The pandemic pulled the plug on some businesses and propelled others to meteoric growth.
While Covid isn't done with us yet, this year's Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies, as measured by percentage revenue growth from 2018 to 2021, captures the first couple years of the pandemic and gives at least a glimpse of some of the startups that found a way to prosper despite all those disruptions to daily life.
There are fairly obvious examples, such as the rapid growth of Austin-based Card My Yard, which specializes in large outdoor decorations that became popular for graduations, birthdays and other events while many people were still social distancing.
That company, founded in 2014 by two moms, Amy Arnold and Jessica Stanley, was on the ascendance well before the pandemic. Then it saw its revenue surge more than 670% from 2019 to 2021. Meanwhile, it generated $7.2 million last year, up from about $6 million in 2020 and $927,000 in 2019. It ranked third on the Austin Business Journal's latest list of the fastest-growing businesses in Central Texas.
It ranks No. 587 on this year's Inc. 5000 list with 1,078% revenue growth from 2018 to 2021.
Overall, 135 Austin-area companies made the list. Last year, 111 local companies were featured.
The highest ranking Austin company was AdOutreach, which specializes in YouTube ads, another segment that saw a boost in traffic as people stayed at home and soaked up videos. It logged 6,052% growth over the past three years.
To qualify for Inc.'s list, companies have to be based in the United States and have at generated at least $100,000 in revenue in 2018 and at least $2 million in 2021.
At No. 62 overall, Austin website building platform Webforce was the second-fastest growing company locally with 6,009% growth, followed by Homestead Brands, a bootstrapped company that acquires and operates e-commerce brands, which had 3,839% growth and ranked No. 117.
For many companies, being featured on the Inc. 5000 list is both a point of validation and an opportunity to attract investors, customers and partners.
Boostlingo, which ranked No. 312 overall and seventh in the Austin area, was one of the companies that published an announcement about its ranking, noting that it grew from a small closet in 2016 to a company with a global workforce.
"At our core, we are a technology company using our software to expand language access and improve communication globally," CEO and co-founder Bryan Forrester stated. "Our high ranking in the software category reflects our leadership as a technology provider helping to accelerate the global conversation around accessible, affordable interpretation for all language speakers in the spaces they need it most."
Below, check out the Austin-area companies in the top 500 of the 2022 Inc. 5000. The list includes ranking, company name and reported revenue growth from 2018 to 2021:
No. 60 AdOutreach, 6,052%
No. 62 Webforce, 6,009%
No. 117 Homstead Brands, 3,839%
No. 168 Digital Thrive, 3,056%
No. 201 Everly Health, 2,643%
No. 285 Element 26, 1,948%
No. 312 Boostlingo, 1,820%
No. 317 Cover Desk, 1,800%
No. 325 Canopy Management, 1,758%
No. 355 OJO Labs, 1,650%
No. 358 Blakeley Designs, 1,634%
No. 411 Restore Hyper Wellness, 1,483%
No. 499 Action Behavior Centers, 1,249%
