The 2014 World Series and 2014 Deloitte Fast 50

The San Francisco Giants and their fans are still basking in the afterglow of winning their third World Series in five years. It’s one thing to have the many attributes of a team’s baseball season come together for one championship, but for the stars to align three times in just five years is truly remarkable. You have to go back to the 2000 Yankees, and before that the 1974 Oakland Athletics, to find other teams that won as many titles in five years or less.

We at Solace feel that same kind of pride about our fifth straight trip to the Deloitte Fast 50, an annual list of the fastest growing companies in Canada. The ranking is based on five year revenue growth rates, so five years on the list actually means nine years of consistent, rapid revenue growth.

A little analysis of the Deloitte data shows how rare it is to maintain growth rates as long as we have. Consider the list over the past five years – 50 names per year from 2010-2014. You might think lots of companies appear year after year, but here are the actual numbers – from the 250 total names:

• 1 year on list: 75
• 2 years on list: 28
• 3 years on list: 14
• 4 years on list: 13
• 5 years on list: 5

So of the 50 names that appeared on the list in 2010, only five, one of which is Solace, has appeared on the list each of the last five years. The rest have either failed to sustain their growth rates or been acquired. The Giants can’t even claim that kind of consistency, as they took breathers in both 2011 and 2013.

Thank you Deloitte for giving companies like us a vehicle where we can be objectively measured against other technology companies while maintaining the benefits of being a private company. We’re plugging away every day to make sure we’ll be on the list for many years to come.