FGC_10 Years

YEARS 

2008-2017 

A look back at the past 10 years of the 

CBJ’s Fastest Growing Companies Awards 

Strategies for managing growth - Thoughts on the next 10 years 

Updates on past honorees - Notable milestones & records

TLCA would like to thank 

the local communities 

as we celebrate our 

th anniversary! 

10 

“Named one of America’s Fastest- 

Growing Private Companies, TLC 

Associates is committed to operational 

excellence and a clearly defined goal: 

delivering program results with which 

our customers are satisfied and returning 

a positive ROI back to our clients.” 

T

JUNE 2017 

Chief Executive Officer 

& Publisher 

John F. Lohman 

Vice President 

Aspen N. Lohman 

Chief Operating Officer 

& Associate Publisher 

Andrea Rhoades 

Editor & Chief Content Officer 

Adam Moore 

Writers 

Chase Castle 

Dave DeWitte 

Angela Holmes 

Photographers 

Bill Adams 

Emily Bettridge 

Sarah Binder 

Brian Draeger 

Angela Holmes 

Graphic Design Manager 

Becky Lyons 

Graphic Designer 

Julia Druckmiller 

Media Consultants 

Kris Lacina 

Kelly Meyer 

Event Media Consultant 

Rhonda Roskos 

Marketing & Distribution Manager 

Jean Suckow 

Event Marketing Coordinator 

Ashley Levitt 

Contents are registered to Corridor Media Group. 

Reproductions or other use, in whole or in part, of 

the contents of the publication without permission 

is strictly prohibited. 

FROM THE PUBLISHER 

Marking a milestone 

The Fastest Growing Companies awards program, now in its 10th year, has been 

one of our most satisfying projects here at the Corridor Business Journal. 

Before these awards were given, many of the entrepreneurs 

we now recognize were producing great economic 

development accomplishments through their businesses, 

but very few people outside of their company and 

vendors knew about them. That was a shame. 

It’s akin to a tree falling in the forest – if nobody 

hears it, does it make a sound? 

These entrepreneurial endeavors, and the wealth that 

they create, are important lessons for our region to hear, 

so that their successes can be replicated and nurtured. 

After all, growing our own companies in the Corridor, 

rather than competing to recruit outside businesses, is 

the best long-term approach to economic success. 

As we’ve mentioned numerous times in the CBJ 

over the past decade, these fast-growing companies are the so-called “gazelles” 

in economic development parlance, and are coveted by development and community 

officials. 

Those same officials should conduct a thorough examination of these companies, 

and see what incentives, if any, helped them accomplish what they have 

accomplished – and then see what else can be done to help them grow even 

more. This publication should help. 

It’s exciting to look back over these the past decade and see the impact these 

100 companies have made on our region. We’ve circled around with some of the 

fastest companies to appear on our list for updates, and analyzed data on our 

past winners to look for deeper trends and takeaways that might offer clues for 

future assistance. 

It’s a cliché to say that a business can grow too fast, but a review of our lists 

over the past decade reveals multiple casualties attributable to that. Running or 

working for a fast-growing company is certainly exciting, but can be challenging 

in many other ways. That’s why those companies that have been on the list multiple 

times should get some additional attention. 

Clickstop is the leader in that category, with the Urbana-based online retailer 

appearing a record seven times over the past decade. The company has grown 

from a one-man show to more than 100 employees and nearly $36 million in 

revenue. It’s an amazing story that you can read more about inside the pages of 

this magazine. 

We would also like to thank our partner, Honkamp Krueger PC, as we recognize 

a decade of the CBJ’s Fastest Growing Companies program. The Dubuquebased 

firm has confidentially compiled the revenue numbers from these 100 private, 

for-profit companies for the past 10 years. We couldn’t have done it without 

them and their expertise and discretion. 

We hope you enjoy this look back, learn more about these high-performing 

companies and their leaders, and then consider what we can do as a region to 

foster the creation of more of these companies. 

2345 Landon Road, Ste. 100 

North Liberty, IA 52317 

319.665.NEWS 

www.corridorbusiness.com 

John Lohman 

CEO & Publisher 

Corridor Business Journal 

CBJ’s Fastest Growing Companies 10th Anniversary 3

CONTENTS 

STRATEGIES: 

Sustaining growth is no easy task.............. 6 

LEADERS: 

Clickstop rides the e-commerce wave...... 28 

ANALYSIS: 

FGC by the numbers.................................. 30 

FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES: 

Through the Years 2008-2017..................... 9 

6 

2008: Asoyia LLC....................................... 10 

2009: Bochner Chocolates........................ 12 

2010: Thomas L. Cardella & Associates.... 14 

2011: MediRevv......................................... 16 

2012: Midwest Microwave Solutions........ 18 

2013: Lattice Communications................. 20 

2014: Midwest Microwave Solutions........ 22 

2015: Spotix.............................................. 24 

2016: Moxie Solar..................................... 26 

2017: Sitler’s LED Supplies....................... 32 

28 

4 CBJ’s Fastest Growing Companies 10th Anniversary

FROM THE ACCOUNTANTS 

Technology paving the way for 

Corridor's Fastest Growing Companies 

We are excited to once again partner with the Corridor 

Business Journal for this year’s Fastest Growing 

Companies awards program. For 10 years we 

have been honored to be part of this competitive 

and prestigious award. Year over year, Corridor-area 

businesses continue to adapt and grow to the rapidly 

changing world we live in, and it’s been fun to 

watch these exceptional companies as they travel 

along their journey. 

Each year, we review the applicants’ financial 

statements and tax returns for the past three years 

to determine their overall percentage of growth, 

and the numbers have been amazing. We have seen 

greater than 400 percent growth in some cases, and 

companies have come within a decimal of a percentage 

point from each other to take the top spots. 

Most impressive are the companies who have made 

the list multiple times, which is an amazing accomplishment. 

If a business continues to make the top 

five or 10 each year, it means their revenue is effectively 

doubling annually, which is pretty powerful. 

One of the biggest trends we have seen over the 

years is the growth of technology and web-based 

companies. This comes as no surprise considering 

the mobile and digital world we live in, but the way 

these companies are successful is where it really gets 

interesting. Nearly every traditional industry has had 

to adapt to be more mobile and web-based, and that 

has in turn opened the door for entrepreneurs to 

step in and use their technological acumen. 

Rather than create new products or try to compete 

in traditional industries themselves, entrepreneurs 

are developing ways to help those industries 

perform more efficiently. For example, we already 

have companies that develop and manufacture 

heavy equipment; those companies that fall in the 

fast-growing category are instead coming up with 

ways to digitally manage the diagnostics on the 

equipment and provide better insight on its performance. 

Likewise, our health care systems have established 

staff, equipment and facilities, but entrepreneurs 

are coming up with better ways to manage 

their data and patient information so doctors can 

make better, more informed decisions. 

We also have seen an uptick in web-based retailers 

who have gone off the physical grid and exclusively 

operate online. These retailers are essentially 

like a mini-Amazon – they order products and resell 

them to the consumer. Without the overhead 

of a traditional physical location, these retailers can 

grow at a faster rate and meet their customers wherever 

and whenever they are online. It’s a game that 

people with a good sense of technology, distribution 

and marketing have jumped on, 

and it’s working here in Eastern Iowa. 

Furthermore, the growth we have 

seen has been encouraged and supported 

through some excellent economic 

stimulus programs such as 

tax incentives and historical districts. 

Growing companies in need of more 

space can make the investment to 

expand and build what they need, 

thanks to strong working partnerships 

with local and state economic 

development initiatives. More than 

half of all the entries over the course 

of the program have come from the Cedar Rapids 

metro area, while the rest have been fairly evenly dispersed 

throughout the Corridor, indicating that economic 

partnerships and overall community support 

has been strong for companies looking to expand. 

Moving into the next 10 years, based on the 

trends, we anticipate more entrepreneurs developing 

technologies and solutions to support industries 

and companies that already exist here in Eastern 

Iowa. Industries like health care, manufacturing, 

education, investments and services, and engineering 

are all going to need mobile and web-based 

solutions to support their operations and systems. 

Those who can find their niche and can figure out 

how to solve problems using technology, data and 

algorithms are the ones who will continue to grow 

and succeed in today’s digital world. 

As a fastest growing CPA firm in the U.S. for the 

past seven years, we can relate to these companies, 

which have found ways to carve out a niche, grow 

and sustain their business. Many of these are people 

we work with daily. We get it, and we understand 

where they’re headed. Their success is inspiring and 

the support locally is encouraging. We look forward 

to being a part of the next 10 years of this program, 

and we can’t wait to see what these companies come 

up with next. 

Kyle Kunz, CPA.CITP 

Partner 

Honkamp Krueger PC 


STRATEGIES 

Sustaining growth 

is no easy task 

By Dave DeWitte 

dave@corridorbusiness.com 

Corridor 

business 

leaders 

discuss the 

challenges 

that come with 

high-growth 

companies 

EDC CEO Curt Nelson, in the organization’s offices earlier this year. 

It typically gets harder to stay on the CBJ’s 

annual list of the Corridor’s Fastest Growing 

Companies after the first year or two of 

making an appearance, and yet it’s a feat that 

some companies have managed repeatedly. 

The challenge for “repeaters” is that it’s easier to grow, 

percentage-wise, from a small revenue base than from 

a larger one. 

“The percentages work in favor of a smaller company,” 

said Kris Gulick, who had worked with some of 

the ‘fastest’ companies as president of Entrepreneurial 

Services Group before selling the company in January. 

“They can have a high rate of growth for a few years or 

so, but their size catches up with them.” 

Mr. Gulick says being in the right industry at the 

right time can make a huge difference in how fast a 


company grows, as past booms in telecommunications and 

e-commerce have benefited Corridor companies. But perhaps 

the biggest factor in determining which companies keep coming 

back is profitability. 

“You could have significant growth, but if you do not have 

positive earnings, you cannot sustain higher sales volumes,” 

Mr. Gulick said. He added that profitability isn’t a requirement 

for making the fastest-growing list, but definitely comes 

into play in determining which companies keep coming back 

and which ones don’t. 

Curt Nelson, CEO of the Cedar Rapids-based Entrepreneurial 

Development Center (EDC), has also seen some patterns 

after years of working with growth-stage companies, some of 

which have made the CBJ’s Fastest Growing Companies list. 

“If you get the ingredients and the execution right, it’s 

pretty straightforward,” Mr. Nelson said, defining “the ingredients” 

as: 

n Leadership: In addition to being strong leaders themselves, 

the company’s leadership must define the culture 

that drives a company. 

n Talent: Having the right people in the right places, and 

keeping them motivated so that they stay in the company 

and continue to perform well. 

n Resources: Although the obvious one is money, today’s 

businesses need the right technology, information, location, 

office environment and human resources to succeed. 

n Strategic fit: The business has to offer a product or service 

that it can use to generate profitable demand, and may 

have to change its product or service as factors in the marketplace 

such as competition, technology or market demographics 

change. 

