When life hands you lemons, make them blue. Coming off its one-year anniversary, Blue Lemon Restaurant and Bistro is blowing out candles and breathing in some well deserved success. Opening a restaurant is always risky. But opening one in a less-than-ideal economy? A risk worth writing about. The company’s delicious triumph is a tribute to its owners and to its niche. Lychelle and Aaron Day picked a concept — a family friendly take on the clean food movement — and committed to it. But taking the plunge was never a question to Lychelle, who hails from quite the entrepreneurial family (Orem-based Xactware and Costa Vida, to name a few). In fact, when naysayers took their shots — as naysayers do — Lychelle and Aaron proceeded with dashes of gumption and naiveté (for good measure). True blue entrepreneurs, indeed.

My husband and I were on a food kick. We enjoyed the raw food diet for about a month, but it wasn’t realistic for young kids. We went vegan, thinking it would be easier, but we ended up traveling towns just to get the food we wanted. So my sister suggested I open a restaurant.

I thought, “Oh no.” But then I thought more, and I warmed up to it. I knew we could do a family oriented restaurant that was healthy. We had something here.

The initial concept was super healthy — vegan, specifically. But then my husband said we’re not going to have men come into the restaurant if it’s vegan. So I looked into other moderation diets and found the clean food philosophy, which has no high fructose corn syrup and no hormones in the meat. That’s when we stopped being vegan. We had to test our own food, right?

We teach what we preach. We have a demo kitchen where we teach cooking classes. We also have a space for luncheons and banquets, as well as a bistro, where we sell merchandise, coffee and hot chocolate. The bistro is still finding its niche. Surprisingly, coffee has not been the biggest hit in Highland.

The restaurant business isn’t always a kind one, and there were some initial fears. We had a number of financial advisers warning us not to do this. But we felt strongly about it. We were trying to create jobs for people in a down economy. It felt like the right thing to do.

Looking back, we were a bit foolish. We were brazen. At the time, people were shocked, saying, “I can’t believe you’re taking this on!” And we were like, “Really? Why?” We just had so much faith in the concept there was never a question. But knowing now how much we’ve had to go through — and knowing 50 percent of restaurants fail in the first year — I can see their point. Lucky for us, being naive worked to our advantage.

The restaurant’s name doesn’t really have a back story. It was going to be Essence Café, but it didn’t feel right. We started looking at other restaurants — Applebee’s, Chili’s, Costa Vida — they were all fun names that didn’t mean anything. So we started playing around with something light and fresh, and my husband came up with Blue Lemon. I wish we had a cool back story, or that the name represented some visionary tree out of Africa. But it’s just fun. Let me know if you have a back story for us.

The most difficult time was getting open. It was an uphill battle with finding the appropriate staff and the right chef and menu. There was a whole laundry list of items, and we tried opening three or four different times before we finally did. We ended up finding our wonderful chef at UVU. He came on and redesigned our menu. He was heaven-sent.

The high point has been customer feedback. Last spring I was in a dressing room in Nordstrom, and the associate asked me what I did for a living. I told her we opened a restaurant called Blue Lemon, and the lady in the stall next to me squealed, “I love Blue Lemon! We go there all the time.” We have such loyal customers. The restaurant has been uniting for the community.

My family has a history of entrepreneurship, and that certainly has helped. We don’t really know much different. We’ve always just taken chances and gone out there and done it. We don’t feel more confident we’ll succeed, but we feel more confident trying.

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What It Is A provider of search engine optimization.
Why It’s Watch-Worthy What started as a $5,000 bootstrap has turned into a million-dollar company, thanks to rock star leadership from serial entrepreneurs with a passion for business and bootstrapping.
The Big Break “Warner Music was our first big account. We spent a month listening to Michael Buble, Madonna, P. Diddy and Ashley Tisdale.”
The High Point “Our first hires were four really smart high school students. These young men have performed tasks that most college graduates could not perform. It has been fun to help these students develop skills that will help them to go out and change the world.”
The Low Point “We made a few poor hires. It is always tough to have to terminate people.”
The Advice “Read ‘Bootstrap Business’ (a shameless plug for our book). A second would be to fail efficiently. There are going to be failures. Do it as rapidly as you can because that will bring the successes quicker.”
In 2015 “Sold! I will have created at least three more multimillion dollar companies by then.”
Editor’s Note: Shortly before press time, BusinessQ was notified that CastleWave has officially been sold to Crexendo (www.crexendo.com). That makes Rich Christiansen’s 2015 prediction a fact and BusinessQ’s watch-worthy recognition that much sweeter. Congrats, CastleWave!

NO. 2 COMPLETE MERCHANT
SOLUTIONS
Founded 2008 City Orem Employees 26 Industry Electronic payments Web site www.cmsonline.com Founders David Decker, 35; Kyle Hall, 27; Trever Hansen, 32

What It Is A provider of merchant services.
Why It’s Watch-Worthy With staggering revenues in its short lifetime (the company grossed $2.5 million in its first year of business), Complete Merchant Solutions has used strong management and expert execution to become an instrumental force in its industry.
The Big Break “When we were officially accepted as a registered bankcard processor for Visa and MasterCard.”
The High Point “When an industry legend accepted our offer to assume the reigns as CEO.”
The Low Point “The second we realized we were scammed by a professional Russian Mafia group out of California for $110,000.”
The Advice “Test as many different industries as you can early in your career. Once you’ve identified the industry you want to set your stakes in, focus on the soft spots (i.e. under-served areas). Tailor your go-to-market strategy to fully capitalize on those soft spots and start chipping away at market share.”
In 2015 “We’ll be a nationally recognized brand within our industry, acknowledged as a ‘Top 50 Bankcard Processor’ in America (based on transactional volume), and listed in the top 10 of BusinessQ’s ‘Top Revenue’ list.” (Editor’s Note: We’ll see you in 2015.)

NO. 3 BLUE LEMON
Founded 2009 City Highland  Employees 26 Industry Dining  Web site www.bluelemonutah.com Founders Lychelle Day, 29; Aaron Day, 29
What It Is A restaurant and bistro that specializes in the “clean food” movement.
Why It’s Watch-Worthy Opening a successful restaurant at any given time is worth a celebration. But opening a successful restaurant in a recession? Now that’s parade-worthy.
The Big Break “Just getting open. It was a battle.”
The High Point “The customer feedback. We have such loyal customers.”
The Advice “Have a good idea, a good foundation and a strong conviction. And then just go for it.”
In 2015 “We’ll have multiple locations.”

NO. 4 FAMILYLINK
Founded 2007 City Provo Industry Technology Web site www.familylink.com  Founder Paul Allen
What It Is A provider of a family social experience platform.
Why It’s Watch-Worthy FamilyLink has found monumental success with more than 60 million users, 500 million family connections, 20 million monthly active users, 1.2 billion indexed names and 200,000 poll responses daily. Plus, its flagship application, “We’re Related,” is the top family application on Facebook.

NO. 5 FRANCHISE FOUNDRY
Founded 2008 City Orem Employees 12 Industry Franchise development Web site www.franchisefoundry.com Founders Christian Faulconer, 38; Corey Spencer, 35; Ryan Frandsen, 34

What It Is A growth capital/consulting services firm that invests in and helps emerging brands grow through franchising.
Why It’s Watch-Worthy In just a short window of time, Franchise Foundry has redefined what it means to be a franchise consultant by actually investing capital in its clients — and it’s paying off. Under its direction, Spoon Me grew from two franchises and three corporate stores to 13 franchises, three corporate stores and a 25-store master franchise agreement with Western Canada; and Fairway Divorce grew from six to 17 franchises in Canada and zero to six franchises in the United States.
The Big Break “When we added Fairway Divorce to our portfolio, it was a big deal for us. They took a risk on a company that hadn’t proved itself yet, and we’ll always appreciate them for that.”
The High Point “Capping off a successful 2009 during a tough economy.”
The Low Point “The day the team talked me (Faulconer) into wearing a hotdog suit.”
The Advice “Do what you love and work hard.”
In 2015 “By 2015, Franchise Foundry will have changed the way the franchising industry helps emerging franchises grow.”

