Two Fayetteville companies among 100 fastest-growing businesses in U.S.
by August 16, 2017 2:56 pm 13,424 views
Fayetteville apparel company Lauren James, co-founded in 2013 by Lauren Stokes, is the fastest-growing company in Arkansas and is No. 53 on the 36th annual Inc. 5000, a ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies.
New York-based Inc. magazine has released its annual list of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the country, and it includes two businesses based in Fayetteville that are among the top 100.
Retail business Lauren James Enterprises is the fastest-growing company in Arkansas and is No. 53 on the 36th annual Inc. 5000, a ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies.
According to Inc., tens of thousands of companies apply for Inc. 5000 status, but only a small fraction make the list. Rankings are based on how fast a company’s revenue grew in a three-year period. To qualify for the 2017 list, a company must have generated at least $100,000 in revenue in 2013 and more than $2 million in 2016.
The full list is available here.
Lauren James, an apparel company, was founded in 2013 by Lauren and Lance Stokes and had revenue of $13.2 million last year, according to Inc., a three-year increase of 6,010%. The company is also up to 100 employees and is the third-fastest-growing retail business in the U.S. on the Inc. list. In addition to its location on Dickson Street, Lauren James also has corporate stores in Texas in Plano and Southlake.
Lauren James is among 14 Arkansas companies to achieve Inc. 5000 status in 2017. They include Givington’s, a Fayetteville company that provides custom content services for authors, literary agents and publishers, including branded online stores and booking and logistics support for speaking events. The business was co-founded in 2012 by Thomas Addington and had revenue last year of $6.9 million, a three-year increase of 5,531%. That ranks the company at No. 61 on the list.
Third among Arkansas-based companies is Bourbon & Boots, a North Little Rock-based company that sells handcrafted kitchenware, gifts and clothing inspired by Southern living. With a three-year revenue growth of 1,624%, up to $3.2 million, the business ranked No. 269 on the list.
Rounding out the top five among Arkansas businesses are two more companies based in Northwest Arkansas — RevUnit of Bentonville (No. 584) and Limbird Real Estate Group of Rogers (No. 1,055).
RevUnit, a tech company specializing in products that increase productivity, learning communication and engagement within large companies, experienced revenue growth of 775% in the past three years, with $4.3 million in revenue in 2016.
Limbird experienced revenue growth of 402% in the past three years, with $3.5 million in revenue last year.
Other Arkansas companies on the Inc. 5000 list this year, with ranking and three-year revenue growth, are as follows:
- Overdrive Brands (Fayetteville); No. 1,089; 388.37%
- Travel Nurse Across America (North Little Rock); No. 1,529; 262.43%
- B-Unlimited (Fayetteville); No. 1,705; 229.45%
- capSpire Inc. (Fayetteville); No. 2,082; 176.65%
- Wilson-Bennett Technology (Cabot); No. 3,195; 102.05%
- BCS (Springdale); No. 3,496; 88.94%
- Kerusso (Berryville); No. 3,806; 77.24%
- El Dorado Glass (El Dorado); No. 3,811; 77.04%
- Advanced Cabling Systems (North Little Rock); No. 4,765; 46.99%
The Inc. list made its debut in 1981 as a ranking of the 100 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. The following year, it expanded to 500 companies and, in 2007, the Inc. 5000 was launched. Companies such as Microsoft, Zappos, Clif Bar, Intuit, Chobani, Oracle and many other well-known names gained early exposure as members of the Inc. 500.