Atlanta company ranks top 10 in most competitive year for Deloitte's Technology Fast 500

One Atlanta startup eked out a spot in the top 10 of Deloitte’s North America 2021 Technology Fast 500 Rankings during its most competitive year.  

Banyan Software, which acquires and grows enterprise software businesses, has a 18,309% three-year growth rate and ranks No. 10, according to the list. The company is dual based in Atlanta and Toronto and also ranked highest locally in the Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America list.  

Twenty-two Georgia tech companies made the list, most of which are based in metro Atlanta.  

Those rankings are consistent with how Atlanta has performed in the past few years. That consistency is a win in a year with the highest growth rates in recent memory, said Robert Kerr, a Deloitte executive who leads the Fast 500 program locally.  

The lowest growth percentage this year was about 50% higher than the lowest last year, Kerr said. 

"We held proportionately with other markets,” Kerr said.  

Deloitte’s annual list recognizes the public and private technology companies that have the highest percentage fiscal-year growth over a three-year period. Revenue must be at least $50,000 in 2017 to be eligible, according to its website. 

The competitiveness of the year reflects the explosion in the tech and startup ecosystem across the nation, including in Atlanta. Valuations are at historic highs. Massive amounts of dollars are flowing into venture capital firms and reaching startups. More than $239 billion was invested in the first three quarters of 2021, according to the PitchBook-National Venture Capital Association Venture Monitor report.  

Atlanta is reaping those benefits. Georgia startups raised almost $3 billion in 2021, smashing previous records. It has more $1 billion companies than ever before, and more early-stage venture capital funds. Experts say a lack of local capital is still the main obstacle holding Atlanta back as an innovation hub.  

The city’s low cost of living, tech talent pool and diversity of industries and people are continuing to build a strong technology ecosystem that’s gaining national attention. Successful entrepreneurs are creating resources for early startups, and Georgia Tech’s Tech Square innovation district is bringing in huge tech corporations. 

Silicon Valley is still home to the most winners, followed by metro New York, New England and Los Angeles, according to the list. The Southeast had less than 5% of companies on the list, showing the region still has a lot of growing room to compete with other established innovation hubs.  

The software industry dominated 73% of the list. That trend could bode well for Atlanta, which has a strong enterprise software market, Kerr said.  

Last year, two Atlanta startups, digital privacy company OneTrust and bus marketplace CharterUp, made the top 10 list. In all, 24 local companies made the full list.

This year includes many repeat winners known locally for high growth and high valuations, including newly minted unicorns FullStory, Calendly and Salesloft. 

Companies must apply to be on the list, and those applications and public company database research determine the growth rate.  

Here are the Georgia companies that made the list and their growth rates: