Top 25 Under Five
Mindshare Technologies makes List for Third year in a row
The Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum (UVEF) announced the winners of its 2008 "Top 25 Under Five" Awards, spotlighting outstanding Utah entrepreneurs from across the state. The top 25 companies under five years old are judged based on revenue growth and job creation.
The event, held at Noah's in Lindon, received 109 RSVPs and hosted 210 individuals for a buffet lunch and award ceremony. Event coordinators were both pleasantly surprised and a little anxious over the standing room-only attendance, even though food ran a little low near the end of the line.
The event was sponsored by InnoVentures Capital Partners, Silicon Slopes and Omniture.Thanks to all for a nicely-done event. The food was good, and the opportunities to network with local entrepreneurs was outstanding. I recognized some of the top brass from many of our local leading companies, making the event a great way to rub shoulders with the who's who of Utah Valley.
The awards ceremony was MC'd by Steve Grizzle, who opened with comments regarding the humble beginnings of many of the winning companies. "Many of these companies failed to meet payroll at least once along the way to their success' he said. I found this a very inspiring opening that was only fortified when the final top five each had an opportunity to speak for a moment. Each provided an encouraging story of their entrepreneurial struggle to achieve success.
Among the five, I gleaned the following few thoughts:
Number four winner Seastone Consumer Packaging related an inspirational story recalling an initial experience when a large client requested a bid for a large order with demands that the price be kept to one cent per piece and a deadline of one day. The team worked all night and could only find the item for three cents. 'I'm no mathematician", he said, "but I knew we would loose money if we bought for three and sold for one." Raising laughter from the audience, he said "We took the job anyway." At great risk, the team was able to research their resources and found the item for less than half a penny. The job turned a million dollar profit and launched the company toward success. 'Taking risk' was cited as a component of their success.
Skullcandy, who took the number three award, recalled their struggle through hard times and indicated that perseverance was key to their rise as the fastest growing consumer electronics company in the world. "The worst was when the sherrif showed up to deliver an eviction notice; we paid the factory two times in a row, but hadn't paid the rent for three times in a row." Every entrprenuer in the room seemed to nod in understanding.
Control4, who grabbed second place, shared their commitment to the Utah Valley community and making hard decisions to maintain their support. "Our investors said that if we wouldn't move to the bay area that we couldn't have their money. We told them that if we had to move, we didn't need their money." It looks like their integrety paid off.
Finally, I had a chance to catch up with David Elkington of Inside Sales, who were awarded number eleven. We laughed as he recalled that things have not always been rosey; 'My neighbors thought I had a great job" he said, "they had no idea there were times when we were barely hanging on."
I came to realize that there has been a lot of blood, sweat, and tears poured into these successful companies. They are all truly inspiring for new companies facing similar trials and tribulations. It's nice to learn that the big boys have experienced what I am going through, and it gives me hope that it can be worth the price.
Shauna Theobold, UVEF 2008 Chair, summed it up nicely saying "These Top 25 winners have demonstrated excellence in their fields and provide the brightest of prospects for the future growth of Utah business, This group represents the spirit of entrepreneurship and sets the mark by which others will be measured."
UVEF's Top 25 Under Five Awards is in it's ninth year, having recognized more than 175 entrepreneurs and companies.
And the winners are…
1 – Agel Enterprises, LLC
2 – Control4
3 – Skullcandy
4 – Seastone Consumer Products Group
- Mindshare's business monitoring survey tools gather continuous real-time threads of customer feedback that can be immediately transformed into actionable intelligence.
- The solution is affordable, yet dynamic and customizable, to flex with a company's needs, allowing businesses to build strong enterprise feedback management and monitoring processes.
- In May of 2008, Mindshare completed its 20 millionth customer survey. They have grown revenue over 8 times in 3 years.
- www.mshare.net
6 – Sunrise Publishing Group, Inc. (DBA Echo Pages)
7 – Aribex, Inc.
8 – Cymphonix Corporation
9 – Alianza
10 – Vested Group (tied for #10 with Navigator Business Solutions)
10 – Navigator Business Solutions (tied for #10 with Navigator Business Solutions)
11 – InsideSales.com, Inc.
12 – Procerus Technologies
13 – OrangeSoda Inc.
14 – Experience Dental Studio (tied for #14 with Hunter Composites, LLC)
14 – Hunter Composites, LLC (tied for #14 with Experience Dental Studio)
15 – Q90 Corporation
16 – Snapp Conner PR
17 – Rockwell, Inc.
18 – Ad Hoc Electronics
19 – FundingUniverse, Inc.
20 – LineaGen, Inc.
21 – Renasis, LLC
22 – Kaufman Enterprise Solutions
23 – Ciralight
24 – Five Star Painting
25 – Rocketship
Congratulations to each of these companies for doing a fantastic job! Good luck to those of you who are in the running for next year. You can learn more about the Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum (UVEF) by visiting the website at http://www.uvef.net/
The UVEF is a non-profit support group working to share knowledge and experience. As a nonprofit organization founded in 1989, the UVEF promotes the development and growth of entrepreneurial ventures by providing networking opportunities, promoting recognition of business accomplishments and contributions, sharing business experiences, and by encouraging free enterprise
Mindshare Technologies' business monitoring tools help companies improve operational excellence and minimize customer attrition through personal customer involvement. Mindshare's proprietary survey technology captures the voice of the customer in real-time and immediately transforms it into actionable intelligence through powerful and incisive enterprise reporting. With Mindshare, companies can determine the type of information they collect, who can access it, and how it's reported. As a hosted system, Mindshare is affordable and flexible, with surveys and reports tailored to fit individual needs. The reports are web-accessible 24/7 or by timed email delivery. Mindshare serves more than 25 different industries including travel, hospitality, restaurant, financial, salon, automotive, and retail. Clients range from small regional chains to large multinational corporations. For information, visit www.mshare.net.