TrueNorth Companies CEO Duane Smith, shown in his Cedar Rapids office. The 

company has appeared on the CBJ’s Fastest Growing list three times. 

“The better you get at all those things, year-upon-year, the 

more likely you are to be successful,” said Mr. Nelson, who 

wrote about the ingredients in his book, “The Recipe for Business 

Success,” and has explained them at seminars. 

When a high-growth business begins to fade, he says it’s 

often because its leaders lost focus on the ingredients that 

were making it successful. They may have lost the edge of providing 

the most responsive customer service, or their product 

that was once the best on the market may now be far down 

the list. 

“You have a nice restaurant in town and there’s nobody 

else there, and nobody else wants to open a restaurant,” Mr. 

Nelson said. “You feel like you’re a great restaurateur because 

there’s nobody there to compete with.” 

The arrival of a major competitor may force that business 

to not only refocus on its execution, but to redefine itself to 

differentiate its offering from the competition’s, he said. 

High-growth companies can also stumble when their 

founders don’t accept their own limitations, and fail to bring 

in more experienced and educated leaders who can better address 

the challenges of growth. 

“It’s an issue that comes with every business that gets 

started,” Mr. Nelson said. “Businesses get started by people 

who can build the widget and make the product. They don’t 

usually get started by the person who can build the company, 

STRATEGIES PAGE 33 


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Through the Years 

2008-2017 

The Corridor Business Journal’s annual Fastest Growing Companies 

awards program has been a frequent source of excitement and inspiration over 

the past decade, with some of the region’s most successful companies taking 

their turn in the top spot. We revisited our reporting on each year’s 

No. 1 company, and followed up with them to see how they’re doing now. 

ANTICIPATE CHANGE 

INNOVATE AND GROW 

Happy 10 years of “Fastest Growing” to Corridor Business Journal! 

2007 was a great year, wasn’t it? 

www.beamedirevver.com 


2008’S FASTE 

Asoyia LLC 

Based in Iowa City 

Established in 2004 

851% growth (2 times on list) 

What we wrote then: 

Asoyia, a maker of a zero trans fat soybean 

oils, was named the Fastest Growing Company 

in the Corridor in 2008, topping the 

list with 851 percent growth. 

Asoyia is a fledgling name in agriculture 

circles and has brought attention to its new 

hometown, Iowa City, in recent months. In 

March, Forbes.com ranked Iowa City eighth 

among its Top 10 Up-and-Coming Tech Cities, 

specifically naming Asoyia’s presence as 

a reason for the designation. 

The company was started in 2004 by 

25 farmers in Winfield, a farming community 

45 miles south of Iowa City. It moved 

to Johnson County in 2007 to be closer to 

business partners, such as Cargill in Cedar 

Rapids. 

Securing the bottom line, Asoyia recently 

received $4 million from new investors. The 

company also recently signed an agreement 

with Pioneer to promote a genetically modified 

1 percent low linolenic soybean. 

Meanwhile, Asoyia has expanded distribution 

into Illinois, hired two business development 

managers and received a grant 

through Iowa State University to promote 

its next generation product. 

“We’re still a relatively small company. 

We intend to continue to operate our business 

that way; we don’t intend to add 1,000 

people and become a very large bureaucratic 

corporation,” said President Greg Keeley. 

“We just want to do what we do as best as 

anybody can do, and we want to be the 

leader in this whole low trans fat or trans 

fat-free food market. It’s a $25 billion-plus 

market – it’s a huge market and we’re not 

going to be the next Wesson oil, but we’re 

definitely going to be a major player in the 

specialty oils market.” 

Asoyia President Greg Keeley compares the company’s journey thus far to a roller coaster ride while 

accepting an award at the Corridor Business Journal’s Fastest Growing Companies breakfast May 28, 2008. 

What’s happened since: 

Less than two years after being named the Corridor’s Fastest Growing Company, 

Asoyia closed its doors. 

Former CFO Bob George told the CBJ in a March 2010 article that the company 

closed because the price at which the company could sell its soybean oils did 

not cover the cost to produce them. 

“We had gotten investments and venture capital money came in and they 

helped sustain that for awhile, but the cost structure was just too heavy and eventually 

collapsed, based on what we could sell the oil for,” Mr. George said. “It 

was considered kind of a premium product, and in a down economy, people just 

don’t pay premium, regardless of the extra value the oil might have had from a 

health standpoint, as well as a stability standpoint and use in application and 

things like that. It had some advantages – if you did the cost analysis from the 

standpoint of its uses, it was a better product in the long run, but in down economic 

times people see a premium price and they just don’t take the time to > 

10 CBJ’s Fastest Growing Companies 10th Anniversary

gigi@corridorbiznews.com 

tim@corridorbiznews.com 

$1.50 

ST 

Corridor’s 

CORRIDOR 

Rapid 

growth 

Asoyia named 

Corridor’s Fastest 

Growing company 

By Gigi Wood 

FOCUS: 

FASTEST GROWING 

COMPANIES 

Featuring the CBJ List 

of Fastest Growing 

Companies 

CEDAR RAPIDS/IOWA CITY CORRIDOR’S INDEPENDENT LOCALLY OWNED BUSINESS WEEKLY 

JOHN RICHARD 

Asoyia President Greg Keeley compares the company’s journey thus far to a roller coaster ride while 

accepting an award at the Corridor Business Journal’s Fastest Growing Companies breakfast May 

28. Asoyia was named the fastest growing company of the Corridor, with 856 percent growth over a 

three-year period. 

It comes down to five principles. 

That's what Greg Keeley, president of 

Asoyia, told an audience last week at the 

Corridor Business Journal’s Fastest Growing 

Companies breakfast. Asoyia, maker of a 

zero trans fat soybean oils, was named the 

fastest growing company in the area. 

It was one of roughly 25 businesses to 

be nominated for the award; 15 were recognized 

at the breakfast at the new Kirkwood 

Community College’s Center for 

Continuing Education in Cedar Rapids. 

Companies had to earn at least 

$350,000 annually and were ranked 

based on the percentage increase in revenue 

experienced from 2005 to 2007. 

Companies submitted tax forms or audit 

statements to participate. 

“We got a good cross section of companies 

applying,” said Gordon Epping, a 

partner with Honkamp, Krueger & Co., 

who evaluated the entries. “We had some 

big companies with some great, large sales 

apply but they didn’t have the percentage 

increase and didn't make the cutoff.” 

Asoyia topped the list with 856 percent 

growth. Mr. Keeley shared with the audience 

five principles all entrepreneurs need to follow 

to succeed in today’s business world. 

“Entrepreneurs are all about growth 

and not about cost reductions or laying 

off workers,” he said. 

Business owners need a great product, 

should spend wisely, hire great people 

and need passion, Mr. Keeley said. 

“Find great people,” he said. “Not 

good people, but great people.” 

Asoyia is a fledgling name in agriculture 

circles and has brought attention to its new 

hometown, Iowa City, in recent months. In 

March, Forbes.com ranked Iowa City 

Auto parts 

Company opens a new 

NAPA auto parts store after a 

long search for the right spot. 

PAGE 5 

The century mark 

Electrical and telecommunications 

wholesale supplier 

Terry-Durin Co. marks 

100 years. 

PAGE 8 

eighth among its Top 10 Up-and-Coming 

Tech Cities, specifically naming Asoyia’s 

presence as a reason for the designation. 

The company was started by 25 farmers 

in 2004 in Winfield, a farming community 

45 miles south of Iowa City. It 

moved to Iowa City last year to be closer 

to business partners, such as Cargill in 

Cedar Rapids. 

Asoyia’s soybean oil is made from soybeans 

with only 1 percent of linolenic 

ASOYIA continues on page 12 

845 Quarry Rd. Ste. 125 

Coralville, IA 52241 

Credit counselor 

stresses paying 

debt is best use 

By Tim Kenyon 

June 2 - 8, 2008 

IOWA 

Economic 

stimulus 

check 

spending 

varied 

Using an economic stimulus check can be 

the first move for consumers to fix their 

troubled finances, according to a Cedar 

Rapids credit advisor. 

“I had a client last month that I put on 

a debt-management program and we 

looked at the check as a source to start 

debt reduction. That seemed to work good 

for us; we’re telling others the same thing,” 

said Kathi Moss, a housing and credit 

counselor at Consumer Credit Counseling 

Service in southeast Cedar Rapids. 

The $152 billion federal measure provides 

tax rebate checks of up to $600 per 

working individual and $1,200 per married 

couple, plus $300 per child for families with 

children. It also includes new tax incentives 

for job-creating business investments. 

Continuing to pay down debt without 

adding to it again is the next challenge, 

Ms. Moss said. 

“So many people are truly living on the 

STIMULUS continues on page 10 

Fastest Growing Companies 2008 

(Ranked by percentage revenue increase from 05-07) 

RANK NAME HOMETOWN PERCENTAGE GROWTH 

1 Asoyia LLC Iowa City 851 

2 Hybrid Transit Systems Inc. Cedar Rapids 818 

3 Express Auto Delivery Cedar Rapids 621 

4 MobileDemand Hiawatha 312 

5 kor Cedar Rapids 235 

6 ServiceMaster 380 Cedar Rapids 197 

7 Geonetric Cedar Rapids 156 1 

8 Reminisce North Liberty 144 

9 Genova Technologies Cedar Rapids 115 

10 Iowa Northern Railway Cedar Rapids 89 

11 Bankers Trust Co. Cedar Rapids 89 

12 VIPS Cedar Rapids 73 

13 OPN Architects Inc. Cedar Rapids 72 

14 World Trend Financial Cedar Rapids 67 

15 RuffaloCODY Cedar Rapids 59 

Source: The companies featured on this list submitted information to an independent auditor for verification. 1 Figure from 04-06. 

“We had gotten investments and 

venture capital money came in and 

they helped sustain that for awhile, 

but the cost structure was just too 

heavy and eventually collapsed, based 

on what we could sell the oil for.” 

We Put Your Pets First 

– 2016 Fastest Growing Company Honoree – 

- Bob George, Former CFO of Asoyia 

think about how it will last longer in a fryer.” 

Saving the company would have required too much of an 

investment, he added. 

“Based on the numbers, it was going to take a significant 

amount of additional capital to try to get the cash flow positive 

and we just didn’t see a buyer on the horizon who was 

going to be willing to do that, let alone existing ownership,” 

Mr. George said. 

– Angela Holmes 

319-743-0554 

www.petersenpethospital.com 

420 Colton Circle NE, Unit 3, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402 



Eric Bochner, president of Bochner Chocolates, stands in his southern Iowa City 

manufacturing center in 2008. 

