Women and Minority-Owned Businesses Make up 34% of the Montgomery County Companies on the Inc. 5000 List
Per MCEDC:
A diverse cross-section of 41 Montgomery County, Maryland companies were recognized this week in the annual Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing, privately-owned companies. The 2021 list ranks companies by overall revenue growth over a three-year period from 2017-2020, with a median growth of 246 percent.
The local companies recognized for their significant growth include software, IT systems development, healthcare, biotech, consumer products, advertising & marketing, construction, government services and financial services. The companies on the Inc. 5000 list are dispersed across the county including Rockville, Bethesda, Silver Spring, Gaithersburg, Potomac, Burtonsville, North Bethesda and Germantown. The Montgomery County company profiles can be viewed in the PDF or story map.
Montgomery County’s 41 companies account for one third of the 138 from Maryland on this year’s list, the most of any jurisdiction in the state. The Montgomery County companies registered revenue growth ranging from 43 percent to almost 7318 percent.
Just as Montgomery County is one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the nation, with 138 languages spoken in our area schools, the list features a diverse group of companies as well. Nine of the companies are minority-owned while five are women-owned. Among them are ITegrity of Silver Spring, a federal government IT contractor; Rockville’s Audley Consulting Group, an IT Systems Developer; and Bethesda’s Corewood Care, a home care services company.
A total of 25 companies are ‘repeaters’ who have been on the prestigious list multiple times, including eight that have been recognized for at least three different years. Burtonsville’s INFINITY HR, a payroll and human resource company, has the distinction of making the list nine times. Rockville’s Communicate Health, a communications and design firm that boosts public health education, has enjoyed seven years of Inc. 5000 accolades, as has Rockville’s Transparent BPO, a business process outsourcer.
Among the Montgomery County companies, there is a prevalence in software, healthcare/bio and government services—a natural fit given access to the county’s highly educated workforces. Montgomery County is home to the highest concentration of Ph.D.’s in the country, and to world-class federal research institutions in science, health, medicine and cybersecurity such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE), among others.
Four of the Inc. 5000 companies in Montgomery County have received MOVE grants, a local program designed to assist new businesses forming or moving to the county. It includes a one-time grant upon signing a lease. The MOVE grant recipients who are on the list and show extensive growth over three years: Bethesda’s Mytonomy, with 583% growth, develops remote healthcare platforms; Silver Spring’s Mindoula Health, a health management firm with 124% growth; Silver Spring’s ITegrity with 340% growth and Rockville’s fusionSpan, an IT company that is a CRM implementer and Salesforce partner with 243% growth.
“fusionSpan has had the amazing opportunity to be a part of a community bigger than ourselves. Receiving a MOVE Grant allowed our company to invest in the necessary resources needed to define a presence and establish a company culture,” said Gayathri Kher, Co-Founder & President. “As we grow in the Salesforce ecosystem, fusionSpan continues to look for opportunities to ensure our local community grows and succeeds with us!”
Rehab 2 Perform has made the Inc. 5000 list for the second year. The growing all-in-one physical therapy and performance company will open its sixth location this year. Founder and CEO Dr. Josh Funk is a local himself, having attended Poolesville High School, and says it was never a thought not to open his business in Montgomery County. “We are excited to be named as one of the fastest growing private companies in the U.S. for the 2nd straight year. The business landscape over the past year was extremely challenging, and to be able to continue our growth trajectory while keeping our team and community safe speaks volumes to the culture and dynamic of our team.”
“I’m especially pleased that our 41 recognized fastest-growing companies in the nation represent Montgomery County’s diverse business community so well. They come from all across Montgomery County and the spectrum of industry sectors,” said Benjamin H. Wu, President and CEO of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC). “Their recognition is a testament to the community we’re cultivating to develop and support entrepreneurs, startups and innovative growth. We celebrate the success of the companies on this prestigious list and look forward to seeing new additions in future years.”
Featured photo shows logos of successful companies from across the world.
$3.3 Million in State-Funded Grants Provided to Local Nonprofits Supporting Economic Development in the County
Per MCEDC:
The Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) has announced the 108 recipients of the MoCo Economic Development Grant Program for Nonprofits. A total of $3.3 Million in funding will be distributed to the selected nonprofits that are contributing to Montgomery County’s economic recovery.
