Middle Tennessee's FAST15 (Nashville Post)

Published: Thursday July 14, 2011

Categories: In the News

Nashville Post’s Fast15 is our annual look at the companies to watch in Middle Tennessee. In past iterations, we’ve cast a wide net for this list — using broad criteria and editorial judgment to amass 50 companies of all ages and sizes from across the region. This year, in an attempt to focus on high-potential emerging businesses and bring some fresh entrepreneurial faces to the spotlight, we narrowed the list to just 15 companies and required that our honorees were founded in the 21st century.

As in years past, the Post’s editorial team considered revenue and employee growth, projected growth and other statistics in making selections, but we also placed new emphasis on ventures whose proven leaders or increasingly hot industries give them a greater likelihood of success. Several of the companies reflected in these pages applied to be considered for the list, while others were chosen by our staff based on awareness of a company’s achievements or potential.

The end result: Stories of companies across various industries that are enriching our local and regional economies, creating jobs and fueling the Mid-State’s entrepreneurial culture.

247Sports.com
Brentwood
Shannon Terry and Bobby Burton
CEO, President

The duo that built the wildly successful sports recruiting news site Rivals.com returned to the industry last summer with a new sports journalism venture, 247Sports.com. The company, built on a foundation of first-hand reporting, is quickly gathering readers for its websites that cover coaching, recruiting and other off-the-field collegiate sports action that keeps fans reading year-round. For a look inside this venture and the vision of its founders, see our cover story here.

Acadia Healthcare
Franklin
Joey Jacobs
Chairman & CEO

When Universal Health Services acquired Franklin-based Psychiatric Solutions last year, the local company’s management team was left without jobs — but also without non-compete agreements. And within months of that deal’s closing, the Joey Jacobs-led group was back in the game, filling the top leadership roles at then Atlanta-based, six-facility Acadia Healthcare with the help of a $20 million investment. They relocated the company to Franklin and promptly announced the acquisition of a 13-facility company in Texas. Then, just two months later, Acadia struck a deal to merge with a publicly traded Massachusetts-based company — a transaction that will rename the business Pioneer Behavioral Health, maintain its local headquarters and management team, and place the company’s shares on the NASDAQ stock market. For those keeping score, with the closure of the latter deal the company will have quadrupled its facility count and accumulated $325 million in annual revenues in less than a year.

CapStar Bank
Nashville
Claire Tucker
President & CEO

In retrospect, opening their doors during the summer of 2008 with almost $90 million in capital proved to be a boon to Tucker and her experienced team. The recession-induced turmoil at many other area banks allowed them to pick off frustrated or cast-off clients by the dozens. But that’s not been the only growth catalyst: Shrewd credit management has kept bad loans to an absolute minimum and talent recruited in the past year from PNC and Regions has helped sustain deposit and loan growth during the weak recovery. Total loans are up 55 percent from the spring of 2010, helping CapStar break into the black for the first time early this year with a $412,000 profit. Another sign of the local respect for Tucker’s team: CapStar was part of the lending syndicate that refinanced the Predators’ $75 million credit line in late 2010.

change:healthcare
Brentwood
Howard McLure
Chairman

Just as its brand name suggests, change:healthcare is in the business of altering the health care industry. The mid-stage startup has proprietary software that can analyze financial data gleaned from millions of HIPPA-compliant claims.  It gives them the ability to bring down costs on employee benefit plans without changing the design of those plans. It may not sound glamorous, but offering this level of transparency to employers and workers has attracted big clients and media buzz. Recent successes include a deal with Prism Services Group to deliver routine care and drug pricing information to about one-third of the medically insured in the U.S. Such successes have helped the company grow its workforce from eight to 23 employees in the last two years. The company expects to employ 55 by 2012. Most recently the company hired Howard McLure, former president of CVS/Caremark Pharmacy Services, as its next CEO.

Cumberland Consulting Group
Brentwood
Jim Lewis
CEO & Managing Partner

Cumberland Consulting launched in 2004 with an eye on helping hospitals with health care information technology needs. From the onset the company’s vision was far more comprehensive than that of a basic software consulting outfit. The founders, four former Ernst& Young executives, had already worked in the field with health care providers. They realized hospitals were crying out for more than single software solutions; they needed system integration and hands-on project management. The firm was profitable within a year and recently sales have skyrocketed. Revenue jumped from $8.9 million in 2009 to $18.1 million in 2010. They are anticipating sales to hit $27 million in 2011. With numbers like these, it’s not surprising the firm landed on the Inc. 5000 list of the country’s fastest growing two years in a row. Cumberland’s work force has also steadily increased, starting out at 11 after the first year in business and growing to 127 in 2011. The company is in hiring mode and expects 150 employees by the end of the year.