Bochner Chocolates 

Based in Iowa City 


427% growth 


“The dirty secret of Bochner Chocolates is growing up, I never liked 

chocolate. I never really enjoyed chocolate,” said Eric Bochner, president 

of the chocolate manufacturing company. “It was only when 

I went to Europe and got a chance to try European chocolate that I 

began to like it.” 

Bochner Chocolates was named the Fastest Growing Company 

in the Corridor for 2009, with 427 percent growth from 2006-2008. 

Bochner produces high-end chocolates at its factory at 1419 Waterfront 

Drive in Iowa City and sells them at its retail store on the 

Coralville strip. His newest venture, Chocolate Block, is a retail store 

that sells the chocolates from his factory that don’t meet the company’s 

high-quality standards, at a lower price. Mr. Bochner refers to 

the discount chocolates as “selling champagne at beer prices.” The 

Chocolate Block, which opened about a month ago, is located at 

Pepperwood Plaza on Highway 6. 

“It’s doing much better than I even expected, that’s for sure,” he 

said. “The price point is lower, so you have to have more customers 

come in to do a certain amount of business and we’ve been seeing a 

huge influx of customers.” 

The company also sells its chocolates to other retailers 

and other venues, such as hotels. Additionally, it produces 

products under license for other companies, including 

a licensee of Hasbro. 

All this comes after a year when Bochner had to shut 

down for two months because of floods. The company was 

forced to dismantle $6 million of equipment. It took 36 

hours to take apart and 60 days to piece it back together. 

But business is brisk once again. Since opening five 

years ago, Bochner has doubled its manufacturing operation 

and will need more room before long. 

“We’ve had to increase the ability to make products, 

we’ve had to increase our capacity to package products, 

we’ve had to increase the variety of the products we package 

and make, so I say our capabilities have expanded a 

lot over the last five years,” Mr. Bochner said. “Our factory 

here is definitely going to max out in the next year 

or two. If we continue to grow even at reasonable rates 

comparable to what we’ve been doing, this factory’s going 

to max out and we’re already trying to envision what 

we’re going to do next.” 


Bochner Chocolates’ presence in the Corridor was short 

but sweet. 

Founded in 2003, the Iowa City chocolate manufacturer 

increased its revenue between 2006 and 2008 by 

427 percent, making it one of the 10 fastest companies 

honored in the first decade of the CBJ’s Fastest Growing 

Company competition. 

“Growth on some level is natural because it’s either 

grow or die,” Eric Bochner, president of Bochner Chocolates, 

told the CBJ in 2009. “I’d say it’s been a natural 

evolution of what our original vision of what our company, 

what we, were going to do.” 

In November 2012, Bissinger’s Handcrafted Chocolatier 

of St. Louis acquired Bochner Chocolates for an 

undisclosed amount, in part for access to the equipment 

found at the company’s Iowa City facility, according to 

news reports. That equipment, along with “several key 

people,” relocated to St. Louis later that year, and founder 

Eric Bochner assumed the position of senior vice president 

of operations and private label sales, according to 

trade publication Candy Industry. 

“Combining our advanced technology model with 

Bissinger’s extensive sales and distribution network will 

elevate Bissinger’s to levels the company has never seen,” 

Mr. Bochner said in a press release announcing the sale. 

“I am very excited to be a part of the next chapter of 

Bissinger’s long and distinguished history.” 

Ken Kellerhals, Bissinger’s president, said the purchase 

would help his company transform into a premier 

boutique chocolatier with a national presence. 


Eric Bochner, president of Bochner Chocolates, stands in his southern Iowa City manufacturing center in 2008. Bochner Chocolates was named the 

Fastest Growing Company in the Corridor this year with a three-year growth rate of 427 percent. 


PAGE 3 

PAGE 10 

BOCHNER continues on page 11 

tim@corridorbiznews.com 

IMPACT continues on page 2 

$1.50 

FILE PHOTO 

ST 

Corridor’s 

By Gigi Wood 

It’s a company with a secret. 

“The dirty secret of Bochner 

Chocolates is growing up I never liked 

chocolate. I never really enjoyed chocolate,” 

said Eric Bochner, president of 

FOCUS: 


COMPANIES 



Companies 


CORRIDOR 

Fastest growing companies honored 

Bochner Chocolates wins with 427 percent growth 

Bon appetite 

The Chef’s Table brings French 

cuisine to remodeled downtown 

Iowa City space. 

Top entrepreneur 

Dennis Henderson with Ready 

Mobile is the 2009 

Entrepreneur of the Year. 

the chocolate manufacturing company. 

“It was only when I went to Europe and 

got a chance to try European chocolate 

that I began to like it.” 

Mr. Bochner shared anecdotes about 

his career and business at the Fastest 

Growing Companies breakfast May 19 

at the Coralville Marriott. Bochner 

Chocolates was named the fastestgrowing 

company in the area by the 

Corridor Business Journal. The event recognized 

the top 15 fastest growing companies 

in the Corridor. 

Companies had to earn at least 

$350,000 annually and were ranked 

based on the percentage increase in revenue 

experienced from 2006 to 2008. 

CORRIDOR 

Combination 

seeks maximum 

impact 

Access Iowa, 

Next Generation 

Commission merge 

under chamber 

By Tim Kenyon 

May 25 - 31, 2009 

ImpactCR seeks to boost Cedar Rapids’ 

ranking among top-rated “Next City” 

communities for young professionals to 

live and work. 

“Fourth place isn’t good enough anymore. 

The next generation is ready to tell 

employers it’s time to include them more,” 

said Christian Fong, co-chair of the new initiative 

that merged Access Iowa and the 

Cedar Rapids Next Generation Commission. 

The group’s new name of ImpactCR 

and its logo were unveiled at a press conference 

last week that touched on Cedar 

Rapids’ recent No. 4 ranking on a list of 

cities with a population of 100,000 to 

200,000, according to the Madison, Wis.- 

based Next Generation Consulting. 

Merger talk began in January when 

Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of 

Commerce President and CEO Shannon 

Meyer recommended the idea. Uniting 

the two groups with similar missions 

under the resources of the chamber forms 

a powerful partnership, Ms. Meyer said. 

“This is strong people pushing at the 

same boulder going up a hill,” added Mr. 

Fong, who directs capital markets for 

Aegon USA Realty Advisors in Cedar 







1 Bochner Chocolates Iowa City 427 

2 MD Orthopaedics Wayland 335 

3 Riverside Casino & Golf Resort Riverside 224 

4 Clickstop Inc. Urbana 196 

5 Expense Reduction Analysts Hiawatha 139 

6 Innomatix LLC Iowa City 126 

7 Hybrid Transit Systems Inc. Cedar Rapids 120 

8 TMone Iowa City 107 

9 AES Corp. Cedar Rapids 106 

10 Sign Productions Inc. Marion 87 

11 Dynamic Broadband Cedar Rapids 72 


13 Asoyia Inc. Iowa City 53 

14 Geonetric Cedar Rapids 51 

15 Ready Mobile Hiawatha 49 

Source: The companies featured on this list submitted information to an independent auditor for verification. 

“We had to acquire a like-minded company with stateof-the-art 

capabilities that complement Bissinger’s heritage, 

quality, strategy, products and sales network,” he 

said. “This is the perfect fit for Bissinger’s.” 

Despite a pledge by Bissinger’s to keep the Coralville 

store open under the Bochner name, the shop closed its 

doors in May 2013. The production plant closed soon after, 

and The Chocolate Block shut its doors by summer 2014. 

The move resulted in the local loss of about a dozen 

full-time employees, according to news reports, although 

Bissinger’s said the acquisition created about 40 positions 

at its St. Louis plant. 

– Chase Castle 

Growing and advancing the 

Ponseti Method of clubfoot 

treatment at home and around 

the globe since 2004. 

MD Orthopaedics, Inc. 

MD Molding 

manufacturer for MD Orthopaedics, Inc. 

www.mdorthopaedics.com 

Bochner Chocolates’ former retail operation 

near Coral Ridge Mall in Coralville. 

WE’VE MADE THE LIST! 

CBJ Fastest Growing Company Honorees 

MD Ortho 

2009 

2010 

2011 

MD Molding 

2013 

2014 


2010’S FASTE 

TLC & Associates Founder and President Thomas Cardella, photographed at the CBJ 

offices earlier this year. 

Thomas L. Cardella & Associates 

Based in Cedar Rapids 


919% growth (2 times on list) 


“We really focus on the basics each and every day,” said Thomas Cardella, 

founder and president of Thomas L. Cardella & Associates, which 

debuts on the Fastest Growing Companies list with 919 percent growth. 

“The spirit of my team … is that they’re extremely hard working, 

they put in hours that you couldn’t ask anyone to put in, because 

that’s how they feel about the company,” he said. 

TLC & Associates began opening call centers in Iowa in 2007 and 

has been racking up the awards during the past few years. It was 

named the Best in Class Call Center last year, and founder Mr. Cardella 

was recently named first runner-up for Call Center Leader of 

the Year award by the International Quality and Productivity Center, 

(IQPC) an industry organization. 

Last month, the company was also named one of the Top 50 

Outbound and Inbound Teleservices Agencies by Customer Interaction 

Solutions magazine. Cardella & Associates ranked No. 13 in 

outbound calls and 25th in inbound calls by the magazine. 

Before starting TLC & Associates, Mr. Cardella ran Access Direct, 

a telemarketing company he created in 1995 in Cedar Rapids. Access 

Direct, as does TLC & Associates, worked with global Fortune 500 

companies on inbound and outbound sales calls. 

“The companies we work with every day are worldwide 

companies with billion-dollar market caps,” he said. 

Access Direct was bought by Precision Response Corporation 

(PRC) in 2000, and Mr. Cardella became CEO 

before retiring from the firm in 2004. PRC closed its 

Coralville call center in 2006. 

With his new firm, Mr. Cardella has tried to open call 

centers in towns where Access Direct once operated. 

“We’ve tried to remain in those communities,” he said. 

TLC & Associates operates call centers in Cedar Rapids, 

Coralville, Keokuk, Marshalltown and Cedar Falls, and 

opened a Grinnell location last year. The company employs 

800 people, but expects to be up to 1,000 workers by July. 

“We’ll continue to expand our footprint throughout 

Iowa,” Mr. Cardella said. Since the company’s inception, 

each call center has expanded and now employs 60-200 

workers each. 

“We’re definitely hiring a lot of people,” he said. “We 

consistently have had a great workforce, we have intelligent 

people, we have a strong work ethic and those are 

hard to find outside of Iowa.” 


With a 919 percent two-year growth rate in 2010, Thomas 

L. Cardella & Associates was easily “fastest of the fast” 

in the first decade of the Corridor Business Journal’s 

Fastest Growing Companies competition. 

