no path forward.
Coombs hadn’t launched Splendies out of a
burning desire to sell underwear, but he
loved his company and respected it. He
refused to go on the market prematurely
or undervalue his creation. He didn’t pop the bubbly
when the white-shoe accounting firm finally delivered
an airtight set of books. He wasn’t sure what qualified
as a good outcome anymore, other than defying all odds
and closing on a sale at a good price.
Still, Coombs was heartened when Splendies began
attracting significant interest in late August. The invest-
ment bank shopped the company to 300 potential
buyers, and within a few days, two dozen of those signed
NDAs to review the documents. Coombs’s bankers had
calls with eight of them, mostly aggregators, which
expressed genuine interest in Splendies—though he had
doubts any would make an acceptable offer.
He knew the price would be a fraction of what the
company might have commanded a year earlier, when
DTC companies were being valued at 12 times their
earnings. Now the market looked more like four times
earnings, a third of what Coombs had hoped for when
he’d begun his sale journey. As the sole owner of the
company, he stood to walk away with a significant
payday even with the much smaller numbers. But he
had to weigh that against the threshold price he set
going into the process.
Then the submission deadlines passed and no offers
arrived. After more than a year of essentially working
two jobs and expending every ounce of his mental
energy on staying positive, the process had come to a
close with nothing to show for it.
Coombs refused to claim any moral victories for
having completed the sales deck with his absolute best
effort. And he refused to console himself with the
knowledge that any offer would have been a lowball.
He knew all of that, rationally, but all he could think of
was that he had set a goal of selling and hadn’t achieved
it. He felt like a zero. “I expect a lot of myself,” he says.
“You either get to the goal or you don’t. It’s not a
participation-award sort of thing.”
Coombs immediately set about identifying things
he’d do differently if he could—like shell out for a top-
shelf accounting firm much earlier. He played out and
second-guessed every scenario that had come up over
the previous year, but he kept finding he hadn’t made
significant missteps. Ultimately, the sale preparation
didn’t take much longer than he’d been warned it
might—despite all the accounting delays. But he’d been
in the wrong economic climate at the wrong time. And
he was devastated nonetheless.
In truth, Splendies was in good company, lots of it.
112 Inc. September 2023
“The lowering tide takes all the boats down like the
rising tide brings them all up,” says David Bell, a former
Wharton faculty member, co-founder of Idea Farm
Ventures, and an early investor in brands including
Bonobos, Harry’s, and Warby Parker. “The downside of
that is that these cycles are pretty long. It’s not neces-
sarily going to turn the comer in six months. Then it
becomes the question, do you have the stomach for
going nose to the grindstone until things get better?”
On a cool sunny day this May, Coombs, now
43, walks alongside the community
risk-reduction specialist from the local
fire department. Together they survey
the electrical system and fire suppression apparatus
in Splendies’ cavernous warehouse in La Verne, Cal-
ifornia, about an hour east of Los Angeles. Pallets of
boxes dot the hangar-like space, and a half-dozen
contract employees pack envelopes in advance of
Splendies’ upcoming ship week It’s nearly six months
since the sale process concluded without a deal-
more than two years since Coombs decided to pursue
a sale in the first place—and routine tasks such as this
inspection are comforting for Coombs. The annual
ritual lasts about 15 minutes, after which he signs a
form on the inspector’s tablet and moves on to his
next task.
“I beat myself up for a good four months,” Coombs
says. “It’s weird, because I can’t tell you what was going
on in that three or four months. I don’t really remember.
It was a haze.” It’s hard for Coombs to describe the
emptiness he felt. During the sale process, he’d had to
remind himself, “I don’t have kids. This isn’t my kid.”
Now he was fighting a sense of loss of that scale.
Й	On top of his exhaustion and sense of failure, Coombs
=	felt the weight of being a Black entrepreneur and role
«	model. He and a friend had talked about the need for
“ people of color to see others who looked like them
8 successfully exiting small and midsize companies
Coombs’s
thriftiness
as a founder
extends to
his personal
life. He’s
driven a 1997
Corolla since
founding
Splendies.
they’d founded. He could have embodied that if he’d
sold Splendies for a nice round number.
There was no one moment when Coombs snapped
out of the funk, but a night out with a friend ended up
helping. During dinner, Coombs blurted out, “We’re not
gonna sell the company.” Simply articulating that was
therapeutic. As was his friend’s nonplussed reaction:
“OK, cool.” It put things into perspective.
To sell or not to sell is not to be or not to be—it is not
necessarily an existential question. “It’s a false dichot-
omy—a binary way of looking at something that
should be a spectrum,” says Martin Sinozich, who
co-leads Harvard Business School’s Startup Boot-
camp. There are other options for powering the next
stage of growth, he points out. “Especially if you’re
the sole owner and you have control, there are a lot
of different ways of threading that needle.” Selling
partial equity stakes, for instance, or leaning into
strategic partnerships. Those might not involve a
quick route to cashing in big and getting out, but any
startup veteran will tell you that’s not something to
take for granted.
Coombs has come around to that view, and since
shaking free of his despair, he’s thrown himself into his
CEO role with renewed purpose. The sale process
provided him with some insights into his company.
“Having a little more time and those years of audited
financials could be hugely beneficial,” says Sinozich.
“There are lots of opportunities with a delayed sale to
increase your valuation.”
After reviewing the financials, Coombs wrote a list
of trimmable expenditures to help Splendies get even
leaner than it had been. Or smarter, perhaps, because
at the same time he revamped other parts of the busi-
ness. Coombs rebuilt a section of the Splendies website
in a weekend. Then he started working on bringing
Splendies to brick-and-mortar retail. He’s treating it
like all his new ventures, starting small and gathering
data. The company’s products are now in six stores in
five states, and Coombs says he is “confident Splendies
will be in stores nationwide.”
He is bullish about the future. “We’re in a better place
to sell the company now than we were seven, eight
months ago,” he says. “I don’t know when the next favor-
able market will be, but we’ll be ready.” And as he walks
out of the warehouse toward the white 1997 Toyota
Corolla that he’s had since founding Splendies 10 years
ago, he casually mentions that he and his company have
started to have opportunities come to them.
Recently, Coombs says, he met with one firm that
told him it wanted to make an offer for Splendies but
said up front that the price on its term sheet wouldn’t
measure up to 2021 valuations. In this instance, Coombs
realized time was an ally. He told them not to waste the
paper. “It’s cool,” he said. “Don’t worry about it.” О
ALEX BHATTACHARJI is a journalist and screenwriter living
in Los Angeles.
113
1,130
Balloon Therapy
Events
Founder: Jessica
Porter
Category:
Consumer
Products
Three-year
revenue growth:
523%

While
working as a
school counselor in
Dallas, Jessica Porter was
known around her neighbor-
hood as a big-time decorator,
throwing over-the-top graduation and
birthday parties for family and friends.
But her designs grew even bigger after a
2019 trip to Los Angeles to see building-size
balloon installations by Geronimo Balloons.
Back home, with help from YouTube videos,
Porter ordered balloons and chicken wire and
threaded her first garland in her parents’ living
room.The result: a 15-foot cascading wave of blue
balloons intertwined with palm fronds. “It was
awful,” says Porter, 36. “The chicken wire scratched
the shit out of a wall, as well as my hands.”
Regardless, she posted a photoon Instagram—
and got a call from Bumble. The dating app was
planning a retreat in Dallas, saw her Insta, and
asked if she could do the decorations. She spent
nights researching balloon manufacturers and
recruiting students to help during free periods.
Her firefighter husband inflated balloons at
the station. And when Bumble swiped right
on her bubbly creation, she learned a
pricing lesson. “I charged $800 instead
of the $8,000 it should have been,”
she says. A few months later, she
quit her job to start Balloon
Therapy Events.
Today Porter’s
garlands,
cus-
tom-built for
each event, range from
10 feet to as big as her
customer’s imagination. The
designs feature inflatables in the
shape of flowers, stars, skulls, rabbits,
unicorns, margaritas, hot dogs—you
name it. “I want these balloon backdrops
to be the talking point of the party, and not
just an afterthought,” says Porter. “We’re in
Texas, so the bigger the better, baby.”
It wasn’t long before customers and students
alike started requesting balloons for events out-
side of Dallas. So when entrepreneur Junior Des-
inor approached Porter with the idea to franchise
the business, she brought him on as CEO. “We’re
both hardworking alpha personalities, so we clicked
instantly,” she says. And with the post-pandemic
events industry back in full swing—U.S. revenue is
expected to reach $538.6 billion by 2030, up from
$94.8 billion in Covid-stricken 2020, according
to Allied Market Research—business is blowing
up. The company now boasts seven franchises,
and revenue is expected to hit $3 million by
the end of 2023.
Still, Porter has even bigger designs in
mind. She’s determined, she says, to see
her creations on the country’s biggest
stages, from Formula 1 to the
Super Bowl: “I want to hustle
because this is what I’m
good at.” —Brit
Morse
WHEN THIS DALLAS DECORATOR
BROUGHT BALLOONS TO THE PARTY,
HER BUSINESS BLEW UP-AND
EXPANDED ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
114 Inc. September 2023
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC HELGAS
THEGOOD
INFLATION
Business is
ballooning
for Jessica
Porter’s event
design firm.
TOP
HONORS
The 500 fastest-growing
U.S. companies, by industry.
For the complete
Inc. 5000 rankings, go to:
inc.com/inc5000/2023
To see how these companies were
selected, turn to page 143.
ADVERTISING & MARKETING
Includes traditional advertising agencies and public relations firms, as
well as SEO specialists, data-mining experts, and developers of online
marketing platforms.
Number of companies 37 Total revenue Звю.зм Median revenue *6.1M
Median growth rate 1,919.9% Total employment 1,881
MARKETCALL 2017 PASADENA. CAUF.
CEO: Alexey Shmonov; marketcall.com
Matches advertisers with suitable affiliates, pairing
them for long-term, scalable success in maximizing
profits.
AWESTRUCK 2019 BETHLEHEM, PA.
CEOS: Ryan Sprance, David Marcy; awestruck.agency
Provides innovative destination marketing solutions
for clients in the worlds of tourism, hospitality, and
entertainment.
30.716%
11,247%
WECALL MEDIA 2019 CHARLOTTE. N.C.
CEO: David Mamane; wecallmedia.com
A firm specializing in lead generation for clients in the
insurance and home services industries.
10,933%
• ARTSAI 2019 PLEASANTON. CALIF
CEO: Yuri Khidekel; artsai.com
Offers marketers, advertising agencies, and media
owners real-time attribution for their online and offline
advertising.
10,658%
FOREST MEDIA GROUP 20 09 NEWYORKCITY
CEO: Arthur Meyerovich; withtheforest.com
A boutique digital marketing agency keying on
Amazon, CTV/OTT, and media buying.
10,291%
•	MOVERS+SHAKERS 2016 SANTA MONICA. CALIF.
•	CEOS: Evan Horowitz, Geoffrey Goldberg;
moversshakers.co
A creative agency generating relevance by connect-
ing brands to culture via mainstream and emerging
platforms.
7,245%
REVIVE 2019 PLAYA DEL REY, CALIF. CEO: Adam Goering; revivemedia.us An Amazon-focused media partner that stitches agency and publisher automations together to create efficiencies.	69	6,852%	30
RELEVANCE 2019 COLUMBIA. MO. CEOS: Misty Larkins, Will Erlandson; relevance.com A marketing agency providing strategies for content, search engine optimization, and public relations.	88	5,301%	30
NOBID 2019 WEST HAVEN. UTAH CEO: Marc Ropelato; nobid.io Creates advertising software that helps businesses with demand optimization, revenue optimization, and carbon reduction.	103	4.562%	9
GO VENTURES 2019 BENTONVILLE. ARK. CEO: Oliver Bogner; teamgoventures.com Creates retail and digital sales strategies, as well as TikTok content, for products and brands.	113	4,213%	54
OPENFORTUNE 2017 NEWYORKCITY CEOS: Shawn Porat, Matt Williams; openfortune.com Delivers marketing messages to consumers through branded fortune cookies distributed to more than 47,000 restaurants nationwide.	128	3,817%	14
ADVICTORY 2015 GRAND RAPIDS. MICH. CEO: Adam Meldrum; advictory.com A media-buying and audience intelligence agency that works with clients including political campaigns, PACs, and charities.	154	3,453%	13
FLUENCY 2017 BURLINGTON, VT. CEO: Mike Lane; fluency.inc Provides enterprise-level digital advertising manage- ment software to the advertising industry.	200	2,747%	52
HONEST DIGITAL 2019 ASHEVILLE.N.C CEO: Parker Evensen; honestdigital.com A boutique SEO and digital marketing agency provid- ing local SEO and paid advertising results for the automotive industry.	204	2.727%	25
$ FOR MORE EXCLUSIVE INC. 5000 COMPANY DATA, VISIT DATA INC COM_____________________________________________________
0 RANK 0 THREE-YEAR REVENUE GROWTH 0 number OF EMPLOYEES • The number of red dots indicates how many times a company has been a past Inc. 5000honoree.
116 Inc. September 2023
OVER THE TOP MARKETING 2018 MILFORD. CONN CEO: Mark Kaminski; overthetop.marketing A streaming TV media buying agency that analyzes data to deliver commercials to the right viewers.	254	2,199%	1
MISSIO DIGITAL 2014 BUFORD.GA CEO: Andrew Spikes; missiodigital.com Provides digital advertising, social media, and website solutions for clients including churches, businesses, and nonprofits.	268	2,097%	9
GOODQUES 2018 DENVER CEOS: Holland Martini, Maria Vorovich; goodques.com A research company using the principles of psychology and data to tell stories.	271	2,082%	7
SKYRUSH MARKETING 2013 BOHEMIA. NY CEO: Andrew Aiello; skyrushmarketing.com An agency specializing in SEO, PPC, video, social media, programmatic, and connected TV.	279	2,018%	10
NOTTINGHAM AGENCY 2008 BEVERLY HILLS CEO: Ernest Dukes; nottinghamagency.com A developer of marketing and publicity campaigns with cultural intelligence that disrupt the status quo.	293	1,920%	6
ATMOSPHERE 2018 AUSTIN CEO: Blake Sabatinelli; atmosphere.tv An ad-supported connected TV platform for busi- nesses, with SO-plus audio-optional channels and national and hyperlocal advertising.	306	1,865%	518
NETFLY 2018 EASTVALE,CALIF. CEO: Austin Irabor; netffydigital.com Provides SEO strategies for personal injury lawyers and operational consulting services to law firms.	321	1,760%	7
MONARCHY MEDIA 2018 CLEARWATER. FLA. CEO: Andrea d'Agostini; monarchy.io A marketing firm offering services such as lead gener- ation, A.I. integration, and call centers.	322	1,759%	75
THE INFLUENCER MARKETING FACTORY 2018 MIAMI CEOS: Alessandro Bogliari, Nida Bartoli; theinffuencermarketingfactory.com Helps companies engage with Gen-Zers and Millen- nials on social media platforms.	340	1,693%	47
KEVANI 2016 LOS ANGELES CEO: Kevin Bartanian; kevani.com A sales organization promoting national and local brands through innovative outdoor advertising, including iconic digital billboards.	348	1,675%	8
• SOCIALBOOK 2018 FOSTER CITY. CALIF. CEO: Heidi Yu; socialbook.io A content-creation platform using advanced A.I. and data to promote brands, products, and services.	353	1,637%	40
POD DIGITAL MEDIA 2018 NEW YORK CITY CEO: Gary Coichy; poddigitalmedia.com An advertising platform partnering with podcasters to connect advertisers with multicultural demographic audiences.	362	1,586%	13
UNITED ESPORTS 2018 LOSANGELES CEO: Felix LaHaye; unitedesports.com Designs promotion and marketing plans tied to e-sports teams and organizations around the world.	370	1,563%	14
SMB MEDIA CONSULTING 2018 PELHAM. N Y CEO: Stefan ie Beach; smbmediaconsulting.com Provides solutions to brands, agencies, and publishers across multiple platforms.	377	1,547%	12
DARKROOM 2017 BEVERLY HILLS CEO: Lucas DiPietrantonio; darkroomagency.com A strategic marketing firm delivering data-driven and strategic processes with top-tier talent.	385	1,502%	45
STRAND MARKETING 2018 HERMOSA BEACH. CALIF CEOS: Jocelyn Uhls, Matt Linder, strandmc.com A partnership marketing agency that helps drive cus- tomer acquisition, engagement, and retention through media strategies.	405	1,438%	20
LUDWIG PLUS 2018 BINGHAM FARMS. MICH CEO: Barbara Yolles Ludwig; ludwigplus.com A full-service brand actualization, business accelera- tion marketing and advertising agency.	422	1,369%	30
FAT EARTH MEDIA 2018 AUSTIN CEO: John Gross; fat-earth.com A creative performance marketing agency focused on mission-driven brands.	425	1,358%	22
CONDOR AGENCY 2018 MIAMI CEOS: Carlos Corredor, Antonio Santana; condoragency.com A marketing and recruiting agency that helps U.S. companies be more competitive in Latin America.	448	1,290%	52
ADITUDE 2018 BRONXVILLE. N.Y. CEO: Jared Siegal; aditudeJo Supplies custom advertising technology solutions to publishers, with tools including front-end CMS.	450	1,277%	8
• MOLOCO 2013 REDWOOD CITY. CALIF. CEO: Ikkjin Ahn; moloco.com Specializes in operational machine learning and growth solutions for performance marketers aiming to increase ROI.	476	1,224%	475
• SYNERGISTIC 2018 CINCINNATI CEO: Anthony Breen; synergistic.io Offers brand building, digital/portfolio marketing, paid media, and sales enablement.	496	1,181%	23
CROSS COUNTRY CREATIVE 2017 GILBERT. ARIZ CEO: Julie O’Neil; crosscountrycreative.com A legal marketing agency offering full-service marketing including website build, SEO, and video production.	500	1,172%	11
BUSINESS PRODUCTS
& SERVICES
Companies that sell products and services primarily to other businesses.
Number of companies 55 Total revenue 52,227.2м Median revenue $n.2M
Median growth rate 2,181.9% Total employment 8,770
ООО
e THE SUREFIRE GROUP 2016 PHILADELPHIA
CEO: Joseph McCabe; thesurefiregroup.com
A multiservice provider in real estate brokerage, home
care, mortgage, insurance, and real asset services.
PUBLISHING.COM 2018 AUSTIN
CEO: Christian Mikkelsen; publishing.com
An online education company helping people earn
income with their own e-book publishing business.
CAPITAL I 2018 SPRINGFIELD. MO.
CEO: Tony Danko; capitali.us
Supports health care technology management
through leadership consulting and staffing solutions.
• INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT
STRATEGIES 2014 ALEXANDRIA. VA.
CEO: Ambreen Javed;
integratedmanagementstrategies.com
A technical consulting company offering personalized
strategies and support to health care businesses.
SELECTA RESOURCES 2018 LA JOLLA. CALIF
CEO: Semyon Melamed; selectaresources.com
An importer and distributor of MDF and plywood for
furniture and cabinetry makers.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY ANTONIO GIOVANNI PINNA
117
BUSINESS PRODUCTS
& SERVICES (CONT.)
О © о
HORATIO 2018 NEW YORK CITY CEO: Jose Herrera; hirehoratio.com An outsourcing agency offering an omnichannel, human touch and personalized approach.	107	4,468%	1,300
BLACK BOX SAFETY 2017 EL CAJON. CALIF CEO: Jackson Dalton; blackboxsafety.com Equips emergency response, infection control, janitor/ sanitation, medical, office, and police/fire/EMS with safety products.	108	4,457%	8
THE CALL GURUS 2019 PHOENIX CEO: Travis Prouty; thecallgurus.com Outsources for customer satisfaction, business pro- cesses management, and call center solutions.	132	3,749%	500
SMART SIMPLE SOLUTIONS 2008 LEESBURG, VA. CEO: Jessy Asmar; smartsimplesolutionsllc.com Supports clients’ strategic initiatives through technol- ogy, staffing, and systems integration.	141	3,672%	104
M AVE NEER 2018 DALLAS CEO: Chad Hallerman; maveneer.com A supply chain engineering and systems integration firm specializing in distribution centers and manufac- turing operations.	144	3,630%	30
J2 COMPANY 2016 JACKSON. TENN CEOS: Jerrod Kitchen, Jenifer Kitchen; j2companyllc.com A facilities management company providing electrical, physical, and repair services for government, com- mercial, and industrial properties.	153	3,467%	24
•	OMNI INTERACTIONS 2016 DENVER •	CEOS: Karen Pavicic, Courtney Meyers; omniinteractions.com A customer service outsourcing firm that connects world-class remote workers with U.S. brands.	170	3,112%	44
EVISORT 2016 SAN FRANCISCO CEO: Jerry Ting; evisort.com A business solutions company helping operational teams scale faster, reduce costs, and deliver greater business impact.	178	2,979%	217
CORE BOILER & MECHANICAL SERVICES 2019 PRAIRIEVILLE. LA. CEOS: Paola Alvarado, Luis Alvarado; core-boiler.com Fabricates and installs pipe, and offers specialty weld- ing services, mechanical work, and HRSG repairs.	182	2,913%	36
MARKETERHIRE 2018 CHICAGO CEO: Chris Toy; marketerhire.com A recruiting platform that connects businesses with marketing talent on demand.	183	2,902%	41
• ENTRE INSTITUTE 2017 LAS VEGAS CEOS; Jeffrey Lerner, Adam Whiting; entreinstitute.com Provides education, coaching, community, and software to help entrepreneurs grow their own businesses.	199	2,749%	143
DISTRICT PARTNERS 2018 WASHINGTON. D C CEO: Josh Fisher; districtpartnersilc.com An executive search recruiting firm working to match employers and candidates in Washington, D.C.	203	2,729%	8
HYRUP 2019 POTOMAC, MD. CEOS: Andrew Feldman, George Graves; hyrup.co A recruiting firm that uses advanced A.I. and human verification to help businesses find talent	213	2,632%	20
• ROVE SUPPLY 2017 TRUCKEE, CALIF CEO: Zachary Osness; rovesuppiy.com Supplies brands with high-quality promotional prod- ucts, including apparel, hats, drinkware, and luggage.	215	2,610%	14
CLIENTS & COMMUNITY 2019 SCOTTSDALE. ARIZ. CEOS: Jaden Easton, Chris Stapleton, Landon Stewart; clientsandcommunity.com Helps entrepreneurs generate consistent leads and sales using client-focused social media strategies.	216	2,595%	32
COLLECTIV 2016 CHICAGO CEO: Darren Goonawardana; gocollectiv.com A full-service consulting and strategy firm helping enterprises solve complex problems with analytics and planning.	221	2,547%	10
COMPOSE.LY 2016 WILMINGTON. DEL CEO: Mike Leonhard; compose.ly Connects freelance writers with business leaders looking to scale their content creation and marketing strategies.	222	2,505%	33
ALLIANCE GLOBAL ADVISORS 2019 NAPLES. FLA. CEOS: Jennifer Stevens, Heather Fernstrom Border; alliance-globaladvisors.com A consulting firm focused on developing strategic growth solutions for real asset investment managers.	228	2,449%	2
WYCO SERVICES 2019 COVINGTON. LA CEO: Corey Bartolo; wyco.biz A materials handling company specializing in industrial conveyor systems and jet bridges for airports.	231	2,416%	47
MAIN DIGITAL 2018 MCLEAN. VA CEO: Sanam Boroumand; maindigital.com A consulting firm focused on digital transformation services that empower people to leverage intelligent technologies.	237	2,361%	22
THRASIO 2018 WALPOLE. MASS CEO: Greg Greeley; thrasio.com Leverages ratings and reviews to improve products and develop a better understanding of demand.	246	2,264%	957
MYHEALTHANGEL 2019 DELRAY BEACH. FLA. CEO: Daniel Feldman; myhealthangel.com A tech-enabled marketing company specializing in delivering customer acquisition solutions to Medicare markets.	253	2,208%	12
ENCORE LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT 2018 PHOENIX CEOS: Mike DiFabbio, Juan Hernandez; encorelm.com A commercial landscape maintenance company operating in the greater Phoenix and Las Vegas areas.	258	2,182%	126
PRINT YOUR CAUSE 2018 MOUNT PLEASANT. S.C. CEO: Jayson Tompkins; printyourcause.com Sells, prints, and ships customized apparel, hats, coffee mugs, and other premiums on demand.	267	2,115%	23
•	OPENEXCHANGE 2008 BOSTON •	CEO: Mark Loehr; openexc.com A virtual communications partner making virtual and hybrid meetings and events work.	277	2,029%	495
INTENTSIFY 2018 WESTWOOD. MASS. CEO: Marc Laplante; intentsify.io A generator of buyer-intent intelligence to help B2B organizations consume, interpret, and activate intent.	278	2,027%	107
TOP LINE GROWTH PARTNERS 2018 RICHMOND. VA. CEOS: Tom Corbitt, Russ Bencks; toplinegp.com A management consulting firm focused on sales and talent, as well as leadership coaching and development.	290	1,947%	10
SQUARED AWAY 2017 HERTFORD. N C. CEO: Michelle Penczak; gosquaredaway.com Provides skilled, fully remote executive assistants to startups, venture capitalists, and businesses of all sizes.	297	1,908%	347
•	WEBFORCE 2019 AUSTIN •	CEO: Luis Madrid; webforcehq.com An e-commerce, customer relationship, and sales call center organization helping online businesses in health and wellness.	307	1,862%	20
118 Inc. September 2023
READY TO TAKE A SWING AT
SCALING YOUR TECH COMPANY?
