Eight Arkansas Firms, Four from NWA, Make Inc. 5000

New York-based Inc. magazine has released its annual list of the 5,000 fastest-growing companies in the country, and it includes eight Arkansas businesses, half of which are based in Northwest Arkansas.

Little Rock data and digital marketing firm Team SI, whose roster of clients includes J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. of Lowell, is the fastest-growing company in the state, according to the 2016 Inc. 5000, which was released Aug. 17.

Rankings are based on how fast a company’s revenue grew in a three-year period. To qualify for the 2016 list, a company must have generated at least $100,000 in revenue in 2012 and more than $2 million in 2015.

Team SI, ranked on the list for the second consecutive year, is ranked No. 648 with revenue growth of 602 percent in the past three years, with $5.9 million in revenue in 2015.

Second among Arkansas-based companies is shopper marketing agency Collective Bias of Rogers, which is ranked No. 977. The company experienced revenue growth of 409 percent in the past three years, with $33.7 million in revenue in 2015.

Other Northwest Arkansas companies on the list are Lowell-based Central Research Inc. (No. 1,558), B-Unlimited Inc. (No. 1,839) and capSpire Inc. (No. 1,855), both of Fayetteville.

Central Research, co-founded in 1999 by Johnny Dillard and his son, Scott Dillard, provides records management, research, debt collection and data and IT services to roughly 13 different federal agencies and organizations.

B-Unlimited was launched in 1994 by founder Ben Clark and provides graphic design studio and print services, specializing in custom Greek fraternity/sorority apparel and promotional products.

CapSpire, founded in 2009 by Mike Scharf and Jeff Hardcastle, is a global consulting company that develops software for the commodity trading risk management sector of the energy industry.

The average company on the Inc. 5000 achieved a three-year growth of 433 percent. The Inc. 5000’s aggregate revenue is $200 billion.