NO. 6 KYNETX
Founded 2007 City Lehi Employees 15 Industry Software Web site www.kynetx.com Founders Stephen W. Fulling, 46; Phillip J. Windley, 51
What It Is A provider of development tools that create context-sensitive, cross-platform apps that help build relationships between app owners and users.
Why It’s Watch-Worthy Founded by leaders in Utah’s tech field (the pair created iMail, the first e-commerce platform for small to medium-sized merchants), Kynetx is quickly on its way to standout success with a unique product, big buzz and strategic partnerships.
The Big Break “Strategic investment with Acxiom.”
The High Point “Signing our first deal with a multibillion-dollar company through our strategic investment partner, Acxiom.”
The Low Point “The first pitch ever. We sucked.”
The Advice “Believe.”
In 2015 “The next billion-dollar company in Utah.”

NO. 7 METER SOLUTIONS
Founded 2007 City Provo Employees 20 (on average) Industry Utilities Web site www.metersolutions.com Founders Paul Dickson, 24; Taylor Turnbull, 24
What It Is An installer of automated meter reading devices on water, gas and electric meters.
Why It’s Watch-Worthy With an ever-growing industry and smart execution, this student-run company has positioned itself as an industry leader and installed more than a quarter million devices.
The Big Break “We were awarded a contract with Questar Gas company to install AMR devices on every gas meter in St. George and Cedar City.”
The High Point “We were named the BYU Student Entrepreneurs of the Year.”
The Low Point “The first project we did was in California, and the company who hired us didn’t pay its final invoice of more than $25,000, which really hurts a cash-struggling startup.”
The Advice “Don’t be afraid to start a company if you believe in it and are willing to work hard.”
In 2015 “We will grow Meter Solutions into the premier AMR/AMI installation company in the nation. We should also have a strong international presence in Europe, South America and Canada. Currently, more than 70 million devices are planned to be installed in coming years, which provides an incredible growth opportunity for our company.”

NO. 8 FOR EVERY HOME
Founded 2008 City Lindon Employees 20 Industry Direct sales Web site www.foreveryhome.net Founders Becky J. Anderson, 50; Paul Anderson, 54
What It Is A direct sales company that sells fragrance products and is a sister company to For Every Body.
Why It’s Watch-Worthy With more than 1,700 consultants and more than $1 million earned in its first year of business, For Every Home has catapulted to success. And with For Every Body doing nearly $20 million in sales in 2009, For Every Home has a strong home base to grow from.
The Big Break “Puerto Rico. The business down there is growing so quickly among working moms.”
The High Point “Seeing the business take off and women being successful.”
The Low Point “The long hours of work and the down economy. However, all challenges are opportunities, and we have learned a lot.”
The Advice “Stay at it, have passion, think big and look at challenges as opportunities. One of my favorite quotes is, ‘It’s the fast that eat the slow, not the big that eat the small.’”
In 2015 “We’ll be recognized as the most successful innovative home fragrance company in the country.”

NO. 9 INSTANTAV
Founded 2009 City American Fork  Employees 8 full time, 11 contractors  Industry Software/Signage Web site www.instantav.com  Founders Bob Long, 55; David Daniels, 52
What It Is A provider of portable digital signage solutions.
Why It’s Watch-Worthy With an experienced and proven executive team at the helm (they have a combined history of more than 80 years in high-tech solutions), InstantAV has an exciting future with its one-of-a-kind product in a developing market.
The Big Break “Our first sell was to a high-profile client that validated our entire business plan.”
The High Point “Assembling a talented team of people that we like to work with, starting with a bold vision and working to create an entirely new product in a totally new and undeveloped marketplace.”
The Low Point “Raising investor capital during the worst capital market in 71 years.”
The Advice “Begin with a bold vision and then be willing to burn the ships in the harbor. Once you start, there will be plenty of obstacles. But each one presents an opportunity to adjust and move forward.”
In 2015 “We’ll be the world leader in digital signage product and services.”

NO. 10 MAAKOA
Founded 2009 City Orem Employees 14 Industry Network marketing  Web site www.maakoa.com Founders Bruce Davis, 48; David Simpson, 52
What It Is A direct sales company whose flagship products are the antioxidant beverage Koopuwa and its line of MXP3 Xtreme Performance Protein Powders.
Why It’s Watch-Worthy In a valley that’s been more than kind to network marketing companies, Maakoa has made quite the splash. Since its launch last year, the company has skyrocketed in growth and invested an interest in local programs (the company was the title sponsor of the Stadium of Fire last year and is a major sponsor of the Utah Flash).
The Big Break “We’ve been blessed with a solid, steady growth from the beginning, and every day Maakoa gets stronger and stronger.”
The High Point “Coming out with our two amazing products in a perfected state. They were sent back multiple times before they were accepted.”
The Advice “I don’t care who you are, believe in yourself and never quit.”
In 2015 “We’ll be global and one of the most successful network marketing companies in history.”
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
The Startups To Watch list was selected from a pool of applicants that have less than three years of operating history. The winners were determined by BusinessQ’s editorial board.

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Talk about built to last. Eighty-five years ago, W. W. Clyde and Co. sprung up in Springville with a sturdy promise: “Our word is our bond.” And with each company they’ve constructed or acquired — Sunroc, Geneva Rock, Gorge Rock, Beehive Insurance and Clements Concrete (now all under the umbrella of Clyde Companies) — that promise has only gotten more powerful. “Businesses need to build on the foundation of character and integrity,” says Wilford W. Clyde, CEO of Clyde Companies and grandson to the founder of W. W. Clyde. “There’s no substitute for honesty.” And with 2,100 employees, $480,000,000 in 2009 sales and a rock-solid reputation, we couldn’t agree more.

My first job with Clyde was back in high school. I worked on the asphalt crew after school. But it was never my plan to work at Clyde long term. That’s why I went to school in accounting — I was going to be a public accountant and do my own thing.

But when I got to the end of school, there was an opportunity at Geneva Rock for a full-time accountant. So I started there in 1977, became general manager in 1987 and was made president in 1988.

It’s been a great career for me. It’s a lot of fun. I like coming to work every day, and I enjoy the people I work with. It also doesn’t hurt that there were great people before me who did all of the hard work. We have a lot to live up to.

In 1998, we decided to create a parent company called Clyde Companies. We had a number of businesses founded by my grandfather that were somewhat integrated but operating as separate entities. It just made sense to bring them together.
There were definitely challenges that came with getting all the companies to work as one. From centralizing the accounting to figuring out logistics and administrative issues, people had to make adjustments with the new policies and procedures. But with the change came a greater cohesiveness. It was definitely a big milestone for us.

It’s a huge responsibility to employ people and be responsible for their livelihood, and it’s something we take very seriously. I can’t stress how important it is to get the right people. It’s an absolute necessity. If you are going to be the best, you have to attract the best.

Our roots are firmly established in Utah County, and we feel privileged to have our headquarters here. This is a great place to live, and the quality of people is high. When you hire people in Utah County, you hire people who care.

We’ve been successful because we were founded on the value system of “our word is our bond.” My grandfather believed that. He believed in being financially strong and not overextending yourself. He believed in quality work and quality products and the idea that if you do it, you do it right. It doesn’t matter what type of business you own, those are the ingredients to success.

The vision for our company is building a better community. We build roads, we supply materials to buildings and we complete construction projects. But truly, our goal is to build a better community from the standpoint of providing employment for employees and contributing to this wonderful area. We’ve been involved with a number of universities in the state, specifically UVU and its construction management program, and making a difference in the lives of locals is the best thing we do.