BUSINESS PRODUCTS
& SERVICES (CONT.)
ООО
•	SUMMIT HUMAN CAPITAL 2018 RICHMOND. VA-
CEOS: Nina lldari, Glenn Diersen;
summithumancapital.com
A management consultancy connecting clients and
career seekers by aligning applicant passions with
client missions.
LUCAS JAMES TALENT PARTNERS
2018 DOWNERS GROVE. ILL.
CEO: Tim Schumm; lucasjamestalent.com
An on-demand recruiter partnering with talent acqui-
sition and HR teams, providing additional bandwidth
during peak periods.
•	HELPWARE 2016 LEXINGTON. KY.
•	CEO: Robert Nash; helpware.com
Provides outsourced digital customer service and
back-office teams for businesses in multiple sectors.
TUCK CONSULTING GROUP 2013 UNDERHILL.VT.
CEO: Alex Tuck; tuckconsultinggroup.com
A minority-owned management consulting firm
specializing in helping small businesses deliver
complex projects and products.
EVOLV CONSULTING 2018 DALLAS
CEO: Eric Neef; evolv.consulting
Utilizes agile technologies and data that seamlessly
integrate with teams.
CHUNKER 2017 LEHI. UTAH
CEO: Brad Wright; chunker.com
Offers an online marketplace for short-term ware-
house rentals and pop-up services.
•	EPIGEN 2006 TYSONS.VA
CEO: Rashad Howard; epigentechnology.com
A strategic consultancy specializing in professional
management services, information security, and
emerging technology readiness.
CALADWICH CONSULTING 2018 ANNANDALE.VA
CEO: Philip Hamilton; caladwich.com
Helps clients meet their strategic and operational
objectives by employing a range of capabilities.
WHY UNIFIED 2018 NEWARK. DEL
CEO: Robert Nikic; whyunified.com
A drop-shipping platform serving people around
the globe, featuring two-day shipping and branded
products.
•	PIEDMONT GLOBAL LANGUAGE
SOLUTIONS (PGLS) 2013 Arlington.va.
CEO: Mohamed Hussein; pgls.com
A full-spectrum language services provider specializ-
ing in translation, interpretation, and language training.
•	PRYSM GROUP 2018 MIAMI BEACH. FLA.
CEO: Guido Molinari; prysmgroup.io
A consulting and corporate learning firm focused on
emerging technologies for enterprises, governments,
and startups.
SKILLIONAIRE ENTERPRISES 2008 TAMPA
CEO: Myron Golden; myrongolden.com
A business growth consulting company teaching
executives how to integrate the internet into their
businesses.
ROCKTOM IC 2018 DULUTH. GA
CEO: Ben Morgan; rocktomic.com
A wholesale supplement distribution company that
helps customers create their own supplement brand.
•	SUMMIT FACILITY SOLUTIONS
2018 WESTBURY. N.Y.
CEO: Michael Marrazzo; summitfacilitysolutions.com
A facilities management company servicing national
customers, with a concentration on commercial
cleaning.
368
391
392
406
418
428
1,841%	152
1,836%	137
1,725%	1616
1,607%	5
1,572%	170
1,481%	11
1,470%	35
1,425%	31
1,387%	24
1,363%	115
1,357%	14
1,356%	5
1,311%	21
1,288%	200
ARTIUM 2018 SANTA MONICA. CALIF
CEO: Ross Hale; thisisartium.com
Helps clients build software, learn best practices and
methodologies, and create a culture of collaboration.
BENCHSTRENGTH COACHING
2017 CAPE CORAL, FLA.
CEO: Dawn Rowley; benchstrengthcoaching.com
Provides executive coaching services to help busi-
nesses by aligning their leadership’s language, compe-
tencies, and culture.
NEXTON 2017 KEY BISCAYNE. FLA.
CEO: Diego Sternberg; nextonlabs.com
Provides solutions that help companies build high-
quality remote teams in Latin America.
THE PRODUCT BOSS 2018 ANKENY. IOWA
CEOS: Jacqueline Snyder, Minna Khounlo-Sithel;
theproductboss.com
Helps small-business owners take their businesses to
the next level with accessible digital resources.
SCHOOLWISE PARTNERS 2018 PINECREST. FLA.
CEOS: Ben Mayer, Charlie Zamora;
schoolwisepartners.com
An advisory firm supporting providers of early and
secondary education seeking to unlock liquidity.
•	TRADEBLOC 201B DALLAS
CEO: Timothy Clark; tradebloc.com
Provides a complete list of credit and debt manage-
ment options for clients.
•	COSENTUS HOLDINGS 1887 IRVINE. CALIF
CEO: GS Bhalla; cosentus.com
Business services and technology company providing
proprietary software for health care providers.
1,264%
1,253%
1,252%
1,249%
1,240%
1,225%
1.204%
COMPUTER HARDWARE
Companies that primarily make, distribute, or sell computer-related hardware.
Number of companies i Total revenue I2.397M Median revenue I2.397M
Med ian growth rate i,397% Total employment 26
DUJUD 2014 ATLANTA
CEO: Reza Abbaspour; dujud.com
Serves the semiconductor industry with proprietary 3-D
printing technologies that enable microfabricating.
120 Inc. September 2023
Inc.
Gro\A/th
NETWORK
BY FOUNDERS. FOR FOUNDERS.
A gathering place. A safe space. A hub of trust. A center
of nerve. Of shared experience. Of exceptional success.
Of guts, smarts, grit, and growth. And of access.
THE FIRST-EVER DIGITAL HOME
FOR THE INC. 5000 COMMUNITY
Built by Inc. in partnership with Capital One Business, the Growth
Network is a digital platform available for free to all founders and
CEOs of Inc. 5000 companies.
Exclusive access now!
http://community.inc.com/
FOUNDING PARTNER:
CapitaiOne Business
CONSTRUCTION
Companies and contractors that erect buildings, and sell or install windows,
doors, flooring, plumbing, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.
Number of companies « Total revenue $325.3M Median revenue $143M
Median growth rate \70o.2% Total employment an
• BLUE HAMMER ROOFING 2008 DALLAS CEOS: Nehal Kaiser, Miguel Taveras; bluehammerroofing.com Provides residential and commercial roof repairs and replacements necessary due to hail, wind, and storms.	13	19,510%	125
TERCO ENTERPRISES 2017 LAFAYETTE,N.J. CEO: Brian Hendricks; tercollc.com Specializes in earthwork construction, with 35 years of experience on commercial and industrial site work.	32	10,320%	20
NEXT DIMENSION CONSTRUCTION & ROOFING 2016 SUMMERFIELD. FLA. CEO: Blaine Villarreal; nextdimensionroofing.com A family-owned and -operated residential roofing contractor in central Florida.	111	4,266%	35
CELTIC RESTORATION GROUP 2016 CHICAGO RIDGE. ILL CEO: Jeff Lenz; celticrestorationgroup.com An insurance restoration contractor specializing in commercial and multiunit residential fire, flood, mold remediation, and repair.	139	3,683%	18
•	WENDEL •	1940 WILLIAMSVILLE. N.Y. •	CEO: Joseph DeFazio; wendelcompanies.com •	An engineering and construction management firm specializing in energy efficient projects for clients across the U.S.	298	1,903%	284
•	BIRDSEY CONSTRUCTION •	MANAGEMENT 2012 ATLANTA CEO: Sandford Birdsey; birdseyconstruction.com A construction management firm working with growth-oriented real estate investors to deliver renovations on time and budget.	302	1,880%	30
VIZEX 2018 MARYLAND HEIGHTS. M0. CEOS: Brad Burns, Maximus Coric; vizexbranding.com A brand engagement company helping clients strategize, design, and execute visual experiences for commercial retail spaces.	309	1,841%	5
ADVOCATE 2016 SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. CEO: Keith Galbut; advocate-rca.com Represents homeowners throughout the home- building process, from managing contractor bidding to helping with negotiations.	332	1,725%	5
CHATTAHOOCHEE CONSTRUCTION GROUP 2018 ROSWELL GA. CEOS: Jay Dalton, Allen Dalton, Cole Cooper; chattahoocheeconstruction.com A construction management and general contract- ing firm committed to delivering stellar service in competitive markets.	347	1,675%	12
3C INDUSTRIES 2006 UR8ANA. OHIO CEO: Derek Hairston; 3cindustries.com A commercial construction management company with a focus on building value and creating lasting relationships.	380	1,533%	43
• GREAT STATES CONSTRUCTION 2016 FARGO, N D. CEO: Michael Casper; greatstates.com A design-build firm, working closely with clients to bring their visions to life.	409	1,414%	26
• ACHUTI 2016 RALEIGH. N.C. CEO: Daniel Patrick; achuti.com A military and federal design and building firm.	416	1,395%	7
AXELA CONSTRUCTION 2018 WATERBURY. CONN. CEO: Mark Shteierman; axeiaconstruction.com A full-service commercial construction company focused on superior client relationships.	420	1,375%	15
•	OG LIVING 2017 DAVIE. FLA.
CEO: John Wohlford; ogliving.net
A home improvement contractor that specializes in
creating vibrant outdoor lifestyle and living areas.
ZENITH DESIGN + BUILD 2018 CLIVE.IOWA
CEO: Nicholas Donlin; zenithdesignbuild.com
A home remodeling company focused on unique,
award-winning designs and quality craftsmanship.
LEE COUNTY PLUMBING AND WELL
SERVICE 2010 FORT MYERS. FLA.
CEO: Troy Lanz; leecountyplumbingandwellservice.com
Serves Fort Myers and surrounding areas with plumb-
ing services for residential and builder clients.
CONSUMER PRODUCTS
Companies that make or distribute products to individual consumers,
as opposed to businesses.
Number of companies 32 Total revenue S900.3M Median revenue Ц2М
Median growth rate 2,496% Total employment 1,828
ООО
•	SONGFINCH 2016 CHICAGO
CEO: John Williamson; songfinch.com
A music creator platform helping users search
thousands of professional musicians to create custom
songs.
•	THESIS 2017 NEWYORKCITY
CEO: Dan Freed; takethesis.com
Offers custom-tailored nutrient compounds formu-
lated to enhance mental performance and specific
cognitive states.
MANDALA SCRUBS 2018 NEWMARKET. ALA.
CEO: Kaustubh Varma; mandalascrubs.com
Offers health care workers high-quality spill-resistant
scrubs at transparent prices.
DOSSIER 2018 NEWYORKCITY
CEO: Sergio Tache; dossier.co
Makes affordable luxury fragrances with high-quality
ingredients from France.
•	MARCELLA 2018 FLORENCE, MASS
CEOS: Andy Huszar, Siyana Huszar; marcellanyc.com
An e-commerce women’s fashion brand focusing on
sustainability.
KAPLAN LABORATORY (H-PROOF)
2018 HALLANDALE BEACH, FLA.
CEO: Rachel Kaplan Grossman; h-proof.com
A family-owned and women-led company that devel-
ops and markets health and wellness products.
BRANCH 2018 NEWYORKCITY
CEO: Greg Hayes; branchfurniture.com
Provides a curated line of desks, chairs, conference
tables, lounge furniture, and more.
122 Inc. September 2023
•	ATHENA CLUB 2017 NEW YORK CITY
CEOS: Maria Desmarais, Charles Desmarais;
athenaclub.com
An omnichannel personal care one-stop shop focused
on improving how people practice their routines.
BLAZY SUSAN 2017 DENVER
CEO: William Breakell; blazysusan.com
Creates products and accessories for cannabis users,
such as rolling papers and trays.
WOXER 2013 MIAMI
CEO: Alexandra Fuente; woxer.com
A clothing company that designs and produces
underwear that’s intended to be both comfortable
and empowering.
REEL PAPER 2018 SANTA MONICA. CALIF.
CEO: Livio Bisterzo; reelpaper.com
Produces biodegradable toilet paper, towels, and tissue
using tree-free fibers and no dyes, inks, or BPAs.
PUFFIN DRINKWEAR 2018 BEND.ORE
CEO: Scott Allan; puffindrinkwear.com
Specializes in fun and unique “puffy" apparel used to
keep beverages cold.
•	CYMBIOTIKA 2018 SAN DIEGO
CEO: Shahab Elmi; cymbiotika.com
A health and wellness company that specializes in the
production and sale of supplements.
POSTPILOT 2018 SPARTANBURG. S.C.
CEOS: Drew Sanocki, Michael Epstein; postpilot.com
Specializes in creating and sending personalized,
automated direct mail and handwritten notes.
•	VEGAMOUR 2016 LOS ANGELES
•	CEO: Robert Schaeffler; vegamour.com
A wellness brand addressing the underlying root of
common hair concerns.
AZUCA 2018 ALBUQUERQUE
CEO: Kim Sanchez Rael; azucatime.com
Provides advanced formulations of ingestible and
topical hemp and cannabis products to brands and
manufacturers.
•	ULTRAVIEW ARCHERY 2017 NORCROSS. GA
CEO: Kolby Hanley; ultraviewarchery.com
Develops high-quality, purposefully designed archery
equipment intended to improve the overall customer
experience.
LLAMA NATURALS 2018 COUNTRYSIDE. ILL.
CEO: Brad Baum; llamanaturals.com
A family-friendly nutrition brand with an award-winning
line of gummy vitamins.
BODY20 2017 HOUSTON
CEO: Gregory Breitbart, body2O.com
Offers personalized training and body gear that sends
electrical impulses into customers' muscles.
•	JIMINY’S 2017 BERKELEY. CALIF.
CEO: Anne Carlson; fiminys.com
A pet company that makes environmentally friendly
dog food and treats from insect protein.
TKO SALES 2018 POMPANO BEACH. FLA.
CEO: Christian Zarate; tkosales.com
A custom heat-transfer manufacturer specializing in
screenprinted and digital screenprinted transfers.
KLASSY NETWORK 2018 ORLANDO
CEO: Natalie Rogers Soto; klassyshop.com
A clothing brand combining comfort and stylish
designs with signature built-in padding.
THORUM 2012 TAMPA
CEO: Caleb Martin; www.thorum.com
Makes innovative wedding rings and engagement
bands from novel materials.
5,561%	22
4,811%	35
4,757%	30
4,468%	8
3,752%	18
2,868%	56
2,687%	55
2,674%	90
2,628%	12
2,364%	23
2,240%	6
1,931%	21
1,758%	10
1,699%	100
1,599%	25
1,587%	3
TOUCHLAND 2017 MIAMI CEO: Andrea Lisbona; touchland.com A Hispanic- and woman-founded brand dedicated to elevating personal care routines into sensorial skin care rituals.	367	1,573%	10
BRUTUS BROTH 2017 OWINGS MILLS. MD CEO: Susan Delegan; brutusbroth.com A woman-founded, community-focused company specializing in making human-grade bone broth for dogs.	373	1,556%	4
THE WOLFE COMPANIES 1888 PITTSBURGH CEO: Jason Wolfe; wolfe.com Provides comprehensive and creative e-commerce gifting services and solutions for consumers and businesses.	382	1,521%	88
• FUN IN MOTION TOYS 2010 DANIA BEACH. FLA. CEOS: Kevin Schlapik, Stephen Dennison; funinmotiontoys.com A toy company creating products for all ages that encourage movement and stimulate the mind.	389	1,491%	18
• ELEMENT 26 2017 FORT PIERCE. FLA. CEO: Jason Franciosa; element26.co Designs and manufactures innovative athletic gear to help athletes surpass their own records safely.	412	1,406%	4
GORILLA NETTING 2017 PALM HARBOR. FLA. CEOS: Dolvin Todd, Brandon West; gorillanetting.com Designs, engineers, and installs custom barrier netting systems for sports, industrial, agricultural, and military applications.	415	1,396%	12
JRI CARDS 2018 WEST PALM BEACH. FLA. CEO: Samuel Parrino; jricards.com A live-streamed, weekly show offering enthusiasts a shot at owning rare and unique trading cards.	435	1,339%	5
• THE INDOOR GOLF SHOP 2017 CELINA.TEXAS CEO: Rene Delgado; shopindoorgolf.com A distributor and manufacturer of indoor golf prod- ucts, helping golfers create custom golf simulators.	445	1,306%	30
•	ACCELERATED BRANDS 2012 WINSTON-SALEM. N.C. •	CEO: Justin Strickland; acceleratedbrands.com Provides a range of consumer and commercial auto- motive services.	482	1,213%	892
CONSUMER SERVICES
Companies that provide services to individual consumers, as opposed to
businesses.
Number of companies 2 Total revenue $20.bm Median revenue *io.4M
Median growth rate 2,352.2% Total employment 84
ООО
WINNIE 2016 SAN MATEO. CALIF. CEO: Sara Mauskopf; winnie.com A child care marketplace connecting families with local and high-quality daycares and preschools.	177	2,985%	29
PET MEDIA 2003 CHARLESTON. S.C. CEO: Brenden Salta; petmedia.com A group of brands prioritizing safety, security, and health throughout the pet adoption process.	335	1,719%	55
CRYPTO
& BLOCKCHAIN
Companies that offer services related to blockchain and
cryptocurrency technology.
Number of companies 1 Total revenue $14.5M Median revenue S14.5M
Median growth rate 8,588.8% Total employment 163
___________________________________ООО
ZERO HASH 2017 CHICAGO
CEO: Edward Woodford; zerohash.com
A crypto-as-a-service platform designed to natively
integrate assets into all facets of customer applications.
8,589%	153
123
ENERGY
Companies that source or provide power for business and residential customers,
as well as companies that provide specialized services to energy firms. Also
includes consultancies that help clients reduce energy consumption.
Number of companies is Total revenue $1,217.9.3м Median revenue $39.3M
Median growth rate 3,641.8% Total employment 2,480
ООО
EDUCATION
Companies that provide instruction or coaching, or sell educational
materials, or whose primary market is schools or universities.
Number of companies fl Total revenue $95.зм Med ian revenue $5.*л
Median growth rate 1,876.7% Total employment i,368
0 0 6
NOVAKID 2017 SAN FRANCISCO CEO: Max Azarov; novakidschool.com An ESL platform using machine learning and aug- mented reality to make language instruction more engaging, effective, and accessible for children ages 4 to 12.	105	4,488%	360
RAINMAKER FAMILY 2018 CHICO.CALIF. CEOS: Chelsey Diaz, Stephen Diaz; therainmakerfamily. com Helps moms build passive income by launching private label brands on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon.	148	3,577%	70
• PHYSICALTHERAPY BIZ 2017 DALLAS CEOS: Danny Matta, Jerred Moon, Yves Gege; physicaltherapybiz.com Provides in-person and digital business coaching programs for physical therapists.	152	3,542%	20
INTERVENE K-12 2018 HOUSTON CEO: Aaron McCloud; intervenek12.com An online tutoring platform offering assessments, analytics, and data-driven instruction to foster sustained academic growth.	162	3,207%	11
ENSEMBLE MUSIC SCHOOLS 2018 LOUISVILLE, COLO. CEO: Jeff Homer; ensembleschools.com Provides individual and group music lessons to children ages 5 to 18.	219	2,564%	856
STATPEARLS 2016 ST. PETERSBURG. FLA. CEO: Steve Hauber; statpearis.com A peer-reviewed content provider for health care professionals seeking continuing education and certification reviews.	304	1,877%	4
ENTREMD 2018 LAWRENCEVILLE, GA. CEO: Nneka Unachukwu; entremd.com Provides entrepreneurship coaching for doctors to help them increase professional freedom and build profitable six- and seven-figure businesses.	315	1,816%	3
PILOT INSTITUTE 2018 PRESCOTT. ARIZ. CEOS: Johann Beishline, Greg Reverdiau; pilotinstitute.com An online airline and drone pilot training institute that has served more than 200,000 graduates.	372	1,558%	9
SEMI-RETIRED MD 2018 SANJUAN.P.R. CEO: Letizia Alto; semiretiredmd.com Teaches doctors and other high-income professionals howto invest in income-producing real estate.	384	1,517%	17
YELLOW TAIL TECH 2016 SILVER SPRING, MD. CEO: Jubee Vilceus; yellowtail.tech An educational technology company that offers IT job training for people without technical backgrounds.	452	1,268%	5
CINEMATIC HEALTH EDUCATION 2018 GREENBROOK, N.J. CEO: Timothy Murray; cinematichealtheducation.com Offers story-based training for caregivers to empha- size soft skills such as empathy and compassion.	490	1,195%	13
BIRCH CREEK ENERGY 2018 ST.LOUIS CEO: Dan Siegel; birchcreekdev.com Offers financing, construction, and management services to help landowners host utility-scale solar projects.	3	87,665%	22
SKYLINE SMART ENERGY 2014 DOWNEY. CALIF CEO: Edwin Arroyave; skylinesmartenergy.com Helps customers achieve energy independence through affordable solar installations.	20	15,824%	74
SUNLOGIX ENERGY 2018 PALM DESERT. CALIF CEO: Joe Castle; sunlogix.com Provides residential and commercial solar installation and service in California's Coachella Valley.	21	13,047%	53
CRUSOE ENERGY 2018 DENVER CEO: Chase Lochmiller; crusoeenergy.com Harnesses and converts typically wasted fuel byproducts, such as natural-gas flaring, into electricity to power data centers.	49	8,148%	272
•	KAYO ENERGY 2017 TEMPE •	CEO: Aaron Weymann; kayoenergy.com Offers design, permitting, and installation of solar projects in Arizona.	51	7,932%	102
EMPOWER HOME 2018 FRESNO. CALIF CEO: Landon Wimmer; empoweryourhome.com A residential and small-business solar installation company focused on customer education and project customization.	78	5,981%	165
• POWUR 2014 CARLSBAD. CALIF. J CEO: Jonathan Budd; powur.com Accelerates sustainable-energy adoption by offering custom solar projects for homeowners.	130	3,762%	295
EARTH RIGHT MID-ATLANTIC 2018 LYNCHBURG. VA. CEO: Corey Argentine; erepower.com Provides solar-power systems, energy-efficiency upgrades, and sustainable-energy education throughout Virginia.	143	3,642%	49
• MERAKI SOLAR 2018 PENSACOLA. FLA. CEO: Justin Wolf; merakisolar.com Installs solar panels on residential properties in Florida, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado.	146	3,587%	647
TITE HOME 2018 TEMPE CEO: Tyler Story; titehome.com Helps clients produce and store their own electric- ity through residential solar-panel installations and battery systems.	241	2,291%	3
PRINCIPLE SERVICES 2018 CANYON, TEXAS CEO: Troy Vaughn; principlesvc.com Provides project management, construction oversight, and regulatory compliance to power-infrastructure companies.	283	2,003%	41
• RESOURCE INNOVATIONS J 2016 HALF MOON BAY. CALIF. CEO: Lauren Casentini; resource-innovations.com A woman-led energy transformation firm offering clean energy solutions, including software, to help utilities meet increasing sustainability challenges.	359	1,589%	598
AMERICAN FACILITIES PROFESSIONALS 201B DERRY, nh CEO: Chris Bright; amfacpro.com A national facilities-management company that provides maintenance and compliance services as well as electric-vehicle solutions, including charger installations.	411	1,407%	7
124 Inc. September 2023
Eligible Stimulus Payment for Small Business
Payroll Refund up to $26,000 Per Employee
Does your business qualify or need help keeping employees around?
The Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) provides a payroll refund up to $26,000
per employee for businesses who were subject to COVID-19 government mandate
or had a loss in revenue in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID-19. We can help you through
the process. We've helped 1000’s of small businesses around the US file for more
than half a billion dollars in assistance during this tough time.
WE MAKE THE PROCESS EASY AND HASSLE FREE.
Book Your Appointment Today!
Call Today at. 833-GET-ERTC Or Visit Our Site: ERTCFILING.COM
REFERRAL BONUS PROGRAM |$юо per period filed)
EARN UP TO $700 FOR EVERY ELIGIBLE BUSINESS YOU REFER
*Excludes franchise partner referrals or filings subject to other discount programs.
ENERGY (CONT.)
1,388%
120
PENGUIN HOME SOLUTIONS
2017 RIVERSIDE. CALIF.
CEOS: Bryan Perkins, Michelle Perez;
penguinhomesolutions.com
A PV solar installation company working in the
residential and commercial markets.
417
TANKFARM 2017 MILLBROOK. N V.
CEO: Andrew Heaney; tankfarm.io
A tech-enabled propane distribution platform that
invests in proprietary software and tank monitors.
ENGINEERING
Companies that provide engineering and related services, including construction
or architectural work, and that manage engineering projects for clients.
Number of companies 5 Total revenue Median revenue $6.4M
Median growth rate r.588.5% Total employment 342
ООО
ECO BCG 2011 LAKE ELMO. MINN.
CEO: Sergio Castillo; ecobcg.com
A global engineering firm servicing the industrial
manufacturing sector with innovative technology
solutions.
121
4,030%
12
ESHOCAN 2017 LIVONIA. MICH
CEO: Naveen Bandepalya; eshocan.com
Offers engineering services and digital product
development to clients in the automotive industry
and beyond.
303
COBALT ENGINEERING AND INSPECTIONS
2016 LA MARQUE. TEXAS
CEO: Curtis Hampton; cobalt-engineering.com
A full-service architecture, engineering, and surveying
firm serving both residential and commercial clients.
360
1,878%
1,588%
ALBERS AEROSPACE 2016 MCKINNEY, TEXAS
CEO: John Albers; albers.aero
A defense technology firm providing aerospace
and aviation services, engineering, and aerospace
manufacturing.
433
1,342%
156
SHACTEE ENGINEERING 2018 Woodridge.ill
CEO: Tiffany Hopkins; shactee.net
A woman-owned specialist in natural gas pipeline
design and inspection for utility companies.
456
1,264%
FINANCIALSERVICES
Companies that provide financing or products and services that facilitate
transactions, including lenders, mortgage brokers, and financial advisers.
Number of companies 29 Total revenue S1,724.0м Median revenue S17.2M
Median growth rate 2,229.5% Total employment 2,546
О о о
B2 CAPITAL SOLUTION PROVIDER 2016 MIAMI
CEO: Boris Mendes; b2csp.com
Helps business owners build and maintain relation-
ships with sources of capital.
30
10,446%
11
NOVO 2018 MIAMI
CEO: Michael Rangel; novo.co
A fintech platform for small businesses, combining
a checking account and ecosystem for financial
applications.
EMPOWER FINANCE 2016 SAN FRANCISCO
CEO: Warren Hogarth; empower.me
/к credit company with the aim of giving everyone
equal opportunity to improve their financial security.
OMEGA ACCOUNTING SOLUTIONS
2007 IRVINE. CALIF.
CEO: Jay Woods; omega-accounting.com
A multifaceted accounting, finance, and tax credit
company offering a range of business services.
38
9,906%
7,595%
BYZFUNDERNY 2018 NEWYORKCITY CEO: Ilya Fridman; byzfunder.com A financing company that specializes in helping business owners scale their business effectively and affordably.	76	6,228%	43
• 180 GROUP 2017 NEW VORK CITY CEO: Marc Helwani; i80group.com An investment firm providing bespoke financing solutions to its partners’ unique needs.	83	5,431%	18
• VALIANT CAPITAL 2017 HOUSTON CEO: Lou Gonzalez; valiant-capital.com A commercial lender that also consults about financial analysis, cash flow, and loan restructuring.	89	5,223%	16
OPTIFUNDER 2018 CLAYTON. M0 CEO: Michael McFadden; optifunder.com A finance company helping independent mortgage lenders choose among funding options and streamline the process.	98	4,767%	29
AMPLA2018 NEWYORKCITY CEO: Anthony Santomo; getampla.com Offers digital banking and capital solutions including lines of credit to consumer brands.	157	3,404%	100
LEASEPOINT FUNDING GROUP 2016 AUSTIN CEO: Jeff Markim; leasepoint.com A finance company offering automatic underwriting, electronic documents, and same-day funding.	180	2,920%	20
BACKD BUSINESS FUNDING 2018 AUSTIN CEO: Xan Myburgh; backd.com A commercial lender that understands that cash is needed for growing and scaling a business.	192	2,819%	58
PATIENTFI 2017 IRVINE. CALIF CEO: Todd Watts; patientfi.com A patient financing company designed to make out- of-pocket health care expenses more accessible to more patients.	196	2,772%	56
•	MAVERICK PAYMENTS •	2011 CALABASAS. CALIF. CEO: Alan Griefer; maverickpayments.com Specializes in technology-driven solutions to help businesses process electronic payments.	206	2,712%	77
• TAX RELIEF ADVOCATES 2017 IRVINE. CALIF CEO: Lindsay Oglesby; tra.com Assists clients in resolving tax issues with the Internal Revenue Service.	218	2,565%	355
VA WHOLESALE MORTGAGE 2018 VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. CEOS: Eric Tan, Colby Tomlinson; vawholesalemtg.com Offers home loans to veterans and active duty military members.	252	2,230%	15
PERCENT 2018 NEWYORKCITY CEO: Nelson Chu; percent.com Increases the speed and velocity of transactions in the modern credit marketplace.	269	2,087%	46
• LEASE END 2018 BURLEY. IDAHO CEO: Brandon Williams; leaseend.com Empowers lease owners with user-friendly resources for lease-end decisions.	287	1,976%	123
• ZAP MORTGAGE 2016 SARASOTA. FLA. CEO: Anthony Lee; zapmortgage.com A forward-thinking mortgage company specializing in helping veterans and first-time buyers purchase homes.	294	1,915%	10
CREDIQUE 2018 WEST HOLLYWOOD. CALIF. CEO: David Tam; credique.com A fintech advertiser providing credit score, identity protection, and personal finance management services.	350	1,659%	10
NORTH SQUARE INVESTMENTS 2018 CHICAGO CEO: Mark Goodwin; northsquareinvest.com A multiboutique asset management platform bringing differentiated active investment strategies to the marketplace.	355	1,618%	58
126 Inc. September 2023
PostPEO
A LEAVITT GROUP COMPANY
Exiting a PEO is stressful.
FINDING THE RIGHT PARTNER TO
GUIDE YOU THROUGH IT SHOULDN’T BE.
As your business grows, your needs
change and we’re here to guide you
when you’re ready to level up from your
current PEO.
We help navigate the muddy waters
from your PEO to a comprehensive and
custom-built HR program - one that
makes sense for you today and as your
company evolves into the future.
Contact us today to
plan your exit.
“With our increased employee growth, we
were internally in a position to leave our
PEO. This saved us a significant amount
of money and provided our HR team with
more autonomy. Knowing we controlled
all of our HR decisions, as opposed
to outsourcing them to a third party,
translated into an enhanced culture for our
employees/’
Just scan the QR code below.
David I. Rainer
CEO, Bank of Southern California N.A.

PostPEO
A LEAVITT GROUP COMPANY
Where Growing
Companies Will Go
800.208.6356 hello@postpeo.com
FINANCIAL SERVICES (CONT.)
О © О
TRUST & WILL 2017 SAN DIEGO
CEO: Cody Barbo; trustandwill.com
A leading digital estate planning and settlement plat-
form designed to help families maintain their legacy.
1,584%
KAPCO FUTURES 2010 ELGIN, ILL
CEO: Jeff Kaprelian; kapcofutures.com
A boutique commodity brokerage firm specializing in
livestock risk management for the beef industry.
OPTIMUS FUTURES 2006 BOCA RATON. FLA
CEO: Matthew Zimberg; optimusfutures.com
An online futures brokerage providing security
and reliability for clients as an independent
introducing broker.
• GOLDEN TAX RELIEF 2017 THOMASVILLE. ALA.
CEO: Ben Golden; goldentaxrelief.com
Provides tax planning to minimize clients’ tax liability
and allow them to represent themselves before the IRS.
•	E78 PARTNERS 2016 OAK BROOK. ILL.
•	CEO: John Signa; e78partners.com
•	Supports middle-market CFO, CIO, and private equity
firms and their portfolio companies.
COVENTURE 2014 MIAMI
CEO: All Hamed; coventure.vc
A multidisciplinary financial services firm providing
tailored capital solutions for early and growth-stage
technology companies.
AMERICAN HARTFORD GOLD 2016 LOS ANGELES
• CEO: Sanford Mann; americanhartfordgold.com
• Guides clients to long-term security by helping them
diversify their portfolios with precious metals.
СВОЕ VEST 2012 MCLEAN, VA.
CEO: Karan Sood; cboevest.com
Helps investors through target outcome investing,
with options for growth, risk, and buffer management.
•	COINFLIP 2015 CHICAGO
•	CEO: Ben Weiss; coinfiip.tech
A leading fintech company operating the world’s
largest network of cryptocurrency ATMs by
transaction volume.
1,569%
1,551%
1,462%
1,449%
1,447%
1,369%
1,266%
1,187%
FOOD & BEVERAGES
Companies that manufacture, sell, or distribute food or beverages
or offer related services, including meal delivery.
Number of companies 24 Total revenue $авэм Median revenue $19.4M
Median growth rate 2,озв.бх Total employment 3,296
О © о
GREEN LIGHT DISTRIBUTION 2019 COPPELL, TEXAS CEO: Dusty Odell; greenlightdistribution.com Provides services for small to midsize wine and craft spirits brands.	4	41,090%	150
DAN-O’S SEASONING 2016 LOUISVILLE CEO: Phillip Crosby; danosseasoning.com A purveyor of seasoning products sold nationwide in over 13,000 retailers and on Amazon and the company website.	37	10,077%	50
OLIPOP 2018 OAKLAND, CALIF CEO: Ben Goodwin; drinkolipop.com Offers sodas with nostalgic flavors and less than 50 calories to support digestive health.	42	9,115%	70
BLK&BOLD 2016 DES MOINES CEO: Pemell Cezar; blkandbold.com Focuses on uniting coffee and tea lovers worldwide through community investing.	61	7,404%	26
THE NAKED MARKET 2018 SAN FRANCISCO CEO: Harrison Fugman; thenakedmarket.com Owns and operates food and beverage brands that are sold via e-commerce and retail.	68	6,902%	14
PENELOPE BOURBON 2018 ROSELLE. N.J. CEO: Michael Paladini; penelopebourbon.com A maker of four-grain straight bourbon whiskeys that are blended from three different mash bills.	84	5,384%	20
CARIBE JUICE 2014 CHARLOTTESVILLE. VA. CEO: Luis Solis; caribejuice.com A national purveyor of natural cold-press juices produced without concentrate, added flavors, or artificial additives.	118	4,079%	103
• PARTAKE FOODS 2016 NEWYORKCITY CEO: Denise Woodard; partakefoods.com Offers allergy-friendly, gluten-free, vegan, non-GMO cookies, graham-style crackers, and pancake and waffle mixes.	151	3,570%	18
MISSION DRIVEN MEAT & SEAFOOD 2018 HOUSTON CEO: Benjamin Warren; missiondrivenfoods.com A meat and seafood distributor working to reduce food waste and improve inefficiencies.	205	2,720%	10
CURE HYDRATION 2018 NEWYORKCITY CEO: Lauren Picasso; curehydration.com Produces functional electrolyte drink mixes with science-backed formulas and plant-based ingredients.	225	2,489%	8
• ATHLETIC BREWING COMPANY 2017 MILFORD. CONN CEO: Bill Shufelt; athleticbrewing.com Creates non-alcoholic beer for the modern drinker.	245	2,281%	210
• QWICK 2017 SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. CEO: Jamie Baxter; qwick.com A technology-enabled platform that matches food and beverage freelancers with shifts in real time.	270	2,085%	274
TAYLOR CHIP 2018 MOUNT JOY. PA CEOS: Doug Taylor, Sara Taylor; taylorchip.com Offers a wide range of cookies, custom cookie cakes, and edible cookie dough.	285	1,993%	60
AMERICAN FOODS INTERNATIONAL •	2010 AVENTURA. FLA. •	CEO: Eoghan O’Byme; americanfoodsllc.com A food and beverage exporter of hundreds of brands to Latin America and the Caribbean.	317	1,805%	40
• GREATER THAN 2009 HIGHLAND PARK. ILL. CEOS: Jon Sider, Mark Sider; drinkgt.com Makes an electrolyte replacement drink for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers based on organic coconut water.	318	1,798%	6
JUST ABOUT FOODS 2018 san diego CEO: Luis Miguel Covarrubias Lanzagorta; justaboutfoods.com Offers specialty flours, fruit snacks, and baking ingre- dients with a focus on health.	331	1,726%	31
OFF THE MUCK MARKET 2018 CANASTOTA. N.Y. CEO: Carl Chappell; offthemuck.com An online grocery serving upstate New York, support- ing local farmers and food makers.	346	1,683%	19
• TRACTOR BEVERAGE CO. 2014 COEUR D'ALENE, IDAHO CEO: Kevin Sherman; drinktractor.com The first and only certified organic, non-GMO full-line food service solution focused on creating better beverages.	352	1,651%	52
• HAWAIIAN BROS ISLAND GRILL 2018 KANSAS CITY. M0 CEO: Scott Ford; hawaiianbros.com An island-inspired casual Hawaiian dining concept with high-quality food and personable service.	365	1,578%	1.675
128 Inc. September 2023
SERENITY KIDS 2016 AUSTIN
CEO: Serenity Carr; myserenitykids.com
A baby food brand featuring
nutrient-rich ingredients, including grain-free
and dairy-free products.
KEVIN’S NATURAL FOODS 2019 MODESTO.CALIF
CEO: Dan Costa; kevinsnaturalfoods.com
A refrigerated entree brand focused on clean,
convenient eating without sacrificing flavor.
EASTERN STANDARD PROVISIONS
2018 WALTHAM. MASS.
CEO: Bill Deacon; esprovisions.com
An artisanal food company elevating the snack food
experience with high-quality ingredients.
JUST MADE FOODS 2016 HOUSTON
CEO: Norka Nimocks; justmade.com
A woman-owned premium cold-pressed juice
company creating innovative nutritious products with
unique ingredients.
BEV-HUB 2018 WICHITA
CEO: Dan McDonald; bev-hub.com
A co-manufacturer specializing in shelf-stable bever-
ages such as cold-brew coffee and lattes.
DIGITAL AXIS 2012 TYSONS. VA.
CEO: Afshan Choudhary; digiaxis.com
Provides comprehensive IT services to federal
agencies, including cloud, data, cybersecurity, and
IT modernization.
•	SIERRA7 2 008 FALLS CHURCH. VA.
CEO: Rafael Fagundo; sierra7.com
Delivers IT solutions, products, and services to federal
agencies to modernize their clients’ processes.
•	ONEZERO SOLUTIONS 2017 ALEXANDRIA. VA
CEO: Al Sowers; onezerollc.com
Provides cybersecurity, information assurance, com-
puter network operations, solutions engineering, and
project management for government agencies.
HEALTH PRODUCTS
Companies that manufacture and sell supplements, diagnostic tests, medical
devices, and other health care products.
Number of companies 12 Total revenue 4159.2м Median revenue $ю.4М
Median growth rate 3,901.0% Total employment 1008
0 0 6
GOVERNMENT SERVICES
Companies that provide consulting services—especially IT, health care,
and procurement—primarily to government entities.
Number of companies n Total revenue $254.sm Median revenue S17.6M
Median growth rate 1,497.9% Total employment 1,414
•	MO STUDIO 2016 SCOTTSDALE. ARIL
CEO: Jeffrey Scheire; themostudio.com
Helps government and corporate clients design intui-
tive and sustainable experiences for their customers.
ROCKITDATA 2018 PHILADELPHIA
CEO: Marlene Andersch; rockitdata.com
A woman-owned, SDVOSB, full-service consulting
firm specializing in providing management and IT
services.
•	AMA CONSULTING GROUP 2016 LAKE MARY. FLA.
CEO: Stephanie Rosario-Smith; amaconsultinggroup.com
Helps clients find solutions to the challenges of the
affordable housing industry.
TRUED CONSULTING 2018 BROOMFIELD, COLO.
CEO: Wayland Ng; tru.consuiting
Focuses on planning and budgeting implementations
for the public sector and government organizations.
•	WINDSOR GROUP 2017 BETHESDA. MD.
•	CEO: Diedre Windsor; windsorgroup-llc.com
Provides professional services such as staff augmen-
tation, project management, IT support, and data
analytics.
•	RP PROFESSIONAL SERVICES 2011 ASHBURN. VA.
CEO: Rish Patel; rpproservices.com
Offers an array of technology and mission solutions to
federal customers.
AC DISASTER CONSULTING 2018 DENVER
CEO: Alyssa Carrier; acdisaster.com
Consults government and industry clients active in
disaster response, recovery, and preparedness.
•	AXIOM CONSULTANTS 2008 ROCKVILLE.MD.
•	CEO: Bhavana Rakesh; axiomconsultants.com
A technology, science, and management consulting
firm helping clients reach their modernization goals.
4,959%
4,169%
3,579%
1,692%
1,689%
1,498%
1,446%
1,416%
SONORAN ROOTS 2018 TEMPE CEO: Michael O’Brien; sonoranroots.com A vertically integrated, seed-to-sale craft cannabis company.	10	24,397%	158
ADVANCED MEDICAL RESOURCES 1987 LEAWOOD. KAN. CEO: Craig Meyer; resventusa.com Distributes health care supplies, including CPAPs and other items in the respiratory field.	22	12,428%	1
SWORD HEALTH 2016 DRAPER. UTAH CEO: Virgilio Bento; swordheakh.com A digital health startup with AJ.-enabled personalized treatment plans for physical therapy and pain relief.	26	10,960%	591
DR. CONTACT LENS 2017 PLANTATION, FLA. CEO: Brianna Rhue; drcontactlens.com A contact lens ordering and marketing platform enabling patients to order directly from their eye doctors.	41	9,229%	11
KINDERFARMS 2018 REDONDO BEACH. CALIF. CEO: Jeremy Adams; kinderfarms.com Provides pharmaceuticals and other health products for families.	45	8,744%	15
LEGENDARY LADY LABS 2018 LEHI. UTAH CEOS: Micah Soelberg, Kalli Soelberg; legendaryladylabs.com Makes products formulated for women and their unique hormonal needs.	119	4,066%	7
• 20/20 GENESYSTEMS 2011 GAITHERSBURG. MD. • CEO: Jonathan M. Cohen; 2020gene.com A life sciences company providing clinical lab testing and MCED blood tests.	134	3,736%	30
STEM WAVE 2019 BOSTON CEO: Tom Kostopoulos; stemwave.com Develops technologies that reduce chronic or acute musculoskeletal pain.	227	2,460%	31
ON COLE NS 2017 ATLANTA CEO: Anju Mathew; oncolens.com Connects data and health provider teams to create cancer treatment plans.	316	1,816%	36
MIRA 2016 SAN RAMON. CALIF CEO: Sylvia Kang; miracare.com Provides consumer products for home health care, specializing in helping women struggling to conceive.	437	1,323%	96
INTOUCH MED SUPPLY 201B KING OF PRUSSIA. PA CEO: Lance Marquardt; intouchmedsupply.com A supplier of urologic, ostomy, and wound care prod- ucts for both adult and pediatric populations.	439	1,318%	20
VADE NUTRITION 2016 WIXOM. MICH CEO: Joe Johnson; vade-nutrition.com Creates portable and convenient nutritional supple- ments packaged in food-grade dissolvable film, eliminating messy scooping.	473	1,232%	12
129
HEALTH SERVICES
Companies that include health care worker staffing agencies, physician
support services, clinics, veterinarians, pharmacy services, and clinical
research platforms.
Number of companies 38 Total revenue $3371.1M Median revenue Пз.эм
Median growth rate 3,102.9% Total employment 20,009
О о о
CAREBRIDGE 2018 NASHVILLE CEO: Puneet Singh; carebridgehealth.com Provides clinical support to patients, family mem- bers, and caregivers to ensure patients can remain independent	1	157,144%	292
FLEXCARE INFUSION CENTERS 2019 OKLAHOMA CITY CEO: Aaron Smith; ftexcareinfusion.com Provides accessible specialty infusion and injection services to patients with rare, chronic, and complex conditions.	6	35,012%	150
UPWARD HEALTH 2010 HAUPPAUGE.N.Y. CEO: Glen Moller; upwardhealth.com A medical group providing in-home access to care, including physical and social determinants of health.	7	30,808%	294
• ETRUENORTH 2013 MANSFIELD.TEXAS CEO: Coral May; etruenorth.com Provides partners around the country with Covid-19, flu, and other testing services and pharmaceutical solutions.	14	19,130%	22
• SPECIALTYI PARTNERS 2010 HOUSTON * CEOS: Matthew Haddad, Daryl Dudum; specialty1partners.com A doctor-led provider of specialty surgical dental services, with a multisite, multiservice, and scalable platform.	15	18,747%	1,876
RAREBREED VETERINARY PARTNERS 2018 PORTLAND. MAINE CEO: Dan Espinal; rarebreedvet.com Partners with veterinary hospitals to help with IT, HR, talent acquisition, accounting, marketing, and more.	35	10,293%	2500
CHARTER RESEARCH 2018 THE VILLAGES. FLA CEOS: Jeff Pohlig, Jessica Sletten; charterresearch.com A Florida-based clinical research company special- izing in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and osteoarthritis.	65	7,130%	79
CITY MOBILE GROUP 2018 ALBUQUERQUE CEO: Jena Breckenridge; citymobilegroup.com Connects health care professionals with jobs.	67	7,026%	65
VYTALIZE HEALTH 2014 HOBOKEN. N.J. CEO: Faris Ghawi; vytalizehealth.com An accountable care organization that ties insurance payments to quality of care metrics.	71	6,687%	203
ARCHERREVIEW 2008 DALLAS CEO: Karthik Koduru; archerreview.com Provides test-preparation resources and live webinars for physicians, nurse practitioners, and medical and nursing students.	85	5,378%	34
JAVARA 2018 WINSTON-SALEM. N.C. CEO: Jennifer Byrne; javararesearch.com Helps health care organizations connect patients with clinical trials as a care option.	94	5,070%	236
MODIFYHEALTH 2018 ALPHARETTA. GA. CEO: G.B. Pratt; modifyhealth.com Offers home-delivered, healthful meals and dietitian coaching to patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes.	96	4,875%	23
FARMBOXRX 2014 BOSTON CEO: Ashley Tyrner; farmboxrx.com Ships fresh fruit and vegetables to consumers, often in conjunction with Medicare and Medicaid plans.	100	4,748%	35
TRILLION HEALTH & HORMONE 2019 OMAHA CEO: Hanah Molloy; trillionhh.com A women's health organization specializing in hor- mone therapy, gynecology, peptide therapy, sexual medicine, and medical aesthetics.	137	3,698%	21
FLEXIT 201B NEWYORKCITY CEO: Austin Cohen; ftexitfit Offers live virtual private wellness and fitness sessions to consumers and enterprises.	140	3,681%	50
SPARTAN FITNESS HOLDINGS 2017 BRENTWOOD. TENN CEO: David Schuck; spartanfitnessholdings.com A multibrand wellness and fitness platform and the largest franchise owner in the Club Pilates system.	149	3,576%	676
• CURIS FUNCTIONAL HEALTH 2018 DALLAS CEO: Andre Angel; gocuris.com A health care provider focusing on preventive care and personalized treatments.	155	3,444%	322
•	QUICK’RCARE 2017 MIAMI •	CEO: Alex Guastella; quickrcare.com Provides an A.I. tool that works with search engines to connect people with medical care.	160	3,251%	71
• KWIKLY DENTAL STAFFING 2016 MINNEAPOLIS CEO: Pedram Nastaean; joinkwikfy.com An on-demand dental staffing platform.	169	3,132%	1,914
EVOLUTION VETERINARY SPECIALISTS 2018 LAKEWOOD. COLO. CEO: Michael Lake-Bakaar; evolutionvet.com A veterinary emergency room and specialty hospital providing medical care for pets.	173	3,074%	70
• TIMELYCARE 2017 FORT WORTH CEO: Luke Hejl; timelycare.com A telehealth platform serving college students.	175	3,015%	188
UPFRONT HEALTHCARE 2018 CHICAGO CEO: Ben Albert; upfronthealthcare.com Guides patients to the care they need, leveraging hyper-personalized digital experiences.	194	2,785%	188
NIGHT WATCH URGENT CARE 2019 MANASSAS. VA. CEO: Ravneet Dhaliwal; nightwatchurgentcare.com Provides acute and urgent services in a compassion- ate family-centered environment for all ages.	198	2,757%	33
130 Inc. September 2023
NEW FROM AN INC.
