Direct Clicks, Wild State Cider ranked among Inc. Midwest's fast-growing companies

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Inc. this week revealed its ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the Midwest. Out of 172 companies, 19 were from Minnesota. 

Together, the Minnesota companies had a median growth of 113% and fueled 452 jobs added to the economy. Eight have received the annual recognition before, and four were named in last year's Midwest regionals. 

The Inc. Regionals listing is an extension of the media company's annual Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies.

To compile the latest ranking, Inc. magazine gathered percentages of revenue growth from 2020 to 2022. To qualify, independent companies must be privately held and for-profit. They must also have a minimum revenue requirement of $100,000 for 2020 and $1 million for 2022. 

Minnesota’s highest-ranking company was Woodbury-based advertising firm Direct Clicks, which ranked No. 36 and experienced a two-year revenue growth of 328%. The firm was founded in 2018 by CEO Matt Jonza, who was an insurance agent who saw a lot of success through digital advertising. After helping other agents do their own marketing through consulting, he decided to open his own firm. Direct Clicks now has 18 employees and in 2023, Direct Clicks further grew its revenue by 70%, as shared by the firm’s president, Tim O’Keefe. 

The second company with the highest growth was Duluth-based cider brewery Wild State Cider, which experienced a 296% increase in revenue. Founded in 2019 by two friends, Wild State Cider has become the second largest cider producer in Minnesota, according to Business Journal research. The company says it packaged over 195,000 gallons of cider products in 2023, up from 184,000 a year prior. The brewery also scaled production while moving to a larger facility that allows for up to 500,000 annual gallons of cider, or 5.3 million cans.  

“I wish I could say that we had our master plan strategically laid out and executed it to perfection,” said Co-founder and CEO Adam Ruhland in an email. “But the truth is we have a really great product and a hard-working team of 30 behind it. We're still very small by comparison in this industry but we're motivated by the fact that there are a lot of future customers out there that just don't know us yet. Our expansion in early 2023 has given us a lot of runway, and we're optimistic about a strong year ahead.” 

The regional rankings is a precursor to the Inc. 5000 ranking in August; however, it allows for younger companies as it tracks revenue growth over two years rather than three. Last year, Minnesota had 81 companies in the Inc. 5000.

Here is the full list of the Minnesota companies, with their ranking, headquarters, industry and two-year revenue growth.