Twenty North Bay companies made the Inc. 5000 list [see the chart at the end] of fast-growing companies in the U.S., including nine newcomers such as a snack maker that debuted in the top 100.
These local companies have added almost 1,400 employees in the past three years, according to data through last year provided to the magazine for the annual ranking. However, a significant number of those jobs are at company locations outside the North Bay.
Sonoma-based Krave Pure Foods (kravejerky.com) ranked No. 72 with three-year revenue growth — the list's ranking factor — of 4,632 percent to $16.9 million last year from $358,002 in 2010. Jon Sebastiani launched the company the year before, and the company now employs 40.
Krave also ranked No. 4 among the list's food and beverage growth companies and No. 14 among ranked California companies.
Capstone Technology Resources (capstone-sf.com) ranked No. 250, with 1,832 percent growth to $13.7 million.. Cynthia Reuter, CEO, started the Sausalito-based engineering and information technology consulting company in 2010.
San Francisco Business Times last year noted 2010–2012 revenue growth of 1,611 percent. This year the publication ranked the company among the region's top 100 women-owned companies.
'We are grateful for the opportunities we've had in supporting other firms' growth, grateful for the confidence our clients have placed in us, and grateful for having a team without comparison when it comes to understanding our clients' needs and finding them the precise resources to execute on strategy and implementation,' Ms. Reuter said.
The company has a STEM Compass program, which connects qualified undergraduate and graduate science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students to companies that need such candidates for STEM internships and entry-level jobs.
Santa Rosa-based residential service provider Moore Heating & Air Conditioning (moorehvac.com) made its first appearance on the list at No. 261, with three-year growth of 1,758 percent to $3.1 million last year from $168,212 in 2010.
Started in 2010 by Jon Diamond and Curtis Moore, the company now employs 22. It ranked No. 9 among the construction companies on the Inc. list.
Sausalito-based KitOrder (KitOrder.com) offers software as a service (SaaS) behind online stores for group purchases with an emphasis on sports-related clients. The four-employee, 4-year-old company debuted at No. 676 with 674 percent growth to $4.1 million last year from $540,728.
Fairfield-based BeforeTheMovie (BeforeTheMovie.com) appeared for the first time on the list at No. 1,166 with 375 percent growth to $2.9 million last year from $621,908.
The company provides advertising and promotions on screens and in lobbies of independent movie theaters. More than 12 million movie-goers watch the company's pre-show advertisements annually. It represents theater groups with more than 500 screens in 13 states.
BeforeTheMovie started in 2008 and employs nine.
IQR Consulting (iqrdataanalytics.com) debuted at No. 2,955 with 122 percent growth to $2.0 million last year from $911,000. With offices in Santa Rosa and India, IQR analyzes data and conducts research that goes into business models and strategies for financial services, gaming, airline and customer-loyalty companies such as large banks, credit unions, casinos and travel agencies.
Started in 2008, IQR employs nine, up by seven in the past three years.
Santa Rosa-based civil and structural design firm D.H. Charles Engineering (charlesengineering.com) appeared on the list this year for the first time, ranked No. 4,574 with 56 percent growth to $4.2 million from $2.7 million.
Started in 1992, the company specializes in engineering for construction contractors such as excavation shoring, scaffolding design and reinforcing-bar cage erection stabilization.
The company employs 19, up four in the past three years.
Petaluma-based First California Mortgage Company (FirstCal.net) debuted at No. 4,958 with 44 percent growth to $52.1 million from $36.2 million.
Founded in 2002, the lender for first-time and investment home buyers now employs 403, up 235 percent in the past three years.
Returning to the list
Twelve North Bay companies returned to the Inc. 5000 list this year, but one of them was sold since the cutoff for the list data and now isn't eligible. And one that was on last year's list — Corte Madera-based RH, formerly Restoration Hardware — returned to public ownership, also disqualifying it from further participation.
The highest-ranking among the alumni was Petaluma-based retailer and wholesaler Three Twins Ice Cream. It ranked No. 998 with 448 percent growth to $6.7 million from $1.2 million.