ORIGINAL
THE —
MOTHER
OF ALL ||
SUCCESS
MANUALS
How to Control Your Days, Lose the Guilt,
&F'nd Нагто"У Between Work and Life'
ClaRA CAPAN о
®
\ .x INC
< HUGIN\l
ARE YOU AN
ACCOMPLISHED
MOMPRENEUR,
BUT FEEL LIKE
A HOT NESS?
Control Your Days,
Lose the Guilt,
and Find Harmony
Between Work and Life
WWW.CLARACAPANO.COM
AVAILABLE NOW
EVERYWHERE BOOKS ARE SOLD
HEALTH SERVICES (CONT.)
О © О
INTELLATRIAGE 200B BRENTWOOD,TENN. CEO: Daniel Reese; intellatriage.com Delivers nurse-first triage solutions and around-the- clock care for people in hospice and home health care.	234	2,366%	214
SONDERMIND 2014 DENVER CEO: Mark Frank; sondermind.com Provides personalized mental health care services to help people find the right therapist.	243	2,289%	277
• MYSPECTRUM COUNSELING & COACHING 2018 NORTH CHESTERFIELD, VA. CEOS: Sherman Adkins, Michael Butler; myspectrumcc. com An outpatient telehealth therapy practice that offers individual, family, and couples counseling.	244	2,285%	59
CARE SOLACE 2016 CARDIFF BY THE SEA. CALIF. CEO: Chad Castruita; caresolace.org Helps patients find the mental health providers and services they need.	255	2,194%	452
DIGITAL BLUE SOLUTIONS 2018 SARATOGA SPRINGS. N.Y CEO: Shawn Firehock; digitalblue.io A health care consulting and solutions company focused on optimizing business performance.	273	2,076%	21
GUARDIAN DENTISTRY PARTNERS 2018 MIAMI LAKES. FLA. CEO: Danny Kawas; guardiandentistry.com b dental network providing support services and growth opportunities for its dentist partners.	305	1,876%	1,651
VITALTECH 2017 CARROLLTON. TEXAS CEO: Steven Scott; vitaltech.com Empowers patients, care teams, and health care systems with remote monitoring and automated workflows.	327	1,745%	35
CODOXO 2017 DULUTH. GA. CEO: Musheer Ahmed; codoxo.com Provides A.l.-driven solutions and services to health care payers and agencies and pharmacy benefit managers.	329	1,738%	60
•	CONNECTRN 2014 WALTHAM. MASS. •	CEO: Ted Jeanloz; connectrn.com A platform devoted to providing career support and work opportunities for the nursing community.	354	1,626%	283
PATHOLOGY WATCH 2017 MURRAY, UTAH CEO: Dan Lambert; pathologywatch.com A deep-learning A.I. company focused on diagnostic and prognostic research for skin cancer.	386	1,500%	72
ALKEMI 2017 MANCHESTER CENTER. VT. CEO: Betsy Lahue; alkemihealth.com Offers market access and evidence strategies for rare disease therapeutics and innovative technologies.	395	1,467%	8
WELLTHY 2014 NEW YORK CITY CEO: Lindsay Jurist-Rosner; wellthy.com Uses technology and human expertise to help keep caregivers in the workforce.	399	1,451%	330
• EVIDENCECARE 2016 BRENTWOOD.TENN CEO: Bo Bartholomew; evidence.care A new type of clinical decision support system that improves clinical workflows and decision making.	436	1,329%	32
• MISSION VETERINARY PARTNERS 2017 SOUTHFIELD. MICH. CEO: Michael Aubrey; missionvetpartners.com A veterinary services organization providing care for millions of pets across the country.	440	1,316%	7,163
• ISI ELITE TRAINING 2013 CHARLOTTE,N.C. CEO: Adam Rice; isielitetraining.com A boutique group fitness franchise that offers 50- minute, low-impact, high-intensity, and strength- based workouts.	457	1,263%	10
HUMAN RESOURCES
Staffing, payroll, executive-search, and outsourcing companies, as well
as firms involved with employee or management training.
Number of companies 22 Total revenue $1,S25.7M Median revenue S15.2M
Median growth rate 2.577.5% Total employment 3,458
EVERHIVE 2016 SAN DIEGO CEO: Brandon Moreno; everhive.com Provides contingent workforce solutions that evolve and grow with the needs of clients’ enterprises.	9	25,801%	14
•	SUMMIT MEDICAL STAFFING •	2014 FREMONT. NEB CEO: Bill Watts; summitemedstaff.com A veteran-owned medical staffing agency that serves acute care facilities throughout the U.S.	24	12,053%	84
VITAL CONTINGENT PLANNING 2018 NEW BRUNSWICK. N.J. CEO: Atif Chauhdry; vitalcp.com b consulting company that provides crisis staffing services to the health care industry nationwide.	28	10,718%	9
SIERRA SOLUTIONS GROUP 2018 NEW YORK CITY CEO: Jeffrey DiBartolomeo; sierrasolutionsgroup.com Provides consulting and staffing solutions for health care, life science, and technology-based organizations.	48	8,433%	58
MEDOP SOLUTIONS 2018 oak brook, ill. CEO: David Cox; medopsolutions.com A medical staffing company.	64	7,212%	75
VIRTUAL LATINOS 2018 SAN DIEGO CEO: Jaime Nacach; virtuallatinos.com A human resources platform focused on creating long-term relationships between clients and Latino professionals.	80	5,762%	65
NORWOOD 2016 AUSTIN CEO: Justin Satterfield; norwood.com A health care staffing and consulting company specializing in midrevenue cycle management	90	5,189%	220
• 24HOURNURSE STAFFING 2017 PITTSBURG,TEXAS CEO: Daniel Hayes; 24hournurse.com A temporary medical staffing agency that places CNAs, RNs, and LPNs in travel nursing positions.	104	4,520%	230
ADVANTIS MEDICAL STAFFING 2018 DALLAS CEO: Dan Pollock; advantismed.com A travel nursing staffing agency.	110	4,302%	225
TALENTWOO 2011 GILBERT. ARIZ. CEO: Jerel Cain; talentwoo.com Provides recruiting services to builders, developers, property owners, and real estate-related organizations.	142	3,646%	8
STAFFPRO AGENCY 201B Kenilworth, N.J. CEO Mordy Rosenbaum; staffproagency.com A health care staffing firm servicing nursing facilities and rehabilitation centers in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.	195	2,774%	398
GET STAFFED UP 2018 MIAMI • CEO: Brett Trembly; getstaffedup.com Places virtual assistants from Latin America with law firms in the United States.	233	2,381%	162
• IRONSIDE HUMAN RESOURCES 2011 DALLAS CEO: Doug Carter; ironsidehr.com A health care talent acquisition firm that specializes in physician, nursing, and hospital management recruitment.	239	2,312%	32
• M EDM ETRY 2015 AVENTURA. FLA. CEO: Rick Alvarez; medmetry.com Specializes in recruiting and hiring health care professionals, including physicians and nurses.	263	2,127%	84
132 Inc. September 2023
YOUR-»NEXTMOVE
produced BY: Inc. & CapitalOne Business
Candid Founder-to-Founder
Conversations
IN-PERSON. STREAMING. ON DEMAND.
Beatrice Dixon,
co-founder and CEO
of The Honey Pot
Company, interviews
Luminary Founder
and CEO Cate Luzio
at Inc. Founders
House Atlanta.
Host Beatrice Dixon interviews founders of
fast-growing businesses. Hear their stories
and hard-won lessons to help you build your
business and plan #YourNextMove.
Sign up for notifications:
events. inc.com/Your-Next-Move-2023
Keep Building.
CapitalOne Business
Capital One Business is dedicated to serving business owners at every stage, through
every challenge and every triumph of their entrepreneurial journey.
HUMAN RESOURCES (CONT.)
ENSPIRA 2018 LYNNWOOD. WASH.
CEO: Kurt Landon; enspirahr.com
An LGBTQ-i-owned HR consulting services, executive
search, and IT services firm, prioritizing HR innovations.
OUTSOURCE ACCESS 2018 ATLANTA
CEO: Brad Stevens; outsourceaccess.com
A human resources company and virtual assistant
connecting businesses with future talent.
SPHERE ROCKET VA 2016 NASHVILLE
CEO: Justin Nelson; sphererocketva.com
Provides virtual workforce staffing solutions for small-
business owners and entrepreneurs.
INSTAWORK 2016 SAN FRANCISCO
CEO: Sumir Meghani; instawork.com
A flexible work app and digital marketplace con-
necting thousands of businesses with local hourly
professionals.
STABILITY HEALTHCARE 2009 PASADENA. CALIF
CEO: Jason Casani; stabilityhealthcare.com
A health care staffing company providing profes-
sional candidates to clinics, hospitals, and health care
providers.
CAMILLUS STAFFING 2018 WEST DES MOINES. IOWA
CEO: Tom Moreland; nextaff.com
Provides health care staffing by placing nurses and
aides in long-term care facilities.
KESTA I.T. 2018 SALT LAKE CITY
CEO: Ryan Elliott; kestait.com
Specializes in IT staff augmentation, recruiting,
human capital management, and software engineering
services.
EMONICS 2016 PISCATAWAY. N.J.
CEO: Brijesh Tripathi; emonics.com
A global IT and health care staffing provider.
ООО
337
374
388
465
1,Л6%
1,556%
1,492%
1,251%
1.216%
326
1,745%
INSURANCE
Companies that sell insurance products or help the insurance industry
with different forms of risk mitigation.
Number of companies 7 Total revenue |1,O69.8M Median revenue $вб.ом
Median growth rate 2,257.0% Total employment 4,949
•	KIN INSURANCE 2016 CHICAGO
CEO: Sean Harper; kin.com
A direct-to-consumer insurtech company insuring
high-risk homes and simplifying home insurance by
eliminating agent-related expenses.
•	CLEARCOVER 2016 CHICAGO
CEO: Kyle Nakatsuji; clearcover.com
A car insurance company providing affordable
insurance options with technology to help improve
decision making.
ORION180 2017 MELBOURNE. FLA.
CEO: Kenneth Gregg; orion 180.com
A homeowner’s insurance company that uses
technology and real-time data to enhance the
customer experience.
•	PCF INSURANCE SERVICES 1887 LEHI,UTAH
CEO: Peter C. Foy; pcfins.com
A risk management, employee benefits, and insurance
brokerage services company that uses data-driven
strategies.
•	PIE INSURANCE 2017 WASHINGTON.D.C.
CEO: John Swigart; pieinsurance.com
An insurance company that provides workers’ comp
coverage and other commercial insurance to small
businesses in most states.
2,186%
466
•	MILE AUTO 2017 ATLANTA
CEO: Fred Blumer; mileauto.com
A B2B2C insurance provider that offers lower-mileage
drivers insurance based on miles driven.
•	WELLRITHMS 2017 PORTLAND. ORE
•	CEO: Merrit Quarum; wellrithms.com
A medical bill review partner that reviews and reprices
medical claims, with the aim of saving payers money.
2,034%
1,355%
ITSERVICES
Companies that provide services to develop, operate, and manage information
technology systems.
Number of companies 25 Total revenue S692.6M Median revenue SniM
Median growth rate 2,123.1% Total employment 3,192
о о e
•	TRYFACTA 1896 PLEASANTON. CALIF •	CEO: Ratika Tyagi; tryfacta.com A workforce and staffing services provider that serves government and commercial clients.	18	16,762%	875
• GOLDSCHMITT AND ASSOCIATES *1998 LEESBURG. VA CEO: Marc Goldschmitt; goldschmitt.com A technology firm specializing in computer programming, systems design, and management consulting.	34	10,293%	277
OPKALLA 2019 CHARLOTTE. N.C. CEOS: Aaron Bock, Brice Ulrey, Jim Campbell; opkalla.com An IT company that custom designs, implements, and supports customer solutions for all levels of complexity.	52	7,931%	15
CLOUD DESTINATIONS 2016 SAN RAMON. CALIF CEO: Siva Dharmaraj; clouddestinations.com A cloud technology organization offering services and solutions for retail, health care, finance, travel, and more.	57	7,537%	318
• SURELOCK TECHNOLOGY 2010 LAWRENCEVILLE. GA CEO: Bob Kopesky; surelocktechnology.com An IT firm that provides computer, network infrastructure, data center, and cybersecurity solutions.	86	5,312%	12
COREONYX GOVERNMENT SOLUTIONS 2018 HERNDON. VA. CEO: Guy Mincey; coreonyx.com An IT company providing professional and technical consulting and support services to government clients.	92	5,113%	36
CAYLENT 2016 IRVINE. CALIF. CEO: JP La Torre; caylent.com A cloud services company that helps corporate clients leverage Amazon Web Services.	93	5,071%	283
CLOUDSERVUS 2014 Austin CEOS: Dave Rowe, Steve McCann; cloudservus.com A consultancy and licensing firm that provides support for Microsoft products.	112	4,215%	14
AMIVERO 2018 RESTON.VA CEO: Olivia Trivisani Bowker; amivero.com An IT services company that uses a human-centered, data-driven approach to digital transformation, analytics, and cybersecurity.	129	3,773%	89
TAP INNOVATIONS 2017 IRVING.TEXAS CEO: John Ragsdale; tapinnov.com An IT company that delivers cloud-based integration and custom application solutions.	185	2,873%	11
APIPHANI 2018 BOSTON CEO: Justin Folkers; apiphani.io A cloud-agnostic provider that assists clients in identifying the best cloud platform for their applications.	211	2,654%	26
• DISTRIBUTED TECHNOLOGY •GROUP 2009 SYRACUSE, N.Y. CEO: Mark Matheson; dtg.com A technology solutions company that works with organizations to implement information technology strategies.	261	2,141%	12
134 Inc. September 2023
• GEN3 TECHNOLOGY CONSULTING 2017 GAITHERSBURG. MD. CEO: Elise Roemer, gen3technology.com An IT consultancy offering cybersecurity, privacy, program and project management, and management consulting services.	264	2,123%	35
CREST SECURITY ASSURANCE 2007 WOODBRIDGE. VA. CEO: Judith El; crestossure.com A women-owned small business providing cybersecurity services to federal, defense, and intelligence agencies.	274	2,036%	32
JM A RESOURCES 2018 MECHANICSBURG. PA. CEO: Nancy Martindell; jmares.com An IT consulting company that enables processes across supply chain, financial, audit readiness, and systems security disciplines.	286	1,979%	62
• AIMPOINT DIGITAL 2017 ATLANTA CEO: William Miller; aimpointdigital.com A data and analytics solutions development firm helping clients become more analytics-driven.	295	1,914%	66
•	INTEGRIS 2018 CRANBURY TOWNSHIP. N.J. •	CEO: Rashaad Bajwa; integrisit.com A national IT provider offering small to midsize clients local, onsite, enterprise-scale IT enablement.	299	1,888%	623
NEWRON TECH 2015 AUSTIN CEO: Gayathri Yenuginti; newrontech.com An IT services and consulting firm helping customers solve complex business challenges with technology innovations.	319	1,796%	26
RAPDEV 2019 BOSTON CEO: Tameem Hourani; rapdev.io A Service Now and Datadog specialist company deploying platforms for Fortune 500 organizations to optimize workflows.	330	1,733%	68
DFX5 1996 MIAMI CEO: Damian Fernandez; dfx5.com A cloud technology consulting firm focused on developing ideas into enterprise-grade solutions.	364	1,583%	35
• LUCIDIAIT 2018 INDIANAPOLIS CEO: Janet Stiller; lucidiait.com An engineering-led consulting organization focused on IT infrastructure solutions, including cloud solutions and automation.	396	1,466%	23
STAFFWORXS 2016 EDISON. N.J. CEO: Naveeen Vadlamudi; staffworxs.com A global IT consulting firm specializing in CPG analytics and providing software solutions and services.	419	1,385%	17
ANTEAN TECHNOLOGY 2015 ALEXANDRIA. VA. CEO: Sia Floyd; anteantech.com An IT firm providing simply scaled cyber compliance, IT services, and program management solutions.	430	1,351%	32
DATAD SOLUTIONS 2018 LEANDER,TEXAS CEO: Shruthin Reddy Aleti; datadsolutions.com An IT company providing clients and partners with professional services that support IT systems and infrastructure goals.	431	1,344%	25
SCRUMLAUNCH 2016 LOS ANGELES CEO: Charlie Lambropoulos; scrumlaunch.com A tech-enabled software development services company providing software development and design teams to growing startups.	447	1,294%	180
LEGAL
Firms that provide legal counsel and representation to clients.
Number of companies 3 Total revenue $62.4 M Median revenue $5.0M
Median growth rate 1,848Total employment 368
ELIZABETH ROSARIO LAW
2012 WYOMING. MICH.
CEO: Elizabeth Rosario; elizabethrosariolaw.com
A boutique immigration law firm providing a variety of
legal services to the immigrant community.
TIBBOTT & RICHARDSON 2010 PITTSBURGH
CEOS: Beth Tibbott, Dana Richardson;
tibbottrichardson.com
A law firm helping clients with both family law issues
and criminal charges.
LOGISTICS
& TRANSPORTATION
Freight shipping, trucking, and other companies that move products
and people, as well as brokers of those companies’ services and providers
of services to the industry.
Number of companies 17 Total revenue $i,770.9M Median revenue $44.2M
Median growth rate 2,834.3% Total employment 2,852
ООО
MYFBAPREP 2018 SUNRISE. FLA
CEO: Tom Wicky; myfbaprep.com
A tech-enabled e-commerce warehouse network for
enterprise-level brands, Amazon sellers, and Amazon
aggregators.
• AFC LOGISTICS 2016 TAMPA
CEO: Steven Maly; afclogistics.com
A nationwide third-party logistics company offering
flatbed, van, and refrigerated transportation services
to manufacturers.
RED LAB LOGISTICS 2019 CHARLESTON.S.C.
CEO: Addison Miles; redlablogistics.com
Provides a range of services and consulting through-
out the transportation timeline.
7,609%
3,830%
• TRANSLOOP 2016 CHICAGO
CEO: Nick Reasoner; transloop.io
Uses artificial intelligence-powered algorithms
to improve the freight experience for shippers and
carriers.
• ALEXANDRA LOZANO IMMIGRATION
LAW 2014 TUKWILA,WASH.
CEO: Alexandra Lozano Kennedy;
abogadaalexandra.com
An immigration law firm dedicated to helping
undocumented immigrants gain legal status.
3,149%	300
3.692%
•	FREIGHTPLUS 1988 QUINCY. MASS
•	CEO: Stephen Aborn; freightplus.io
A managed transportation company providing
logistics solutions to help clients move freight more
efficiently.
3,576%
8,773%
135
LOGISTICS
& TRANSPORTATION (CONT.)
PIECE OF CAKE MOVING 2017 NEW YORK CITY CEO: Vojin Popovic; mypieceofcakemove.com An on-demand moving and storage company provid- ing local, long distance, residential, and commercial services.	357	1,601%	250
RUD FLEET 2018 HIGH POINT. N.C. CEO: Drew Haire; rudfteet.com An automotive logistics company providing services to organizations operating commercial vehicles, including title and registration services.	390	1,483%	15
DELAWARE LIMO 2018 WILMINGTON.DEL CEO: Elorm Ahiamadjie; delaware.limo A limousine provider offering black car and limousine services nationwide through a network of partners.	444	1,308%	17
MANUFACTURING
Companies that make both intermediate and finished goods for
sale to businesses and consumers.
Number of companies 6 Total revenue I57.OM Median revenue S8.4M
Median growth rate 1,763.3% Total employment 281
DEFENDER SAFETY 2018 PLAINVIEW. N.Y.
CEO: Teddy Haggerty; defendersafety.com
A designer and manufacturer of innovative safety and
personal protection equipment, engineered to exceed
industry standards.
О © о
BROADRANGE LOGISTICS 2001 FOREST PARK. GA
CEO. Ari Milstein; broadrangelogistics.com
A flexible warehousing company offering short- and
long-term options for all types of businesses.
SPACE THEORY 2018 SEATTLE
CEO: Scott Hudson; spacetheory.com
Uses design software and premium manufacturing
to create unique, flexible, and adaptable kitchen
products.
• FLYCORE DISTRIBUTION 2017 DOVER.N.J.
CEO: Jason Innella; ftycoredistribution.com
A distribution company offering tailored logistics
solutions that meet the unique needs of each client.
T&T INDUSTRIAL 2018 OKLAHOMA CITY
CEOS: Carson Tesch, Jana Tesch; tandtindustrial.com
A mechanical contractor providing emergency
services to manufacturing and industrial sectors in
Oklahoma and surrounding areas.
• FLUIDTRUCK 2016 DENVER
CEO: James Eberhard; fiuidtruck.com
A trucking company that enables businesses and
individuals to easily rent commercial vehicles.
SENDCUTSEND 2018 RENO.NEV
CEO: Jim Belosic; sendcutsend.com
A rapid manufacturing company specializing in
production of parts for automotive, robotic, and
aerospace applications.
• SUMMIT LOGISTICS GROUP
2016 WILMINGTON. N.C.
CEO: Gary Sholar; slg-nc.com
An asset-based third-party logistics firm providing a
variety of transportation services across North America.
GASOCHEM INTERNATIONAL 2012 HOUSTON
CEO: Charu Jain; gasochem.com
A chemical manufacturing company providing specialty
chemicals, food ingredients, and metal powders.
ASSOCIATED LOGISTICS GROUP
2018 ST. PAUL
CEOS: Mark Paulson, Teo Rotstein;
associatedlogistics.com
A full-service third-party logistics provider supporting
businesses with freight and logistics challenges.
YEAGER MANUFACTURING
TECHNOLOGIES 2018 WINTER PARK. FLA.
CEOS: Zachary Yeager, Alyson Yeager;
yeagermanufacturing.com
Provides precision machined and fabricated metal
parts and services in Orlando.
313
339
1,830%
1,696%
2,670%
393
1.469%
• FOX LOGISTICS 1981 STARKE. FLA
CEO: Matthew Lawrence; foxlogistics.com
A third-party logistics company providing ground, air,
and ocean services to small and midsize businesses.
MEDIA
Companies whose primary business is creating or distributing content
in any kind of communications medium.
Number of companies 8 Total revenue S365.9M Median revenue $16.9M
Median growth rate 3,223.5% Total employment 332
•	STORD 2016 ATLANTA
•	CEO: Sean Henry; stord.com
A cloud technology company that provides supply
chain and fulfillment solutions for direct-to-consumer
and omnichannel brands.
259
© © О
•	STEAM LOGISTICS 2012 CHATTANOOGA.TENN
J CEO: Jason Provonsha; steamlogistics.com
•	A logistics solutions provider and international freight
J forwarder that uses all major modes of transportation.
260
VOLO EVENTS AGENCY 2010 ATLANTA
CEO: Charles Marto; voloevents.com
A producer of major events, celebrity music specials,
and immersive event experiences for brands.
72
6,545%
13
1440 2017 CHICAGO
CEO: Tim Huelskamp;jo/nT440.com
An unbiased daily newsletter designed to be read in
five minutes or less.
. COVAR TRANSPORTATION 2014 TRINITY. FLA
CEO: Collin Cole; covartransport.com
A third-party logistics company providing services
across the lower 48 states and Canada.