The economy is tough right now. We’ve had to look at cutting back our expenses so we can compete. It’s going to be a tough two or three years, but we’ll survive because we work hard and stay conservative. That’s actually my No. 1 piece of advice to companies: You have to be conservative on your projections, because if you can be successful with conservative projections, you will be successful. Period.

There are so many things to look forward to, so you have to focus on the positive. Work hard, and look at the good around you. If you don’t dream the dream, the dream won’t come true.

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The Company A direct sales company that sells skin and beauty products.
The Success With revenues upwards of $1 billion, this 26-year success story has been an instrumental force for good in both Utah County and the world.

NO. 2 CLYDE COMPANIES*
Revenue in 2009 $480,000,000 Founded 1926 City Orem Employees 2,100 Industry Construction Web site www.clydeinc.com President Wilford W. Clyde, 57

The Company A construction company with six subsidiaries: Geneva Rock, Sunroc Corporation, W. W. Clyde and Co., Gorge Rock, Beehive Insurance and Clements Concrete.
The Success With building blocks of hard work, integrity and conservative values, this family-owned business has risen to be one of Utah Valley’s top employers and a fundamental force in our economy.
The Advice “Have a good business plan, and be conservative in your projections. If you can be successful with conservative projections, you will be successful.”

NO. 3 OMNITURE*, a division of Adobe
Revenue in 2009 $345,700,000** Founded 1996 City Orem Industry Technology Web site www.omniture.com Founder Josh James, 36
The Company A provider of online optimization software that is now a division of Adobe.
The Growth Since its inception in 1996, Omniture has catapulted off the growth charts. And with Adobe acquiring the Orem-based company last year for $1.8 billion, its impressive success isn’t going anywhere.
** Due to Adobe’s acquisition of Omniture and a change in its fiscal year, the Orem company’s sales are measured from Q4 2008 to Q3 2009.

NO. 4 PROVO CRAFT*
Revenue in 2009 $279,970,097 Founded 1964 City Spanish Fork Employees 1,100 Industry Craft Web site www.provocraft.com Founder Robert Emmett Workman, 54
The Company A consumer electronics manufacturer in the creative marketplace.
The Success With a willingness to reinvent its product lines and make significant leaps in technology, Provo Craft has become a leader in its marketplace with explosive growth.

NO. 5 BIG-D CONSTRUCTION LINDON*

Revenue in 2009 $41,261,583 Founded 1967 City Lindon Employees 18 Industry Commercial construction Web site www.big-d.com Vice President Greg Fix, 36

The Company A construction management and design-build services company.
The Success Big-D Lindon began with two employees in 2004, and it’s now a stalwart force in the commercial construction market. The company works on projects from under $1 million to more than $100 million, and its values of hard work and integrity are a big draw for Utah County.
The Advice “Seek for outside counsel from other industries — you’re not alone. Sometimes the outside-looking-in perspective is just what you need.”

NO. 6 HADCO CONSTRUCTION
Revenue in 2009 $32,203,000 Founded 1989 City Lehi Employees 220 Industry Civil construction Founder John D. Hadfield, 41
The Company A civil construction/earthwork/excavation contractor.
The Success Thanks to stellar employees, loyal customers and big-name projects (Hadco will construct the Mountain View Corridor in 2011), Hadco has become a go-to contractor in Utah.
The Advice “Pay as you go, watch out for debt.”
That First-Million Feeling “After going through the recession, I’ve realized it’s harder to keep than to make.”

NO. 7 BEST VINYL*
Revenue in 2009 $30,178,663 Founded 2000 City American Fork Employees 108 Industry Home improvement Web site www.bestvinyl.com Founder Vance Barrett, 33
The Company A fabricator and installer of vinyl fence, decks, pergolas and gazebos.
The Success With a strong management team and high-quality employees, Best Vinyl has become the largest company of its kind in the country.

NO. 8 PROPAY
Revenue in 2009 $26,700,000 Founded 1997 City Lehi Employees 90 Industry Payment Web site www.propay.com VP of Marketing Scott Nelson, 49
The Company A provider of credit card processing and electronic payment services.
The Success Armed with a solid product, niche markets, superb management and world-class customer service, ProPay has become an industry leader.

NO. 9 VITALSMARTS*
Revenue in 2009 $25,290,817 Founded 2001 City Provo Employees 83 Industry Consulting/Training Web site www.vitalsmarts.com Founders Joseph Grenny, 49; Al Switzler, 60; Ron McMillan, 58; Kerry Patterson, 63;
Mike Carter, 50
The Company A corporate training and organizational performance company.
The Success With three bestselling books and 30 years of ongoing research, the principles VitalSmarts espouses have been economy-proof.
Best Part of Being a High-Revenue Company “The more revenues we have, the more lives we are able to impact with our training.”
Worst Part of Being a High-Revenue Company “We have to pay more taxes.”

NO. 10 ONE ON ONE MARKETING
Revenue in 2009 $22,245,818 City American Fork Founded 2002 Employees 75 Industry Technology Web site www.go1on1.com Founder Nick Greer, 33
The Company A provider of consumer leads for the online for-profit education industry.
The Success With impeccable tools and an impeccable staff, One on One Marketing has successfully focused the business on one segment of the market — and hasn’t slowed down since.
That First-Million Feeling “Man, that took longer than I thought.”

NO. 11 AMP SECURITY
Revenue in 2009 $22,067,305 Founded 2007 City Orem Employees 100 corporate staff, 200 sales reps Industry Security Web site www.ampalarm.com, www.workatamp.com Founders Allen Bolen, 34; Ryan Lee, 37; Dave Bolen, 33
The Company A security alarm company.
The Success With expert market timing and a solid team (both in and outside of headquarters), AMP Alarm has catapulted to success right out of the gate and expects to make more than $35 million in 2010.
The Advice “Position your brand to your employees. It does more than anything else to recruit quality talent. Your team’s talent will make or break you.”
Best Part of Being a High-Revenue Company “You can get the attention you need from vendors and financial instituions to further your business.”
Worst Part of Being a High Revenue Company “Everything happens at once.”

NO. 12 FOR EVERY BODY
Revenue in 2009 $19,206,956 Founded 1995 City Lindon Employees 222 Industry Consumer goods, manufacturing Web site www.foreverybody.com Founder Becky J. Anderson, 50
The Company A candle manufacturing company. Additionally, the company offers home decor items and scrapbook supplies.
The Success As the largest woman-owned candle manufacturing company in North America, For Every Body has created a line of eco-friendly, soy-based wax candles that are sold to major retailers across the nation.
The Advice “Have passion, drive and tenacity. You can be, do and have anything you want or dream.”
That First-Million Feeling “We were so busy working I didn’t notice.”

NO. 13 ATTASK*
Revenue in 2009 $18,990,000 Founded 2001 City Orem Employees 150 Industry Software Web site www.attask.com Founder Scott Johnson, 40
The Company A provider of on-demand project and portfolio management software.
The Success A relevant and in-demand product has led to five office locations worldwide and influential clients like Apple, Amazon.com, Chevron, McDonald’s, Toyota and The Walt Disney Company.
The Advice “Never stop doing the good things.”
Best Part of Being a High Revenue Company “Being a little software company in Orem, Utah that is helping companies in 60 countries around the world get work done. Having an impact and being an influential player in our market is very rewarding.”
Worst Part of Being a High Revenue Company “Being relatively unknown in our own backyard.”
That First-Million Feeling “The Shizzle.”

