Valley-Area Companies Shine on Annual Inc. 500 List

The greater San Fernando Valley area was well represented on the 2009 Inc. 500 list, an annual index the magazine puts together of the fastest growing privately held companies in the United States. The five Valley companies with the highest rankings on the index include: ReachLocal, ranked #39; Workway, #64; National Positions, #112; Blackline Systems, #113; and Volusion, #248. The following information was compiled from press releases and the Inc. 500 list posted online at www.inc.com. The Criteria Inc. measured revenue growth from 2005 through 2008. Companies had to have been founded and generating revenue by the first week of 2005, and able to show four full calendar years of sales. They also had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit and independent not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies. The minimum revenue required for 2005 was $200,000 and the minimum for 2008 was $2 million. Inc. will host a conference and awards ceremony for honorees and alumni in September. ReachLocal Woodland Hills Founded in 2004, ReachLocal is an online marketing company that has more than 800 employees and 38 offices in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. The company reported 3,217 percent growth from 2005 to 2008, with revenue increasing from $4.4 million to $146.8 million. It’s a venture-backed firm that received funding from VantagePoint Venture Partners, Rho Ventures, and Galleon Special Opportunities Partners Fund LP. It also ranked #2 on the index in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana region, and #5 in the overall advertising and marketing category. Since 2004, ReachLocal has served 13 billion local search advertising impressions on major search engines, and generated more than 15 million phone calls and 10 million online inquiries for its clients. Workway Burbank Founded in 2005, Workway provides recruitment and staffing services nationally, payroll and billing, training, outplacement services, and on-site account management, according to Inc. It also manages a Web portal that incorporates blogs, videos of job recruiters, and industry news. The company experienced 2,058.1 percent growth from 2005 to 2008, with revenue increasing from $3.5 million to $75.9 million. Workway has 85 employees. It ranked #4 in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana region and ranked #1 in the human resources category. National Positions Agoura Hills The company is an Internet marketing firm that specializes in search engine optimization. Founded in 2004, and with 240 employees, National Positions experienced 1,455.6 percent growth. Revenue increased from $256,133 in 2005 to $4.1 million in 2008. The company ranked #12 in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana region, and ranked #12 in the advertising and marketing category. Blackline Sytems Calabasas Founded in 2001, Blackline Systems pioneered the development of balance sheet account reconciliation software that automates the financial close process and improves financial controls for companies of all sizes. Some of its clients include eBay, General Mills and AT & T.; Blackline, which has 29 employees, grew 1,452.5 percent from 2005 to 2008, with revenue increasing from $320,000 to $5 million. It ranked #13 in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana area, #6 in the financial services category, and #10 in the Top 10 Women-run Companies division. Volusion Simi Valley Founded in 1999, Volusion develops shopping cart software that allows customers to build and manage their own online store or e-commerce capability. Customers can choose from a variety of design templates or have the company create one for them. It grew 884.5 percent, with revenue increasing from $1.6 million in 2005 to $15.8 million in 2008. The company, which has 80 employees, ranked #16 in the overall software category.