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Local Fantastic 50 companies have seen big growth
Local Fantastic 50 companies have seen big growth
Virginia Business// September 28, 2020//
Six Hampton Roads-based companies, including two newcomers, landed on the Virginia Chamber’s 2020 Fantastic 50 list of the state’s fastest-growing privately owned businesses. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the winners were recognized during a virtual event held in May. To qualify for the Fantastic 50, nominees’ fiscal revenues had to exceed $200,000 and be less than $200 million in fiscal year 2018. They also had to demonstrate a positive net income in 2018, and businesses were ranked by their growth rate from 2015 to 2018.
Here are the winners, which represent multiple industries: construction, maritime, language services, water quality management, support services and commercial franchises.
Virginia Beach
Fantastic 50 rank: #6
Year established: 1999
No. of employees: 24
2018 revenue: Would not disclose
’15-’18 revenue growth: 1,378.55%
With interpreters and translators fluent in more than 200 languages, The Language Group provides services for the health care and manufacturing industries as well as human resources departments and city and state governments. TLG was founded by married couple Chrysta and Giovanni Donatelli, who serve as executive partner and managing partner respectively. The company appeared in the Inc. 5000 rankings of the nation’s fastest-growing businesses in 2017, 2018 and 2019. In last year’s Fantastic 50, TLG was ranked sixth, and it won best small business in Virginia Beach from the Hampton Roads Chamber in 2019.
Virginia Beach
Fantastic 50 rank: #10
Year established: 1998
No. of employees: 279
2018 revenue: Would not disclose
’15-’18 revenue growth: 629.14%
Founded by former landscaper Kevin Tucker, SOLitude is a water quality management company and part of U.K.-based pest control company Rentokil Steritech’s North American holdings. The company keeps lakes, ponds, wetlands and fisheries clean by controlling algae, weeds and invasive species for clients nationwide, from golf courses to apartment complexes. In August, SOLitude named Mychal Manolatos as its new vice president; he joined the company in 2016. In 2019, SOLitude was ranked 12th in the Fantastic 50.
Newport News
Fantastic 50 rank: #19
Year established: 2005
No. of employees: 373
2018 revenue: Would not disclose
’15-’18 revenue growth: 376.19%
ITA was started as a marine business, but it is now an international provider of integrated support services — including research, analysis, planning, training, engineering, logistics and maritime support — for government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and commercial clients. CEO Mike Melo is a retired naval officer and founded the company with his wife, Kathy, who is chief governance officer. Last year, ITA was ranked No. 17 in the Fantastic 50. In August, the company was awarded a five-year, $50 million contract to consolidate and modernize the U.S. Air Force’s electro-magnetic spectrum operations at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, and it was on the 2020 Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies, with a growth rate of 92%.
Norfolk
Fantastic 50 rank: #35
Year established: 1923
No. of employees: 529
2018 revenue: Would not disclose
’15-’18 revenue growth: 245.49%
T. Parker Host is once again the oldest company on the Fantastic 50 list as a maritime solutions provider that specializes in agency services, terminal operations, stevedoring and marine assets. A family-owned company named for its founder, Host was known primarily as a ship-handling agency in the Hampton Roads area for much of its history. Its chairman and CEO is Adam Anderson, who has been with the company since 1998. In 1986, the company expanded operations to the rest of the East Coast, the Gulf Coast and Colombia. This year, the company has remained open and working during the coronavirus pandemic, although some employees are working remotely, including those at the agency office. Last year, Host hired nearly 300 people, and the company rose from No. 46 on the 2019 Fantastic 50 to No. 35 this year.
Virginia Beach
Fantastic 50 rank: #39
Year established: 2012
No. of employees: 26
2018 revenue: Would not disclose
’15-’18 revenue growth: 224.18%
Buzz Franchise Brands was started in 2012 with Mosquito Joe, a mosquito-control company with five employees that later grew to 280 locations in 34 states. Today, Buzz owns three franchise brands, including pool cleaning and maintenance provider Pool Scouts, residential cleaning brand Home Clean Heroes and swimming lessons provider British Swim School. Mosquito Joe was sold in 2018 to Dwyer Group, a Texas-based company that buys franchisors, for an undisclosed amount. Buzz is on the Fantastic 50 list for the first time in 2020, which has been a tough year for many businesses. Its swim school locations have been temporarily closed, but the home cleaning and pool maintenance franchises have remained active this year. CEO and President Kevin Wilson announced in July that the company signed a deal with Atlanta private equity firm FranBridge Capital for 10 franchise units of Pool Scouts and Home Clean Heroes at $100,000 each.
Williamsburg
Fantastic 50 rank: #48
Year established: 2008
No. of employees: 54
2018 revenue: Would not disclose
’15-’18 revenue growth: 163.68%
Another newcomer to the Fantastic 50, Leebcor Services is a general contractor and design-build firm that specializes in construction of federal facilities, with an emphasis on fast-track and turn-key services. Among its projects are buildings at Fort Lee, Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Eustis and Fort Story in Virginia, as well as facilities at military bases in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. Led by President and CEO John Karafa, Leebcor is a service-disabled, veteran-owned business; Karafa is a Virginia Military Institute graduate who served in the U.S. Air Force as a civil engineering officer for 12 years. This summer, the company was awarded a $7.7 million contract to renovate a building at the Defense Logistics Agency and Defense Supply Center in Richmond, and it received an $8.4 million task order for work at Naval Air Station Jacksonville in Florida.
The entrepreneurial spirit is growing in Hampton Roads, and there are several organizations, incubators and private companies that exist to help startup businesses thrive. Following is a sample of some of the many resources available:
504 Capital Corp.
504capital.com
757 Accelerate
757accelerate.org
757 Angels
757angelsgroup.com
757 Makerspace
757makerspace.com
Black BRAND
blackbrand.biz
Ernest M. Hodge Institute for Entrepreneurship
nsu.edu
Franklin Business Center
franklinsouthamptonva.com/
business-center
Hampton Roads Innovation Collaborative
technologyhamptonroads.com
Hampton Roads SCORE
hamptonroads.score.org
Hampton University Business Incubator
hubi.hamptonu.edu
Hatch
startwithhatch.com
Ignition
ignitioncenter.com
Innovation Research Park @ ODU
irpodu.com
Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship
odu.edu/iie
Launchpad, Greater Williamsburg Business Incubator
gwlaunchpad.com
ODU Innovation Center
odu.edu/iie/innovation-center
REaKTOR Business Technology Innovation Center
reaktoraccelerator.org
Reinvent Hampton Roads
reinventhr.org
RISE
riseresilience.org
StartWheel
startwheel.org
Strome Entrepreneurial Center
odu.edu/univ-impact/entrepreneurship/strome
Veterans Business Outreach Center
odu.edu/iie/vboc
Virginia SBDC – Hampton Roads
hrsbdc.org
Williamsburg SCORE
williamsburg.score.org
Women’s Business Center
odu.edu/iie/wbc
Chesapeake Economic Development
chesapeakeva.biz
Franklin Southampton Economic Development Inc.
franklinsouthamptonva.com
Hampton Economic Development
hampton.gov/241/
economic-development
Hampton Roads Alliance
hamptonroadsalliance.com
Isle of Wight Department of Economic Development
insidetheisle.com
Gloucester Economic Development
gloucesterva.info/217/economic-development
Greater Williamsburg Partnership
gwpva.com
James City County Office of Economic Development
yesjamescitycountyva.com
Middle Peninsula Alliance
mpava.com
Newport News Department of Development
newportnewsva.com
Norfolk Economic Development
norfolkdevelopment.com
Poquoson Economic Development
poquoson-va.gov/253/
economic-development
Portsmouth Economic Development
accessportsmouthva.com
YesSuffolk
yessuffolk.com
Virginia Beach Economic Development
yesvirginiabeach.com
Williamsburg Economic Development
yeswilliamsburg.com
York County Economic Development
yesyorkcounty.com