NO. 14 SECURITYMETRICS*
Revenue in 2009 $18,944,796 Founded 2000 City Orem Employees 285 Industry Technology Web site www.securitymetrics.com Founder Brad Caldwell, 47
The Company An educator and tester of merchant businesses to ensure they are keeping credit card data secure.
The Success A push from credit card companies for merchants to comply with the industry’s data security standards coupled with increased awareness for data security and a “gift from heaven,” SecurityMetrics has experienced phenomenal success in an ever-essential market.
The Advice “Watch your initial company agreements closely, and don’t get venture capital too early.”
Best Part of Being a High Revenue Company “Handing out Christmas bonuses.”

NO. 15 ACCESS TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS
Revenue in 2009 $18,400,000 Founded 2002 City Provo Employees 70 Industry Technology Web site www.accessts.com Founder Chris Boyle, 47

The Company A provider of eCommerce technology and logistics that help retail and direct selling companies sell their products in international markets.
The Success Thanks to an ever-expanding international e-commerce market (especially in Asia), Access Technology Solutions has capitalized on that growth with an expert team, forward-thinking technology and cost-effective solutions for customers.
The Advice “Get the right people on the bus and the wrong ones off as soon as possible. Stay focused and build a culture of teamwork and respect.”
That First-Million Feeling “To be honest, we did not really stop to savor the moment, as we were really thinking about how we were going to make it to $10 million and then $50 and now $100. It certainly was nice to have money in the coffers, though.”

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
The Top Revenue Companies list was selected from a pool of UV50 applicants. The 2009 gross revenue figures have been verified by BusinessQ and are accurate as of March 1, 2010. BusinessQ disclaims any responsibility for companies that did not apply.

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Three-Year Growth
109%

Destined for entrepreneurship, 8-year-old Jon Moss was running a landscaping business when most kids his age were watching Saturday morning cartoons. But destiny hasn’t been easy. In fact, it’s been extreme. The highs have been pie-in-the-sky high, and the lows have been unjustly low. You see, Moss wasn’t supposed to lose everything. He wasn’t supposed to work as a janitor for 1,000 bucks a month at RBM Building Services, his dad’s commercial janitorial company. And yet those “weren’t supposed tos” are the very reason he’s sitting in our glossy pages with his wife, Janae, by his side. “The hard times make or break you,” Moss says. “And I wasn’t about to let them break me.” Did we say destiny? Make that downright determination.

As a kid, my parents told me I could have anything I wanted — I just had to work for it. So if I wanted a candy bar, I’d sell eggs. If I wanted a four-wheeler, I’d cut grass. I had so much determination. Quitting was not an option.

I am dyslexic. Growing up in school, my teachers didn’t know how to teach me. They told me I was stupid. Entrepreneurship was my way of proving to myself I wasn’t stupid.

I started my first business when I was 8 because I wanted to buy a four-wheeler. I mowed lawns and raised and sold rabbits, chickens and eggs. After four years I made enough to buy my four-wheeler, and my dad and I built a little trailer for it so I could haul mowers and tools around town.

When I was 12, I bought a five-acre piece of land in Fairview. It was my dream to build a cabin on it. At one point I was short $105 on the payment, and my dad let it foreclose because he wanted me to learn a lesson. Man, did I learn that lesson.

By the time I was 15, my landscaping business expanded so much I bought two trucks and a tractor and hired 16-year-olds to drive me around. I had four permanent employees and as many as 25 temps at a time for larger jobs — most of them older than me. A few years later, I met my wife, Janae. She was 17, I was 18, and we dated for over two years before we got married.

Then we lost everything. A pharmacy misfilled my prescription, and my life turned upside down. I didn’t know who I was and would disappear for days with no memory of what had happened. I was a total zombie, and by the time we discovered the mistake we had lost all our contracts and were completely bankrupt. We called poison control and found out I had been taking five times the correct dose and should be dead. We were ruined.

We were in court for four years. We had bill collectors at our door. We survived on deer meat from friends and food stamps. We ended up making enough back in the lawsuit to pay our creditors, but at the age of 22, we had four kids in a one-bedroom house we couldn’t afford to heat or cool.

When we lost everything, my dad told me I could come work for him at RBM for $1,000 a month. That wasn’t my dream. I had worked my butt off my whole life, and now I was going to have to work for my dad after losing all I had built.

But I came to work at RBM as a janitor, and I worked around the clock. I started bringing on new contracts for commission, and things grew from there. Janae and I bought the business from my dad in 2004 with 100 employees. My goal was to double it every year, and we have.

Our clientele list is long — XanGo, Nu Skin, Novell, Tahitian Noni, Franklin Covey and many more. It’s relationships that set our company apart. We know our customers. Plus, there isn’t one person here that won’t help clean a building all night if we need them to. You can’t ask for a better team. I didn’t build this business. My team did.

My dad comes to work just for fun now. He likes to be around the growth. When he bought it, it was a small Utah County business. And now we’ve expanded into Utah, Wyoming and Idaho and have more than 500 employees. It’s a big thrill for him.

I couldn’t have done any of this without my beautiful wife. She has stuck with me. I’ve spent countless nights taking care of buildings while she’s home with our six daughters. She is my business partner and best friend. I’d be nowhere without her.

The great thing about where I’ve been is now I’m not afraid of failure. I’ve risked it all and lost everything, and I’d do it again. I have no idea what’s next, but I’m excited. The risk of entrepreneurship is always worth it, and I’ll be on every ride I can — just holding on.

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Three-Year Growth
123%

In the case of Little Adventures, mothers do indeed know best. The Lehi company — which produces dress-ups for children, adults, dolls and plush animals — was founded by two moms with a problem: Dress-ups for their kids were expensive, itchy and hard to find. So like mother, like entrepreneur, Heather Granata and Jenny Farnsworth solved the problem by sewing their own — and a business was born. Eight years later, the business is all grown up. Its dress-ups are sold across the country (in places like Target, QVC and specialty toy stores) and sales reps dot the nation. And with nearly $2 million in sales last year alone, Little Adventures is all dressed up with everywhere to go.

I was running a daycare out of my home, and Heather’s little girl was one of the kids. When it came time to pick her up, Heather would always stay and chat with me. We became instant friends.

At the daycare, I’d have the kids in dress-ups because everything else created clutter and disasters. But it was hard to find dress-ups. The Disney Store was the only place, and we didn’t have one nearby at the time. Nor did we want to spend that much money.

Heather and I started talking about making our own line of dress-ups. We asked ourselves, “Could we really do this? Do you think they would sell? Let’s try it.”

We sewed, and sewed and sewed. I was pregnant at the time, and I was so sick. I remember sitting in my basement with an IV in my arm, sewing like a madwoman. But I didn’t care. I was just so determined not to have a daycare anymore.

We didn’t have a lot of success. We were selling some, but it wasn’t worth the amount of time we put in. So we decided to sell them on eBay. We tried putting them up for auction at $10 — and they wouldn’t sell. But then we started thinking that at $10, the value was too low. So we played around with the price. We went to $12 and then to $15 and then to $19.99 — which was our magic number. Turns out we were literally selling ourselves short.

After our success with eBay, people in the retail and wholesale markets started approaching us. And that’s where the true Little Adventures began. Our first order of business was to setup a factory. We went to a sewer locally, but she couldn’t get enough produced. So we went to a woman in Idaho and began producing them there. When we grew out of what she could do for us, we went to China.

We’ve set four goals: The dress-ups have to be comfortable, affordable, machine washable and adorable. Other companies only do one or two of these. But as moms, we know that the kids don’t just want to dress up in these clothes. They want to live in them — eat, sleep and play. If we were going to be successful, we had to do all four.

That emphasis on quality has been a blessing and a pain. A few years ago, our biggest learning experience came when we had a big shipment come in from China. The fabric was not what we approved and it was coming apart. We had to dump the whole shipment — a $100,000 order — at below cost just to get rid of it. We didn’t want to put our name on it because it would hurt us in the end. What we took away from that was taking more control of our outsourcing. We learned we need to be in China more and check on the orders before they come. It was a painful lesson, but one that we’re oddly grateful for.

