Four Houston companies made Deloitte’s 2023 Technology Fast 500 list, and Direct Digital Holdings Inc. was the highest-ranking representative from the Bayou City, just over a year after going public.
Direct Digital Holdings (Nasdaq: DRCT) ranked No. 108 on Deloitte’s list, with revenue growth of 1,325% from 2019 to 2022. The digital advertising company was ranked sixth highest out of all 30 Texas companies on the list and is the seventh highest ranked company in the digital content, media and entertainment industry.
Direct Digital Holdings went public in February 2022, which was a tumultuous time for the advertising industry due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to CEO Mark D. Walker. The company targets small and mid-sized businesses looking for advertising, as well as multicultural publishers, which Walker described as an untapped market in the company’s 2022 full-year earnings call.
“This is a proud moment for Direct Digital Holdings that highlights our commitment to excellence, the strength of our business model, and the hard work of our dedicated teams across our operating companies Huddled Masses, Colossus SSP, and Orange 142," Walker said in an emailed statement to Houston Inno.
The other Houston representatives on Deloitte's list included software-as-a-service company Liongard Inc., natural gas scheduling company NatGasHub.com, and P97 Networks LLC, which offers customer services for electric vehicle charging stations and gas stations. Liongard ranked No. 208, NatGasHub ranked No. 356, and P97 ranked No. 506 on the Deloitte list.
All four companies have won recognition from the Houston Business Journal in recent years. Walker was honored at the 2023 Most Admired CEO Awards, and the company was recognized at the 2023 Diversity in Business Awards in the Outstanding Diverse Organizations category. Direct Digital’s growth made it Houston’s third-largest middle market company by two-year revenue growth in 2023.
Meanwhile, Liongard and P97 Networks were honored at the 2023 Fast 50 awards, celebrating the fastest-growing private companies in the Bayou City. They took the No. 11 and No. 20 spots on the 2023 Fast 50 List, respectively. Liongard reported revenue growth of 189.24% between fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2022, while P97's revenue grew 135.33% during that time.
Liongard’s revenue growth earned the company the No. 1 spot in the HBJ's 2020 and 2021 Fast 100 awards. The company was No. 4 on the 2022 Fast 100 List with revenue growth of 490.54% from 2019 to 2021.
In 2023, Liongard also hired a new CEO, Michelle Accardi, who replaced co-founder Joe Alapat.
NatGasHub, which delivers software connecting natural gas pipelines to improve gas transportation efficiency, was honored at the HBJ’s inaugural Innovation Awards in 2019.
Houston saw a significant jump in representation on Deloitte's Fast 500 list compared to 2022, when only one Houston-based company — software company Onit, another 2023 Fast 50 winner — made the cut.
“Houston is planting seeds for future innovation, and the companies named to this year’s list confirm our city’s value proposition as an innovative community,” Amy Chronis, Deloitte LLP’s Houston managing partner, said in an emailed statement. “We look forward to this growth (continuing) in the future and extend our congratulations to this year’s Houston winners.”
Previous Houston-based honorees on Deloitte's Fast 500 list include Graylog Inc., a software company that relocated from Germany to the Houston area in 2015. Graylog recently closed a $39 million funding round led by California-based Silver Lake Waterman, Piper Sandler Merchant Banking and Harbert Growth Partners.