282
PRAY.COM 2016 WESTLAKE VILLAGE. CALIF
CEO: Steve Gatena; pray.com
An app that helps users make prayer a priority in their
daily lives.
116
5,764%
4,142%
136 Inc. September 2023
3,712%
•	PRIZEPICKS 2017 ATLANTA
CEO: Adam Wexler; prizepicks.com
A daily fantasy sports company offering sports
leagues across the NFL, NBA, and e-sports.
PHNTM 2018 LOS ANGELES
CEO: Gabriel Fraboni; phntmlabs.com
A creative studio that produces immersive brand
experiences powered by forward-thinking technology.
MEDIA TRADECRAFT 2019 RESTON. VA
CEO: Erik Requidan; mediatrodecraft.com
A media services firm specializing in bespoke digital
advertising and monetization services.
SPORTSGRID 2017 HOLMDEL, N.J.
CEO: Jeremy Stein; sportsgrid.com
An ad-supported streaming network providing the
latest in sports betting with original programming,
analysis, and insights.
M. GORDON PUBLISHING GROUP
1996 TAMPA
CEO: Laurence Connors; mgordonpublishing.com
A publishing and marketing company that publishes
content from the fitness and financial markets.
202
300
454
2,735%
2,640%
1,888%
1,266%
REALESTATE
Includes real estate developers and brokers and those providing services to
brokers, buyers, and sellers. Also includes real estate-related investment firms.
Number of companies 18 Total revenue $504.6M Median revenue $23.7M
Median growth rate 3,072.5% Total employment 1,528
________________________________________о © о
SIMPLIHOM 2018 NASHVILLE
CEO: Sean Miku; simplihom.com
A people-first real estate company with a philosophy
of humility, generosity, and simplicity for all.
HOMETAP 2017 BOSTON
CEO: Jeffrey Glass; hometap.com
Provides homeowners debt-free cash for future home
value without loans or monthly payments.
HAWTHORNE CAPITAL 2018 HOUSTON
CEO: Doug Smith; hawthornecapital.com
A private equity firm that purchases, subdivides,
improves, and sells tracts of rural land.
7,299%
7,061%
5,574%
•	IDEALAGENT 2018 TAMPA
CEO: Steve Johnston; idealagent.com
A real estate technology company that matches home
sellers and buyers with real estate agents.
LULA SMARTER PROPERTY
MAINTENANCE 2016 OVERLAND PARK. KAN.
CEO: Bo Lais; lula.life
Provides property management software to simplify
rental management through a trained network of
maintenance contractors.
TRANSACTLY 2017 CHESTERFIELD. M0
CEO: Bryan Bowles; transactly.com
A real estate transaction platform providing automa-
tion, integrations, and tech-enabled services that
significantly reduce processing time.
VALOR CAPITAL REAL ESTATE
DEVELOPMENT 2012 CLEARWATER. FLA
CEO: Moises Agami; vaiorc.com
A condominium real estate developer specializing in
high-end living spaces.
ASHLAND GREENE 2017 DALLAS
CEO: Shakti C’Ganti; ashlandgreene.com
A real estate investment company focused on multi-
family residential properties in the Dallas-Fort Worth
region.
BLUE LAKE CAPITAL 2017 DEDHAM. MASS
CEO: Ellie Perlman; bluelake-capital.com
A real estate sponsor and operator specializing in
purchasing, managing, and increasing the value of
multifamily assets.
CITYLIGHT HOMES 2012 peabody. mass
CEOS: Robert Berry, Peter Souhleris;
citylighthomes.com
A full-service real estate agency that provides residen-
tial and commercial sales and acquisition services.
REDBIRD REALTY 2019 SELMA. TEXAS
CEO: Jeff Garza; redbird-realty.com
An independently owned real estate brokerage,
currently sponsoring nearly 150 licensed real estate
agents.
•	SODALIS SENIOR LIVING
1998 SAN MARCOS. TEXAS
CEO: Traci Taylor-Roberts; sodalissenior.com
A senior living company serving the assisted living and
memory care population.
•	SPARTAN INVESTMENT GROUP
*	2014 GOLDEN. COLO.
CEO: Scott Lewis; spartan-investors.com
A veteran-owned, values-driven private equity real
estate company focusing on commercial real estate
investments.
BETTERBOT 2018 ATLANTA
CEO: Zlatko Bogoevski; betterbot.com
Offers an automated platform to support the multi-
family real estate industry.
CREATION 2019 PHOENIX
CEOS: David Sellers. Bob Agahi; creationequity.com
A real estate, hospitality, and investment platform
specializing in developing hospitality concepts across
the country.
•	72SOLD 2018 SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.
CEO: Greg Hague; 72sold.com
A program that helps homeowners sell their homes in
eight days or less.
LIVEEASY 2013 COLUMBUS. OHIO
CEO: Venkatesh Ganapathy; liveeasy.com
A real estate software company changing the way
people manage both their moves and their homes.
•	BOSSCAT 2018 CHARLESTON. S.C.
CEO: Min Alexander; bosscathome.com
Digitizes home inspection data to create instant
repair estimates for homeowners and real estate
professionals.
91
125
126
133
145
158
186
188
210
301
334
351
474
487
5,123%	49
3,871%	40
3,852%	26
3,738%	23
3,617%	143
3,275%	8
2,870%	6
2,842%	11
2.657%	785
1,888%	125
1,722%	17
1,652%	11
1,232%	36
1,204%	63
1,175%	106
137
JOIN US AT THE SMB
EVENT OF THE YEAR!
PEOPLE ”
far PEOPLE
о Artificial Intelligence
о Capital Environment
о Customer Experience
о Mental Health
n Health Care
о Employee Satisfaction
Attend* for FREE with Inc. promo code INC23
Valid for in-person or virtual ticket
peopleforce.trinet.com
I Incredible one-on-one
interviews
I Audience interaction
with speakers
IConcurrent breakout
session on HR and business
I Amazing performances
from extraordinary talent
Panel discussions with
C-suite headline makers
‘Terms and Conditions apply.
trinet
PEOPLE FORCE | September 12-14, 2023
In person in NYC or virtually from anywhere
MORE SPEAKERS ADDED DAILY
Ashley Judd
Award-Winning Actress,
Political Activist and
Advocate for Social
Justice and Global
Humanitarian
Ronan Farrow
Pulitzer Prize-Winning
Investigative Reporter
and New York Times
Bestselling Author
Michael Phelps
World Champion, 23-Time
Gold Medalist, & Founder.
Michael Phelps Foundation
Goldie Hawn
Academy Award-
Winning Actress and
Founder of the Hawn
Foundation
Ethan Mollick
Innovation Expert 8c
Artificial Intelligence
Thought Leader;
Professor of
Entrepreneurship.
The Wharton School
Dan Frommer
Founder and Editor
in Chief, The New
Consumer
Heather McGowan
Strategic Consultant,
Amazon Best-Selling^
Author, Speaker, Linkedlns
2017 Top Influencer on
Lifelong Learning 8c The
Future of Work
Michael Mendenhall
Senior Vice President
and Chief Marketing
Officer/Chief
Communications Officer,
TriNet
Jost A. Quinonez
Founder & CEO
Mission Asset Fund
Burton M. Goldfield
President and Chief
Executive Officer, TriNet
Lisa Clunie
Founder 8c Co-CEO
JOAN Creative
Jaime Robinson
Founder 8c Co-CEO
JOAN Creative
Samantha Wellington
Executive Vice President,
Business Affairs, Chief
Legal Officer and
Secretary, TriNet
John R. Adler, Jr. MD
Founder 8c CEO
Zap Surgical Systems
Dr. Harvey Karp
Founder 8c CEO
Happiest Baby
Lisa Reeves	Brook Parker-Bello PhD.	Alex Warren
Chief Product Officer,	Founder 8c CEO	Chief Revenue Officer,
TriNet	More Too Life	TriNet
Mzansi Youth Choir
2023 America’s Got
Talent Contestant
RETAIL
Companies that sell products and services directly to consumers, either
online or at brick-and-mortar stores.
Number of companies 20 Total revenue	Median revenue S25.0M
Median growth rate 1,919.2% Total employment 868
LITTLE SLEEPIES 2019 LOS ANGELES CEO: Maradith Frenkel; littiesleepies.com An e-commerce business specializing in hypoaller- genic bamboo-based pajamas, daywear, and nursery essentials.	74	6.354%	43
HATCHING TIME 2018 NEWARK. DEL. CEOS: Ryan Flanagan, Yagiz Aksu; hatchingtime.com Provides poultry care products, such as modular breeding supplies and rust-proof equipment for processing birds.	159	3,274%	9
• KNOCKING 2014 FAIRFIELD. CONN. CEO: Markus Reinmund; knocking.com A content and commerce company working with media companies and owners of large audiences.	161	3,232%	66
BUSY BABY 2017 ORONOCO. MINN. CEO: Beth Fynbo; busybabymat.com A family-owned retail company providing mom- designed baby products intended to make parents’ lives easier.	166	3,151%	5
• BALTIC BORN 2019 AMERICAN FORK. UTAH CEOS. Allison Hunt, Angela Liljenquist, Marianne Liljenquist; balticborn.com Sells attire for every occasion, including weddings, showers, photoshoots, and parties.	168	3,140%	135
• MARIE NICOLE CLOTHING 2017 GALLATIN. TENN. CEO: Jane Zhu; marienicoleclothing.com Offers adorable, affordable, and comfortable children’s clothing directly to consumers.	197	2,758%	35
CADEN LANE 2004 BOERNE.TEXAS CEO: Katy Mimari; cadenlane.com An online boutique baby company selling bamboo pajamas for infants and toddlers.	223	2,491%	41
HAVERHILL 2013 WARREN. R.I. CEO: Andrej Strojin; haverhill.com An e-commerce company offering personalized fine jewelry that reflects both personal journeys and loving connections.	242	2,290%	40
•	GYM REAPERS 2014 NAMPA, IDAHO •	CEO: Roc Pilon; gymreapers.com An e-commerce brand that provides durable, high- quality athletic training gear, equipment, and apparel.	266	2,118%	35
• MARC NOLAN 2018 CHICAGO CEO: Sebastian Malczewski; marcnolan.com A men’s lifestyle brand on a mission to redefine luxury footwear for the modem man.	280	2,007%	10
• DIRECT COMPONENTS 1998 TAMPA J CEO: Aaron Nursey; directics.com An electronic parts supplier of active and passive components supporting OEMs, CMs, EMS compa- nies, and more.	312	1,832%	91
•	GOLDCO 2011 CALABASAS. CALIF •	CEO: Trevor Gerszt; goldco.com •	A precious metals company focused on helping 2 customers invest in gold and silver.	320	1,795%	170
• HOODSLY 2018 DENVER. N.C. CEO: Kevin Garrison; hoodsly.com A wood range hood manufacturer focused on the latest trending styles, offering various colors and customizations.	379	1,536%	5
JESS LEA 2014 MAGNOLIA, TEXAS CEOS: Jessica Bridges, Michiel Bridges; jessleaboutique.com A women’s clothing and fashion accessories boutique with custom designs and fast shipping.	383	1,519%	21
• ZAPPS WHOLESALE 2017 SHELBY. N C. CEOS: Anthony Zappitelli, Jamie Pocatko; zappswholesale.com A wholesale distribution and liquidation company that buys and sells truckloads of product from major retailers.	432	1,343%	19
SUPREME JEWELERS 2017 FRIENDSWOOD,TEXAS CEO: Saif Ali; thesupremejewelers.com A luxury jewelry retailer specializing in unique custom jewelry made with ethically sourced materials.	441	1,315%	9
J. BROOKS BOUTIQUE 2017 ATLANTA CEO: Jessica Brooks; jbrooksboutique.com An online clothing retailer providing specially curated pieces for chic, fabulous, and fashion-forward women.	446	1,296%	4
• TRUE SHOTGUN CLUB 2016 TEMPE CEO: Kyle Read; trueshotgunclub.com An ammunition dealer that sells a wide range of ammunition online.	472	1,233%	28
• IVY CITY CO. 2016 SANDY, UTAH CEOS: Natasha Thomas, Whitney Smith; ivycityco.com A women-founded dress brand with an emphasis on quality “mommy and me" fashion and size inclusion.	493	1,189%	60
• NEATO 2018 LAS VEGAS CEO: Anthony Connelly; thisisneato.com An online marketplace accelerator and multimedia company helping brands grow their presence on marketplaces worldwide.	499	1,174%	42
SECURITY
Companies that provide services related to surveillance systems,
risk management, physical security, and cybersecurity.
Number of companies 8 Total revenue Ц47.6М Median revenue $n.7M
Median growth rate 2,104.3% Total employment 922
_______________________ООО
MOXFIVE 2019 TYSONS.VA.
CEO: Mike Wager; moxfive.com
A specialized technical advisory firm helping minimize
the impact of cyberattacks on businesses.
VETERANS SECURITY OPERATIONS (VSO)
2019 PUYALLUP. WA.
CEO: Ryan Kleynhans; vetssec.com
Provides security services in Washington State.
• FLOCK SAFETY 2017 ATLANTA
CEO: Garrett Langley; fiocksafety.com
Provides an operating system helping neighborhoods,
businesses, and law enforcement eliminate crime,
protect privacy, and mitigate bias.
SCHUBRING GLOBAL SOLUTIONS
2016 STERLING. VA
CEO: Josh Schubring; schubringglobal.com
A security and risk management consulting company
that offers both physical and cyber security.
9,622%
4,659%
2,836%
2,130%
140 Inc. September 2023
• SHRED AMERICA 2016 FORT MILL, S.C.
CEO: Ryan Richard; shredamerica.com
A veteran-owned shredding service provider, special-
izing in hard-drive destruction and data security
services.
RIDGE IT CYBER 2014 CLEARWATER. FLA.
CEO: Chad Koslow; ridgeit.com
A cybersecurity firm offering managed services
to hardening of enterprises to achieve maximum
effectiveness.
272
2,079%
71
281
•	ADLUMIN 2016 WASHINGTON,D.C.
•	CEO: Robert Johnston; adlumin.com
Provides an enterprise-grade security operations
platform and managed detection and response
services for midmarket organizations.
•	BASTILLE NETWORKS 2014 SANTA CRUZ. CALIF
•	CEO: Chris Risley; bastille.net
Helps commercial and government organizations
enforce their wireless policies, detecting published
and undiscovered threats.
438
463
2,007%
1,320%
1,252%
SOFTWARE
Companies that design, develop, manufacture, and market software
and software-related services for businesses or individuals.
Number of companies 65 Total revenue $2,0 л .5M Median revenue $11.2M
Median growth rate 2,187.9% Total employment ю.040
LIVESHOPPER SASSIE 2018 FINDLAY, OHIO
CEO: Michael Mallett; liveshopper.com
Provides market research software, including a plug-in
allowing for geofenced, live feedback from app users.
SPIFF 2017 SANDY. UTAH
CEO: Jeron Paul; spiff.com
A sales compensation platform that automates
commission calculations and motivates teams to drive
growth.
• GRIDIRON TIRE 2015 LANGHORNE. PA.
CEO: Peter D’Amelio; gridirontire.com
Offers software services that help retail chains provide
customers with tires and auto parts.
CHARTHOP 2019 PORT WASHINGTON. N.Y.
CEO: Ian White; charthop.com
Turns HR data into real-world, useful information to
help organizations best use their talent.
CRIBL 2018 SAN FRANCISCO
CEO: Clint Sharp; cribl.io
A vendor-agnostic open observability tool that allows
clients to process, enhance, reduce, and route data.
ITJUANA (ITJ) 2019 RANCHO SANTA FE. CALIF.
CEO: Maritza Diaz; itjuana.com
A software engineering company that helps life
sciences and biotech companies accelerate their
digital innovation.
• ONERAIL 2018 ORLANDO
CEO: William Catania; onerail.com
A fulfillment solutions organization optimizing
and automating final-mile delivery to improve
dependability and reduce costs.
WILDFIRE SYSTEMS 2017 SOLANA REACH. CALIF
CEO: Jordan Glazier; wildfire-corp.com
A fin tech platform that enables clients to embed
advanced e-commerce retail options into their
existing services.
FUSUS 2019 PEACHTREE CORNERS. GA.
CEO: Chris Lindenau; fusus.com
Provides an open intelligence ecosystem that inte-
grates and enhances public safety and investigations
assets.
CLICKUP 2017 SAN DIEGO
CEO: Zeb Evans; clickup.com
An all-in-one productivity platform replacing indi-
vidual workplace productivity tools with a single,
unified platform.
INXEPTION 2017 CUPERTINO.CALIF.
CEO: Farzad Dibachi; inxeption.com
A software platform that digitizes the global industrial
commercial value chain through vertical supply chain.
37,386%	35
12,342%	245
10,294%	1
8,010%	151
7,658%	474
7,442%	330
7,409%	114
7,404%	46
6,709%	102
4,182%	966
4,089%	233
•	FOX ORDERING 2014 80CA RATON. FLA. •	CEO: Juan Pico; foxordering.com A software company helping restaurants provide their consumers with fast, high-quality direct online order- ing experiences.	120	4.043%	60
THE LAUNCHPAD 2019 ALTAMONTE SPRINGS. FLA. CEO: Tonya Turrell; technologymatch.com A B2B solutions provider connecting IT buyers to sellers using innovative, personalized, and precise matchmaking technology.	123	3,900%	35
CONFETTI 2017 80CA RATON. FLA. CEO: Lee Rubin; withconfetti.com A virtual event booking platform assisting leaders in browsing and booking team building and corporate experiences.	124	3,885%	61
SAKARI 2016 SAN FRANCISCO CEOS: Chris Thomson, Adam Horsman; sakariJo An omnichannel communications platform used by businesses to communicate with customers through alerts, reminders, and marketing campaigns.	135	3,723%	20
RIMSYS 2017 PITTS8URGH CEO: James Gianoutsos; rimsys.io Provides platforms and software that help medtech companies organize and automate regulatory activi- ties and more.	156	3,443%	60
NEIGHBORLY SOFTWARE 2015 ATLANTA CEO: Jason Rusnak; neighbortysoftware.com Provides cloud-based software for disaster recovery pro- grams and those working in community development	164	3,183%	77
VISIT.ORG 2015 NEWYORKCITY CEO: Michal Alter; visit.org An enterprise SaaS platform providing experiences and group activities to foster employee and client engagement.	165	3,165%	91
• SOURCEGRAPH 2013 SAN FRANCISCO CEO: Quinn Slack; about.sourcegraph.com Improves developer productivity with faster code navigation and better code reviews through contextual code intelligence.	171	3,104%	207
• HEXAVIEW TECHNOLOGIES 2010 NEWYORKCITY CEO: Abhishek Talwar; hexaviewtech.com A digital transformation firm focused on providing technology consulting with an innovative approach.	172	3,096%	77
IMMIPARTNER 2019 SAN FRANCISCO CEO: Hendrik Pretorius; immipartner.com Develops immigration programs built on strategic policy creation, stakeholder training, and efficient case processing.	174	3,060%	7
VEDA DATA SOLUTIONS 2015 MADISON, WIS. CEO: Meghan Gaffney; vedadata.com A data provider empowering health care businesses to focus on delivering care.	176	2,998%	79
CERTIFID 2017 AUSTIN CEO: Tyler Adams; certifid.com A company dedicated to fighting wire fraud for the real estate industry.	193	2,807%	43
ROOFMARKETPLACE 2017 WHITEWATER. WIS CEO: William Bazeley; roofmarketplace.com An online marketplace platform providing consumers with the data they need to select a contractor.	217	2,580%	47
• HCM UNLOCKED 2018 Miami CEO: John Wallace; hcmunlocked.com Provides HCM software implementation and consult- ing services by working closely with HCM software partners.	220	2,559%	131
JANE TECHNOLOGIES 2015 SANTA CRUZ. CALIF CEO: Socrates Rosenfeld; iheartjane.com A cannabis e-commerce platform providing dispensa- ries and brands with a turnkey e-commerce solution.	224	2,491%	198
•	QUALSIGHTS 2012 CHICAGO •	CEO: Nihal Advani; qualsights.com An insights technology platform helping brands understand offline consumer behavior with A.I. analysis tools.	226	2,483%	82
ALLVOICES 2017 SANTA MONICA. CALIF. CEO: Claire Schmidt; allvoices.co An employee relations platform helping companies improve the employee experience by resolving and preventing workplace issues.	232	2,396%	25
141
SOFTWARE (CONT.)
О © в
HOWDY.COM 2018 AUSTIN CEO: Jacqueline Samira; howdy.com Helps tech companies in the United States hire and manage teams in Latin America.	238	2,322%	215
PULUMI 2017 SEATTLE CEO: Joe Duffy; pulumi.com Provides a single pipeline for delivering and securing infrastructure and applications on any cloud.	240	2,300%	90
• AUTOBOOKS 2017 DETROIT CEO: Steven Robert; autobooks.co Works with financial institutions to deliver cash man- agement, payment services, and financial reporting.	249	2,240%	89
SPLINTERLANDS 2018 MEDIA. PA CEO: Jesse “Aggroed" Reich; splinterlands.com A gamefi platform with the largest daily active player base of any blockchain game worldwide.	250	2,240%	37
• AVM CONSULTING 2014 LOSANGELES CEOS: Alexey Moseyev, Tatyana Moseyev; avmconsulting.net Specializes in creating customized cloud solutions for business clients.	256	2,188%	60
FOCUSED LABS 2018 CHICAGO CEO: Austin Vance; focusedlabs.io A software development and digital transformation firm that delivers products quickly and then incorpo- rates customer feedback.	265	2,119%	33
•	IMPACT ANALYTICS 2015 LINTHICUM HEIGHTS. MD. •	CEO: Prasha nt Agrawal; impactanalytics.co •	Uses A.l.-driven solutions to empower retailers with •	real-time visibility into their business.	275	2,035%	349
• TENNA 2015 EDISON. N.J. CEO: Austin Conti; tenna.com A construction technology platform that revolution- izes equipment fleet operations with comprehensive information and reliable tracking.	284	1,994%	125
• MEDEFY 2013 TULSA CEO: Matthew Scovil; medefy.com A mobile application backed by human guides to help employees navigate and use their health plans.	288	1,964%	43
• BLANKFACTOR 2018 MIAMI BEACH. FLA. CEO: Michael Wear; blankfactor.com A global technology company focused on fintech, payments, insurance, and banking needs.	289	1,961%	193
CRUX INFORMATICS 2017 SAN FRANCISCO CEO: Will Freiberg; cruxdata.com An external data automation platform focused on the integration, transformation, and observability of third-party data.	296	1,911%	97
• 365LABS 2016 BATON ROUGE. LA. CEO: Mohit Vij; 36Slabs.com A software company reducing response time for first responders and removing redundancy in case processing.	314	1,816%	39
RIPPLEWORX 2018 HUNTSVILLE.ALA. CEO: Angie Sandritter; rippleworx.com An analytics platform designed for organizations looking to identify new workforce opportunities.	324	1,747%	39
AISERA 2017 PALO ALTO. CALIF CEO: Muddu Sudhakar; aisera.com Delivers an A.I. platform that automates and improves experiences from IT to customer service.	336	1,717%	250
DATA RAILS 2015 NEW YORK CITY CEO: Didi Gurfinkel; datarails.com A financial planning and analytics platform that auto- mates financial reporting for its clients.	344	1,689%	159
ABSTRAKT CLOUD SOLUTIONS 2010 ST. LOUIS CEO: Chris Gooding; abstraktcloud.com Helps find prospects and upsell products to existing Salesforce customers.	345	1,684%	14
AUTHENTICX 2018 INDIANAPOLIS CEO: Amy Brown; authenticx.com Analytical software mining existing customer data from voice, chat, or emails for intelligent business insights.	349	1,672%	84
INTELLIBUS 2015 RESTON.VA. CEO: Aditya (Ed) Watal; intellibus.com A software and consulting company supporting the backbone of the financial trading industry.	375	1,554%	100
• MYDIGITALOFFICE 2012 BETHESDA. MD CEO: Ali Moloo; mdo.io Provides hotel management software that promotes profitability through efficiency, budgeting, and fore- casting while reducing environmental impact.	378	1,539%	265
MEDABLE 2015 PALO ALTO. CALIF CEO: Michelle Longmire; medable.com Offers a streamlined platform that helps pharmaceuti- cal companies accelerate the development of new therapies.	398	1,453%	578
• HOMELIGHT 2012 SCOTTSDALE,ARIZ. CEO: Drew Uher; homelight.com Provides a platform that helps deliver better outcomes for homebuyers and sellers.	403	1,444%	487
ELECTRONEEK 2018 AUSTIN CEO: Sergey Yudovskiy; electroneek.com An RPA platform that allows organizations to build recurring revenue for clients.	404	1,443%	152
APPFIRE TECHNOLOGIES 2005 BURLINGTON. MASS CEO: Randall Ward; appfire.com An enterprise collaboration software provider sup- porting teams from planning to development and project delivery.	407	1,417%	718
TACKLE 2018 BOISE. IDAHO CEO: John Jahnke; tackle.io Provides a comprehensive solution that streamlines the path to transacting through the cloud.	421	1,369%	318
• GIVEBACKS 2018 RALEIGH. N.C CEO: Will Bowen; givebacks.com A platform helping nonprofit organizations raise more money in new, frictionless ways.	442	1,312%	28
OVS TECHNOLOGIES 2018 RESTON. VA. CEO: Mohankumar Chanarayapatna Narasimhan; о vstechnologies. com An IT software, solutions, and services company specializing in applications, infrastructure, and communication technologies.	458	1,259%	15
• RAYDIANT 2017 SAN FRANCISCO CEO: Bobby Marhamat; raydiant.com Helps brands effectively scale their brick-and-mortar operations and create engaging and personalized in-store experiences.	460	1,256%	100
• UNITE US 2013 NEW YORK CITY CEO: Daniel Brillman; uniteus.com Enables collaboration across sectors to improve the health and well-being of communities.	464	1,251%	845
WHIZAI 2017 SOMERSET. N.J. CEO: Rohit Vashisht; whiz.ai An A.l.-powered analytics platform helping decision- makers make faster business decisions at lower cost.	467	1,247%	102
CLOVERLEAF 2017 CINCINNATI CEO: Darrin Murriner; cloverleaf.me Offers automated coaching software that provides digital nudges to increase collaboration and inspire personal development.	468	1,243%	42
• LOANSTAR TECHNOLOGIES 2016 SWARTHMORE. PA. CEO: Andrew Turner; loanstartechnologies.com Enables lenders to connect with customers who are traditionally underbanked or unbanked.	469	1,241%	34
DYNEPIC 2011 RENO. NEV. CEO: Krissa Watry; dynepic.com Offers a secure digital infrastructure that powers an open ecosystem for app innovation.	471	1,234%	32
• CLASSWALLET 2014 HOLLYWOOD, FLA. CEO: Jamie Rosenberg; classwallet.com A digital wallet platform allowing agencies to track and report on rules-based purchases and reimbursements.	477	1,217%	67
GOLINKS 2018 SAN JOSE. CALIF. CEO: Jorge Zamora; golinks.io A remote SaaS company helping teams find and share information fast with memorable short links.	478	1,217%	72
142 Inc. September 2023
GEMBAH 2017 AUSTIN
CEO: Henrik Johansson; gembah.com
An end-to-end product development platform helping
companies and innovators take ideas from concept to
reality.