Founder and President Tom Cardella credits the company’s 

people and location for much of its success in the 

customer contact center industry, which included another 

high appearance on the Fastest list in 2011. 

“We’re about six times larger in revenue than when 

we won our first Fastest Growing Companies [award] 

in 2010,” Mr. Cardella said. TLC & Associates has been 

ranked the ninth-largest integrated contact center operator 

in the United States, and Mr. Cardella thinks “the 

future’s really bright right now.” 

Hiring the right people has made the difference for 

TLC & Associates, Mr. Cardella said. 

“We opened this company specifically in Iowa to capitalize 

on the work ethic and the culture of our folks,” 

Mr. Cardella said. “That translates to our clients’ customers. 

In the last 12 months, we’ve probably spoken to 12 

million to 14 million people on the phone. Every one of 

those calls has to be as good as the last, or you get a bad 

reputation in the industry. It’s rare that I ever get a client 

complaining about a poor phone call, and that just says 

something about the quality of our name in the industry.” 

TLC & Associates employs more than 1,000 in 

Iowa at customer contact centers in Cedar Rapids, 

Keokuk, Marshalltown and Ottumwa. It also opened 

a smaller contact center in the Dominican Republic 

this spring, which it plans to grow to add Spanish and 



Thomas Cardella, founder and president of Thomas L. Cardella & Associates, speaks after accepting 

the Fastest Growing Company award at breakfast last week at the Cedar Rapids Marriott. 

PAGE 3 

PAGE 5 

CARDELLA continues on page 12 

johnk@corridorbiznews.com 

AIRPORT continues on page 4 

ST 

Corridor’s 

$1.50 

By Gigi Wood 

It’s all about the basics. 

That’s what the fastest-growing company 

in the Corridor practices on a daily basis 

and is how it beats the competition. 

“We really focus on the basics each and 

every day,” said Thomas Cardella, 

founder and president of Thomas L. 

Cardella & Associates, which debuted on 

the Fastest Growing Companies list with 

919 percent growth. 

To apply for a spot on the Fastest 

Growing Companies list, businesses had 

to earn at least $350,000 annually and 

were ranked based on the percentage 

increase in revenue experienced from 

2005 to 2007. Companies submitted tax 

forms or audit statements to Honkamp 

Krueger & Co., which tabulated the results. 

The Corridor Business Journal began the list 

in 2008, when the now-closed Asoyia 

ranked first with 856 percent growth. In 

2009, Bochner Chocolates was ranked No. 

1 with 427 percent growth. 

The top 15 companies on the list were 

recognized at a breakfast May 25 at the 

Cedar Rapids Marriott. Mr. Cardella attributed 

his company’s success to his workforce. 

“The spirit of my team, which I’m sure 

is the spirit of everyone’s in this room, is 

that they’re extremely hard working, they 

put in hours that you couldn’t ask anyone 

to put in, because that’s how they feel 

about the company,” he said. 

He wants that enthusiasm to carry over 

to management. 

“When I’m hiring for our management 

team, the first thing I look for is do they 

have passion, I look for fire in the belly,” 

he said. “I want people who feel from 

down here (pointing at stomach) not from 


CORRIDOR 

‘A fire in the belly’ 

FOCUS: 


COMPANIES 



Companies 

JOHN RICHARD 

up here (pointing at head).” 

Additional awards 

Cardella & Associates began opening call 

centers in Iowa in 2007 and has been racking 

up the awards during the past few 

Optimism increases 

The Corridor Poll finds 

positive signs about the 

local economy. 

Another award 

Founders of Iowa City startup 

J&J Solutions named 

Entrepreneurs of the Year. 

years. It was named the “Best in Class Call 

Center” last year and founder Mr. Cardella 

was recently named first runner-up for 

Call Center Leader of the Year award by 

the International Quality and Productivity 

Center, (IQPC) an industry organization. 

“The interesting thing about that is 

IQPC had never awarded that to the vendor 

side of the business, typically those 

have only gone to companies with internal 

call centers; so we beat out companies like 

FedEx Latin America, Nikon, a couple 

major insurance companies, we beat out 

some major talent,” Mr. Cardella said. “We 

attribute that to how we treat our clients 

and how we conduct our business.” 

Bradshaw begins at 

airport June 28 

By John Kenyon 

May 31 - June 6, 2010 

CORRIDOR 

Expanding 

air service 

top priority 

for director 

Expanding air service, addressing the perception 

of high fares and marketing what it 

has to offer are among the first tasks for 

Tim Bradshaw, the new airport director for 

The Eastern Iowa Airport. 

“I intend to meet with our business 

partners in the community,” he said. “To 

show them what we can accomplish, and 

work with them to get the service they want 

and meet their business needs.” 

Mr. Bradshaw was named last week and 

will start on June 28. He replaces Dan 

Mann, who left in late January after 

announcing his resignation at the end of 

2009. Mr. Bradshaw is currently the deputy 

executive director and chief operating officer 

for the Louisville Regional Airport 

Authority in Louisville, Ky. 

He will earn $141,086 annually, which 

is the same salary that Mr. Mann was earning 

when he left. 

He said air service is the most-talked 

about aspect of every airport, and that The 

Eastern Iowa Airport has a good foundation 

there. Still, there is room for expansion, 

he said, noting that an analysis of the 

final destination for travelers departing 

from Cedar Rapids supports the idea that 

some direct flights could be added. 




Fastest Growing Companies 2010 



1 Thomas L. Cardella & Associates Cedar Rapids 919 

2 Ready Mobile Hiawatha 177 

3 SecurityCoverage Cedar Rapids 168 

4 AES Corp./AE Systems Corp. Cedar Rapids 138 

5 Clickstop Inc. Urbana 126 

6 MD Orthopaedics Wayland 123 

7 Ovation Networks Cedar Rapids 75 

8 Service Master Avenue 

of the Saints Marion 67 

9 Expense Reduction Analysts Inc. Hiawatha 66 

10 Involta LLC Cedar Rapids 60 

11 Raining Rose Cedar Rapids 35 

12 Innomatix LLC Iowa City 31 

13 TMone Iowa City 28 

14 RuffaloCody Cedar Rapids 26 



French-speaking agents, and is aiming to open a satellite 

office later this summer in Denver. 

As Mr. Cardella spoke with the CBJ in March, TLC & Associates 

was also preparing to announce a contract with a home warranty 

company that will bring 75-100 additional jobs into Iowa. 

He said the company is looking at expanding one existing Iowa 

location, and has been in conversations with economic development 

leaders in Kentucky and West Virginia about opening 

customer contact centers in areas of high unemployment. 

Having an experienced team has lowered the challenge factor 

of executing on TLC’s strategic plan, Mr. Cardella said, noting 

that some members of its core management team “have been 

together for 20 years now.” But the company has also had to 

work harder for growth because the market isn’t growing as fast. 

TLC has focused on providing customers with accountability 

and value, Mr. Cardella said, and has benefited from 

strong word-of-mouth advertising among prospective clients. 

Mr. Cardella doesn’t see TLC’s run ending anytime soon. 

Because it has no outside investors, it’s under no timetable to 

sell out, and Mr. Cardella says he likes the people part of the 

business. He has praise both for the company’s older workers, 

some of whom are in their 60s and 70s, and for the new 

contingent of high school students that the company brought 

in for evening work last year. He’s also getting to know more 

international employees. 

“Every day is different,” he said. “It’s a people-based industry 

and I get to meet people all over the U.S. and the world, so I 

learn different perspectives from knowing those people.” 

– Dave DeWitte 



MediRevv CEO Chris Klitgaard in his Coralville office earlier this year. 

MediRevv 

(Precision Revenue Strategies) 

Based in Coralville 


292.2% growth (5 times on list) 


“Coming in at No. 1 on the list with 292 percent growth is Precision 

Revenue Strategies (PRS), a Coralville-based health care revenue cycle 

company. Basically, PRS takes the outstanding bills that patients 

aren’t paying their doctors or hospitals and works with the patients 

to get those bills paid. 

“We are strictly focused on helping providers with insurance receivables 

or insurance claims that have gone unpaid,” said President 

Chris Klitgaard. “What happens a lot of times is providers, hospitals 

or physician groups, can’t staff 100 percent of that volume that 

comes through. What inevitably occurs is that there are a certain 

percentage of their claims, whether it’s 5-20 percent, that they can 

just never touch.” 

Most company leaders will credit their employees with the business’ 

success. For PRS, its employees are the mainstay of the company. 

“There are two or three things that we sell everyday here; first is 

our people,” Mr. Klitgaard said. “Ninety percent of our people have 

college degrees. And while that in and of itself isn’t necessarily the 

end all be all, we’re trying to get a more articulate, more 

professional, more analytical person who can understand 

how insurance companies work, such that they can take 

the benefits a patient has, and explain to a patient when 

we call to ask them for their balance owed.” 

Workers are such an important part of the equation 

at PRS, the employee culture manual is based off Tony 

Hsieh’s book, “Delivering Happiness,” which outlines 

Zappos’ model for improving profits by improving 

corporate culture. Last year, when employees asked for 

more paid time off, Mr. Klitgaard doubled it. When they 

requested an employee shower to rinse off following 

lunchtime workouts, he declined, only because there is 

no room for one in the facility. 

The method seems to work. PRS started in 2007 with 

six employees. Now it has 70. The company has yet to 

advertise for a job opening because every hire has been 

generated by employees recommending the company to 

friends and family. 

Part of PRS’ competitive edge also comes from its 

willingness to outline its costs to clients. 

“When we go price out on a deal or bid out a deal or 

provide an estimate, starting from the financial piece, we 

show our cost model to these providers so they know exactly 

what they’re paying for,” Mr. Klitgaard said. “That’s 

something that a lot of people in this [industry] simply 

don’t do. It’s usually a shell game and that used to frustrate 

me so bad.” 

Mr. Klitgaard has high hopes for PRS looking forward. 

“We’re a little over a $4 million company now,” he 

said. “We’d like to be a $50 or $60 million company in 

10 years. That would put us as one of the larger companies 

in this space. Not the largest, but the top 30 percent, 

top 40 percent.” 


Things began to change quickly for Precision Revenue 

Strategies after it was named the Corridor’s Fastest 

Growing Company in 2011. That July, the company rebranded, 

changing its name to MediRevv. 

The name reflects the company’s market in medical 

revenue, while the two Vs represent a revved-up engine, 

CEO Chris Klitgaard said. 

In 2012, business “started booming,” and MediRevv 

added more employees, Mr. Klitgaard said. That September, 

the company moved its operations from its home at 

the corner of Highway 965 and Oakdale Boulevard to 

its current location a half mile away, at 2600 University 

Parkway. 

