Forbes Tabs Bentonville Company Among Americas Most Promising

by Paul Gatling ([email protected]) 160 views 

A Bentonville company has been included in a Top 25 list of America’s Most Promising Companies for 2014.

Forbes magazine announced its third-annual list Tuesday, and coming in at No. 18 is social shopper marketing firm Collective Bias.

The list is a ranking of high-growth, privately held companies with annual revenue of less than $250 million.

“The final assessment is based on growth (both in sales and hiring), quality of management team and investors, margins, market size and key partnerships,” writes Forbes reporter J.J. Caloa. “Producing a ranking in the opaque world of privately-held companies is never easy. But we’re confident that many of these are the IPOs and billion-dollar acquisitions of tomorrow.”

As of this month, Collective Bias, according to Forbes, has 87 employees with annual revenue of $16 million.

The company, founded in 2009 by Amy Callahan and John Andrews, focuses its efforts on shopper marketing through social media.

Forbes summarizes the company like this: “Coordinates freelance bloggers to publish content for branded marketing campaigns. Nestle used the company to enlist 110 bloggers to publicize Nestlé’s ice cream social events at Walmart last year. Starbucks, Sears and Walgreens are also customers. The company has raised $10.5 million in venture funding from Updata Partners and angel investors.”