Three Boise companies among fastest-growing in U.S. – The Works, Treetop, and ProClarity make Inc. Magazine 500 list

Bruce Goode admits his business is a little off-kilter.

That didn’t stop Inc. Magazine from prominently featuring Boise-based The Works Corp., an online garden goods retailer, as one of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies.

Julie Howard
The Idaho Statesman

http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041021/NEWS02/410210350/1029

The Works is one of three Idaho companies — all in Boise — to make this year’s Inc. 500 list, which hits newsstands next week. The others are software firm ProClarity Corp., the only Idaho business returning to the list, and information technology services firm Treetop Technologies Inc.

The Works Corp. operates about 100 Web sites and has an additional 400 in development, said Goode, who first opened a small garden store in Boise 10 years ago. He and his wife, Jody, closed the retail location three years ago after online sales surged.

Their operation, ranked as the 158th-fastest-growing company in the country, captured the attention of Inc. Magazine editors, who featured the Boise firm over three pages of the coming edition. Goode still focuses on garden supplies, from greenhouses to ponds, but recently added some personal security devices and fishing float tubes to inventory.

"We’re a little different," said Goode, 41, who now spends a few hours a week on his business and the rest of his time doing chainsaw carvings (pictured in the magazine) and flying ultra-light planes.

"We probably won’t be on the list again," added Goode, a former hotel manager in Boise, whose online business had sales of $2.3 million last year. “We can’t grow too much more without getting lots bigger, and I don’t think we want to be any bigger. I think we’re about done growing.”

Information technology services company Treetop Technologies ranked 130th on the Inc. list with an average annual growth rate of 232 percent and 2003 revenues of $7.04 million.

Jason Crawforth, who founded the company in 1997, said his firm is one of just a few that focuses on management and support of customized software programs for mid-size and large businesses.

“Our goal is to help companies manage their IT solutions to reduce cost and redundancies while enabling them to focus upon their core strengths,” said Crawforth, who has 120 employees. “Our competition is pretty scarce at the moment.”

The business also does everything from IT help desk support and development to “bug” fixing and revamping systems.

And it’s also a good place to work, said Crawforth: “Since 1997, we have had a 97 percent retention rate for our employees.”

ProClarity, which made the Inc. 500 list for the third straight year, fell to 452 after ranking 140th last year and 59th in 2002.

The privately held firm, founded in 1995 by three former Extended Systems executives, is the largest of the three ranked Idaho businesses, with more than $15 million in revenues for 2003.

Wireless service provider InPhonic, based in Washington, D.C., topped the Inc. 500 list and Orem, Utah, software firm uSight came in second.

The Inc. 500 companies show that entrepreneurial spirit wasn’t crushed by a tough economic year, said Inc. editor-in-chief John Koten.

“The best thing you can say about this year’s crop of Inc. 500 entrepreneurs is that they didn’t buy into the hype,” said Koten. “When people were practically giving away funding in the late 1990s, these companies didn’t overextend, and when everyone hit the panic button a few years later, they stayed calm and seized opportunity.”

To comment, contact reporter Julie Howard at [email protected] or 373-6618.

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Growing companies

Idaho’s fastest- growing private companies, according to Inc. 500:

Treetop Technologies Inc.
What they do: IT services
Employees: 120 nationwide; 65 in Boise
Ranked: 130
2003 revenues: $7.04 million
Average annual growth rate: 232 percent

The Works Corp.
What they do: Holding company for assorted retail and online businesses, primarily greenhouses and security
Employees: 9 in Boise
Ranked: 158
2003 revenues: $2.3 million
Average annual growth rate: 208 percent

ProClarity Corp.
What they do: Software
Employees: 146 worldwide; 106 in Boise
Ranked: 452
2003 revenues: $15.1 million
Average annual growth rate: 82 percent

Two Idaho firms also on Deloitte Fast 500 list

Two Idaho companies were named this week among the annual Deloitte Technology Fast 500, a ranking of the fastest-growing technology companies in North America based on percentage revenue growth over five years.

Æ Lifestream Technologies, a Post Falls company that makes cholesterol monitors, ranked 40th on the list with five-year revenue growth of 6,846 percent.

Æ ProClarity Corp., which also made the Inc. 500 list, placed 190th on Deloitte’s Fast 500, with a growth of 1,126 percent.
Google, based in Mountain View, Calif., was named the fastest-growing technology company in North America, topping the 2004 Deloitte Technology Fast 500. The internet search site showed five-year revenue growth of 437,115 percent.

Related Links

* treetoptech.com http://www.treetoptech.com

* proclarity.com http://www.proclarity.com

* greenhouses.com http://www.greenhouses.com

* theworksonline.com http://www.theworksonline.com

* fast500.com http://www.fast500.com

* lifestreamtech.com http://www.lifestreamtech.com