“We needed a big footprint and there weren’t a lot 

of options,” he said. “We wanted to stay in the Iowa 


Pictured above are employees from Precision Revenue Strategies, which ranked first in the 2011 Fastest Growning Compaies list. The top 20 companies 

were honored at the Fastest Growing Companies breakfast May 24. 

FaSTeST continues on page 4 

COraLviLLe continues on page 16 

PAGE 3 

PAGE 15 

ST 

Corridor’s 

$1.50 Cedar rapids/iowa City Corridor’s independent loCally owned Business weekly May 30 - June 5, 2011 

john richard 

By Gigi Wood 

gigi@corridorbusiness.com 

It’s as easy as A, B, C. 

Readers of the Corridor Business Journal 

encounter a lot of acronyms and industry 

terms in their weekly issues. Phrases such 

as CEO (Chief Executive Officer) are fairly 

easy to understand. 

Talk like, “Internet retailer of ratchet 

straps” starts to become a little more complicated 

when reading about companies 

such as Clickstop. It took awhile to under- 

COrriDOr 

Precision Revenue Strategies No. 1 on list 

stand the concept of “rugged tablet PCs” 

Coralville-based 

that Mobile Demand sells. Now, most 

people know about, or even own, tablets. 

company is a UI 

There’s a bit of a learning curve. But 

that’s the price, or rather, benefit of be- 

spinoff, of sorts 

coming versed in the Corridor’s most innovative 

and fastest growing companies. 

Twenty of those companies were celebrated 

May 24 at the Coralville Marriott, 

during the 2011 Fastest Growing Companies 

breakfast hosted by the CBJ. 

Within this issue, the CBJ unveils the 

top 20 Fastest Growing Companies for 

the year. To earn a spot on the list, businesses 

had to meet a number of criteria. 

First, companies had to earn at least 

$350,000 annually. Those companies 

then submitted three years of tax forms 

or audit statements to Honkamp Krueger 

& Co., a Hiawatha-based accounting 

firm, which independently tabulated the 




results. The winners were selected based 

on their growth during the previous 

three years. 

The list was started in 2008, when the 

now-closed soybean-oil-producer Asoyia 

ranked first with 856 percent growth. 

Bochner Chocolates was ranked No. 1 in 

2009, with 427 percent of growth. 

Interesting trends surfaced in this 

FOCUS: 

Fastest 

Companies 

Featuring the CBJ List of 

Fastest Companies 

JOHNSON COUNTY 

Property buys 

raise ire in 

residents, 

officials 

Coralville council 

calls them necessary 

By Gigi Wood 


Area residents during the past two weeks 

witnessed first-hand the process of government, 

as well as media, when reports 

surfaced about three property purchases 

in and near Coralville. 

The Coralville City Council published 

its meeting agenda on May 20, prompting 

media reports about three property purchases 

on the docket. 

First up was the purchase of 723 Edgewater 

Dr., the last residence remaining 

along the Iowa River near the Coralville 

Marriott. The city has been buying out 

the properties since the flood of 2008. According 

to federal flood regulations, the 

land cannot be redeveloped. 

“We can’t develop it because we used 

FEMA (Federal Emergency Management 

Agency) funds to buy it; it will be all open 

space,” said Coralville Councilor John 

Lundell. 

Mark Brown, owner of 723 Edgewater 

Dr., his father’s home, has been the lone 

holdout during the buyout process. The 

other homes have been demolished and 

crews have raised the road to serve as an 

earthen berm during future flooding. Additional 

work this summer will add additional 

mitigation improvements to the 

On the go 

Clickstop President Tim 

Guenther shares the secrets 

of his company’s success. 

Noodle house open 

Noodles & Co. opens location 

in Coralville. 


(Ranked by percentage revenue increase from 08-10) 


1 Precision Revenue Strategies Inc. Coralville 292.2 

2 Health Solutions LLC Hiawatha 274.7 

3 Skywalk Group Cedar Rapids 212.1 

4 Clickstop Inc. Urbana 179.9 

5 MindFire Communications Inc. Cedar Rapids 127.6 

6 MobileDemand Hiawatha 119.4 

7 Thomas L. Cardella & Associates Cedar Rapids 105.0 

8 Ovation Networks Cedar Rapids 87.5 

9 Crystal Group Inc. Hiawatha 84.6 

10 Raining Rose Cedar Rapids 73.7 

11 HR Green Cedar Rapids 71.9 

12 Children’s Center for Therapy Iowa City 54.6 

13 MD Orthopaedics Wayland 49.7 

14 Geonetric Cedar Rapids 47.8 

15 TMone Iowa City 43.7 


City-Coralville area.” 

By September 2014, the company had grown so much 

that it needed more space, and built a second building 

next door. The company leases its buildings and may be 

looking for more space in the future as it continues to 

expand, Mr. Klitgaard said. 

MediRevv had 70 employees when it was named the 

Corridor’s Fastest Growing Company in 2011; it now employs 

300 more, and Mr. Klitgaard expects that number 

to hit 425 by the middle of this year. 

As word of MediRevv’s success has spread, so has its 

business. The company had about a dozen contracts in 

2011; it now has 55 contracts nationwide. Keeping up 

with changes in health care, MediRevv launched a new 

coding division launched four years ago and also has a 

full business outsourcing division. 

Its continual reinvention and growth has kept the company 

in the Corridor’s Fastest Growing ranks. It marked 

its fifth-consecutive appearance on the list this year with a 

No. 24 ranking and 42.3 percent revenue growth. 

“We have to innovate with the constant evolution of 

the industry,” Mr. Klitgaard said. “Our most important 

aspects are partners, people and performance.” 

- Angela Holmes 

Hanna Plumbing & Heating 

would like to congratulate 

all the fastest growing 

companies honored by the 

Corridor Business Journal! 

319.377.2809 



Midwest Microwave Solutions’ staff pose with the company’s previous FGC trophies in their Hiawatha facility. CEO Phil Rezin is shown at center, in a red shirt. 

2012 & 2014’s Fastest 

Midwest Microwave Solutions Inc. 

Located in Hiawatha 



What we wrote in 2014: 

“No other company has claimed the Corridor’s Business Journal’s 

Fastest Growing Company title twice, let alone twice in three 

years – the new mark recorded by Midwest Microwave Solutions. 

With revenue growth of 419.8 percent from 2011-2013, MMS 

claimed top honors at the 2014 growth recognition event May 

20 at the Cedar Rapids Marriott, edging out Premier Staffing Inc. 

“Our continued growth is based more on name recognition 

because we’ve had great success in the field,” President Phil 

Rezin told the CBJ. “Midwest Microwave Solutions has products 

deployed worldwide, and the products we’ve had in Afghanistan 

the last three years have operated flawlessly.” 

The company was in first place in 2012 with growth of more 

than 516 percent and in fourth place in 2013 with growth of 

176.2 percent. 

Products from Midwest Microwave Solutions allow custom- 

ers to scan any communication band in existence, from microwave 

data links to garage door opener signals, Mr. Rezin 

said. They are mainstay tools used in gathering signal information 

to detect and analyze threats. 

“Knowing that our product has saved lives by intercepting 

a signal – that makes you feel good,” Mr. Rezin said. 

The company, which started with only three products, 

continued to add them in 2013, bringing the total in its catalog 

to 41. Many of the newer products modify previous designs 

to extend the frequency range and add capabilities. 

To the uninformed eye, the products appear as metal boxes 

with heat sinks, cable ports and an occasional switch or 

indicator light. Most of them are integrated by government 

customers into larger systems that monitor and analyze signals 

for threats. Nearly all of the orders are from government 

suppliers or original equipment manufacturers, and none of 

Midwest Microwave Solutions’ products are exported. 

MMS currently employs 23 in its 10,000-square-foot facility. 

The staff is a carefully hand-picked team of experienced radio 

frequency engineers and other specialists, Mr. Rezin said, 

calling them “the cream of the crop.” 


Midwest Microwave Solutions this year returned to the CBJ’s 

Fastest Growing Companies list for the fifth time in six years, 

coming in at No. 9 with 109 percent growth. 

The company’s appearance streak might have been a per- 


Employees of Midwest Microwave Solutions are shown at their office in Hiawatha. The company produces 

high performance receiver products for government and large corporation clients. The company 

attributes its growth to its quick turnaround time for production and its highly-skilled workforce. 

FAStESt continues on page 4 

Hiawatha • Founded: 2005 

www.mms-rf.com • 1st year on the list 

PAGE 3 

PAGE 7 

ST 

Corridor’s Fastest Growing Companies 2012 


$1.50 an independent locally owned business weekly in iowa’s creative corridor May 28 - June 3, 2012 

CORALVILLE 

MMS: Radioing in at No. 1 

Midwest Microwave 

Solutions debuts at 

No. 1 on list 

By Gigi Wood 


If they tell you what they produce, they 

would have to kill you. 

That may be an exaggeration, but Midwest 

Microwave Solutions’ products are 

very James Bond. Simply put, Midwest 

Microwave produces highly-sophisticated 

radios for the government and large corporations. 

Since their start in 2005, the 

company has grown from two employees 

to 16 and is so busy, it has to turn down 

orders for new designs from customers. 

Midwest Microwave was honored May 

22 at the Corridor Business Journal’s 2012 

Fastest Growing Companies award breakfast 

for coming in first place, with 516.1 

percent growth, amongst this year’s top 

25 fastest growing companies. 

This issue of the CBJ is dedicated to the 

top 25 Fastest Growing Companies of the 

year, which were unveiled last week at the 

Coralville Marriott. 

To earn a spot on the list, businesses 

had to meet a number of criteria. First, 

companies had to earn at least $350,000 

from 2009-2011. Those companies then 

submitted three years of tax forms or audit 

statements to Honkamp Krueger & Co., a 

Hiawatha-based accounting firm, which 

independently tabulated the results. The 

winners were selected based on their 

growth rate. 

john richard 




Three companies, Clickstop, TMone 

and Geonetric, have now appeared on the 

list four times since it began in 2008. 

Appearing on the list for the first time, 

Midwest Microwave is a privately-held 

small business engaged in design and 

manufacture of high performance receiver 

products. Those receiver products give 

customers the capability of gathering intelligence 

about signals that are present in 

the airwaves. 

FOCUS: 

Fastest growing 

companies 



Companies 

#1 

516.1% 

growth 

Midwest Microwave 

Solutions 

Keep growing 

Involta CEO Bruce Lehrman 

named the Entrepreneur of 

the year. 

First pitch 

Entrepreneurs pitch their 

ideas at Pitch & Grow event. 


