AdvancedMD Press Releases |
Utah is Home to Fast Growing Companies
Media Outlet: Utah Business Online
URL: http://www.utahbusiness.com/parser.php?nav=email_article&article_id=6153
Date: 8.28.07
Utah is Home to Fast Growing Companies by Jamie Huish Stum
In a nod to the state’s strong economy and supportive entrepreneurial atmosphere, nine Utah companies were recently named to 3 Inc. magazine’s 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America list. Reasons for success were varied; winners cited utilization of Utah’s capable workforce, implementation of new technology and concentration on a dynamic corporate culture as factors in growth and achievement.
Winners were:
- Heritage Web Solutions, #22
- Doba, #23
- Firstline Security, #280
- MediConnect Global, #311
- Costume Craze, #415
- eWatches.com, #424
- AdvancedMD, #465
- Logoworks, #472
- D&H, #491
The 26th annual list, published in the September issue, measures revenue growth between 2003 and 2006. All winning companies must be able to show three full calendar years of sales, generating revenue from the first week of 2003. Each is U.S.-based and privately-held. Qualifiers must have reported revenue of at least $200,000 in 2003 and $3 million in 2006. Brad Stone, CEO of Heritage Web Solutions, says for his company, success is about people. The bottom line is our employees, he says. Over the years, we have accumulated a great staff of experienced, hard-working employees. Although the custom Website design company does business nationally, Stone says Utah has provided a positive business climate with friendly support vendors. Although the company has had to compete for workers in the tight labor market, Stone says the quality of Heritage’s employee’s shows. From what we do, interacting with national companies and the employees of those companies, we feel like we have a better moral base of employees, one that seems to value honesty and integrity, Stone says. In 2003, Heritage reported gross revenue of $25,000. In 2006, the company grossed $7 million and had expanded from three employees to almost 200 in-house workers with an additional 100 outsourced independent contractors. When we applied earlier this year, we were thinking we might have a chance of making the Inc. 500 and when we were informed by Inc. that we’d be in the top 300, we never had any inkling we’d be in the top 25, Stone says, It’s like a stamp of approval that we’ve done some things right and saying that we have a great base of employees taking us to this point. The company plans to continue its growth by eventually becoming a full-service technical business for small- to medium-sized businesses.
Officials from Costume Craze, another ranking company, say utilizing innovative technology is what has helped it sell thousands of Halloween and theater costumes a year online. One of our competitive advantages is that we do not have to pay for much of our advertising, so we’re able to pass those savings along to customers or invest in our inventory, says Kate Maloney, president and CEO of Costume Craze. A strong market and a successful business model have also helped drive growth up in the past three years, she says. We’re hoping to maybe take over the first position for online costumer company, Maloney says.
AdvancedMD, a winning company that offers office management solutions to doctors and medical offices, finds success by creating a supportive corporate culture. When president and CEO Jim Pack realized many of his employees spent two hours commuting to work each day from Davis County, he opened a satellite office in Layton to give them more time with their families. Many employees have sought us out, Pack says. They say, I’ll take any job you’ve got, even if it’s not exactly what I want to do because I know I’ll have the opportunity to grow. The company’s success has also come from anticipating where customers will look for the products AdvancedMD provides and placing advertising or search results at those spaces, Pack says. We try to have products and services that customers can refer to others and we are at about three times the national average in customer satisfaction, Pack says. Though diverse in products, business philosophies and success strategies, all winners say the ranking shows their hard work is paying off. It’s a pleasure and an honor to be included in a national ranking for fast growth, Pack says. Sheer size isn’t an indicator of a tremendous company, but this much growth over this short period of time indicates you’re doing something right, something special.