•	SHIFTSMART 201Б NEWYORKCITY
•	CEO: Aakash Kumar; shiftsmart.com
Provides access to a new market of workers and
manages labor operations for major enterprises.
•	PETSCREENING 2017 MOORESVILLE.N.C.
CEO: John Bradford; petscreening.com
Empowers property managers to outsource their
pet risk assessment and assistance animal validation
processes.
1,214%
1,207%
1,205%
SPORTS
Companies that specialize in providing products or services to consumers and
companies within the athletic and sporting industries.
Number of companies i Total revenue $4<9M Median revenue Здд.эм
Median growth rate t,2TL3% Total employment to
ООО
• PERFORMANCE GOLF 2016 FORT LAUDERDALE. FLA.
CEO: Brixton Albert; performancegolf.com
An online publishing platform specializing in golf and
golf training.
TRAVEL & HOSPITALITY
Travel agencies, tour operators, and other companies that help plan
travel and provide vacation-related services, or operate leisure destinations.
Number of companies 10 Total revenue $177.8M Median revenue $7.6M
Median growth rate 2,299.3% Total employment 566
ООО
CHARTERUP 2018 ATLANTA
CEO: Armir Harris; charterup.com
A fully integrated marketplace for bus charters in the
U.S., offering immediate real-time booking.
HVN TRAVEL GROUP 2018 SUNRISE. FLA
CEO: Jason Paez; stayhvn.com
A B2B marketplace for private home and villa rentals
that unites hospitality professionals worldwide.
EPIC GOLF CLUB 2018 SCOTTSDALE. ARIZ
CEO: Noah DiPasquale; epicgolfclub.com
A professional membership group providing on-
demand access to high-level golf facilities and once-
in-a-lifetime golf experiences.
BOUNCE 2018 SAN FRANCISCO
CEO: Cody Candee; usebounce.com
A storage service that allows travelers to securely
store their luggage globally in convenient locations.
TROVATRIP 2018 PORTLAND. ORE.
CEO: Nick Poggi; trovatrip.com
A travel marketplace bringing together modern travel
technology and curated itineraries from across the
globe.
CRR HOSPITALITY 2018 PLYMOUTH, MINN.
CEO: Ben Rubin; crrhospitality.com
Provides luxury RV resorts, manufactured housing
neighborhoods, hotels, and RV storage facilities.
SIMPLE LIFE RENTALS
2013 VENICE. FLA.
CEO: Wendy Schultz; simpleliferentals.com
A vacation rental consulting and management firm
for the vacation rental management industry.
•	CAMPSPOT 2015 GRAND RAPIDS. MICH.
CEO: Michael Scheinman; campspot.com
An online marketplace for RV resorts, family camp-
grounds, cabins, glamping, and more.
RESIDENT 2018 BROOKLYN
CEO: Brian Mommsen; meetresident.com
A culinary event creator presenting spectacular events
in penthouses, members’ only clubs, and chef demon-
stration kitchens.
MHW LIVE MUSIC 2016 MIAMI
CEO: Matt Wigler; mhwlivemusic.com
An entertainment buyer and manager for luxury
hotels, helping clients create a unique guest
experience.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Companies that transmit voice, video, or data services on a mass scale,
and companies that sell services primarily to telecom firms.
Number of companies i Total revenue »з.7М Median revenue 83.7M
Median growth rate 1,468.2% Total employment 18
0 0 6
BDA SYSTEMS CO. 2018 DORAL, FLA
CEO: Raul Pla; bdasystemsco.com
Creates and installs public safety radio systems,
including systems custom designed for specific needs.
1,468%
♦ HOW WE SELECTED THE 2023 INC. 5000 COMPANIES
Companies on the 2023 Inc. 5000 are ranked accord-
ing to percentage revenue growth from 2019 to 2022.
To qualify, companies must have been founded and generat-
ing revenue by March 31, 2019. They must be U.S.-based,
privately held, for-profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or
divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2022. The
minimum revenue required for 2019 is $100,000; the minimum
for 2022 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to
decline applicants for subjective reasons. Growth rates used to
determine rankings were calculated to four decimal places.
143
The
61
BLK & Bold
CEO: Pernell Cezar
Category:
Food &
Beverages
Three-year
revenue growth:
7,404%
TWO FRIENDS
FROM GARY,
INDIANA, HAD
A DREAM: TO
BRING PREMIUM
COFFEE TO THE
SUPERMARKET—
AND HELP AT-
RISK YOUTH.
In the beginning, there was coffee. A lot of
coffee—like, gallons and gallons, consumed
on the many business trips Pernell Cezar took
working in merchandising at Target in the
2010s. “Coffee,” he says, “is what fueled me.”
It wasn’t the only thing. While at Target,
Cezar saw the barriers that entrepreneurs,
especially Black and Brown ones, faced in
getting access to capital. Long possessed of
an entrepreneurial streak himself, in 2017 he
approached his best friend, Rod Johnson,
whom he’d met growing up in hardscrabble
Gary, Indiana, with an idea: How about they
start a business together, one built on a mis-
sion to fund programs for at-risk kids, like the
ones they’d been? And one day, when Cezar
found himself in a high-end coffee shop,
inspiration struck.
His idea was simple and, he thought,
unique: Bring super-premium coffee to super-
markets and donate 5 percent of revenue to
programs for underserved kids. Says John-
son, 36, “Coffee was appealing because of
the low barriers of entry.” The result was Des
Moines-based BLK & Bold, founded in 2018.
They pooled $22,000 (“bonus-check money,”
Cezar says) and set out to prove there was
shelf space for an altruistic disrupter in the
$95 billion U.S. coffee sector. CEO Cezar, 36,
had spent the prior year attending coffee-
making seminars, watching YouTube videos,
researching howto import beans. He bought
144 Inc. September 2023
г
tabletop roasters, traveled to a coffee
importer, procured 150 pounds of beans, and
started grinding out a business in his Des
Moines garage from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. There
was a lot of trial and error. “The first batch
I brewed, I unplugged,” he says, “because I
couldn’t figure out howto turn the roaster off.”
Then business began to percolate. They sold
online and to cafds first, working a social media
campaign to build brand awareness. They
sublet 700 square feet of space in a brewery;
bought a floor roaster to boost production; and
secured an Iowa small-business loan. In Jan-
uary 2020, they caught their first big break,
making it onto the shelves at Target.
“Most brands that are on the shelf have
been acquired. You don’t see independently
owned national brands in the coffee aisle,”
Cezar says. BLK & Bold was the exception
to that.
A turning point came in 2020, when the
George Floyd murder begat a call for support
of Black-owned businesses, which led to a
partnership with Amazon’s Black Business
Accelerator. By 2022, BLK & Bold was posting
revenue of $8.5 million; it projects $12 million
this year, and is now sold in 11,000 stores
nationwide. It counts the NBA, Marvel, and
Keurig as brand partners. But Cezar is far from
done; his plans include eventual brick-and-
mortar shops. After all, the coffee market, he
notes, “is very fluid.” — Michael Callahan
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC HELGAS
CUP
CHAMPIONS
Pernell Cezar
(left) and Rod
Johnson took a
bag of beans
and grew a
brand.
ф	In 2009, Sergio Castillo stepped out
of a corporate career in manufactur-
ing with 3M to take over Eco BCG, the
consultancy his father had started a
decade before. After a time, Castillo, 54,
concluded that the company was in the
wrongcountry (Panama), the wrongmarket
(South America), and the wrong business
(consulting). So he reincorporated in Min-
nesota as a solutions-oriented engineering
company, and set out to crack the $358 bil-
lion engineering services market. He’s grown
his company to $4.2 million in annual rev-
enue by helping multinationals solve a
naggingissue with their grandiose plans for
sustainability—namely, getting their own
manufacturing plants on board.
“Sustainability is difficult to deploy.
Why? Because each plant is independent.
They have priorities around productivity,
quality, and safety, but not necessarily
sustainability. Corporations have quite a
hard time, and that’s where we come in.
Our customers today include the top
distilleries, such as Beam Suntory, and
breweries, such as Heineken. We’re work-
ing with the top snack producers world-
wide, PepsiCo and Mondelez. At the
beginning, there was so much competition.
Our first step, as a company, was to
understand that all major corporations
need to be sustainable. They have aggres-
sive targets around carbon emission reduc-
tion, carbon neutrality, and so forth. And
typically they are public, so there is pres-
sure because they’ll be held to account.
We were founded as a consulting firm,
in 2000, in Panama; that’s where my father
is from. He was consulting on sustainabil-
ity, on a macroeconomic level, for countries
like Brazil. I took over in 2009, leaving a
3M spinoff where I was a general manager
and vice president of our global division.
After I took over Eco BCG, I restruc-
tured it and realigned it, taking it away
from consulting and more into execution.
In 2014, we decided to move the company
to the United States, developing our market
here, which was hard. It’s rosy now, but it
was quite difficult then. There are 138,000
engineering firms in the U.S. How do you
break in? To gain a little bit more knowl-
edge, I went back to school; I took a mas-
ter’s in environmental management at
Duke University.
One of our biggest strengths is that we
align stakeholders. We help them improve
and optimize the processes and at the same
time justify the projects with savings in
energy, water, and emissions and increased
productivity.
It all starts with the general manager.
The general manager of a manufacturing
plant is compensated on the basis of pro-
ductivity, quality, and safety. Those are the
three priorities for all plants. Yes, other
things are important, like efficiency, supply
chains, and of course cost, but the general
manager is focused on those three. So then
there comes a target, led by corporate, to
reduce emissions or energy intensity or
water usage by, let’s say, 20 percent. Well,
that’s not as important to a general man-
ager. We get them to buy in.
Here’s an example. One of our clients—
one of the biggest food companies in the
world—runs very large tunnel ovens, in this
case to bake breadcrumbs. And the ovens
were not meeting the product specs—not
giving the quality that the company
needed. We came in to look at the ovens
through sustainability, and we created a
heat recovery system. Basically, the ovens
were venting hot air and then taking fresh
air in and heating flue gases. We put in a
heat exchanger to take the air coming out
of the stack to preheat it going into the
ovens. By preheating the air, we increased
their moisture extraction capacity, which
is important in making breadcrumbs. We
were able to reduce the use of natural gas
by over 50 percent and shut down more
than half of the burners, improving output
by 1,000 tons with a better product.
And we have experienced engineers in
other countries, allowing us to provide
international support for our customers,
which are global. In Europe, for instance,
there’s much more experience in heat
recovery than there is here.
We’re actually the second company in
my family to reach the Inc. 5000. My wife
owned a logistics planning services busi-
ness that made the Inc. 5000 six years in a
row until she sold it She’s an entrepreneur
too. It runs in the family.”
-AS TOLD TO BILLSAPORITO
How I Make
Sustainability
Work for Big
Corporations
146 Inc. September 2023
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MORGAN HORNSBY
No.
1421
ECO BCG
CEO: Sergio
Castillo
Category:
Engineering
Three-year
revenue growth:
4,030%
147
No.
297
SQUARED AWAY
CEO: Michelle
Penczak
Category:
Business Prod-
ucts & Services
How I Built My Startup After
Getting Laid Off, Having a Baby,
and Moving 5,000 Miles Away
ф	Michelle Penczak could see the look
on prospective employers'faces when
she told them her husband was a Marine
Corps pilot. Like many military families, the
Penczaks moved every few years, and it
always came up in interviews. So it was a
relief when, in 2013, Penczak landed a job
working remotely at virtual assistant com-
pany Zirtual, where she led a team of 15
employees and served as an assistant herself,
to consultants, developers, and CEOs. Sud-
denly, it didn’t matter where she lived. Two
years in, though, while pregnant with her
first child, she got some news that upended
everything-and led her to found a company
built around employees just like herself.
“One morning, I couldn’t log in to my lap-
top. I started getting phone calls from my
team asking me what was going on, and I
found all these news stories saying Zirtual
had gone out of business overnight. I felt
my stomach jump into my throat. My hus-
band and I had been very conscientious
about planning for our family, and here I
was three months’ pregnant with no job.
We got the go-ahead to work with our
clients outside of Zirtual, and all five of my
Three-year
revenue growth:
1,908%
clients came with me. I busted my ass that
week to make sure we didn’t skip a beat,
and by the end of it, I had started an LLC.
The only thing that had changed was my
email address.
Over the next few months, I ramped up
like a crazy person and got to 13 clients.
When the baby came, I took a grand total
of two weeks of maternity leave, which
I do not recommend to anyone on the
planet. Three months later, my husband
came home one day and said, ‘Guess what?
We got orders to Hawaii.’ That’s an eight-
hour time difference from most of my cli-
ents. I had never even been to Hawaii. I sat
in the closet and cried for an hour.
I joke that this part of my life sounds
like a really bad country song. But I was not
going to let a silly little thing like a time
zone beat me. I told all my clients I was
moving, but I didn’t tell them where
because I didn’t want to spook them. After
we moved, I started getting up at 2:45 every
morning. My husband was gone from 6 to
6, so I was the primary caregiver. I would
work for a few hours before our son woke
up, and then alternate 30 minutes of work
and 30 minutes of playtime. I’d log off from
lunchtime in Hawaii until he went to sleep,
and then do a few more hours of work.
There were a lot of days when I asked
myself whether I was totally nuts. But I
always wanted to have something that
defined me as more than just a wife or just
a mom. Not that those aren’t amazing
identities, but I wanted somethingthat was
just mine.
One day, one of my clients called me and
said his company was starting to scale, and
he needed me to scale with him. I was like,
‘Dude, I’m on Hawaii time, and I have a
1-year-old. I’ll have to get back to you.’ Then
I had a conversation with one of my
friends, a military spouse who was having
the same challenges finding work that I’d
had. Military spouses have a 22 percent
unemployment rate in the U.S., one of the
highest of any demographic. Suddenly, it
just clicked. I decided that I would scale,
and I would do it with military spouses.
I posted in a Facebook group for military
spouses that we were looking for virtual
assistants. We grew slowly and intention-
ally, adding one or two people every month.
As we added assistants, we were able to take
on more clients. We’ve been profitable
pretty much since the beginning—we had
almost $11 million in revenue last year—and
never had to worry about funding.
Six years after starting this thing, we’re
at 400 employees; 95 percent of them are
military spouses. We serve more than 1,000
clients, from executives to independent
contractors to venture capitalists. Our
revenue model is that the client pays us and
we pay the assistant. That way, our assis-
tants are employees, and we can give them
health insurance, mental health days,
federal holidays, 401(k) matching, and paid
maternity leave—benefits that you don’t
often have as a military spouse.
I never in a million years saw myself as
a CEO, but I’m really proud of what we’ve
built. A lot of our assistants talk about what
we’ve been able to give them in regard to
their identities: making them feel worthy
again. Our mission is to employ as many
military spouses as possible. There are
about 700,000 of them in the U.S., so the
sky is the limit” -AS TOLD TO KEVIN J. RYAN
148 Inc. September 2023
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ELISA FERRARI
SERVICE PROVIDER
Michelle Penczak
bootstrapped
hervirtual assistant
company.
PROTECTION
PLAN
Teddy Haggerty
used $100,000
in crypto
earnings to
disrupt the
helmet market.
13
Defender Safety
CEO:Teddy
Haggerty
Category:
Manufacturing
Three-year
revenue growth:
8,983%


Яш
Teddy Haggerty’s reputation as a wunder-
kind began in high school, when the self-
described nerd outfitted drones with cameras
to take photos for real estate agents, netting
$100,000 a year. In his first year of college in
Florida, he connected with an IT pro who
turned Haggerty on to bitcoin. He in fact
made so much money designing and building
crypto mines that he dropped out of school,
returned home to New York City, and found
himself at the head of some impressive tables.
Hedge funds sniffing around crypto
enlisted him—all of 23—to teach crash
courses. “They would hire me to sit there for
hours in the boardroom and explain how it
worked, the risks, and the algorithms,” says
Haggerty, now 27. “It’s not like I made millions,
but it helped pay my rent.”
But it did not feed his soul. Throughout
Haggerty’s life, he’d watched his father wake
at 3 every morning to open the family’s hard-
ware store in Queens. “I grew up watching a
more wholesome life,” he says. “And crypto
was so speculative. I felt like I was around all
these people who were potentially running
schemes, and it was very unsettling.”
And so, in 2019, Haggerty quit crypto while
he was ahead and returned to the family store,
where he took orders for safety equipment—
and first heard about the latest hot item on
job sites: an Italian manufacturer’s alternative
to a hardhat, one that resembled a rock-
climbing helmet, complete with a chin strap.
Haggerty thought he could do better. He
launched Defender Safety with $100,000 of
his crypto earnings and began designing
the H1, a chin-strapped helmet built to
meet the standards of the $3 billion global
construction-worker safety market, and with
several now-patented aspects, including an
EPS foam with vented pathways, and Volt-
fense technology to help stop electric con-
ductivity between metal objects that may be
held against the helmet on the job. The H2
($110), which better protects against whacks
to the side of the head, debuted in 2022.
Today, there are more than 100,000
Defender helmets on job sites nationwide,
and the company is on track to exceed
$10 million in revenue this year. And while
hardhats may not be as sexy as crypto, pro-
ducing a helmet that literally saves lives has,
not surprisingly, proved more satisfying than
currency speculation: “Playing around with
computers and making a bunch of money in
tech wasn’t fulfilling to me. There’s no elec-
tronic technology that’s going to take over
head protection.” —Sal Vaglica
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC HELGAS
151
How I Preserved the
Integrity of My Inclusive
Clothing Boutique
After Switching Up
My Business Model
J. BROOKS
BOUTIQUE
CEO: Jessica
Brooks
Category:
Retail
Three-year revenue
growth: 1,296%
152 Inc. September 2023
EVERYBODY
Jessica Brooks has
parlayed a childhood
love for fashion
into an online
boutique for all.
No.
116
ф When Jessica Brooks was a little
girl, she cut up socks to make outfits
for her Barbie dolls. But Brooks, 37, didn’t
fashion human clothes until 2016, when
reward points earned at her job with a tele-
com company helped her buy a sewing
machine. After picking up some pointers on
YouTube, she began makingskirts and wore
them around town. The bold prints and
bright colors caught the attention of pass-
ersby, which gave her the idea there might
be a market for them. She launched her
made-to-measure online shop, J. Brooks
Boutique, in 2017. But as the Atlanta-based
business flourished (it had over $3 million
in revenue in 2022, with just four full-time
employees), Brooks faced a new challenge:
maintaining the integrity of her brand while
changing her sales model.
“At first, we were a made-to-order brand.
I’d put the garments up online, so custom-
ers could enter their waist and hip sizes.
We also did a lot of pop-up shops and fes-
tivals. I hired a seamstress to help me out,
and the company bootstrapped from there.
My customers and I often traveled with
business cards because of how frequently
we were approached. It was a customer’s
idea. She joked that it would be easier to
hand out cards to the people who compli-
mented her on her skirt and asked how to
make a purchase. If they mentioned it,
some customers would get extra cards with
their order. Others would grab a few at our
pop-up shops.
At about the two-year mark, I was still
working in my corporate job, so I would
sew skirts at night. I decided that I wanted
to scale the business. Outsourcing made
sense. The first step was introducing other
product lines. So I needed to find another
designer I could buy tops from at wholesale
to pair with my skirts. We also went to
conventional sizing: small, medium, large,
lx, 2x, 3x. Then it dawned on me that if I
bought from certain designers, I’m buying
into their size standards, which may not fit
our customers.
The issue is that no one who’s plus-size
was included in the conversation. Every-
thing designers learn to do in fashion
school is on a size 2-4 dress form. So they’re
graduating without havingthe expertise to
design and make clothes for plus-size
women. I’d see products that may fit regu-
lar women the way the factories thought
they should, but they didn’t translate well
to plus-size. They also don’t understand
what happens to a woman’s body when she
moves up in size. They think that not only
does her waist grow, but her arms grow as
well They don’t consider the unique shape
and curves of plus-size individuals.
Sometimes I had to take things offline
because they did not fit our size chart,
either after customer feedback via the
website or from examining the products
myself. I would donate all this clothing. It
was a big move, and an expensive one. I
told myself: You grew your brand making
clothes for these women. Now you have to
figure out how you can keep that integrity
through ready-to-wear manufacturing.
One big change: In January 2022, I
started carrying full lines only, and we
removed the plus-size-only collection
from our website. Every style would have
to be available for everyone. We had to part
ways with some of my favorite designers
once we made our transition.
Now we plan to carry only products that
we’ve designed ourselves. We are about 40
percent in-house today, with the goal of
being 100 percent by the end of2024. This
move will give us further control over our
fit standards. We’ve adopted several check-
points throughout our design process to
ensure our size and fit represent what our
customers have come to love. We conduct
fittings on regular, curvy, and plus-size
models and use feedback to communicate
any necessary changes to our factories. We
repeat this process two to three times,
ensuring that we land on the perfect J.
Brooks fit.
A lot of my customers complain that
styles in the plus-size market are frumpy,
oversized, or plain black because designers
and retailers assume that plus-size women
don’t want more fashionable clothing.
They want access to the same on-trend
styles as anyone else. I did come up against
the difficulty of finding talent who can
make plus-size clothing. But I want to sell
to everybody. It’s a work in progress that
we improve with each new design season.”
-AS TOLD TO MELISSA ANGELL
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTIAN CODY
153
No.