1 Midwest Microwave Solutions Inc. Hiawatha 516.1 



4 Compass Commercial Services LLC Hiawatha 189.1 

5 Lattice Communications Inc. Fairfax 186.3 

6 Genova Technologies Inc. Cedar Rapids 146.4 


8 Crystal Group Inc. Hiawatha 142.3 

9 Health Solutions LLC Hiawatha 131 

10 Tri County Enterprises Inc. Cedar Rapids 110 

11 TMone Iowa City 103 

12 MindFire Communications Inc. Cedar Rapids 89 

13 Raining Rose Cedar Rapids 82.4 

14 World Trend Financial Iowa City 79.4 

15 Circle Computer Resources Inc. Cedar Rapids 70.6 


fect six-for-six if it had entered the competition in 2016, 

said President Phil Rezin, but a 2015 acquisition by aerospace 

and electronics conglomerate HEICO led MMS to 

temporarily keep a low profile. 

HEICO is a $1.3 billion company based in Florida with 

products found on large commercial aircraft, regional and 

business aircraft and a variety of military systems. MMS 

joined HEICO’s Electronic Technologies Group, which 

counts nearly 19 facilities around the country and nearly 

1,800 employees, according to the company. 

HEICO acquired 80.1 percent of MMS in the deal, but 

other than some accounting procedures, not much has 

changed operationally, according to Mr. Rezin. 

“It’s going great – they’re a hands-off kind of company. 

I’m still the president and have full control over running 

the business,” Mr. Rezin said, adding that the only 

substantial difference is that “we’re now a large corporation, 

rather than a small business.” 

MMS has seen significant growth in recent years, as 

some of its newest designs have been accepted into larger 

defense programs with the Army and Marines, groups 

typically outside of the company’s traditional market 

space. It also benefited from the addition of transmitters 

to its lineup in 2014 – a move that the company “resisted 

for a while” to focus on its core technologies, but has since 

MMS PAGE 22 

2015 

2014 

2013 

2012 

2008 

Growing 

with the Corridor 

over the past 

10 years! 

THANK YOU! 

www.worldtrendfps.com 



Lattice Communications Owner and President Bruce Leventhal, accepting the Fastest Growing Companies award in 2013. 

Lattice Communications 

Based in Fairfax 

Established 2004 



“Fairfax-based Lattice came in at No. 1 on the Fastest Growing 

Companies list with 325 percent growth between 2010-2012. Last 

year, Lattice debuted on the Fastest Growing Companies list with 

186 percent growth and had 35 employees. The company now employs 

50 people. 

“It really is a nice moment to take a breath and enjoy our accomplishments,” 

said Bruce Leventhal, Lattice owner and president. “It’s 

very rare that we probably all take a minute to sit back and relax.” 

With more than 20 locations across the United States, Lattice 

Communications remains the largest stocking dealer of telecommunications 

products. The company deals in new and refurbished telecommunications 

shelters, cabinets, power equipment fire suppression, 

HVAC and generators with new monitoring systems to ensure 

equipment reliability. 

The company also produces its own line of custom concrete shelters 

to meet its clients’ project needs. 

Mr. Leventhal addressed his staff at the Fastest Growing Companies 

event, noting their talent and persistence have allowed the 

company to grow. 

20 CBJ’s Fastest Growing Companies 10th Anniversary 

“I’m incredibly lucky to have you guys alongside. I 

wanted to take a minute to say thank you to you guys for 

the craziness and your hard work,” he said. 

The growth has been consistent over the past few 

years, with Lattice being named No. 5 on the list in 2012. 

In the midst of a challenging economic climate, Lattice 

still managed to triple its revenue and double its workforce 

in 2011. 

One of the reasons for the quick growth is the fiber 

optic cable installation recently added by the company. 

Lattice offers aerial, underground and indoor fiber installation 

to help increase bandwidth, speed up connectivity 

and reduce costs. It also provides its own in-house 

turn-key construction services across the U.S. including 

civil, concrete, electrical and project management. 

“We’re a very entrepreneurial company,” said Kendra 

Fish, Lattice’s director of marketing. “Our growth is really 

dependent on our customer’s needs and we challenge 

ourselves to go above and beyond for them.” 


Despite making the CBJ’s Fastest Growing Companies list 

twice, Lattice Communications didn’t survive. 

The road ended somewhat abruptly in 2015 when 

the company sustained more than $2.5 million in flood 

damage to its property at 98 W. Cemetery Road in Fairfax. 

That triggered a series of financial events that led to a 

lender-directed sale of the company’s assets.

PAGE 29 

PAGE 3 

$1.50 I WWW.CORRIDORBUSINESS.COM I A LOCALLY OWNED BUSINESS WEEKLY IN IOWA’S CREATIVE CORRIDOR I MAY 27 - JUNE 2, 2013 

Bruce Leventhal, owner and president of Lattice Communications, speaks during the Corridor Business Journals Fastest Growing Companies 

event May 21. Lattice, based in Fairfax, was No. 1 on the list. 

LATTICE CONTINUES ON PAGE 19 

Fairfax I Founded: 2004 

www.latticebiz.com I 2nd time on the list 

PAGE 20 

ST 


(Ranked by percentage revenue increase from 10-12) 

Farmers Market 

Markets open 

across Eastern Iowa. 

25 Corridor companies 

awarded for growth 

By Pat Shaver 

pat@corridorbusiness.com 

CORALVILLE—Lattice Communications has grown more 

than any other local company. 

Fairfax-based Lattice was recognized for coming in at 

No. 1 on the Fastest Growing Companies list the Corridor 

Business Journal’s event with the same name on May 21. 

The company reported 325 percent growth between 

2010-2012. Last year, Lattice debuted on the Fastest Growing 

Companies list with 186 percent growth and had 35 

employees. Lattice now employs 50 people. 

“It really is a nice moment to take a breath and enjoy 

our accomplishments,” said Bruce Leventhal, Lattice 

owner and president. “It’s very rare that we probably all 

take a minute to sit back and relax.” 

With more than 20 locations across the United States, 

Lattice Communications remains the largest stocking 

dealer of telecommunications products. 

Lattice is a dealer of new and refurbished telecommunications 

shelters, cabinets, power equipment including 

rectifiers, power supply, fire suppression and HVAC and 

generators with new monitoring systems to ensure equipment 

reliability. The company produces its own line of 

custom concrete shelters to meet its client’s projects demanding 

needs. 

The Fastest Growing Companies event took place at the 

Coralville Marriott and honored the 25 companies in the 

Corridor. Companies had to earn at least $350,000 annually 

and were ranked based on the percentage increase in 

revenue experienced from 2010-2012. 

Of the 25 companies, 13 were new to the Fastest Growing 

Companies list. This is the sixth year the Corridor Business 

Journal has compiled the list. 

Mr. Leventhal addressed his staff, noting their talent 

and persistence have allowed the company to grow. 

“I’m incredibly lucky to have you guys alongside. I 

wanted to take a minute to say thank you to you guys for 

the craziness and your hard work,” he said. 

The growth has been consistent over the past few years 

and last year Lattice was named the fifth on the list. In the 

midst of a challenging economic climate, Lattice tripled 

revenue and doubled its workforce in 2011. 




FOCUS: 

FASTEST 

GROWING 

COMPANIES 


Fastest Growing Companies 

Dawn Ainger 

Genova CEO 

grows IT business. 

Lattice Communications No. 1 

BILL ADAMS 

#1 

325.2% 

growth 

Lattice Communications 

Fastest 

Growing 

Companies 

Reception 

Check out the 

event photos 


1 Lattice Communications Inc. Fairfax 325.2 


3 MD Molding Wayland 185 


5 Genova Technologies Inc. Cedar Rapids 171.4 

6 Select Structural Engineering Cedar Rapids 139.3 


8 Involta Cedar Rapids 109.3 

9 Crystal Group Inc. Hiawatha 108.6 

10 MediRevv Inc. Coralville 96.8 

11 Circle Computer Resources Inc. Cedar Rapids 95.2 

12 ESP International Cedar Rapids 88.7 

13 LimoLink Marion 87.9 

14 Cedar Ridge Vineyards Swisher 86.5 



Although many jobs were lost, not all was dark after 

the closing. Mr. Leventhal noted in a 2015 interview that 

several managers and employees started their own companies 

after the wind-down of Lattice Communications. 

They included Dennis Bruce, who relaunched a former 

company, BDC Group, making precast concrete shelters 

for telecommunications gear, and Al Meyer, who started 

Corridor Network Construction, a fiber optic network design 

and construction firm. 

Colin Brunner started CBTel, a supplier of telecommunications 

shelters, towers and generators in Wyoming, 

and Jared Nelson started Core Electric, a provider of telecommunications 

and electrical installation services. 

Mr. Leventhal said the startup trend that followed the 

closing reflected the entrepreneurial spirit of the company’s 

workforce. 

One of the first employees of Lattice, Carter Kramer, 

had gone on to start his own company, Cellsite Solutions, 

almost five years before Lattice closed. Mr. Kramer ended 

up buying most of the assets of Lattice, with which Cellsite 

competed in some markets. 

Mr. Leventhal moved following the closure to the Chicago 

area, where he has worked in consulting with private 

equity firms and startups to mid-market organizations. 

The former Lattice Communications property became 

home to a traffic control equipment company, Advanced 

Traffic Control. 




A look inside Midwest Microwave Solution’s Hiawatha facility earlier this year. 

2012 & 2014’s Fastest 

Midwest Microwave Solutions Inc. 

Located in Hiawatha 


419.8% growth (5 times on the list) 

MMS PAGE 19 

become “a source of great growth,” Mr. Rezin said. 

The company now counts 76 products in its catalog, many of 

which have been developed based on customers’ requests for 

enhanced capabilities. 

“When you have less men on the ground, you need more 

ears,” Mr. Rezin said. “I don’t see a slowdown in our markets.” 

Despite continual growth, MMS hasn’t increased its footprint 

much. The company doubled the size of its shop in 2012, and 

this year remodeled around 1,000 square feet to provide executive 

offices and more space for engineers, but has only added 

about five employees since its 2014 award. Mr. Rezin chalks that 

up to the company’s efficient staff and relatively flat hierarchy. 

“I was used to being on the floor with our engineers,” he 

said. “Still not sure if I like the whole office thing.” 

– Adam Moore 

The company doubled 

the size of its shop 

in 2012, and this year 

remodeled around 

1,000 square feet to 

provide executive 

offices and more space 

for engineers, but has 

only added about five 

employees since its 

2014 award. 


Nate Kaeding talks 

about kicking up biz. 

PAGE 31 

$1.50 I WWW.CORRIDORBUSINESS.COM I A LOCALLY OWNED BUSINESS WEEKLY IN IOWA’S CREATIVE CORRIDOR I MAY 26 - JUNE 1, 2014 

Phil Rezin, CEO of Midwest Microwave Solutions, talked about pitfalls to avoid when you’re technologists starting a business venture as he accepted the 

2014 Fastest Growing Companies Award on May 20. He urged technologists who lack a broad foundation in business to get help from experienced professionals 

outside the company, and to be sure not to neglect their own quality of life. 