Sales have been a surprise — a nice, nice surprise. They’ve just come naturally. When you make a good product, the sale is easy. You don’t have to force the issue.

We love everything about being located in Utah Valley. You are choosing from high quality people. The people that work for us value that we put our kids first no matter what — they always understand. You won’t find that just anywhere.

The most rewarding part of our success is our friendship. Business is really quite personal for us — and we love that we’re able to do it in a successful way. If you work at Little Adventures, you’re a part of the Little Adventures family. And when we look back at where we’ve been and how far we’ve come, man, it’s been fun. What a roller coaster.

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Three-Year Growth
277%

One on One Marketing wasn’t supposed to last six months. Well, according to the building manager of the company’s first office space. “He told me he’d be surprised if we lasted longer than that,” says Nick Greer, founder of the American Fork-based company that provides lead generation in the for-profit education industry. “But it didn’t offend me. I was able to talk him into a six-month lease, and then I got to prove him wrong. It motivated me like you wouldn’t believe.” Eight years later, One on One Marketing has nothing left to prove. The company is one of the largest lead aggregators for for-profit and post secondary schools in the nation and did more than $22 million in revenue in 2009 alone. And with a company focus of employees, employees, employees, One on One is here to stay.

In 2002, I had a company with a partner, and one of our clients was Ancestry.com. They paid us $10,000 to generate free trials for their genealogy subscription service. We went to a group in Salt Lake, and they said they could generate those leads for us.

They generated six free trials, and Ancestry.com wanted their $9,910 back. My partner said, “We’ve got to give the money back.” I told him we couldn’t. We had to come through for them on those leads. Within six months, we became Ancenstry.com’s No. 2 acquisition leader.

Around that same time, I broke off from that partner and company. I love that partner to death — it was just time to move on. We were both ready for a change.

So with $2,000 in the bank, I loaded my 1997 GMC Suburban with a desk from my old company and a chair I got from ZCMI, and I went over to our new office space and prepaid $750 for my first month’s rent. I was almost in tears. That was July 17, 2002, the day I created One on One Marketing. In August I was moving into a home, and it was the first time I was going to have a mortgage. But I knew it would be good motivation to have something (everything!) on the line — I knew it would take mental toughness

We started cranking. We generated leads for Ancestry.com and also for a health and fitness club in Logan. We quickly started getting clients. We did a lot of work for Nordic Track, and we started doing some leads for customers in the medical billing industry. Then we got into the education arena, which is where our focus is today. Education is really where we skyrocketed. One great thing led to another great thing.

We are excited about where we’ve been and where we’re going. It’s fun to tell our story because we have a unique culture here. Our employees are rock stars. I know a lot of companies say that, and it may sound typical or like you might read in a textbook, but truly there is a special vibe here. The people we have are vested in the company. They fight for us each and every day. If I say, “Let’s turn it up,” they instantly crank it up. They’re a machine — a good machine, not a robotic machine.

Everything is hard if you look at it as hard. I’ve always looked at work as enjoyable. Each and every challenge is motivation to do better. When I look back at everything in hindsight, every time there has been a challenge, a reward has been just around the corner. Every time a challenge seems impossible to overcome, the second we overcome it is when we take the business to the next level. Challenges push us to become better. Every business has challenges — it’s the way you approach them and the way you grow from them that matters. Running a business isn’t rocket science. It’s a simple process so many of us overanalyze.

What I love about Utah Valley is the people. The talent you can find here is incredible — it’s like a hidden golden chunk of talent. I was talking to a group the other day who asked me about the talent pool here, and I told them to come out and see for themselves why businesses thrive here — it’s the talent.

The best part of being an entrepreneur is having a vision in your mind and implementing that vision. And then it’s taking those around you and watching them expand that vision to greater heights than you could imagine. It’s such a rush. Some people love to go ice climbing, some people love to jump out of a plane. Building a business is my rush.

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Three-Year Growth
1,171%

You gotta love the garage. Four years ago, Kory and Stephanie Boyd started KS Marketing out of their home. And the company, which sells retail and wholesale products primarily in the scrapbook and craft industries, took up residence in the ever-iconic garage. “We shipped hundreds of packages a day,” says Kory Boyd, founder of the company that sells products such as Provo Craft’s Cricut. “We did it rain or shine, and we even made it through a few blizzards with product blowing all over the place. You should see some of our pictures.” That picture-perfect entrepreneurial beginning has led to a “happy middle” – with no ending in sight. In its short life-span, the company has catapulted in revenue and reputation, and it ships more than 1,000 products a day to customers in all 50 states and in countries worldwide. Oh, and did we mention KS Marketing was named BusinessQ’s No. 2 Startup to Watch in last year’s UV50? We love it when we’re right.

After working at Provo Craft, I knew the craft industry. I knew I could start a business and make it work. But even though unemployment was my choice, it was hard. I had never done it before, and I felt that burden of being a pure entrepreneur — of wondering whether or not I’d be able to provide for my family. But my wife and I prayed about it and decided to go for it.

We started doing well right out of the gate. Within the first couple months, we were bringing in six figures. After three or four months, we brought in a partner, Randall Hild.

In 2007, we decided to incorporate, and we moved into a 1,000-square-foot warehouse. As we continued to grow, we moved to a 3,000-square-foot warehouse in Pleasant Grove. Now we have three of them … and we need to move again.

Our strategy has been to be extremely conservative — and we’ll stay that way. We operate completely in the black. If we can’t afford it, we don’t pay for it. We don’t hire people until we really, really feel it. I don’t know of any other company that has the number of employees we do with the amount of revenue we bring in.

We have a great relationship with Provo Craft. They’ve really helped us grow as a company. We are one of their top accounts, right behind Michaels, Wal-Mart and Jo-Anns. Those companies are the real deal, and it’s satisfying to know we can hold our own with the big guns.

As we’ve grown, we have started developing our own products by making accessories to other products in the industry. And actually, our original products are some of our bestsellers.
Not to sound trite or ungrateful, but sales have been easier than we thought they would be. We have great products with a great niche, and we’ve marketed the right way. We pride ourselves on customer service, especially since people can buy our products from a number of other places.

Since its inception, our company has changed in every aspect except our ideals — affordability, quality and integrity. And one of the most rewarding aspects of our growth has been taking care of our employees. We have 14 families that depend on our company, and it’s a great feeling to come through for them. Handing out Christmas bonuses this last year was really, really fun.

The best part of being an entrepreneur is the invaluable experience we’ve gained. Whether we succeed or fail, we’re doing something many people are unable to do. We’ve self-financed this company, and there is value in saying we took the plunge ourselves.

In five years, I see us as a leader in manufacturing and re-selling. We’ll have a couple hundred employees and be a solid company in the valley. Our successes thus far are just little milestones. We’re still on the journey and enjoying the ride. Sometimes rides come to an end, but we’re going to make this one last as long as we can.

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NO. 2 SUB ZERO ICE CREAM
Three-Year Growth 710% Revenue in 2009 $990,901 Founded 2004 City Provo Employees 50 Industry Retail, dining Web site www.subzeroicecream.com Founder Jerry Hancock, 42
The Company An ice cream company that uses liquid nitrogen to freeze the ice cream after the customer has ordered it. The company has retail locations and also caters.
The Growth With a cool, unique, interactive (and patent-pending) process, Sub Zero has discovered the science of growth. It now has six retail locations in Utah and Idaho (five of which are franchises), with three more scheduled to open in early 2010.
The Growing Pains “Logistics. Specifically, getting product suppliers to each new location and needing to educate and reassure individual city agencies in each different area on the facts of the process.”
The Milestone Moment “There are so many. Each time we accomplish a new thing we prove the concept that much more. For example: Training employees to make the ice cream consistently. Training managers to run the store without us there. Having a franchisee open a store and run it. Getting a product and logistics to those stores. Having someone buy multiple franchises for new territories when he had never been in a store or tried the product. He just loved the concept.”
The Advice “Run! … just kidding. It’s a lot of hard work, and you need to be willing to keep your eyes on your original vision. Also, build it the most you can with your own sweat equity. Don’t give away too much of the company at the start in return for capital.”

