Dallas-based Embark is approaching $1 million in revenue at its Charlotte office, less than a year after launching it.
Embark, a financial consulting and advisory services firm, logged $47.7 million in revenue in 2021 — a 114% year-over-year jump. This past year, it also more than doubled its headcount to 300 people and opened new offices here and in Tampa Bay, Florida.
"When they find a market where it makes sense to enter and they have the right people lined up, then they're going to very quickly and resolutely enter that market and put a lot of weight behind trying to succeed in that market," said Jon Wilkinson, Charlotte market president for Embark.
Embark has secured a handful of local clients, skewed more toward larger public companies, he said. It primarily targets middle-market companies with annual revenue between $250 million and $750 million. The firm recently moved into a new 500-square-foot office at Spaces on Tremont Avenue in South End.
Wilkinson said the Charlotte office's revenue is now only limited by how many people there are on staff. He and Kate Sassi, vice president of business development, have been able to leverage their existing networks to make connections.
Embark was founded in 2010 as an alternative to the big accounting companies. Many employees come from the Big Four firms looking for a change. Embark looks for growing companies facing big changes, such as a relocation, a high turnover rate, a pending acquisition or an initial public offering, that requires outside help.
Wilkinson sees a lot of business opportunities in the M&A environment. It can also help as companies compete to hire financial talent. The wave of corporate relocations to Charlotte provides additional opportunities to help those businesses settle into the market, he said.
The firm is eyeing Atlanta, Nashville, Tennessee, and Miami for future expansion, Wilkinson noted.
"We're hoping to double our revenues again this year," Wilkinson said. "We want to grow. We want to grow fast, but what's really important to us is that we keep our culture. ... We need to maintain what makes Embark, right, because a lot of that is the reason for our growth."
Embark's culture centers on having fun, being challenged and trying new things. There is also an emphasis on taking care of employees. In late 2021, Embark offered $10,000 to any employee wanting to quit instead of buying into the culture. Four employees out of 300 took that offer. The firm then increased consultants' compensation by 25% to 50% in January.
It issues a Whole Human Development stipend of $150 per month for employees to use on wellness-related activities, such as exercise, creative outlets and therapy, among other options.
The Charlotte office is up to nine employees, Wilkinson said, with a 10th getting started in Raleigh. He hopes to reach 30 employees by the end of the year.