MIDWEST CONTINUES ON PAGE 6 

Eco Lips’ Shriver takes 

top award. 

PAGE 3 

Hiawatha I Founded: 2005 

www.mms-rf.com I 3rd time on the list 

CBJ spotlights the top 25. 

PAGE 5 

ST 

Corridor’s 

EntreFest 

Midwest Microwave Solutions repeats 

Hiawatha company takes 

Fastest Growing honors again 

By Dave DeWitte 

dave@corridorbusiness.com 

CEDAR RAPIDS—No other company has claimed the 

Corridor’s Business Journal’s Fastest Growing Company 

title twice, let alone twice in three years – the new mark 

recorded by Midwest Microwave Solutions. 

With revenue growth of 419.8 percent from 2011- 

2013, Midwest Microwave Solutions claimed top honors 

at the 2014 growth recognition event May 20 at the Cedar 

Rapids Marriott, edging out Premier Staffing Inc. with 

418.3 percent growth. 

“Our continued growth is based more on name recognition 

because we’ve had great success in the field,” CEO 

Phil Rezin said in an interview. “Midwest Microwave Solutions 

has products deployed worldwide, and the products 

we’ve had in Afghanistan the last three years have 

operated flawlessly.” 

The company was in first place in 2012 with growth of 

more than 516 percent and in fourth place in 2013 with 

growth of 176.2 percent. 

A total of 25 companies were honored at the May 

20 event based on confidential evaluations provided by 

Honkamp Krueger of tax return information submitted 

by the companies. The list included four – World Trend 

Financial, Ready Wireless, Circle Computer Resources 

and Involta – that have made the list four times. 

One of the 2014 Fastest Growing winners, TrueNorth 

Companies, was the first to be honored by the Corridor 

Business Journal in three categories – Largest Privately 

Held Companies, Fastest Growing Companies and Coolest 

Places to Work. 

Rapid growth has characterized Midwest Microwave 

Solutions since its inception in 2005 as a radio frequency 

consulting and prototyping company by Mr. Rezin and 

Steve Wilson. They began producing a line of radio frequency 

tuners and digitizers. 

Mike Horn, a digital signal processer expert, joined 

the company in 2009, and Midwest Microwave Solutions 

JUSTIN TORNER 

opened a small shop with 1,400 square feet of space in 

Hiawatha. 

Products from Midwest Microwave Solutions allow 

customers to scan any communication band in existence, 

from microwave data links to garage door opener signals, 

Mr. Rezin said. They are mainstay tools used in gathering 

signal information to detect and analyze threats. 




FOCUS: 


COMPANIES 


Fastest Growing Companies 

Entrepreneur 

of the Year 

#1 

419.8% 

growth 

Midwest Microwave Solutions 

Fastest 

Growing 

Companies 



RANK NAME 

HOMETOWN PERCENTAGE GROWTH 


2 Premier Staffing Inc. Hiawatha 418.3 

3 MD Molding Wayland 351.7 

4 Ahmann Properties Hiawatha 219.2 

5 MediRevv Inc. Coralville 191.5 

6 Infinity Contact Inc. Cedar Rapids 136.4 

7 Health Solutions LLC Cedar Rapids 118.7 

8 Involta Cedar Rapids 110.5 

9 Bazooka Farmstar Inc. Washington 106.6 

10 IMS Branded Solutions Marion 94.6 


12 Neumiller Electric Iowa City 80.9 

13 Innovative Software Engineering LLC Coralville 79 

14 Eco Lips Cedar Rapids 76.7 

15 Ready Wireless LLC Hiawatha 71.3 


Our goal is to provide you with the best professional staffing solutions. 

Job Seekers 

Employers 

Jobs 

www.premierstaffing.com 

319-730-3890 | 1905 N Center Point Rd. | Hiawatha, IA 52233 

319-505-2733 | 2809 University Ave. | Waterloo, IA 50701 

customerservice@premierstaffing.com 



General Manager Aaron Verhorevoort and Founder Scott Ramspott stand inside Spotix’ new facility in North Liberty earlier this year. 

Spotix 

Based in North Liberty 




“Few companies in the Corridor have experienced the rapid 

growth of North Liberty-based Spotix Inc., which sells fireplaces, 

fire pits, grills and related accessories to consumers and 

retailers, and has seen its sales more than double since 2012. 

The fuel for the company’s combustion? Online sales. 

Named overall leader of the Corridor Business Journal’s 

2015 Fastest Growing Companies list in its first year being honored, 

Spotix achieved nearly 284 percent growth in revenue 

from the 2012 calendar year to the close of 2014, with virtually 

all of the company’s sales completed online. 

Company founder and president Scott Ramspott said less 

than 1 percent of Spotix’s sales take place in Iowa, despite 

noteworthy local projects such as the fire pits at Vesta, Backpocket 

Brewery and 30hop in Coralville’s Iowa River Landing. 

“We truly are an e-commerce based company,” said Mr. 

24 CBJ’s Fastest Growing Companies 10th Anniversary 

Ramspott. “We can pick up and move anywhere.” 

Spotix does have a showroom at its office in North Liberty, 

which also houses about 60 percent of the company’s product 

offerings. However, that addition, made in 2012, was installed 

primarily to appease distributors that require stores to have 

one to carry their products. 

The company’s strong web sales have prompted demand 

for additional employees, with plans in place to hire a web 

traffic specialist, a digital marketing specialist and another 

salesperson as soon as possible, Mr. Ramspott said. 

General Manager Aaron Verhorevoort said a frequent misconception 

exists in online retailing that unless someone is 

making a purchase through Amazon or a major national retailer, 

the operation presumably takes place in someone’s basement. 

“There’s definitely a lot more that goes into it,” Mr. Verhorevoort 

said. “It’s probably a pretty comparable set of challenges 

that come from a regular walk-in customer. They’re different, 

but at the end of the day, they’re just as hard to overcome.” 

Among those challenges is making the shopping experience 

as intuitive and efficient as possible. To accomplish that, 

Mr. Verhorevoort helped redesign the company’s website in 

order to minimize time-consuming email and phone commu- 

SPOTIX PAGE 34

Joe Ahmann honored 

PAGE 3 

$2.00 I WWW.CORRIDORBUSINESS.COM I A LOCALLY OWNED BUSINESS WEEKLY IN IOWA’S CREATIVE CORRIDOR I MAY 25 - 31, 2015 

North Liberty I Founded: 2011 

www.spotix.com I First time on list 

SPOTIX ON PAGE 19 

Roundup of local, regional events 

PAGE 29 

Spotix Founder and President Scott Ramspott accepts his company’s fastest growing award during 

the May 19 awards breakfast, held at the Coralville Marriott. 

ST 


(Ranked by Percentage Revenue Increase from 12-14) 

Entrepreneur 

of the Year 

Spotix named 

fastest growing 

North Liberty retailer’s online strategy ignites growth 

By Chase Castle 

30hop in Coralville’s Iowa River Landing. 

chase@corridorbusiness.com 

“We truly are an e-commerce based 

company,” said Mr. Ramspott. “We can 

Few companies in the Corridor have experienced 

the rapid growth of North Liberty- 

Spotix does have a showroom at its of- 

pick up and move anywhere.” 

based Spotix Inc., which sells fireplaces, fire fice in North Liberty, which also houses 

pits, grills and related accessories to consumers 

and retailers, and has seen its sales uct offerings. However, that addition, 

about 60 percent of the company’s prod- 

more than double since 2012. 

made in 2012, was installed merely to 

The fuel for the company’s combustion? 

Online sales. 

have one to carry their products. 

appease distributors that require stores to 

Named overall leader of the Corridor “That’s the long and the short of it,” Mr. 

Business Journal’s 2015 Fastest Growing Ramspott said. “It came to fruition strictly 

Companies list 

so we could sell 

in its first year 

products online.” 

being honored, 

283.6% Those strong 

Spotix achieved #1 growth web sales have 

nearly 284 percent 

growth in 

mand for ad- 

prompted de- 

revenue from 

Spotix 

ditional employees, 

with 

the 2012 calendar 

year to the 

plans in place to 

close of 2014, 

hire a web traffic 

specialist, a 

with virtually all 

of the company’s sales completed online. digital marketing specialist and another 

salesperson as soon as possible, Mr. 

A total of 25 companies were honored 

at a May 19 awards breakfast, with rankings 

based on confidential tax return in- 

“So immediately, we have three posi- 

Ramspott said. 

formation submitted by the companies to tions we’d love to fill,” he said. 

accounting firm Honkamp Krueger & Co. Although the company emphasizes 

(See full list on page 6.) 

the need for technical savvy in its hires, 

Company founder and president Scott Mr. Ramspott said employee chemistry 

and company culture are equally 

Ramspott said less than 1 percent of 

Spotix’s sales take place in Iowa, despite important – not just to Spotix, but to 

noteworthy local projects such as the fire 

pits at Vesta, Backpocket Brewery and 




BILL ADAMS 

See the rankings on page 6 

Iowa Summer Travel 

Also inside this edition: 

Marco, Inc. 

Streb Construction Company and 

E&F Paving, LLC Celebrating 50 Years 

The Greater Iowa City Home Builders 

Association Builders News 


1 Spotix North Liberty 283.6 


3 Bazooka Farmstar Inc. Washington 237.4 

4 Premier Staffing Inc. Hiawatha 205.3 

5 MediRevv Inc. Coralville 114.4 

6 World Class Graphics & Displays Cedar Rapids 102.7 

7 Ahmann Properties Hiawatha 91.7 

8 Eco Lips Cedar Rapids 81.5 

9 Health Solutions LLC Cedar Rapids 71.8 

10 Sedna Warehousing LLC Iowa City 69.5 

11 Fusion Architects Hiawatha 64.8 

12 Sedna Logistics LLC Iowa City 64.3 

13 TrueNorth Companies LLC Cedar Rapids 62.9 

14 Perfect Game Incorporated Cedar Rapids 60.9 

15 ProofreadingPal LLC Iowa City 56.4 


Ahmann’s startup record hard to match 

Joe Ahmann, accepting Ahmann Properties’ FGC award in 2015. 

At the 2016 Fastest Growing Companies award ceremony, CBJ 

Publisher John Lohman remarked that “there ought to be a special 

Joe Ahmann Award,” for the individual starting the most companies 

to make the Fastest Growing list. 

No less than four companies started by Mr. Ahmann have landed 

a spot on the prestigious list. He started out in 1991 with his 

home design firm, Ahmann Design, and in 1994 launched Ahmann 

Properties to maintain and manage office space for his own company 

and others in Hiawatha. 

In 2005, Mr. Ahmann created Fusion Architects to handle larger 

projects requiring an architect’s stamp, and in 2008 started Compass 

Commercial Services to offer design-build construction. 