558
PYX HEALTH
CEO: Cindy
Jordan
Category:
Health
Services
Three-year growth
rate: 1,054%
How I Recovered
From a Family
Tragedy and Built a
Health Care Startup
FAMILY MATTERS
Co-founders Cindy
(left) and Anne
Jordan set out to
confront the
deadly problem
of loneliness.
ф	In2O17, Cindy and Anne Jordan had
sold their health care referral startup
and were enjoying early retirement in
Tucson when they got a call that pulled them
back into business. It was Anne’s 23-year-old
daughter, Rylie, calling from the emergency
room in the throes of a mental health crisis.
And it was the first hint they had that she’d
been struggling with bipolar disorder. Cindy,
52, and Anne, 56, sprang into action, first to
help Rylie—who described feeling a profound
sense of loneliness—and then others, by
founding Pyx Health, a platform that blends
technology and peer counseling to provide
interventions. Rylie died of an overdose in
2021, and now Cindy, as CEO, runs the com-
pany, which earned more than $8 million last
year, in honor of her legacy.
“I’m a fixer. That’s how I’m built. Rylie’s
life had been spiraling—unbeknownst to
us—and after she got out of an inpatient
facility, we gathered as a family. I said, ‘Can
you help me understand what comes first,
so we can get ahead of this?’ She said, ‘I’m
so lonely; no one understands.’
I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ She was
going to community college, she had a
roommate, and almost every Sunday she
came for family dinner. I believed loneli-
ness was the physical state of being alone.
But as I started researching, I learned that
loneliness is the brain’s perception that
you’re alone in your plight—that no one
understands, that your medicine won’t
help you and your doctors can’t help you.
We were far behind other developed coun-
tries in treatingloneliness as a diagnosable,
treatable behavioral health condition.
People start feeling lonely before they
develop lifelong mental health issues.
Rylie had United Healthcare, and she
cost them $0 until she cost them $1.7 mil-
lion. When people are chronically lonely,
they use the health care system differ-
ently—they go to the emergency room a lot,
and they end up in inpatient facilities when
they don’t need to be there.
For the first three months after we
founded Pyx, it was just Anne and I at our
kitchen table with stacks of ideas. When we
first launched the digital screening tool in
August 2017, we had a user group of about
300 people. I opened it up, used it for three
minutes, and closed it. It asked me 100
questions, andby the time I’d answered five
of them, I was like, ‘I’m never going to use
this again, it’s doing nothing for me.’ It was
exactly what I hated about health care tech,
so I scrapped $350,000 worth of R&D and
we started over.
The Pyxir chatbot was born on Febru-
ary 12, 2018, at 2:13 a.m. I woke up in the
middle of the night and said, ‘If we are
going to treat loneliness, we need to have
an empathetic piece of technology’—like a
friend in a coffee shop. The other half of
the product is the peer-certified folks—12
of our 154 employees—who offer that
human connection. Rylie was still alive
when we came up with that at the end of
2019. She got peer support certified, and
helped us figure out what some of these
interactions should be like.
Before you knew it, we went from a
couple hundred users to several thousand.
Loneliness has degrees, just like depres-
sion and anxiety, and engaging in commu-
nity can help only those folks who are
mildly lonely. The reason that this com-
pany has grown, and grown so quickly, is
that we found a way to have a therapeutic
intervention for folks who are moderately
to chronically lonely. It’s a serious problem
that needs a serious answer. If you look at
the numbers, the 14-to-24 age group is one
of the loneliest populations in the world.
Right now, the majority of our business
is with Medicaid plans, by design. We knew
that would be the hardest market. We’re
starting to go into commercial insurance
plans, focusing on youth, in the higher ed
setting and as a dependent benefit for
self-insured employers.
Folks who are moderately to chroni-
cally lonely I call the stuck-in-mud. That’s
where Rylie was until she passed away. In
the last text she sent, she said how alone
she was. Here Anne and I are building this
company helping all these people, and in
the end we couldn’t help our own kid.
What that showed me was not that we
failed, but that the problem is so perva-
sive—and so deadly. Rylie helped us form
what is now in 72 markets covering six
million lives. We do 800-plus calls a day,
and I promise you, we save people in those
phone calls.” -AS TOLD TO JENNIFER CONRAD
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADAM RIDING
155

45
The
KinderFarms
CEO: Jeremy
Adams
Category:
Health Products
Three-year
revenue growth:
8,744%
THIS L.A. DAD
DIDN’T LIKE WHAT
HE SAW IN THE
DRUGSTORE.SO
WITH THE AID OF
A HOLLYWOOD
VETERAN, HE SET
OUT TO REWRITE
THE SCRIP.
Jeremy Adams was worried. His
1-year-old daughter had spiked a
105-degree fever in the middle of
the night, prompting the 46-year-
old entrepreneur to call urgent
care. Their advice: Find an elec-
trolyte solution, and fast.
He rushed to his local 24-hour
drugstore, where he found him-
self staring at a “fluorescent
blue-colored liquid,” baffled by
its label. “It had a lot of different
artificial ingredients that I didn’t
feel comfortable giving my kids
in their daily life,” recalls the
father of two, “and I certainly
didn’t want to give rt to my1-year-
old when she was sick.”
a
e
Adams tried whipping up his
own solution at home, a mixture
of juice and electrolytes. That
ended in failure. But it also proved
enlightening: Armed with the
knowledge that many OTC med-
ications are flush with dyes and
artificial sweeteners, he saw an
opening. “That’s when I realized
I was on a mission,” he says. “It
was something I had to do for my
kids and for families everywhere.”
Harnessing his experience in
the beverage industry, the Los
Angeles-based Adams incorpo-
rated a new company in 2018:
KinderFarms, with the aim of
reformulating over-the-counter
medicines with natural products
that earn the trust of parents. One
mom who jumped right on board
was actress and producer Jessica
Biel, whom Adams had met
through business colleagues.
Almost instantly, Biel signed on
asa co-founder. “Given our first-
hand experience dealing with our
kids and their health, I want to
make it easy for parents to have
options that they can find and
afford; if we can do that, we are
doing our jobs,” Biel tells Inc.
With Biel’s celebrity and
Adams’s Harvard MBA, the stars
were aligning for KinderFarms—
until the pandemic shut down the
country in 2020, months after its
first product, KinderLyte, had
rolled into 6,000 stores. “It was a
challenge to be in that many
stores with no one in there to
buy,” Adams says. Again, he
wrung progress from failure,
using the lockdown to reduce
costs and lower prices below
those of the leading competitors.
Today, KinderFarms offers
everything from plant-based
protein drinks to hydration solu-
tions. KinderMed Pain & Fever, its
answer to Robitussin, uses only
acetaminophen, organic agave
syrup, organic cherry flavor, non-
GMO citric acid, and purified
water. Those products are now
sold in 30,000 stores, and helped
KinderFarms gross more than
$20 million lastyear. But the best
metric of all: Adams’s daughter
has never spiked a 105-degree
fever again. —Sam Blum
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC HELGAS
157
Working in
tandem: After
54 years of
marriage, serial
entrepreneurs
Norm and Elaine
Brodsky have
learned to
not sweat the
small stuff.
158 Inc. September 2023
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KRISTA SCHLUETER
FOOT RUBS,
RESET BUTTONS
& RESIGNATION
LETTERS
Five couples explain how they’ve
managed to build Inc. 5000
businesses—and stay married.
STANDING UPTO YOUR
SPOUSE TO MOVE
THE NEEDLE
ф Norm and Elaine Brodsky
have been married for 54
years—and have worked together
for 32 of them, first as business
partners, and then as co-founders.
Their Brooklyn-based delivery
company, Perfect Courier, would
hit the Inc. 5000 for three consec-
utive years, starting in 1984,
and the Brodskys would go
on to found a handful of other
businesses, including CitiStorage.
While Elaine, 76, stands several
inches shorter than Norm, 80,
she towers among many in spirit
and verve. Her greatest attribute,
though, may well be convincing
Norm that his big ideas aren’t the
only good ones. —In conversation
with Christine Lagorio-Chafliin
You two have worked together
for decades—so long that other
couples who are also business
partners come to you and ask:
How do you do it?
Norm I always say: One person
has to be more forgiving. It’s her.
Elaine I attribute our success to
the fact neither of us wanted to
get divorced on the same day. But
seriously, we each took care of
different things and didn’t step
on the other’s toes. I think the
main thing is respect. Respect and
trust that the other person would
not do anything to destroy our
marriage—or our business.
Did you set boundaries?
Elaine Yes and no. We lived where
we worked. The offices were on
the third floor, we lived on the
fourth. At the beginning, I said,
“There’s no discussing business
up here.”
Norm There were no computers,
no nothing. Computers were huge
then, so that part made sense.
Elaine That lasted precisely one
evening. Every night, we’d go
upstairs, and I would say, “Oh,
my god, I have to tell you what
happened today!” And he would
say, “Well, I gotta tell you what
happened today!”
You didn’t always work together.
Elaine, you stayed at home when
your kids were little. Did that
inform your dynamic when it
came to the business?
Elaine We learned a trick from
parenting: Never fight in front of
your children.
Norm There were glass walls in
our office. But inside our office,
we had a bathroom. So any time
we both walked into the bath-
room at the same time, everybody
on the floor knew that we were
going to have a “discussion.”
Elaine At home, we used to shut
ourselves in the bathroom too.
It’s just where we fight. There are
no windows. It’s a nice, small, safe
space. One day at the office, we
went into the bathroom and I said
to Norman, “We can have only
one culture in this company, and
it’s going to be mine. Now you’ve
got to come along with it, because
otherwise these tough guys in
the warehouse are not going to
believe in it.” And he did. And
that’s how the company grew.
Norm I was really “It’s my way or
the highway.” I had to learn to live
with the idea that I’m not always
right. Although I think I am.
Elaine His management style
leaves a lot to be desired. No
offense, Norman.
Norm No offense taken!
Elaine I’m his biggest fan and his
worst critic. My therapist helped
me realize I was actually the only
person who took him on.
Norm It took both of us to say, we
are two entirely different people—
and that’s OK. The main thing is
respect.
BUILDING A FOUNDATION
THAT WON’T CRACK AND
CRUMBLE
ф After a stormy start to their
relationship 24 years ago,
Shahab, now 44, and Durana Elmi,
now 43, quickly realized how they
complement each other—he’s
analytical and shrewd, while she
is organized and thoughtful. That
marriage of skills helped propel
their San Diego-based supple-
ments brand Cymbiotika (No.
187, 2023; No. 624, 2022) to
$40 million in 2022 revenue, with
a projected $110 million in 2023.
They’ve also been smart about
keeping their home life in check,
allowing for snap reality checks
and weekly date nights. — In con-
versation with Rebecca Deczynski
Durana The first time I met
Shahab, he said to me, “I’m going
to marry you.”
Oh, that old line. You sent him
packing, right?
159
Durana I did. Because he was
that charming guy—a bit of a Don
Juan.
Shahab For context, I was a way
better-looking version of myself
back then.
So, how did he recover?
Durana My roommate, who had
met Shahab separately, was so
persistent—she kept saying he
was a really sweet guy, so finally
I said, “OK, fine, I’ll go on a date
with him. But it has to be on a
Friday and he has to be punctual
at 7 p.m.” I knew he’d be in about
three hours of traffic coming from
Orange County to Santa Monica,
where I lived.
ShahabI took her to a nice
restaurant and I was so taken
aback by this woman’s beauty that
I ordered a barrage of food, trying
to impress her. Then she went
to the bathroom and was gone for
five, 10,15,30 minutes. Eventu-
ally, I learned she had been on the
phone with the bank pleading for
a credit line increase so she could
pay for the meal—and she did. She
didn’t want me to think I could
buy her love. I was so impressed
by her class and dignity.
How did that admiration turn into
running a business together?
Shahab We resigned from our
corporate jobs between three to
four months of each other in 2015
to start our first venture, operat-
ing Cricket Wireless stores. We
lost so much money in the first
five or six months. I would sit up
at 3 in the morning, questioning
the decision we made. We were
so close to losing it all—I had
gotten a second mortgage on our
house. But we stuck together,
and with only a few months of
runway left, we heavily invested
in marketing and head count. The
business became profitable when
we had nine stores. We scaled it
to 173 stores in six states, and had
a successful exit. We were going
to retire after selling to a private
equity firm in 2018. But my child-
Cymbiotika’s
Shahab and
Durana Elmi keep
it together with
a little healthy
competition and a
lot of teamwork.
hood friend had reached out
with a concept for a health-
focused business. The question
then wasn’t, “How much money
can we make?” but “What do
we want our legacy to be?” That
became Cymbiotika.
INC. GROWTH
NETWORK
FEW PEOPLE
KNOW WHAT
IT'S LIKE TO BE
A FOUNDER,
FEWER KNOW
WHAT IT’S
LIKE TO BE
IN BUSINESS
WITH THEIR
SPOUSE. BUT
YOU CAN DIS-
CUSS IT WITH
LIKE-MINDED
ENTREPRE-
NEURS IN
OUR EXCLU-
SIVE DIGITAL
COMMUNITY
FOR INC. 5000
HONOREES.
Join at:
community.inc
.com
Durana We wanted to be able to
teach our children that you can
create a profitable business out
of helping others.
But surely you have dark
moments. How have you
prevented them from infecting
your marriage?
Durana We have date night once
a week—we rarely miss it. On Fri-
days, we do family date night, and
everyone gets dressed up. We’ve
realized that our foundation is
our relationship; if that goes, the
business can’t last.
Shahab If we get into a heated
conversation because we disagree
about something, one of us will
say “reset button,” and then we
leave the office to grab a drink.
We’re two equally talented and
passionate people. There are
going to be those moments. And
while I’m not advocating drink-
ing, champagne and a martini can
do wonders sometimes.
FINDING THE BALANCE
IN POWER AS A POWER
COUPLE
ф Psyche and Vontoba
Terry—self-proclaimed
business nerds who met in grad-
uate school—have poured their
passion into growing their Plano,
Texas-based natural hair and skin
care line Urban Hydration (No.
696, 2021; No. 1,552, 2020; No.
1,452, 2019). Along the way, the
41-year-old founders have learned
more about each other than most
couples would care to know after
18 years of marriage. It’s led to
squabbles, tiffs, and resignation
letters, too. But they’re better
together—and they know it.
—In conversation with R.D.
Psyche What we do apart isn’t as
fulfilling as what we do together.
But we’ve both had moments
where we’ve “resigned” by send-
ing an email to the other saying,
“You need to find someone else
to be your business partner.”
Whoa, you send resignation
emails to each other? Is this
common?
Vontoba It’s not common but
definitely happens. The last time,
160 Inc. September 2023
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JULIAN BERMAN
I told her, “I do not accept your
resignation.” I put it in all caps.
So, it’s been tough. What’s your
advice to others hurtling into
marriage and business?
Vontoba We tell people, look,
you’ve got to have a healthy mar-
riage going into business. When
business is bad, we’re able to
work together and work it out—
which typically involves multiple
apologies. And then I rub her feet
with our lotion.
OK, I think I’d forgive him.
Psyche, does that work?
Psyche I’m usually like, “What
are you sorry for? What did you
do?” I want to be sure you’re clear
about why I was upset.
How do you avoid letting small
things fester?
Vontoba We try not to go to bed
angry. But if we do, when we
wake up, we’re usually more
clearheaded. Some of the worst
conversations happen when we’re
tired or frustrated—and usually
we’re not even frustrated with
each other. It’s about a situation.
Psyche We complement each
other, but we’re also very similar.
I handle sales, marketing, and
product design and creation—but
when he first came on full time,
he said, “I do sales.” I said, “Well,
if you’re so good at sales, take
over sales.” So he did, and we lost
every account!
Vontoba She’s joking, but I did
make a lot of mistakes. I had been
selling financial products, and
then I switched to pitching hair
and skin care products primarily
marketed toward women. That
led to quite the conflict.
Psyche Humility has been hard
for both of us. It’s especially hard
when you’re growing a business
alongside someone who’s your
equal—I can’t always get my way.
But what that really means is that
he cares just as much as I care.
USING THEIR COMPANY
AS “A JUNGLE GYM” FOR
THEIR RELATIONSHIP
When it comes to
coupling marriage
and work, Psyche
and Vontoba
Terry from Urban
Hydration roll
with the punches.
ф Evan Horowitz, 42, and
Geoffrey Goldberg, 39,
began their relationship years
before they began their firm,
Los Angeles-based creative
agency Movers+Shakers (No.
63,2023; No. 52,2022; No. 78,
2021). They’d previously been
on different paths; Goldberg had
been choreographing Broadway
shows when they met in 2011,
while Horowitz had just minted a
Harvard MBA. But the company,
which bet big on then-obscure
platform TikTok in 2019 and
soared to nearly $7 million in rev-
enue the following year, brought
together their disparate skills,
and taught them all they needed
to sustain their relationship.
—In conversation with C.L.-C.
I hear you adopted another baby.
Congrats! How are you able to
juggle living and working
together—and now parenting
two kids under 5?
PHOTOGRAPHY BY OK MCCAUSLAND
161
Evan We’re strong believers that
the patterns and issues that you
have as a couple are going to be
the same underlying issues in any
context of your relationship. If
somebody doesn’t feel respected,
or you don’t deal with conflict
well, that pattern is going to show
up in travel, in finances, in kids,
just as obviously as it does in
business.
Geoffrey People recommend if
you want to stress-test your rela-
tionship, travel together. Within
months of dating, we went to
Paris. A trip forces you to orga-
nize things, and make decisions
collaboratively, navigate certain
conversations and situations. So
it kind of catapults your relation-
ship to the next level. That’s taken
to the 20th degree when you’re
running a company together. It’s a
jungle gym for your relationship.
Evan Then we became dads.
Becoming parents together was
actually quite smooth—because
we had already worked through
so much of our shit. There were
still plenty of times in the first few
years of our business when I was
like, “Wow, are we going to ditch
the business or are we going to
get divorced?” It almost felt like it
was going to come to that.
Clearly, it didn’t. And yet you still
seem like polar opposites. How
do you make it work?
Evan There’s a funny story.
Geoffrey How did I know you
were going to tell that story?
Evan So, I’m a just-in-time person.
I get things done before the dead-
line—but very last-minute. One
morning, we’re on a crowded New
York City subway. I’m squatting
on the floor (because all the seats
are taken) with my laptop on my
squat-lap, and I’m banging out
our PowerPoint deck that in 10
For Evan Horowitz
(left) and Geoffrey
Goldberg of
Movers+Shakers,
building a life
and a business
together is about
mutual respect—
and ice cream.
minutes we’re going to be taking
into a major client opportunity to
pitch. Geoffrey—who likes to be
organized, and plans everything—
is pissed we didn’t get it done last
night. He’s annoyed and probably
embarrassed that I’m squatting
on the subway. Smoke must have
been coming out of his ears.
Geoffrey I still have a photo of
him in that moment.
Evan Yes! He took a picture of me
like that. Probably so he could
look back on it later and ...
Lord it over you if the client
passed?
Evan Well, it worked! We got that
deal.
Still, did the experience prompt
a deeper discussion? Moreover,
what’s your strategy for over-
coming or disarming issues
before they explode?
162 Inc. September 2023
PHOTOGRAPHY BY OK MCCAUSLAND
Geoffrey Whether you’re entering
a relationship or you’re starting a
business—or both—there’s a deci-
sion you make: Гт going to make
this work. And you kind of know. I
think for us there’s this sense that
we walk around with every day,
which is: It’s not a matter of if we
can do it, it’s just how we’re going
to work through this. Which is
really empowering.
Evan We both work hard to take
responsibility for our side of
any issue—to get out of a blame
perspective and into a personal-
accountability perspective. How
am I instigating or amplifying
this? How can I show up differ-
ently in the future to not do that?
Geoffrey Believe me when I say
we’ve practiced the other route.
Life teaches you that doesn’t get
you as far.
STAYING CONNECTED
EVEN WHEN THEY DON’T
SEE EYE-TO-EYE
ф When Bhavana Rakesh and
Rakesh Peter met 33 years
ago, they weren’t just strangers-
they were from different com-
munities, though they lived five
houses apart on the same street
in Bangalore. But tangled phone
lines managed to connect them
anyway. The calls turned into
furtive meetings and, eventually,
love. Despite Rakesh’s overseas
education journey, the two stayed
in touch. When Rakesh, now 51,
and Bhavana, now 48, reunited in
1998, wedding bells would ring—
and in time they’d launch Axiom
Consultants, a Rockville, Mary-
land, consulting agency, which hit
this year’s Inc. 5000 at No. 409.
—In conversation with Melissa
Angell
Rakesh Back in Bangalore, I’d
be talking with my buddies and
suddenly we’d hear a female
voice on the phone and we’re like,
wait a minute, there’s somebody
eavesdropping on our phone call.
That’s how I met Bhavana.
Bhavana We kept talking over a
three-month period and decided
to meet. We wanted to go to a
cool place. We thought America
was cool, so we went to a place
called Indiana Burgers.
Rakesh They make the mayon-
naise fresh in house, right in front
of you.
Bhavana We had a connection,
but I knew he was going to apply
to schools in the U.S. It was a lot
of long distance.
But he wasn’t deterred.
Bhavana Right. After his MBA, he
wanted to come back to India and
marry me. He asked his parents
to talk to my parents, and that’s
when I had to tell my parents
about him. It was a big deal
because we come from different
religions and my parents had
never met Rakesh.
You sound very dedicated to each
other personally. How does that
translate into your business?
Rakesh The way she is able to
connect the dots and see the big
picture is phenomenal. That’s
helped us go in a direction that, if
it had been really up to me, I don’t
think we would have gone in.
Axiom
Consultants’
Bhavana Rakesh
and Rakesh Peter
on the secret
to their success:
open lines of
communication.
What’s an example?
Bhavana When we got into the
government contracting space,
one of the biggest challenges we
faced was not having past per-
formance. One way to get around
that was to do an acquisition.
Rakesh We were two to three
months into negotiations and I
wasn’t getting the numbers that I
wanted to see. So I called our bro-
ker and said, “I’m walking away
from the acquisition.”
Bhavana I wasn’t ready to let it go.
My thought was: If we don’t have
data, then let’s get the data.
Rakesh She asked me a few ques-
tions, and the deal was back on.
That trust is vital. What happens
when you disagree?
Rakesh I wouldn’t call what we
have disagreements; I would
call them different points of
view. We each might have a
different approach to how things
should get done. So we walk
through those.
Bhavana We are beginning to get
comfortable with the fact that as
long as we define the end goal, we
are able to meet it—together. О
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KRISTA SCHLUETER
163
Content. Connection. Culture
BUCK
TECH
1ИЕЕКЕПЕ
JOIN US AT
BLACK TECH
WEEKEND
OCT 12-14
DETROIT
Ml
Black Tech Week is back and headed to
Detroit, Ml in October to present its first
Black Tech Weekend-the abbreviated
and highly anticipated spin-off of the
main conference where founders,
innovators, and creatives of color will
experience the same incredible content,
connection, and energy they have come
to expect from the brand.
Detroit was selected to host Black Tech
Weekend based on popular demand
combined with the city's growth in
early-stage funding and investor activity,
rapidly emerging startup ecosystem,
and abundance of Black entrepreneurial
and professional talent.
For more information about the event, visit www.blacktechweek.com
EMPLOYER WELLNESS
SPONSORED BY THE INC. HONOREES WHOSE BRAND PROFILES APPEAR ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES
No, not employee wellness. No benefit plan
needed. We’re talking about you, the employer.
The founder. The top dog—and the bottom of
the list when it comes to free time. Entrepreneurship
isn’t exactly known for being a stress-free experience,
especially when you’re running a fast-growing company.
But as a leader, it’s vital to take time to relax, decom-
press, and clear your mind. That will only help you do
your job even better.
Of course, when you have a million emails to answer,
dozens of roles to fill, and fire after fire demanding to
be put out, self-care may not exactly be your number-
one priority. That’s why it’s important to have the right
systems and habits in place—like a reliable routine—
to help you find balance as you build your business.
Taking time for yourself also gets easier when you
learn how to remove things from your plate and put them
in the hands of your trusted team members. You’ve likely
heard the old adage about the importance of working on,
not in, your business as a founder; delegating the right
tasks can help you do just that and give you a few spare
moments of breathing room.