NO. 3 ORANGESODA
Three-Year Growth 699% Revenue in 2009 $14,524,559 Founded 2006 City American Fork Employees 163 Industry Technology Web site www.orangesoda.com Founders Jay Bean, 41; Derek Miner, 34; Chris Finken, 30

The Company An online marketing company geared toward small- and medium-sized businesses.
The Growth With first-rate employees, first-rate technology and a first-rate entrance into its market, OrangeSoda has defied the odds and skyrocketed to out-of-this-world growth.
The Growing Pains “Piecing together all of the manual steps of online marketing into a technology solution that is scalable.”
The Milestone Moment “I will tell you when we get there.”
The Advice “You have to go through the tough times to enjoy and recognize the good times. Building a company can be very difficult, but the rewards come when you see new customers buying your product or service and seeing your company grow.”

NO. 4 SECURITYMETRICS*
Three-Year Growth 369% Revenue in 2009 $18,944,796 Founded 2000 City Orem Employees 285 Industry Technology Web site www.securitymetrics.com Founder Brad Caldwell, 47
The Company An educator and tester of merchant businesses to ensure they are keeping credit card data secure.
The Growth A push from credit card companies for merchants to comply with the industry’s data security standards coupled with increased awareness for data security and a “gift from heaven,” SecurityMetrics has experienced phenomenal success in an ever-essential market.
The Growing Pains “Having to identify and hire 100 new employees in four weeks.”
The Milestone Moment “When we reached more than 400,000 in business enrollment.”
The Advice “Watch your initial company agreements closely, and don’t get venture capital too early.”

NO. 5 MARKETECTURE, INC.
Three-Year Growth 362% Revenue in 2009 $11,177,973 Founded 2003 City Orem Employees 86 Industry Technology Web site www.marketecture.com Founder Oliver Bigler, 37
The Company A Web software and search engine marketing company that provides online tools for professional services and e-commerce industries.
The Growth With stellar employees and a “product-first focus,” Marketecture has created loyalists out of its customers — customers who have propelled the company to impressive, impressive heights.
The Growing Pains “Growing too fast. We had to quickly build new systems and infrastructure to handle the large volume of customers that came on board. We weren’t ready at the time, and it took us more than a year to do a complete overhaul of our client management system.”
The Milestone Moment “Three years ago when we decided to completely change our business model to adapt to the evolving Internet.”
The Advice “Self-fund your business. The best thing we ever did was to grow the business out of its own earnings, and now we’re a large company that’s wholly owned by the founders and employees.”

NO. 6 DIGICERT*
Three-Year Growth 292% Revenue in 2009 $12,272,148 Founded 2003 City Lindon Employees 45 Industry Technology Web site www.digicert.com Founder Ken Bretschneider, 43

The Company A global Certificate Authority specializing in Trusted SSL Certificates and Identity Services.
The Growth With a rock-solid foundation and integrity-driven principles, Digicert has experienced tremendous growth with more than 40,000 customers and clients including Facebook, BMW, Harvard and the Department of Homeland Security.
The Growing Pains “Finding and training high quality employees for our niche field, especially considering our incredible growth. The most important goal we established from day one was to be the best in our industry and never become complacent. With this objective in mind, we needed to attract like-minded people. Combine this with the necessary technical and interpersonal skills required to fulfill our very specialized field of encryption security and authentication, and you can imagine how many candidates we need to review in order to find the right person. Often it takes more than a year to properly train our staff in order to reach a point in which we feel they can best meet our customers’ needs.”
The Milestone Moment “In 2006 we worked with several organizations to develop a new SSL product now known as ‘Unified Communications Certificates.’ Since their introduction, these certificates have become the standard for any business that needs to protect their e-mail and internal communications. The resulting impact on our revenue was significant. However, the most significant impact was on our role in the marketplace. This collaborative effort challenged DigiCert in a new direction. Instead of thinking as industry players (just another competitor), we adopted the new mindset of innovators and creators. We haven’t looked back since.”
The Advice “God is in the details. Keep the big picture in focus, but remember it is the little things that will make or break your company. Always build a strong foundation based on core principles. It is imperative you practice self-control and patience in your decision-making process. Never become complacent, always strive to improve. It is true that what goes around comes around. Treat those around you well by sharing in your success.”

NO. 7 ONE ON ONE MARKETING
Three-Year Growth 277% Revenue in 2009 $22,245,818 Founded 2002 City American Fork Employees 75 Industry Technology
Web site www.go1on1.com Founder Nick Greer, 33

The Company A provider of consumer leads for the online for-profit education industry.
The Growth With impeccable tools and an impeccable staff, One on One Marketing has successfully focused on one segment of the market — and hasn’t slowed down since.
The Growing Pains “Growing organically and without any debt — but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
The Milestone Moment “Aug. 28, 2008 — We lost one of our biggest clients. This forced us to look differently at what we were doing and take a huge leap of faith in creating a new path for our business. Today we can say this client is back and spends two times as much with us.”
The Advice “Don’t give up. Do what your gut is telling you is right. Don’t give in to cutting corners to make the extra money now. Take your losses now to get your gains later. Make today better than yesterday and success will be right around the corner.”

NO. 8 NETSTEPS*
Three-Year Growth 260% Revenue in 2009 $5,104,547 Founded 2003 City Pleasant Grove Employees 30 Industry Technology Web site www.netsteps.com Founder Derek P. Maxfield, 34

The Company A provider of technology solutions for the direct selling industry. NetSteps’ management tools allow customers to increase profitability, enhance the distributors’ experience and protect their corporate image.
The Growth Thanks to great clients, expert employees and a whole lot of accuracy and integrity, NetSteps (our No. 1 Fastest-Growing Company in 2009, by the way) has excelled both locally and nationally (including a stint as No. 245 on the 2009 Inc. 500).
The Growing Pains “Managing client and employee expectations as the team has grown beyond just a few individuals who I know intimately and speak with on a regular basis.”
The Milestone Moment “When we delivered on our first large enterprise client at the beginning of 2007. We had a few clients prior to that, but this client really put us on the map of viable software vendors and gave us financial stability to grow in.”
The Advice “Growth by sacrificing your core values or leveraging too much of the company’s financial stability is not really growth at all, but only a temporary upturn on a graph that will most likely fall once the consequences of those actions catch up.”

NO. 9 INFUSE MEDICAL*
Three-Year Growth 224% Revenue in 2009 $2,348,661 Founded 2007 City Lehi Employees 20 Industry Technology Web site www.infusemed.com Founders Brook Harker, 35; James Norton, 36; Jordan Erickson, 35; Steve Deverall, 31
The Company A developer of training and marketing programs specifically for medical device manufacturers.
The Growth With top-notch clients, a stellar crew of employees and distinctive direction, Infuse Medical has experienced big growth in a small timeframe.
The Growing Pains “Managed growth has been our biggest challenge.”
The Milestone Moment “When Steve Deverall won the drawing for the trifecta howling wolf shirt at our company Christmas party by using the law of attraction … or possibly the company-wide road trip to Vegas to attend a very large industry trade show.”
The Advice “Find a niche, specialize, be passionate and define yourself so others will pigeon hole you into what you want to become.”

