CED, a private, nonprofit organization that promotes entrepreneurial efforts in North Carolina, has selected its inaugural class of North Carolina Companies to Watch, growth-stage entrepreneurial companies that demonstrate high performance in the marketplace, exhibit innovative products or display other unique qualities that make them “worth watching.”
From 2006 through 2009, these companies collectively generated $334 million in revenue and added 443 employees (both in North Carolina and out of state), reflecting a 232 percent increase in revenue and 176 percent increase in jobs for the four-year period. That translates into a 51 percent annual revenue growth and 41 percent annual growth in employees.
North Carolina Companies to Watch is presented in partnership with the Edward Lowe Foundation and is made possible through the support of title sponsors Cherry Bekaert & Holland and Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton. This new program, which will become an annual event, recognizes the impact that growth-stage, or second-stage, entrepreneurial companies make on the marketplace and on the economy. This year’s 25 winners will be honored at an awards ceremony September 23rd at the Raleigh Marriott City Center.
The 2010 “North Carolina Companies to Watch” are:
3tailer – www.3tailer.com (Charlotte)
Affinergy, Inc. – www.affinergy.com (Research Triangle Park)
BlueStripe Software, Inc. – bluestripe.com (Morrisville)
Bronto Software – www.bronto.com (Durham)
Clinipace Worldwide – www.clinipace.com (Morrisville)
Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems, Inc. -- www.ez-recovery.com (Raleigh)
DataChambers, LLC – www.datachambers.com (Winston-Salem)
Digitalsmiths – www.digitalsmiths.com (Research Triangle Park)
Entex Technologies Inc. – www.entexinc.com (Chapel Hill)
goodmortgage.com – goodmortgage.com (Charlotte)
Inlet Technologies – www.inlethd.com (Raleigh)
Kyma Technologies, Inc. – www.kymatech.com (Raleigh)
Liquidia Technologies – www.liquidia.com (Durham)
Piedmont Pharmaceuticals, LLC – www.piedmontpharma.com (Greensboro)
PocketGear, Inc. – www.pocketgear.com (Durham)
SciMetrika, LLC – www.scimetrika.com (Durham)
Semprius, Inc. – www.semprius.com (Durham)
ShareFile – www.sharefile.com (Raleigh)
ShopBot Tools – www.shopbottools.com (Durham)
The Select Group – www.selectgroup-rtp.com (Raleigh)
Themis Group – www.themis.com (Durham)
TheraSim, Inc. – www.therasim.com (Durham)
TransEnterix, Inc. – www.transenterix.com (Morrisville)
Tranzyme Pharma – www.tranzyme.com (Durham)
Yap – yapme.com (Charlotte)
“These companies exemplify the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit that lead to success in the marketplace and in the future,” said CED President Joan Siefert Rose. She noted that these companies expect continued growth in 2010, with a 98 percent revenue increase and 49 percent growth in employees (both in North Carolina and out of state) compared to 2009. “CED is proud to recognize the accomplishments of all our 25 winners and their significant contributions to our state’s economy,” Rose said.
The North Carolina Companies to Watch were selected from an initial pool of 190 nominees from across North Carolina. They are privately held companies of between 6-99 employees and $1 million to $50 million in annual revenue or funds raised from grants, investors or partnerships. The winners represent the geographic regions of the state as well as different sectors of the economy.
The winning companies also represent a powerful economic engine for North Carolina. During 2005-2007, there were more than 47,000 second-stage companies in the state, according to YourEconomy.org, an online resource of the Edward Lowe Foundation. These companies employed more than one million workers, approximately 37.5 percent of the jobs created by companies headquartered in North Carolina.
“The second-stage sector consistently creates jobs, especially compared to larger counterparts” said Penny Lewandowski, Director of Entrepreneurship Development at the Edward Lowe Foundation. “What is remarkable about these companies is their capacity to do so despite challenging economic conditions,” said Lewandowski. “What’s more, they are the force behind the innovation and forward-thinking business practices that epitomize the entrepreneurial mindset of our country,” she added.
Additional sponsors for North Carolina Companies to Watch are Hosted Solutions, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Business Wire, Clean Design, Cisco, Hughes Pittman & Gupton, Forma Design, Financial Directions, First Citizens Bank, Monaghan Group, First Bank, Ernst & Young, Capitol Broadcasting Corporation, The Research Triangle Park, v4 Production Group and Progress Energy. Other partner organizations include: Business Innovation & Growth (BIG), the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, the North Carolina Board of Science and Technology, the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, the North Carolina Technology Association (NCTA) and the Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC).
ABOUT CED:
CED (formerly The Council for Entrepreneurial Development) is a private, nonprofit organization founded in 1984 to identify, enable and promote high-growth, high-impact companies and accelerate the region’s entrepreneurial culture. Headquartered in Research Triangle Park, CED is the oldest and largest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation, with more than 5,500 active members. CED provides know-how, networking, mentoring and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs through annual conferences, programs and web-based resources. CED has helped entrepreneurs, investors, service partners, researchers and public policy makers in diverse emerging industries and at all stages of development – from high-tech, production-based organizations to service companies, from one-person start-ups to 1000-person businesses. Visit www.cednc.org for more information.
About the Edward Lowe Foundation:
Established in 1985, the Edward Lowe Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports entrepreneurship through research, recognition and educational programs, which are delivered through entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs). The foundation focuses on second-stage companies — those that have moved beyond the startup phase and seek significant, steady growth. The foundation also encourages economic gardening, an entrepreneur-centered strategy providing balance to the traditional approach of business recruitment. Headquartered in Cassopolis, Michigan, the foundation was established by Edward and Darlene Lowe to "champion the entrepreneurial spirit." Visit www.edwardlowe.org for more information
About Companies to Watch:
Companies to Watch is a unique awards program that recognizes and celebrates the contribution, innovation and energy of diverse second-stage companies in a state or region. These companies work behind-the-scenes generating the bulk of new, sustainable jobs and are a powerful economic force underpinning the high quality of life most Americans enjoy. Created and managed by the Edward Lowe Foundation, Companies to Watch is one of the foundation's initiatives to celebrate the achievements of second-stage companies.