Still Fast Times for Creative Companies

Editor, Jason Schaff Wow, 2009 was just a rotten year. We’re all still talking about it at the end of 2010. And it was pretty much rotten across the board in most industries. Why am I bringing this up now? It’s because we see evidence of old rotten ’09 in our Fast-Growing Private Companies List that we are publishing in this issue along with a special report about the List and the companies on it. The List is shorter this year (40 instead of 50 companies) because of ’09, there are fewer larger companies on the List because of ’09 and percentage increase in revenue over the three-year period of 2007-2009 is lower because of ’09. When we were surveying our Valley-area businesses for this List, several companies that had been on the fast-growing List in previous years declined to participate in our survey because they didn’t want to reveal 2009 revenues. With many companies saying 2010 has been better, but not drastically better, we’re going in the right direction at least. So, what’s interesting about our crop of fast-growing companies this year? A lot. These firms may actually reveal much about our economy these days – and what it takes to grow at any type of a clip at all. Several of these companies are technology related. Some are in sectors that are hot at the moment. For example, on the List are firms such as National Positions and Ebridge that are involved in the SEO sector (search engine optimization). Every business wants to get their entry as high as they can in Google. Think about it. We learned recently that we’re not going to have telephone books anymore, so I guess you need this stuff. As Reporter Mark Madler explains in one of the stories in the report, other tech firms on the List are in certain niches where they make a product or provide a particular service that businesses feel they can’t do without. There is far less industry variety this year in the List than other years as firms satisfying specific needs are the norm: Blackline Systems with its proprietary software, Inkjetmadness.com and Blue Microphones with their specific products. Firms not in the tech space provide that very specific or needed product that businesses and consumers need in any economy: insurance and bank card and credit card services for example. You’ve also got BackJoy Orthotics which has a product that helps people prone to back problems. Ever had back pain? You’ll pay anything to relieve it no matter what the economy. Account Control Technology is in debt collection. You know now why they’re on the list. So, will several of these companies new to the List be off of it in a year or two? High-flyers that only last for a short period of time? I’m not so sure about that. This may be the most stable list of Fast-Growing Companies that we’ve had. We don’t have a lot of firms tied to cyclical industries like real estate. The technology industry will always be active as we progress through time. The companies in that sector that can adapt their products or services will continue to do well. Companies that are creative are always stars. Business Journal Editor Jason Schaff can be reached at (818) 316-3125 or at [email protected].