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Your next investment, next mentor, next job | October 1, 2009
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Welcome to the 2009 Deloitte Fast 50
We are very pleased to be Deloitte’s publishing partner this year. The Fast 50 ranks the country’s 50 fastest-growing technology companies based on percentage revenue growth over five years. The list is watched closely by Canada’s business leaders, by competitors, the investment and VC communities, and technology professionals.
And as such it is one of the most important rankings in Canada. The leaders of these companies work in emerging markets and they are aggressive competitors who know how to make money. In other words, you may want to work for, learn from or invest in these people.
Pay particular attention to the Companies-to-Watch awards, because over the years Deloitte has done a good job of picking winners. In 2005, Camilion Solutions made the Companies-to-Watch list and landed this year at spot 33 on the Fast 50. Similarly, Bluecat was singled out in 2006 and sits at number 27 this year.
Another repeat performer is Impact Mobile. Founded in 2002, it made the Companies-to-Watch in 2006 and the Fast 50 in 2007 and 2008. This year the company sits at number five, with a growth rate of 5,507 per cent.
Making an impact
So how did Impact Mobile grow so fast and so consistently? The recognition from Deloitte helped, said founder, president and CEO Gary Schwartz. “Being on the list gives you market attention. From a marketing communications perspective, people are looking for authenticity. Creating a press release doesn’t really do any good, because customers realize ‘Oh, this is just a press release.’ But if there is a third-party voice talking about what you’re doing, then there is credibility and authenticity.”
To generate the success that gets that third-party notice, Schwartz said tenacity is key, as is a drive for world domination. “The secret sauce is, first, tenacity. Ninety per cent of businesses are successful because they are willing to hit their heads against a wall more times than their competitors. The fact that you have insight into your business and a good product is great; without that you can’t go anywhere. But if you can’t expand your team, if you can’t put the right processes in place, etc., you’re out of business.
“So tenacity is first, and second is the desire for world domination. Your vision has to be to grow your company and dominate your market. End of story.”
For Schwartz, that meant betting on mobile marketing in 2002, following the very tech-market collapse which convinced many that concepts like mobile marketing were a losing proposition. But Schwartz believed in the idea and was willing to pursue it aggressively. “For us, the Canadian market is like the back of a postage stamp; the U.S. market is the biggest in the world. Two years after we were founded we opened an office in New York City” and opened more since.
The collapse of the tech market underlined another important business tenet for Schwartz: stress ROI. “We focus on high-ROI solutions in the wireless space. You can’t convince a client to give you money if you can’t justify ROI. The motto in our company is ‘Be as close to ka-ching as possible.’ For us, it’s about getting close to the transaction, because that makes you a compelling value proposition for the client.”
It is that type of value proposition that makes Schwartz and the other leaders in this issue the rock stars of the tech world, and their success may be instructive for your own company, or your next career move.
Peter Wolchak
Editor
pwolchak@backbonemag.com