Most of all, don’t forget to celebrate your wins and
take your missteps as learning opportunities, just as the
leaders in the pages ahead have done. They’ve grown
Inc. 5000 companies while also figuring out how to take
care of themselves—and they have plenty advice on how
you can do it all, too.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY ALEX EBEN MEYER
September 2023 Inc. 165
WORK-LIFE BALANCE
166
Don’t let your
never-ending
to-do list take
over. These
practical
strategies can
help you find
balance, even
amid countless
demands.
11 Venus Quates
Founder and CEO
LAUNCHTECH
“I unplug on Saturdays.
I’ve coined it ‘my day of
mindless behavior.’ I try
to sleep in, or at least lie
in bed, until the sun rises.
I do absolutely nothing
related to my business
for the entire day. That
allows me to recharge
and refill my cup.”
LaunchTech, an IT systems
and consulting firm based
in Huntsville, Alabama,
landed a spot on the Inc. 5000
in 2021 and 2022.
2 I Natasha Miller
Founder and CEO
ENTIRE PRODUCTIONS
“I’m adopting the
practice of saying ‘no,
thank you’ a lot more
often when it comes to
opportunities that don’t
make my heart sing or
don’t move the needle on
something that’s import-
ant to me.”
San Francisco-based enter-
tainment and events company
Entire Productions is a three-
time Inc. 5000 honoree.
3 I Liviu Tanase
Founder and CEO
ZEROBOUNCE
“I don’t always achieve
work-life balance, but
something that works
well for me is to have a
few repetitive experiences
in my weekly schedule.
For instance, on Thursday
nights, my wife and I usu-
ally go to the movies. On
the weekend, we take our
dog for a long walk on the
beach. Some people try
to avoid routine; for me,
it’s an anchor.”
Santa Barbara, Calijbmia-
based email validation and
deliverability company
ZeroBounce is a four-time
Inc. 5000 honoree and a 2022
Inc. Power Partner.
BRANDED CONTENT
inc. Best
Workplaces
Inc. Best
Workplaces
2x winner
Employees
840 full-time,
90 part-time
Employee Survey
95% confident in
company direction
Headquarters
Denver,
Colorado
ibotta
An Award-Winning Culture of
Opportunity, Innovation, and Openness
A unique mission and value system draw bold thinkers to
Ibotta, a leading cash-back rewards and performance-marketing
company with a history of firsts.
Ibotta is in the business of giving away money. Since its founding
in 2012, the company has paid out more than $1.4 billion in cash
rewards through its web and mobile app. The chance to help con-
sumers earn money on everyday purchases is one of the reasons
people choose to work there. “We make money by giving away
money. That's pretty rare," explains founder and CEO Bryan Leach.
This unique mission, coupled with a well-defined culture and
value system, earn Ibotta an Inc. Best Workplaces recognition
for the second time. According to a recent anonymous workplace
survey, 95 percent of employees are confident in the future of the
company. That future will be categorized by continued profitable
growth—no small feat when you are generating a quarter of a billion
dollars in yearly revenue, Leach says. It is all thanks to people.
“Everything we do— every strategy, every idea, every tactic, every
response to a market move or market condition—comes from
the ideas of our people and our ability to translate a higher
percentage of their ideas into practice than our competitors,"
he explains.
VALUES TO LIVE BY
The way Leach conducts himself sets the tone for the company.
He tries to make choices in accordance with Ibotta's value system:
Integrity, Boldness, Ownership, Teamwork. Transparency, and A
Good Idea Can Come From Anywhere. He is transparent about the
company’s performance, but also, his own mental health. “It’s one
of the biggest topics that I speak about year-round: the emphasis
on self-care, the emphasis on understanding how to relate to the
highs and lows and setbacks and disappointments of being in a
high-growth or startup culture,” he says.
Leach and his team are also outspoken on social and racial
justice issues and committed to building a diverse workforce.
Forty-three percent of people hired in 2022 identify as non-white,
Leach explains. These diverse perspectives contribute to diverse
ideas, and therefore, innovation.
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
Ibotta has a history of “firsts." It was the first in the industry to intro-
duce performance-based pricing, meaning brands pay when an
Ibotta promotion results in a sale; the first to roll out brand offers
on a cash-back app; and the first in its industry to work with alcohol
brands, Leach says. To continue driving the industry forward, Ibotta
hires entrepreneurial-minded candidates who thrive in a “scrappy,
disruptive" environment - candidates who appreciate trust, auton-
omy, and Ibotta's remote and hybrid work options.
Promotions happen often, in part because the business invests
heavily in training and development. Leach describes Ibotta as the
“sweet spot" between a big company and a small one. It has the
resources to turn ideas into reality but is small enough to bypass
bureaucracy and is practically allergic to complacency. “It’s a cul-
ture that has a bit of the best of both worlds," Leach explains. And
it is a culture primed for the adaptation and innovation required to
drive continued progress.
Ibotta team members meet in the company’s Denver headquarters.
CREATED BY INC.STUDIO
BRANDED CONTENT
“We believe
that our team’s
shared values
of honesty,
integrity, passion,
teamwork, and
loyalty are critical
to our success."
—Luan Cox,
CEO, FinMkt
Inc. BCSt
Workplaces
FinMkt is defining the future of embedded digital lending and
payments technology with its revolutionary and fully customizable
multi-lender point-of-sale consumer financing platform. FinMkt
empowers banks, credit unions, and alternative lenders with
a full SaaS cloud-based technology stack to enable innovative
point-of-sale lending and payment solutions. Optimized for the
home improvement, health care, and retail industries, Fin M kt’s
revolutionary technology offers speed-to-market solutions in the
most desired verticals.
FinMkt
“At Packsize, we
embrace a spirit
of ‘conscious
cultivation,'
fostering a work
environment that
is supportive,
compassionate,
and socially
responsible.”
—Sue Urses. chief
human resources
officer, Packsize
“We try to
innovate in
everything we
do, and the
company’s
culture is about
consistently
challenging the
status quo."
—Joe Yenni, New
Orleans market
leader, Impetus
Since introducing Right-Sized Packaging on Demand® in 2002,
Packsize has been on a mission to deliver Smart Packaging
for a Healthy Planet®. As a partner and trusted advisor, we
unlock hidden potential in our customers' supply chains and offer
proven packaging solutions that consider every step—from the
warehouse floor to the customer’s hands. By transforming the way
businesses and their customers experience packaging, Packsize
is accelerating the path to a more sustainable future.
In 2013, Impetus began as a New Orleans-based general
contractor with an 11-person team and a vision to challenge
the status quo of the construction industry. Ten years later,
we have three offices, employ 236, and oversee a broad range
of building and infrastructure projects. We recently launched
sister companies RNGD, which specializes in innovative design,
fabrication, and erection solutions; and Emergent Properties, a
real-estate development organization that focuses on mixed-use
developments across the Southeast U.S.
” РАС KS I Z E*
IMPETUS
TRANSFORMING. CONSTRUCTION.
CREATED BY INC. STUDIO
DELEGATION TACTICS
2 | Stephanie Olson
Founder
WE ARE ROSIE
“I encourage founders
and CEOs to put a price
on their time. The num-
ber is probably higher
than you think. Then,
delegate everything you
possibly can that can be
done by paying some-
one less than your own
hourly rate. Start with
the things that can
be delegated for the least
amount of money and
work your way up. As a
leader, it’s your job to
do the stuff that only you
can do and to delegate
the rest for the highest
good of the business.”
We Are Rosie, a marketing
talent firm based in Atlanta,
was a 2022 Inc. 5000 honoree.
3 I Pete Maldonado
Co-founder and co-CEO
CHOMPS
“The only way to truly
scale a business is to
get the leader out of the
weeds so they can focus
on being strategic. It’s
also important for the
team to feel they own
their work completely.”
Naples, Florida-based snack
company Chomps is a
six-time Inc. 5000 honoree.
You can do only so much yourself.
How to strategically leverage your
team to get the rest done.
11 Vishal Sunak
Co-founder and CEO
LINKSQUARES
“I’m not in charge of
the gasoline we pour on
the flame—just the initial
spark. My executive
team—the experts—
figure out the how. I
hand the blaze off to the
fire tenders, and they
grow it into a white-hot
furnace.”
Boston-based contract
management platform
LinkSquares is a three-
time Inc. 5000 honoree,
a 2023 Best Workplaces
honoree, and a 2022
Inc. Power Partner.
OVERCOM I NG SETB ACKS
Lingering on
failure will only
hold you back.
Follow this
advice to make
every mistake
a lesson.
1 Kristian Aloma
Founder and CEO
THREADLINE


“A coach once told me,
‘One project doesn’t make
a career.’ Sometimes a
failure feels massive, but
this reminder helps me
recognize it might be just
one moment in thou-
sands across my career,
and that being where I
am means the majority of
those moments have been
pretty successful.”
Threadline, a Chicago-based
branding agency, landed on
the Inc. 5000 in 2022.

2 | Princess Ousley
Founder and CEO
ELITE BUSINESS
STRATEGIES
“Embrace underesti-
mation. Being under-
estimated can actually
work to your advantage.
Don’t let it discourage
you—use it as a tool
to beat the odds and
succeed.”
Tallahassee, Florida-based
emergency management firm
Elite Business Strategies was
a 2022 Inc. 5000 honoree.
3 I Tammy Nelson
Founder and CEO
CONQUERING
“Failing is really part of
learning, and as much
as it’s not fun to fail, I
think we have a pretty
healthy attitude around
it. I always tell my team,
‘If we don’t make some
mistakes from time to
time, we’re not moving
fast enough.’”
Cincinnati-based fidget
jewelry brand CONQUERing
made the Inc. 5000 in 2022.
В
MAXIMIZE YOUR ACHIEVEMENT
with exclusive products to make your Inc. 5000 honor visible to
teams, clients, consumers, and investors, designed by
the Inc. team just for you.
Place your order today at kudos.inc.com
5000 index
A
Abstrakt Cloud Solutions
142
Accelerated Brands 123
AC Disaster Consulting 129
Achuti 122
Aditude 117
Adlumin 141
Advanced Medical
Resources 129
Advantis Medical Staffing
132
AdVictory 116
ADVOCATE 122
AFC Logistics 135
Aimpoint Digital 135
Aisera 142
Albers Aerospace 126
Alexandra Lozano
Immigration Law 135
Alkemi 132
Alliance Global Advisors 118
AllVoices 141
AMA Consulting Group 129
American Facilities
Professionals 124
American Foods
International 128
American Hartford Gold 128
Amivero 134
Ampla 126
Antean Technology 135
apiphani 134
Appfire Technologies 142
ArcherReview 130
Artium 120
ArtsAI 116
Ashland Greene 137
Associated Logistics Group
136
Athena Club 123
Athletic Brewing Company
128
Atmosphere 117
Authentic* 142
Autobooks 142
AVM Consulting 142
Awestruck 116
Axela Construction 122
Axiom Consultants 129
Azuca 123
В
Backd 126
Baltic Bom 140
Bastille Networks 141
В DA Systems Co. 143
Benchstrength Coaching
120
BetterBot 137
Bev-Hub 129
Birch Creek Energy 124
Birdsey Construction
Management 122
Black Box Safety 118
Blankfactor 142
Blazy Susan 123
BLK & Bold 6,128,144
Blue Hammer Roofing 122
Blue Lake Capital 137
BODY20 123
Bosscat 137
Bounce 143
Branch 122
BroadRange Logistics 136
Brutus Broth 123
B2 Capital Solution Provider
126
Busy Baby 140
Byzfunder 126
c
Caden Lane 27,140
Caladwich Consulting 120
The Call Gurus 118
Camillus Staffing 134
Campspot 143
Capital i 117
CareBridge 59,72,130
Care Solace 132
Caribe Juice 128
Caylent 134
Cboe Vest 128
CELTIC Restoration Group
122
CertifID 141
Charter Research 130
CharterUP 8,72,143
ChartHop 141
Chattahoochee
Construction Group 122
Chunker 120
Cinematic Health Education
124
CityLight Homes 137
City Mobile Group 130
ClassWallet 20,142
Clearcover 134
ClickUp 141
Clients & Community 118
Cloud Destinations 134
CloudServus 134
Cloverleaf 142
Cobalt Engineering and
Inspections 126
Codoxo 132
CoinFlip 128
Collectrv 118
Compose.ly 118
Condor Agency 117
Confetti 141
connectRN 132
CORE Boiler & Mechanical
Services 118
Coreonyx Government
Solutions 134
Cosentus 120
CoVar Transportation 136
CoVenture 128
Creation 137
Credique 126
Crest Security Assurance
135
Cribl 141
Cross Country Creative 117
CRR Hospitality 143
Crusoe Energy 124
Crux Informatics 142
Cure Hydration 128
Curis Functional Health 130
Cymbiotika 123
D
Dan-O’s Seasoning 128
Darkroom 117
Datad Solutions 135
Datarails 142
Defender Safety 6.136,150
Delaware Limo 136
DFX5 135
Digital Axis 129
Digital Blue Solutions 132
Direct Components 140
Distributed Technology
Group 134
District Partners 118
Dossier 122
Dr. Contact Lens 129
DUJUD 120
Dynepic 142
E
Earth Right Mid-Atbntic 124
Eastern Standard Provisions
129
EcoBOG 6,126,146
ElectroNeek 142
Element 26 123
Elizabeth Rosario Law 135
Emonics 134
Empower Finance 126
Empower Home 124
Encore Landscape
Management 118
Ensemble Music Schools
124
Enspira 134
ENTRE Institute 118
EntreMD 124
Epic Golf Club 143
Epigen 128
E78 Partners 128
eShocan 126
eTrueNorth 130
EverHive 132
EvidenceCare 132
Evisort T18
Evolution Veterinary
Specialists 130
evolv Consulting 120
F
FarmboxRx 5,59,78,130
Fat Earth Media 117
FlexCare Infusion Centers
130
Flextt 130
Flock Safety 140
Fluency 116
Fluid Truck 136
FlyCore Distribution 136
Focused Labs 142
Forest Media Group 116
1440 136
Fox Logistics 136
Fox Ordering 141
FreightPlus 135
Fun In Motion Toys 123
Fusus 141
G
Gasochem International 6,
104.136
Gem bah 143
Gen3 Technology Consulting
135
Get Staffed Up 132
Grvebacks 142
Goldco 140
Golden Tax Relief 128
Goldschmitt and Associates
134
GoLinks 142
GoodQues 117
Gorilla Netting 123
GO Ventures 116
Greater Than 128
Great States Construction
122
Green Light Distribution 128
Gridiron Tire 141
Guardian Dentistry 132
Gymreapers 140
H
Hatching Time 140
Haverhill HO
Hawaiian Bros Island Grill
128
Hawthorne Capital 137
HCM Unlocked 141
Helpware 120
Hexaview Technologies 141
HomeLight 142
Hometap 137
Honest Digital 116
Hoodsly HO
Horatio 118
Howdy.com И2
HVN Travel Group 143
hyrUP 118
I
Ideal Agent 137
i80 Group 126
ImmiPartner 141
Impact Analytics 142
The Indoor Golf Shop 123
The Influencer Marketing
Factory 117
Instawork 134
Integrated Management
Strategies 117
Integris 135
IntellaTriage 132
Intellibus 142
Intentsify 118
Intervene K-12 124
InTouch Med Supply 129
Inxeption 141
Ironside Human Resources
132
ISI Elite Training 132
ITJuana (ITJ) 141
Ivy City Co. 140
J
Jane Technologies 141
Javara 130
J. Brooks Boutique 6,140,
152
Jess Lea MO
Jiminy’s 123
JMA Resources 135
JRI Cards 123
J2 Company 118
Just About Foods 128
Just Made Foods 129
К
Kapco Futures 5,94,128
Kaplan Laboratory
(H-PROOF) 122
Kayo Energy 124
KeSTAl.T. 134
Kevani 117
Kevin’s Natural Foods 129
KinderFarms 6,129,156
Kin Insurance 134
Klassy Network 123
Knocking 140
Kwikly Dental Staffing 130
L
The Launchpad 141
Lease End 126
LeasePoint Funding Group 126
Lee County Plumbing and
Well Service 122
Legendary Lady Labs 129
Little Sleepies 140
LiveEasy 137
LiveShopper Sassie 141
Llama Naturals 123
LoanStar Technologies М2
Lucas James Talent Partners
120
LucidialT 135
Ludwig Plus 117
Lula Smarter Property
Maintenance 137
M
Main Digital 118
Mandala Scrubs 122
Marcella 122
Marc Nolan 140
Marie Nicole Clothing 140
Marketcall TI6
MarketerHire 118
Maveneer 118
Maverick Payments 126
Medable 142
Medefy 142
Media Tradecraft 137
Medmetry 132
MedOP Solutions 132
Meraki Solar 124
M. Gordon Publishing
Group 137
MHW Live Music М3
Mile Auto 134
Mira 129
Missio Digital 117
Mission Driven Meat &
Seafood 128
Mission Veterinary Partners
132
ModifyHealth 130
Moloco 117
Monarchy Media 117
MO Studio 129
Movers+Shakers 116
MOXFIVE 140
myDigitalOffice 142
MyFBAPrep 135
MyHeelthAngel 118
MySpectrum Counseling &
Coaching 132
N
The Naked Market 128
Neato MO
Neighborly Software 141
Netfly 117
NewronTech 135
Next Dimension
Construction & Roofing
122
Nexton 120
Night Watch Urgent Care
130
NoBid 116
North Square Investments
126
Norwood 132
Nottingham Agency 3,82,
117
Novakid 124
Novo 126
О
Off the Muck Market 128
OG Living 122
Olipop 128
Omega Accounting
Solutions 126
Omni Interactions 118
OncoLens 129
OneRail 141
OneZero Solutions 129
OpenExchange 118
OpenFortune 116
Opkalla 134
OptiFunder 126
Optimus Futures 128
0rion180 134
Outsource Access 134
Over The Top Marketing 117
OVS Technologies 142
P
Partake Foods 128
Pathology Watch 132
PatientFi 126
PCF Insurance Services 134
Penelope Bourbon 128
Penguin Home Solutions 126
Percent 126
Performance Golf 143
Pet Media 123
PetScreening 27,143
PHNTM 137
Physical Therapy Biz 124
Piece of Cake Moving 136
Piedmont Global Language
Solutions (PGLS) 120
Pie Insurance 134
Pilot Institute 124
Pod Digital Media 117
PostPilot 123
Powur 124
Pray.com 136
Principle Services 124
Print Your Cause 118
PrizePicks 137
The Product Boss 120
Prysm Group 120
Publishing.com 84, П7
Puffin Drink wear 123
Pulumi 142
Pyx Health 59,154
Q
QualSights M1
Quick’rCare 130
Qwick 128
R
Rainmaker Family 124
RapDev 135
Ra rebreed Veterinary
Partners 130
Raydiant 142
Redbird Realty 137
Red Lab Logistics 135
Reel Paper 123
Relevance 116
Resident Ventures М3
Resource Innovations 124
Revive 116
Ridge IT Cyber 141
Rimsys 141
RippleWorx 142
rocklTdata 129
Rocktomic 120
RoofMarketplace И1
Rove Supply 118
RP Professional Services 129
RUD Fleet 136
s
Sakari 141
SchoolWise Partners 120
Schubring Global Solutions
140
ScrumLaunch 135
Selecta Resources 118
Semi-Retired MD 24,124
SendCutSend 136
Serenity Kids 129
72SOLD 137
Shactee Engineering 126
Shiftsmart М3
Shred America 141
Sierra7 129
Sierra Solutions Group 132
Simple Life Rentals 143
simpliHOM 137
Skillionaire Enterprises 120
Skyline Smart Energy 124
Skyrush Marketing 117
Smart Simple Solutions 118
SMB Media Consulting 117
SocialBook 117
Sodalis Senior Living 137
SonderMind 132
Songfinch 5,86,122
Sonoran Roots 129
Sourcegraph M1
Space Theory 136
Spartan Fitness Holdings 130
Spartan Investment Group
137
Specialty! Partners 130
Sphere Rocket VA 134
Spiff M1
Splinterlands 142
SportsGrid 5,80,137
Squared Away 6,118,148
Stability Healthcare 134
Staff Pro Agency 132
Staffworxs 135
StatPearls 124
Steam Logistics 136
StemWave 27,129
Stord 136
Strand Marketing 117
Summit Facility Solutions
120
Summit Human Capital 120
Summit Logistics Group 136
Summit Medical Staffing 132
Sunlogix Energy 124
Supreme Jewelers 140
The Surefire Group 117
Surelock Technology 134
Sword Health 129
Synergistic 117
T
Tackle 142
TalentWoo 132
T&T Industrial 5,96,136
Tankfarm 126
TAP Innovations 134
Tax Relief Advocates 126
Taylor Chip 128
Tenna 142
Terco Enterprises 122
Thesis 122
Thorum 20,123
Thrasio 118
3C Industries 122
365Labs 142
Tibbott & Richardson 135
TimelyCare 130
TiteHome 124
TKO Sales 123
Top Line Growth Partners
118
Touchland 123
Tractor Beverage Co. 128
Tradebloc 120
Transactly 137
TransLoop 135
Trillion Health & Hormone
130
TrovaTrip 143
TruEd Consulting 129
True Shot Gun Club 140
Trust& Will 128
Tryfacta 134
Tuck Consulting Group 120
24HourNurse Staffing 132
20/20 GeneSystems 129
u
Ultraview Archery 123
United Esports 117
Unite Us 142
Upfront Healthcare 130
Upward Health 130
V
Vade Nutrition 129
Valiant Capital 126
Valor Capital Real Estate
Development 137
VA Wholesale Mortgage 126
Veda Data Solutions 141
Vegamour 123
Veterans Security
Operations (VSO) 140
Virtual Latinos 132
Visit.org 6,102, M1
Vital Contingent Hanning
132
VitafTech 132
Vizex 122
VOLO Events Agency 136
Vytalize Health 130
w
Webforce 118
WeCall Media 116
WellRithms 134
Wellthy 132
Wendel 122
WhizAI 142
Why Unified 120
Wildfire Systems 141
Windsor Group 129
Winnie 123
The Wolfe Companies 123
Woxer 123
WyCo Services 118
X
Xero Shoes 24
Y
Yeager Manufacturing
Technologies 136
Yellow Tail Tech 124
z
Zap Mortgage 5,98,126
Zapps Wholesale 140
Zenith Design + Build 122
Zero Hash 123
PRINTED IN THE USA. COPYRIGHT ©2023 BY MANSUETO VENTURES LLC. Nl rights reserved. INC. (ISSN 0162-896® is published monthly in March. April. September, and November, with combined issues in Мау/June and
December/January, by Mansueto Ventures LLC. 7 World Trade Center. New York. NY 10007-2195. Subscription rale for U.S. end possessions, $16.62 per year. Address all subscription correspondence to Inc. magazine. P.O. Box 3136, Harlan. IA 51593-0202;
800-234-0999; icmcustserv@odsfulfillmentcom (UK, Canada, international). Please aAowat least six weeks for change of address. Include your old address as well as now, and enclose if possble an address label from a recent issue. Subscribers: If the
Post Office alerts us that your magazine в undeliveraUe, wo have no forther obligation unless we receive a corrected address within one year. Single-copy requests: 800-234-0999 Periodical postage paid at New Yoik, NY. and additional mailing offices.
Canadian GST registration number is R12324S250. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Inc. magazine. P.O. Box 3136, Harlan. IA 51593-0202. Material in this publication must not be stored or reproduced in any foim without permission. Requests for
permission shoUd be directed to permissions@inc.com. Reprint requests should be directed to kudosmccom at 866-636-4355. Inc. в a registered trademark of Mansueto Ventures LLC.	September 2023 VOL. 45 NO. 4
172 Inc. September 2023
IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD,
INVEST IN A STATE THAT ALREADY HAS.
PURE OPPORTUNITY
When the world needed a solution to COVID-19, Michigan's advanced-manufacturing capabilities, world-class
STEM talent, and global supply chain assets made it possible for Pfizer to rapidly develop and distribute more
than a billion potentially life-saving vaccines. Seize your opportunity at MICHIGANBUSINESS.ORG
. MICHIGAN SiffiS
ECONOMIC
Ml DEVELOPMENT
~ CORPORATION
New Perspectives
Imagine a finely crafted mechanical timepiece,
inspired by Japanese tradition with a modern,
fresh touch.
That timepiece is here.
Seiko Watch of America. SPB417
SEIKO
SINCE 1881