The MoCo Economic Development Grant Program for Nonprofits awarded grants ranging from $7,500 to $45,000 to nonprofits with a wide variety of missions. The program also included 19 High Impact Grants, with awards ranging from $50,000 to $100,000. Those specially selected grants were awarded to nonprofits to carry out particularly impactful work in the economic development and job creation space. The work of these nonprofits includes STEM education, women and minority entrepreneurship, workforce training and support for underserved communities.
“Montgomery County is home to the largest number of nonprofits in Maryland. This program recognizes the importance of our local nonprofit community to the economy, not just for the numbers they employ but also how their individual missions can make an impact in critical economic development areas,” said Benjamin H. Wu, President and CEO of MCEDC. “We’re pleased to award special High Impact Grants to selected nonprofits to fulfill the potential of their economic development programs. We look forward to working with all of the nonprofit grant recipients to support a rapid economic recovery.”
Three examples of High Impact Grant recipients:
Learning Undefeated’s mobile STEM lab will engage Montgomery County Public Schools students in hands-on, experiential STEM learning focused on minority entrepreneurship. The Emerging Leaders program includes hands-on workshops & career-focused sessions that nurture technical skills and support job prospecting for young women of color (ages of 14-22).
“This new partnership with MCEDC supports young women – who are so underrepresented in STEM careers – by sparking interest in high-demand industries such as cybersecurity and biotechnology, building confidence, and fostering lasting relationships to carry them into their careers,” said Brian Gaines, Learning Undefeated’s CEO.
Housing Unlimited is a Silver Spring-based community nonprofit that provides affordable, independent housing to vulnerable residents in mental health recovery, while promoting economic development activities in Montgomery County. It plans to use the grant monies for the homes that need funding for capital improvements, structural repairs, replacement of aging HVAC systems and other expenses including assisting with costs for a new maintenance position.
“We are honored to receive this grant from MCEDC,” said Abe Schuchman, CEO of Housing Unlimited. “As a small nonprofit business in Montgomery County, this grant will help us expand our charitable mission while at the same time contributing to the economic growth of the County.”
The Red Wiggler Community Farm is a sustainable farm in Germantown where people with and without developmental disabilities come together to work, learn and grow healthy food. With the funding influx, the farm plans to continue to grow its Community Supported Agriculture Program (CSA) distribution efforts and salaries in an equitable manner. They are on track to accomplish their FY21 goal of distributing 50% of total vegetable yield to their neighbors in need through partnering with local food banks, food hubs and pop-up pantries.
“During the pandemic, we pivoted from distributing 30% of our total fruit and vegetable yield to neighbors in need to a full 50%. The High Impact Grant will help us maintain that 50% goal of stocking food banks and pantries at a time when our capacity is stretched,” said Woody Woodroof, Executive Director of Red Wiggler Community Farm. “We appreciate the support for our program and the positive benefits it brings to Montgomery County’s community of people with developmental disabilities, the agricultural ecosystem and workforce development.
See the full list of 89 recipients of the Economic Development Grant Program for Nonprofits here and the 19 High Impact Grant awardees here.
The program included two rounds of application submissions and a selection committee review of the applicants. The eight-person selection committee identified qualified recipients for the grant awards and included State Senator Cheryl Kagan (D-17) and Lesley J. MacDonald, Executive Director of Nonprofit Montgomery.
“Nonprofits are the backbone of our community and have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. These grants will help to continue their critically important services,” said Senator Cheryl Kagan.
“Nonprofit organizations are an important economic engine in Montgomery County,” said Lesley J. MacDonald, Executive Director of Nonprofit Montgomery. “These grants recognize the many ways that nonprofits contribute to a thriving community.”
To learn more about the MoCo Economic Development Grant Program for Nonprofits, see the grant page. Funding was provided by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). DHCD appropriated the state funds through the General Assembly-passed RELIEF Act of 2021 that was signed into law by Governor Hogan earlier this year.
The MoCo Economic Development Grant Program for Nonprofits is the latest of multiple business assistance funding administered by MCEDC to support a pandemic economic recovery. In the past year, MCEDC has provided more than $22 Million in direct grant support to businesses for Restaurant Relief (3 phases), a Local Production Fund, a Telework Assistance Fund and the 3R Initiative, as well as the MoCo Economic Development Grant Program for Nonprofits.
