The Women Presidents' Organization and
American Express Name 50 Fastest-Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies
at Ceremony in Baltimore
The Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), in partnership with
American Express (NYSE:AXP), today released the ninth annual
ranking of the 50 Fastest-Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies. The 50
Fastest generated a combined $4.96 billion in 2015 revenues (mean
of $99.2 million) and collectively employed 44,744 in 2015 (mean of
1,028). The top three honorees are:
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- S'well, a New York City-based
beverage bottle manufacturer, is the fastest growing
women-owned business and newcomer to this year’s ranking. Over the
past two years, the firm’s revenue ($2,517,155 in 2013 to
$47,245,079 in 2015) and employment (3 employees in 2013 to 40 in
2015) skyrocketed. Sarah Kauss, chief executive officer, who owns
100% of the firm, attributes business success to a sheer dedication
to her company, hard work and belief in the product and the
brand.
- Pinnacle Group, an IT workforce
solutions firm based in Dallas, moves down to #2 from holding
the top spot in 2015. Nina Vaca, president and chief executive
officer, saw her 20-year-old company break the billion dollar
barrier ($1,159,815,799 in 2015, up from $201,493,192 in 2013). The
entrepreneur, who still owns 100% of the firm she founded at age 24
with $300 of startup capital, accredits “putting people first” as
her number one strategy for her company’s Texas-sized growth.
- Fitness studio franchise
Orangetheory Fitness, another newcomer to the list, is the
third fastest-growing company. The six-year-old Fort Lauderdale,
FL-based firm, led by Ellen Latham, saw its revenue escalate from
$3,147,199 in 2013 to $47,537,711 in 2015 and added 56 employees
during that time span.
“This year’s 50 Fastest list represents our most diverse ranking
ever, with an immense geographic reach covering 20 states and one
international winner in Turkey, as well as industries ranging from
energy efficiency services to cybersecurity and engineering,” said
Marsha Firestone, Ph. D., president and founder of the WPO. “We are
once again so very pleased to partner with American Express in
paying tribute to these influential women and recognizing the vital
role that women-owned/led companies have in boosting the economy
and enhancing overall job growth.”
“According to our recent State of Women-Owned Businesses report,
the number of women-owned firms grew at a rate of five times faster
than the national average since the recession,” said Susan Sobbott,
president, Global Commercial Payments, American Express. “We are
thrilled to showcase the successes of these fifty honorees in order
to inspire other women to build high-growth businesses.”
Each of the honored business owners will be offered a
congratulatory prize from American Express.
Applicants do not have to be WPO members. All eligible companies
were ranked according to a sales growth formula that combines
percentage and absolute growth. From this list, the 50 Fastest were
selected. To be qualified for the ranking, businesses are required
to be privately held, woman-owned/led companies and have reached
revenue of at least $500,000 by the first week of 2011 and $2
million in 2015.
More about the 2016 50 Fastest:
- Average Age: 49
- CEOs that founded the business:
92%
- Listed companies that do business
globally: 44%
- Provide health insurance: 92%
- Plan to continue to grow their company:
90%
- State hiring the best talent as their
biggest business challenge: 44%
All 50 companies will be honored at a special event hosted by
American Express at the 2016 WPO Annual Conference in Baltimore,
Maryland on Friday, April 8, 2016. The dinner and awards ceremony
will take place from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Baltimore Marriott
Waterfront.
Each attendee of the WPO conference will receive a new handbook,
50 Fastest Women-Owned/Led Companies Guide to Growth, sponsored by
American Express. It includes past honorees’ tips to achieve rapid
company growth and focuses on five areas that change significantly
when a business scales: HR, branding, financing, sales, and
innovation.
The 2016 50 Fastest-Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies
Include:
Entrepreneur Name
Company Name City,
State/Province/Country 1 Sarah Kauss
S'well New York, NY 2 Nina Vaca
Pinnacle Group Dallas, TX 3
Ellen Latham Orangetheory Fitness
Fort Lauderdale, FL 4 Dr. Rebecca Thomley
Morning Star Financial Services Golden
Valley, MN 5 Kristi Alford E2 Optics
Englewood, CO 6 Britnie Turner Founder
Aerial Development Group Nashville, TN
7 Therese Tucker BlackLine
Woodland Hills, CA 8 Kristina Roth
Matisia Consultants Seattle, WA 9
Shelly Sun BrightStar Franchising LLC
Gurnee, IL 10 Lacy Starling
Legion Logistics, LLC Florence, KY 11
Kay Ivie Ivie & Associates, Inc.