NO. 10 OMNITURE*, a division of Adobe
Three-Year Growth 180% Revenue in 2009 $345,700,000** Founded 1996 City Orem Industry Technology Web site www.omniture.com Founder Josh James, 36
The Company A provider of online optimization software that is now a division of Adobe.
The Growth Since its inception in 1996, Omniture has catapulted off the growth charts. And with Adobe acquiring the Orem-based company last year, growth will continue to be Omniture’s middle name.
** Due to Adobe’s acquisition of Omniture and a change in its fiscal year, the Orem company’s growth was measured by its sales from Q4 2006 to Q3 2007 and Q4 2008 to Q3 2009.

NO. 11 AMARA DAY SPA SALON & BOUTIQUE
Three-Year Growth 174% Revenue in 2009 $801,283 Founded 2005 City Orem Employees 39 Industry Beauty Web site www.amaradayspa.com Founder Leigh Bennett, 29

The Company A day spa, salon and boutique.
The Growth Thanks to keen expertise (Amara trains its staff regularly), family-like employees, a gorgeous new location and a guest-first approach, the day spa and salon has flourished in an economy where beauty regime is often the first thing to go.
The Growing Pains “Trying to find balance in life. In the first year of moving locations, Tyler (Leigh’s husband) and I knew we would need to spend a lot of time starting new systems, hiring, training, marketing, etc. We are also in the beginning stages of starting a family. We have a 3-year-old, a 2-year-old and a baby on the way. There have been many late nights and early mornings spent with Amara so our children didn’t notice we were gone too much.”
The Milestone Moment “Opening our new location in July 2009 has been one of the biggest accomplishments. In a time when the economy is struggling, we were able to expand to a beautiful new location and add 30 employees. I love that we were able to offer jobs to that many women in our own community — and that Amara is thriving.”
The Advice “Be ready for hard work and always remember how you like to be treated. Also, we learn most from making mistakes, so learn from your mistakes and don’t repeat them.”

NO. 12 SERVERPLUS*
Three-Year Growth 172% Revenue in 2009 $3,120,151 Founded 2000 City Orem Employees 52 Industry Technology Web site www.serverplus.com Founder Layne Sisk, 44
The Company A provider of outsourced services to Internet service providers, which includes inbound tech support, outbound sales, billing, e-mail hosting, VoIP and Internet connectivity.
The Growth Armed with pitch-perfect customer service, ServerPlus has stealthily taken advantage of a free market perk: The company enables ISPs to compete in services with the national providers for less money.
The Growing Pains “Giving up control.”
The Milestone Moment “Still waiting for that.”
The Advice “Surround yourself with good people, and give them enough authority to do their jobs.”

NO. 13 FIVE STAR PAINTING*
Three-Year Growth 150% Revenue in 2009 $6,899,845 Founded 2005 City Springville Employees 12 Industry Franchising Web site www.fivestarpaintingfranchise.com Founders Scott Abbott, 35; Chad R. Jones, 35; Conrad Kolba, 35
The Company A seller of painting franchises.
The Growth As a sales and marketing company that “happens to be in the painting industry,” Five Star Painting has used a systematic approach to lead generation coupled with five-star services. And as such, it now has franchise operations in three countries, 23 states and provinces, and 35 major markets.
The Growing Pains “Meeting the ever-changing needs of a more diverse franchise base.”
The Milestone Moment “When our recurring revenues met our recurring expenses.”
The Advice “Sales cover a multitude of sins. Get your sales process tightly defined, then test it constantly to find areas of growth both through volume and efficiency.”

NO. 14 ATTASK*
Three-Year Growth 143% Revenue in 2009 $18,990,000 Founded 2001 City Orem Employees 150 Industry Software Web site www.attask.com Founder Scott Johnson, 40
The Company A provider of on-demand project and portfolio management software.
The Growth A relevant and in-demand product has led to five office locations worldwide and influential clients like Apple, Amazon.com, Chevron, McDonald’s, Toyota and The Walt Disney Company.
The Growing Pains “Retaining company culture as we’ve grown.”
The Milestone Moment “Most definitely when we closed a $400,000 deal at a time when we had only four employees, $3,000 in the bank and about $200,000 in debt.”
The Advice “Never stop doing the good things.”

NO. 15 LITTLE ADVENTURES*
Three-Year Growth 123% Revenue in 2009 $1,835,086 Founded 2002 City Lehi Employees 12 Industry Wholesale, apparel Web site www.littleadventures.com Founder Heather Granata, 38; Jenny Farnsworth, 38
The Company A wholesaler that offers a line of matching dress-ups for adults, children, and dolls or plush animals.
The Growth Thanks to a fabulously unique product and sales reps dotting the United States (plus a hefty amount of persistence and determination), Little Adventures has skyrocketed in its niche market.
The Growing Pains “Providing high quality products to our customers is a top priority. When items arrive not meeting our high standards, we have to take a loss on the product. This decreases cash flow and limits our ability to add new products for increased growth.”
The Milestone Moment “Reaching our first $1 million in sales.”
The Advice “Be careful to grow slowly and wisely. Growth can be good, but when you are not ready, it can kill your business.”

NO. 16 FISHBOWL INVENTORY
Three-Year Growth 122% Revenue in 2009 $6,569,327 Founded 2001 City Orem Employees 68 Industry Software Web site www.fishbowlinventory.com CEO David Williams, 51

The Company An inventory control software company designed for QuickBooks users.
The Growth With a critically acclaimed product, a standout team and a recession-proof niche in the market, Fishbowl Inventory has been the No. 1 requested inventory solution for QuickBooks since its inception in 2001.
The Growing Pains “Trying to decide which opportunities for growth would make the most sense and be the most rewarding.”
The Milestone Moment “The formation of what we call Oracles, which truly has empowered our people to be creative, productive, and personally and collectively fulfilled.”
The Advice “Be fiscally prudent but fearless and undaunted in the pursuit of your goals.”

NO. 17 RBM BUILDING SERVICES, INC.*
Three-Year Growth 109% Revenue in 2009 $6,453,298 Founded 1975 City Provo Employees 480 Industry Building services Web site www.rbmservicesinc.com Owner Jon Moss, 35

The Company A building service contractor that cleans and maintains commercial buildings.
The Growth With recent growth from acquisition, an expansion in both the government and private sectors, a phenomenal staff, and aggressive networking, RBM has exploded in growth by “keeping customers happy. Period.” In fact, RBM is the largest solely owned janitorial company in the state of Utah and cleans more than 15 million commercial square feet annually.
The Growing Pains “Cash.”
The Milestone Moment “Growing during the recent recession.”
The Advice “Stick to what you know. Expand horizontally first.”

NO. 18 SMILE REMINDER
Three-Year Growth 108% Revenue in 2009 $5,481,435 Founded 2000 City Lehi Employees 42 Industry Technology/Healthcare Web site www.smilereminder.com Founder Jim Higgins, 40
The Company A practice-to-patient communication service designed to increase productivity and grow practices by delivering text/e-mail automated appointment reminders, recare/recall reminders, birthday messages, e-newsletters, e-surveys and custom promotions to a patients’ mobile devices.
The Growth With a clear vision from the get-go, Smile Reminder has grown because of its expert technology, outstanding service, persistent sales efforts and a specific market. It even made a splash nationally by hitting No. 546 on the 2009 Inc. 5000.
The Growing Pains “Human resource management — the whole process that involves promoting, recruiting, adjusting job roles, etc.”
The Milestone Moment “When we realized at our 2009 Christmas party that we had grown as a company so much, we now had to use a microphone so everybody could hear what was being said.”
The Advice “You must instill a clear vision with a lot of passion into your company. Then you will have people building a company alongside you rather than simply ‘being employed.’ Builders are what you really want — and that makes all the difference.”