Edo Interactive
Nashville
Ed Braswell
CEO

Edo Interactive is a young company giving credence to the slogan “never underestimate the value of a good idea.” In this case, the idea is to use credit and debit cards as a marketing channel for retailers and brands. Edo’s lead product Facecard, is like a pre-paid MasterCard, but there’s an added value — users receive digital incentives called “prewards,” the equivalent of coupons. Investors seem to like edo’s core idea. Barely three years old, the company has landed over $14 million in venture capital from firms such as Claritas Capital and Clayton Associates. Entrepreneur Magazine named the company’s twist on personalized digital marketing as one of the 100 top “brilliant ideas” of 2009. Last year, the Green Hills-based firm landed its first major banking client, Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bancorp. The deal means that edo has the potential to eventually reach millions of customers. Another clue to the company’s growing prominence is their recent hiring patterns. The firm has brought in key talent from high-profile companies such as Google and Groupon.

Entrada
Brentwood
G. William “Bill” Brown
CEO

Entrada, launched last year, markets a voice processing application that quickly converts a physician’s dictation into text for populating patient charts and electronic medical records. The company offers mobile capabilities — think talking into an iPhone and signing off on patient records with an iPad — and basically markets itself as an alternative to IT systems that require a lot of clicking, drop-down menus and the like, allowing doctors to adopt new technology without having to alter their workflow. Thanks to an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provision that creates incentives for health care providers to use (and will eventually penalize them for not using) electronic medical records, the sector Entrada calls home is expected to be a hot one in the coming years. The company wrapped up a $3 million funding round in early 2011, drawing dollars from local firms Clayton Associates and Claritas Capital. It’s expecting to close out 2011 with about 25 workers, 10 more than it had in 2010.

Inova Payroll
Nashville
Farsheed Ferdowsi
President & CEO

Ferdowsi built PayMaxx into a $14 million business before selling it in 2005 and devoting his time and energy to other ventures, which included stakes in nTelagent and other technology companies, as well as some real estate and “Mushroom in the Sand,” a geopolitical thriller about Iran’s nuclear ambitions. But a 2010 consulting gig rekindled his fire for the payroll services sector and by early this year, he had secured capital commitments of more than $3 million to launch Inova. Helping fund the venture are local firms Clayton Associates and Crofton Capital, whose networks have helped provide Inova a client base of almost two-dozen firms right out of the gate. Ferdowsi is aiming for a staff of 40 by the end of 2012 and wants to be cash-flow positive in two years. “If we don’t shave five years off the time it took PayMaxx, something will be wrong,” he said.

Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock
Brentwood
David Jarrard
President & CEO

It’s been a busy year for health care public affairs firm Jarrard Philips Cate & Hancock. As expected, the passage of health care reform and the rise in hospital merger and acquisition activity led to an uptick in business for the Brentwood company, which works with hospitals clients across the nation. In 2010 the business grew its net fees by 39 percent to nearly $3.3 million, making it the 14th-fastest growing independent public affairs firm in the country and by far the fastest growing among its local peers. In 2009 — a year the average growth for a PR firm reporting to O’Dwyers was negative 1.6 percent — the company had posted 15 percent year-over-year growth. Given that the impacts of health care reform, alone, are expected to continue unfolding in coming years, watch for the company to maintain momentum. Founded in 2006, Jarrard Inc. currently employs 16.

Moontoast
Boston/Nashville
Marcus Whitney
Chief Technology Officer

Moontoast may have officially moved its corporate offices to Boston last year, but the company’s Nashville roots are deep enough and strong enough to keep its name among the region’s most promising companies. The business, founded by Chief Technology Officer and still part-time Nashvillian Marcus Whitney and funded in part by local private equity firm The Martin Cos., has gained momentum since the hiring of veteran tech startup CEO Blair Heavey last summer. The social commerce company has been rapidly developing its technology platform for allowing musicians, athletes, businesses or other affinity-based brands to monetize their social networks, and it’s landed a handful of recognizable client names — including Athlon Sports, Big Machine Records, Mike Wolfe of American Pickers. Watch for more as Moontoast capitalizes on the ever-more-important social media industry.