Flower Mound, TX 12 Claudia Mirza
Akorbi Plano, TX 13 Zeynep Erkunt
Armagan Erkunt Tractor Industries, Inc.
Ankara, Turkey 14 Staci L. Redmon
Strategy and Management Services, Inc. Springfield,
VA 15 Liz Elting TransPerfect
New York, NY 16 Phyllis Newhouse
Xtreme Solutions Inc. Atlanta, GA 17
Victoria L. Vasques Tribal Tech, LLC
Alexandria, VA 18 Rebecca Cenni Atrium
Staffing New York, NY 19 Stephanie
Point Point 2 Point Global Security, Inc.
Addison, TX 20 Jamila Stanford
NuGate Group, LLC San Jose, CA 21 Ronia
Kruse OpTech, LLC Troy, MI 22
Kara Trott Quantum Health
Columbus, OH 23 Michelle Baker Swoon
Group LLC Chicago, IL 24 Denise Legg
MegaCorp Logistics Wilmington, NC 25
Christina Seelye Maximum Games
Walnut Creek, CA 26 Nancy Stango
Blink Reaction dba FFW Princeton, NJ 27
Paloma Bilson Protea Group International
North Hollywood, CA 28 Veronica Edwards
InGenesis, Inc. San Antonio, TX 29
Diane Astley Xclusive Staffing
Westminster, CO 30 Shavila Singh Zero
Waste Solutions, Inc. Concord, CA 31
Dee Hays Excellence Engineering, LLC
Tulsa, OK 32 Molly Gimmel Design To
Delivery Inc. Bethesda, MD 33 Britt
Whitfield The Revel Group Chicago, IL
34 Kathy Benson ORI
Herndon, VA 35 Pamela O'Rourke ICON
Information Consultants, LP Houston, TX 36
Lily Sarafan Home Care Assistance
Palo Alto, CA 37 Marilyn Grabowski
Atlantic Infra Wall, NJ 38 Tana
Greene The Greene Group Davidson, NC 39
Anita Emoff Boost Technologies dba
Boost Rewards Dayton, OH 40 Anjali
"Ann" Ramakumaran Ampcus Inc.
Chantilly, VA 41 Mary Kariotis Merrimak
Capital Company Novato, CA 42 Susan
Frech Social Media Link New York, NY 43
Cordia Harrington The Bakery Cos.
Nashville TN 44 Amy Dresser
J Curve Atlanta, GA 45 Mary
Ellen Franz Imagine Technology Group
Chandler, AZ 46 Natalie Davis-Runyan
Anserteam Workforce Solutions Dallas, TX 47
Carla Walker-Miller Walker-Miller Energy
Services Detroit, MI 48 Heather
Sanderson Overture Promotions Vernon
Hills, IL 49 Lenora Payne Technology
Group Solutions, LLC Lenexa, KS 50
Debbie James Vivere Health, LLC
Franklin, TN
About the Women Presidents’
Organization (WPO)
The WPO is the ultimate affiliation for successful women
entrepreneurs worldwide. In monthly meetings across the world,
women from diverse industries invest time and energy in themselves
and their businesses to drive their corporations to the next level.
Local WPO chapters are coordinated by a professional facilitator
and meet monthly to share business expertise and experience in a
confidential setting. For more information, call 212-688-4114 or
visit www.womenpresidentsorg.com. Follow WPO on Twitter
(@womenpresidents) and like us on Facebook.
About American Express Global
Commercial Payments
Through its Global Corporate Payments division, American Express
offers a suite of B2B and T&E payment solutions that help
organizations streamline processes and transform them into
opportunities for savings, control and efficiency. American Express
can help your organization increase working capital flexibility and
strengthen relationships with suppliers. For more information,
visit business.americanexpress.com/us/ and
linkedin.com/company/american-express-global-corporate-payments.
About American Express
American Express is a global services company, providing
customers with access to products, insights and experiences that
enrich lives and build business success. Learn more
at americanexpress.com and connect with us
on facebook.com/americanexpress,
foursquare.com/americanexpress, linkedin.com/company/american-express,
twitter.com/americanexpress,
and youtube.com/americanexpress.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160408005081/en/
M BoothAlex Della Rocca, 212-539-3203alexd@mbooth.comorAmerican
ExpressMelissa Filipek,
917-514-4693melissa.j.filipek@aexp.comorWomen Presidents’
OrganizationSusan Johnson,
917-601-5778Sjohnson@womenpresidentsorg.com
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