This year, 126 Austin-area businesses made the Inc. 5000 list of companies with the fastest-growing revenue over a three-year period.
That's nine less than last year. But what stands out in 2023 is that one of the newest companies to plant roots in Austin ranks No. 2 overall. That's a lot more prominent spot than Austin's top-ranked company last year, which was AdOutreach, ranked at No. 60.
CharterUp LLC, a charter bus startup that has roots in Atlanta and earlier this year opened its headquarters in Austin, nabbed the silver medal spot with an astounding 111,130% revenue growth from 2019 to 2022. Last year, AdOutreach reported 6,052% revenue growth.
One might wonder how on Earth you achieve that insane level of growth. To start, it's important to know that companies on the Inc. 5000 list must have been founded and generating revenue as of the end of March 2019. And they must have had at least $100,000 in revenue in 2019 and at least $2 million in 2022.
Still, 111,130% growth? For CharterUp, the key seems to be in rapid expansion to new markets.
The company operates in roughly 30 cities, including Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and Plano. In March, it expanded its services to New York City, adding more than 220 business through partnerships with roughly 30 local charter operators. It now works with more than 600 operators with a nationwide fleet of over 4,000 vehicles.
The company, founded in Atlanta in 2018 and led by founder and CEO Armir Harris, has a two-sided business.
On one side, it has a chartering platform and online marketplace that customers use to book trips. On the other, the company sells its software to bus companies for their own use. It has more than 600 bus services using the software, which allows on-demand access to available charters, ratings, safety records and vehicle tracking.
Earlier this year, the company said it had a revenue run rate of more than $150 million. It was a remarkable figure given that the company only raised its first venture funding round, a $60 million round led by Austin's Tritium Partners, in October 2022.
"We have experienced a 283% YoY increase in demand for our corporate shuttle program as more companies discover the efficiency our platform delivers – both in employee productivity and in reduced carbon emissions," the company stated Aug. 15.
CharterUp came in second place to Nashville-based CareBridge, a health care management company, that reported 157,144% growth over the three-year period.
Here's a look at the other Austin-area companies that ranked in the top 500 of this year's Inc. 5000 list, along with their ranking on the overall list and the percentage revenue growth they reported for the 2019 to 2022 timeframe.
No. 19 Publishing.com, 16,497%
No. 90 Norwood, 5,189%
No. 112 CloudServus, 4,215%
No. 180 LeasePoint Funding Group, 2,920%
No. 192 Backd, 2,819%
No. 193 CertifID, 2,807%
No. 210 Trilogy Senior Living, 2,657%
No. 238 Howdy.com, 2,322%
No. 306 Atmosphere, 1,865%
No. 307 Webforce, 1,862%
No. 319 Newron Tech, 1,796%
No. 366 Serenity Kids, 1,577%
No. 404 ElectroNeek, 1,443%
No. 425 Fat Earth Media, 1,358%
No. 431 Datad Solutions, 1,344%
No. 481 Gembah, 1,214%