NO. 19 HERITAGE MAKERS
Three-Year Growth 97% Revenue in 2009 $8,739,000 Founded 2005 City Provo Employees 40 Industry Publishing and consumer products Web site www.heritagemakers.com CEO Chris Lee, 39
The Company A provider of on-demand custom publishing sold through a direct sales force.
The Growth Thanks to a dedicated independent sales force and a high-quality product, Heritage Makers has created the loyalist of customers and grown exponentially in a short amount of time.
The Growing Pains “Getting the right people in the right roles.”
The Milestone Moment “In 2008, our flagship product was featured in O, the Oprah Magazine as one of Oprah’s ‘all-time favorite gifts.’”
The Advice “Hire scalable people who get things done.”

NO. 20 SIMPLY MAC
Three-Year Growth 91% Revenue in 2009 $13,812,123 Founded 2006 City Orem Employees 45 Industry Consumer electronics, retail Web site www.simplymac.com Founder Steve Bain, 41

The Company A retailer and repairer of Apple products and services with retail stores in Utah and Colorado.
The Growth A loyal fan base coupled with strong and committed employees has led Simply Mac to grow phenomenally in a short amount of time.
The Growing Pains “Managing inventory efficiency and cash flow.”
The Milestone Moment “Being recognized by Apple as a top 10 distributor of Apple products in the U.S. within our first full year of business.”
The Advice “Surround yourself with smart people, don’t be afraid of asking a ton of questions, listen intently to your employees and your customers, celebrate success along the way, direct your focus to a few key elements that will improve your business and work extremely hard.”

NO. 21 ARIBEX, INC.*
Three-Year Growth 75% Revenue in 2009 $5,752,221 Founded 2003 City Orem Employees 30.5 Industry Medical device manufacturing Web site www.aribex.com Founder D. Clark Turner, 49
The Company A developer and marketer of new technologies in the X-ray radiography fields.
The Growth A superb, highly differentiated product coupled with strong management and smart execution has led to impressive growth in a needful market.
The Growing Pains “Internal company politics. With more people comes more differences of opinion.”
The Milestone Moment “Receiving FDA clearance for our product, which opened up investor financing. Also, becoming profitable.”
The Advice “In order to grow you need to ‘nail it and scale it.’ Figure out what works, then replicate that via new products or new markets.”

NO. 22 PROVO CRAFT*
Three-Year Growth 69% Revenue in 2009 $279,970,097 Founded 1964 City Spanish Fork Employees 1,100 Industry Craft Web site www.provocraft.com Founder Robert Emmett Workman, 54
The Company A consumer electronics manufacturer in the creative marketplace.
The Growth With a willingness to reinvent its product lines and make significant leaps in technology, Provo Craft did nearly $280 million in sales in 2009 alone and created a personal electronic cutting system — the Cricut — that now boasts more than 1 million users.
The Growing Pains “Finding and hiring the right team.”
The Milestone Moment “Defining ourselves as a company that helps others to create. It opened up our ability to move into other products and markets.”
The Advice “Build a solid operation base — you must have internal disciplines.”

NO. 23 ACCESS TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS
Three-Year Growth 60% Revenue in 2009 $18,400,000 Founded 2002 City Provo Employees 70 Industry Technology Web site www.accessts.com Founder Chris Boyle, 47

The Company A provider of e-commerce technology and logistics that help retail and direct selling companies sell their products in international markets.
The Growth Thanks to an ever-expanding international e-commerce market (especially in Asia), Access Technology Solutions has capitalized on that growth with an expert team, forward-thinking technology and cost-effective solutions for customers. And with a No. 307 ranking on the 2009 Inc. 500, it’s clear the company is making its mark on both a local and national level.
The Growing Pains “Rapid expansion into many countries in Asia and Europe and all of the culture and regulatory challenges that come with that.”
The Milestone Moment “Being able to pay ourselves a salary. Also, when we realized our ability to scale the business model not only in size but geographically. We have been able to take what started as a Japan-only solution and successfully implement it all across Asia and Europe.”
The Advice “Get the right people on the bus and the wrong ones off as soon as possible. Stay focused and build a culture of teamwork and respect.”

NO. 24 COSTUME CRAZE*
Three-Year Growth 38% Revenue in 2009 $10,028,204 Founded 2001 City Pleasant Grove Employees 29 (200-plus temporary employees during Halloween season) Industry Retail Web site www.costumecraze.com Founder Kate Maloney, 28
The Company An online costume retailer.
The Growth Thanks to new product implementation (try a couple thousand new costumes a year) and a significant investment in technology, Costume Craze has flown by its competitors and secured its place as a “big gun” in the costume market.
The Growing Pains “Growth itself … especially warehouse issues. We’ve had trouble with physical space to keep pace with year-to-year growth. However, we recently purchased a warehouse three times the size of our former (and with several acres of land for future expansion).”
The Milestone Moment “Moving into a ‘real’ warehouse (i.e. moving out of our house!), making our first million and receiving our first national recognition (Inc. 500).”
The Advice “Know when to be flexible and when to stick to your guns. Don’t pass up an opportunity just because there are a few (or even a lot) of naysayers around you!”

NO. 25 NAMIFIERS*
Three-Year Growth 34% Revenue in 2009 $9,769,913 Founded 2001 City Springville Employees 85 Industry Manufacturing Web site www.namifiers.com
Founder Bryan L. Welton Jr., 33
The Company A manufacturer of identification and branding products to businesses and consumers.
The Growth Speedy, same-day service (along with viewing “no” as a swear word) has led to Inc. 500 recognitions and more than 80,000 clients, including more than half of the Fortune 500 companies.
The Growing Pains “Working with young managers who don’t know how good they have it.”
The Milestone Moment “Watching an employee catch the company vision.”
The Advice “Put the systems in place.”

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The Fastest-Growing Companies list is selected from a group of applicants and ranked based on their percentage growth over a three-year period. The 2007 and 2009 gross revenue figures have been verified by BusinessQ and are accurate as of March 1, 2010. BusinessQ disclaims any responsibility for companies that did not apply.

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PICTURE MAKES PERFECT
We conducted six photo shoots with local photographer Bryant Livingston (www.blphoto.com). Here are just two of the highlights:

Trust Fall
KS Marketing’s Kory Boyd and Randall Hild were good sports with the heaps of boxes we made them climb through. They were even willing to gleefully throw their hands up and fall backward into the pile — just to nail our photo shoot. There’s a reason you’re No. 1, KS Marketing.

Lights Out
The power was unexpectedly turned off the morning of our Little Adventures shoot in Lehi, but Livingston came prepared with battery-operated equipment. Thankfully, founders Heather Granata and Jenny Farnsworth were game to smile in the dark and wait for the flash.

Q&A
The Q got its A on and surveyed the execs in charge. Here are our favorite responses.

Q: When you have to pull an all-nighter, what’s the food of choice?
A: “Peach rings … gotta have your fruit group.”
— Kyle Hall, Complete Merchant Solutions

A: “Smelling salts … then ice cream.”
— James Norton, Infuse Medical

A: “Monster energy drinks and pizza.”
— Chris Finken, OrangeSoda

A: “Dr Pepper and Bajio Grill.”
— Jim Higgins, Smile Reminder

Q: Who’s your favorite local entrepreneur?
A: “Alan Ashton.”
— Chris Boyle, Access Technology Solutions

A: “Alan Hall. He was one of my early mentors. I love what he is doing with Grow Utah Ventures.”
— Rich Christiansen, CastleWave

A: “Scott Abbott (because he’s being CCd on this).”
— Chad R. Jones, Five Star Painting

Q: If you could be anyone else, who would you be?
A: “Me, myself and I.”
— Answer of 90 percent of our respondents

A: “Bobby Flay.”
— Christian Faulconer, Franchise Foundry

A: “Santa Claus.”
— Jon Moss, RBM Building Services

A: “Oprah Winfrey.”
— Heather Granata, Little Adventures

A: “Jerry Seinfield — I love performing and my life could have gone in a completely different direction if acting/comedy had taken over.”
— Oliver Bigler, Marketecture, Inc.

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