Music City Networks
Nashville
Lang Scott
President

Music City Networks is a Web design and e-commerce shop located in Cummins Station. Spun out of Brentwood-based Goldleaf in 2007, the company built itself on delivering web and mobile solutions for large corporations and banks, top names in entertainment, and education and government entities. Last year it moved into its current office in Cummins Station and established MerchMo, an e-commerce, silkscreen production and fulfillment company. The growth of e-commerce and specialty merchandise, as well as the company’s major development platform, Drupal, are just some of the factors that have contributed to the company’s growth. Music City Networks currently employs 35, up from just 13 a year ago. Revenues in 2010 were $3.1 million, up from $2.4 million the prior year. Looking ahead, the company is expecting revenue of $10 million this year and a nearly doubled staff count in 2012.

Randa Solutions
Nashville
Marty Reed
President & CEO

It’s an accepted axiom of a successful company: Products and services need to solve problems for people who need the help. Nashville-based RANDA Solutions’ business plan centers around helping the clients in public education get their work done on mobile devices such as the iPad and Droid. The applications vary, but the goal remains the same: Make it easier for teachers, administrators and parents to communicate, exchange data, report and evaluate results. The explosion of digital and mobile technology has resulted in eruptive growth at the eight-year-old company. In 2010 RANDA was named among the Inc. 500 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., coming in at No. 300. They also ranked as the third-fastest growing firm in Middle Tennessee on that list. The company’s workforce has remained stable at 28 for the past two years, but that’s about to change. Plans are to increase the staff by 50 percent in the next year. 

Showhomes Management
Nashville
Bert Lyles
CEO

The most brutal economic downturn in decades put many companies on life support, but Showhomes just kept getting healthier. The 25-year-old franchisor posted record revenue growth in six of the past seven years and more than tripled the number operating franchises from 24 in 2007 to 80 in 2011. Showhomes franchisees coordinate home staging for owners of empty upscale properties and include a twist – a live-in home manager who maintains the property keeps it pristine. One reason demand is soaring: the recession forced millions of vacant homes on the market, a glut that’s expected to linger for several years. Another factor contributing to growth is company’s decision to build relationships with bankers, who have been deluged with vacant foreclosures since the recession. So far, 2011 is proving to be a breakthrough year. The franchisor cracked Entrepreneur Magazine’s list of the top 500 franchise companies for the first time, coming in at No. 214. The magazine also ranked Showhomes in the top 50 low-investment businesses and among the top 100 home-based businesses. 

Thirty Tigers
Nashville
David Macias and Deb Markland
Co-founders

Thirty Tigers rose from the ashes of a chaotic decade in the music industry that saw dramatic downsizing and consolidation. The company taps into two converging trends —recording artists losing deals with major labels and the dramatic rise of independent and Americana artists. David Macias and Deb Markland, cofounders of Thirty Tigers, are themselves industry veterans who had been downsized. Their nine-person team addresses artists’ needs on several levels, including product distribution, marketing, management and publicity. Their unorthodox model, based on flexibility with artists and continual diversification and innovation, is apparently working.  2010 revenue was $4.3 million, up from $3.3 million in 2009. The boutique agency continues to carve an independent identity a step away from the big money and politics of Music Row. In the process they’ve buoyed the careers of longtime industry veterans such as Kathy Mattea, Beth Nielsen Chapman and Billy Joe Shaver and emerging Americana stars such as The Avett Brothers, Elizabeth Cook, Caitlin Rose, Those Darlins and Todd Snider.

Vextec
Brentwood
Loren Nasser
President/CEO

When Forbes placed Brentwood's Vextec atop its list of “America's Most Promising Companies” many around town were surprised to even learn of the company's existence. In fact, Vextec— which has developed software that can accurately predict the life of manufactured products — has built a strong public and private customer base since it was founded in 2000 and grown its revenue by 30 percent to 50 percent annually. In addition to jobs with the Department of Defense and NASA, the company also has a growing list of private clients in the aerospace and automotive industries. Founded by veteran engineers Robert Tryon, Loren Nasser and Animesh Dey, the company’s software circumvents the need for the manufacturing industry's old “shake and break” testing method for determining predicted product lifespans. Now, using computer modeling, and far less time, companies using Vextec's technology can find out when, where and how their components, systems, product lots or fleets are likely to break down.