Mr. Ahmann was voted the CBJ’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 

2015. In 2016, Ahmann-owned businesses took four spots on the 

Fastest Growing list, with Fusion Architects ranking highest at No. 

6 with 133.5 percent growth. 

There’s no sitting still for Mr. Ahmann. He began 2017 by starting 

Pivot Real Estate, which offers sales and leasing. It seems to 

have a high likelihood of finding a place on the Fastest Growing 

Companies list. 




“The Corridor’s Fastest 

Growing list has been a 

goal of mine for years, but 

to be on the top of the list 

is more than I ever could 

have expected.” 

- Jason Hall, Owner of Moxie Solar 

Moxie Solar CEO Jason Hall, shown in a 2015 photo for the CBJ’s Entrepreneur 101 magazine. 

Moxie Solar 

Based in North Liberty 




“When Jason Hall started to grow weary of banking, he looked 

to the outdoors for inspiration to enrich his life and possibly 

his career. Nearly a decade later, the ensuing venture that’s become 

Moxie Solar has grown beyond his wildest expectations. 

The North Liberty-based installer of solar energy systems 

now has about 25 employees, many of whom were the focus of 

an acceptance speech Mr. Hall gave May 17 at the CBJ’s Fastest 

Growing Companies awards breakfast, where Moxie Solar took 

the title of the Corridor’s Fastest Growing Company for 2016. 

Moxie Solar recorded a year-over-year revenue increase of 

nearly 110 percent in 2015, and saw its revenues grow by a 

whopping 536 percent from 2013-2015. 

“The Corridor’s Fastest Growing list has been a goal of 

mine for years, but to be on the top of the list is more than I 

ever could have expected,” Mr. Hall said upon accepting the 

Fastest Growing Companies award. 

Despite a successful banking career – which included being 

the youngest bank president in Iowa when he assumed 

the role of market president with First American – Mr. Hall 

“bit the bullet” by founding Moxie’s predecessor, Greenhall 

Industries, in 2008. 

In the company’s first four years, it primarily did efficiency 

audits, helped businesses improve their energy efficiency 

through things like lighting and sealing upgrades, and helped 

facilitate rebates for customers from their utility providers. 

In 2012, however, Greenhall hit a pivotal point in its development. 

State lawmakers approved a solar income tax credit 

that year that would supplement an existing federal program. 

With federal tax credits in place to cover up to 30 percent of 

solar project costs, and the state offering to match more than 

half of the federal credits, Mr. Hall and his colleagues saw a 

clear opportunity. 

“At that point, we extinguished the old website and we focused 

on solar,” Mr. Hall recalled. 

The company already has several notable projects in its 

portfolio, including a solar array atop Johnson County’s 

multi-million dollar Secondary Roads Facility, which opened 

last year on Melrose Avenue in Iowa City. Other clients include 

Iowa Book in Iowa City and the Mason City Public Library.” 


$2.00 I A LOCALLY OWNED BUSINESS WEEKLY IN IOWA’S CREATIVE CORRIDOR I MAY 23 - 29, 2016 

THE GREATER IOWA CITY AREA HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION I www.iowacityhomes.com 

Members Only Tour 

June 3 

Affiliated with the National Association of Home Builders & Home Builders A sociation of Iowa 

teady job growth, affordable 

home prices, 

a tractive mortgage 

interest rates and pent-up 

demand wi l help the housing 

market continue a gradual 

upward trajectory in the year 

ahead, a cording to economists 

who participated in the 

NAHB Spring Construction 

Forecast Webinar. 

Single-Family Sector Leads 

Housing to Higher Ground 

S 

“Builders remain cautiously optimistic about market conditions,” factors that should make this year’s home sales the best in a decade: 

said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “2016 should be the first • Household formations are projected to accelerate. Betw en 2008 

year since the Great Rece sion in which the growth rate for singlefamily 

production exc eds that of multifamily. And we s single- 

formations than normal. 

and 2014, the slowdown resulted in 5.1 million fewer household 

family growth a celerating 2017 as the su ply chain mends and 

we can expand production.” 

• Purchase application show solid home sales that match demographics. 

Steady job growth has bolstered consumer confidence and 

rekindled housing demand. Nationa ly, payro l employment has 

• More owners are cu rent on their mortgages, with fewer defaults 

surpa sed its pre-rece sion peak by a modest margin; only a sma l 

and le s foreclosures. 

number of state stil lag behind those levels. 

Solid job gains include rising salaries and wages. 

• House prices are rising about 6% annua ly and a pear to be in 

line with incomes and rents. 

Looking a the forecast, single-family production is expected to 

“Demographic tailwinds are helping to propel the housing market 

post a 14% gain 2016 to 812,0 units and rise an additional 19% 

forward,” said Kiefer. 

to 964, 0 units 2017. 

Freddie Mac is projecting 5.9 mi lion total home sales this year, the 

Using the 2 0-2 03 period as healthy benchmark (when singlefamily 

starts averaged 1.3 million units on an nual basis), single- 

Regiona ly, Kiefer said that house price growth is the strongest in 

highest level since 2 06, and 6.2 mi lion in 2017. 

family production cu rently stands at 58% of normal activity. NAHB the South and West, with Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Colorado 

project single-family production wi l rise to 64% of normal by the and Florid all posting double-digit statewide house price a preciation 

betw en December 2014 and December 2015. 

fourth quarter of this year and climb to 7% of normal by th end of 

2017. 

On the multifamily side, production ran at 395, 0 units last year, 

above the 31, 0 rate that is considered a norma level of production. 

Multifamily starts expected to decline 4% to 379, 0 units 

Also l oking below the national numbers, NAHB Senior Economist 

Robert Denk said that housing market conditions are improv- 

this year, and rise 6% to 402, 0 units in 2017. 

ing acro s nation, but the pace of the recovery continues to vary 

Residential remodeling activity is expected to increase 3.3% in by state and region. 

2016 over last year, and rise an ditional 1.3% in 2017. 

“A common theme has emerged,” said Denk. “The progre s of 

market recovery is no longer a function of the boom-and-bust cycle 

Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist at Freddie Mac, cited several 

HOUSING, PAGE 7 

The Forecast 

Best Year Since 2 06 

Back to Basics 

JUNE 2016 

7:00 - 8: 0 Breakfast at 

UICCU, North Liberty 

8: 0 - 5: 0 Tour Parade 

Homes 

1: 0 - 1:30 Lunch at Hi ls 

Bank, North Liberty 

Parade of Homes 

June 4, 5, 7, 9, 

1 and 12 

Bike Tour of 

Parade Homes 

June 11 

Remodelers Council 

June 14 - N on 

Board M eting 

June 16 - N on 

Iowa Va ley Habitat 

for Humanity 

Memorial Build 

June 20 - 24 

IC HBA Conference R om 

IC HBA Conference Room 

Hi ls, IA 

North Liberty I Founded 2008 

www.moxiesolar.com I First time on list 

MOXIE PAGE 5 

Look for The Greater Iowa City Area Home Builders 

Association newsletter. 

The focus topic will be Health Care: Data and Coding 

and the CBJ List is Fitness Centers. 

The CBJ Business of Life will explore regional 

getaways for the summer months. 

ST 


(Ranked by Percentage Revenue Increase from 13-15) 

Moxie Solar takes 

title of 2016’s 

Fastest Growing 

Company 



When Jason Hall started to grow 

weary of banking, he looked to the 

outdoors for inspiration to enrich 

his life and possibly his career. Nearly 

a decade later, the ensuing venture 

that’s become Moxie Solar has grown 

beyond his wildest expectations. 

The North Liberty-based installer 

of solar energy systems now has 

about 25 employees, many of whom 

were the focus of the acceptance 

speech Mr. Hall gave May 17 at the 

CBJ’s Fastest Growing Companies 

awards breakfast, where Moxie Solar 

took the title of the Corridor’s Fastest 

Growing Company for 2016. 

Twenty-five companies were 

honored at the event, with their 

rankings based on confidential tax 

information submitted to accounting 

firm Honkamp Krueger & Co. 

Moxie Solar recorded a yearover-year 

revenue increase of nearly 

110 percent in 2015, and saw its 

revenues grow by 536 percent from 

2013-2015. 

“The Corridor’s Fastest Growing 

list has been a goal of mine for years, 

but to be on the top of the list is more 

than I ever could have expected,” Mr. 

Hall told event attendees at the Cedar 

Rapids Marriott. “Everything I’ve 

done prior to starting Moxie Solar 

was with an existing business I stepped into 

after it was already a successful operation. 

Moxie Solar is different to me, in that we 

didn’t take over from somebody else. Our 

team fought and struggled to create a company 

and a market – literally – that didn’t 

exist previously.” 

Prior to pursuing renewable energy, Mr. 




Moxie Solar 

shines 

#1 

However, su ply-side 

headwinds led by a shortage 

of construction lots and labor, 

along with tight a ce s to 

acquisition, construction and 

development (AD&C) loans, 

continue to hamper a more 

robust recovery. 

536.27% 

growth 

Moxie Solar 

Inside 

Hall earned a bachelor’s degree in finance 

from the University of Northern Iowa. He 

later gained first-hand knowledge about 

business finance as a commercial credit 

analyst, a mid-market lender, and as a correspondent 

banker for Firstar, which later 

acquired U.S. Bank and assumed its name. 

Mr. Hall eventually left Firstar to lead 

Next week’s CBJ 


1 Moxie Solar North Liberty 536.27 

2 Papa’s Truck & Trailer Repair LLC Cedar Rapids 223.04 

3 Mass Markets Iowa City 195.48 

4 BerganKDV Cedar Rapids 194.13 

5 Spotix North Liberty 169 

6 Fusion Architects Inc. Hiawatha 133.52 

7 Compass Commercial Services LLC Hiawatha 103.62 

8 Converge Consulting Cedar Rapids 94.33 

9 Hanna Plumbing & Heating Inc. Marion 82.49 

10 World Class Graphics & Displays Cedar Rapids 81.38 

11 Home Repair Team North Liberty 78.69 

12 Tri-County Enterprises Inc. Cedar Rapids 75.94 

13 Ready Mobile Hiawatha 71.65 


15 Cyber Science 3D Coralville 67.43 



Moxie Solar won the 2016 Fastest Growing title with the 

fifth-fastest growth rate ever recorded in the CBJ’s competition, 

and topped all but Sitler’s LED Supplies this year, with 

growth of 225.45 percent. 

Moxie could have what it takes to become a perennial presence 

on the CBJ’s Fastest Growing list. The company in April 

opened new sales offices in Cedar Rapids and Davenport, with 

the Quad Cities region led by former University of Iowa Hawkeye 

and NFL player, Julian Vandervelde. They’ll be joined soon by 

another office in Austin, Texas – a big but studied jump based on 

the market’s concentration of solar, favorable market incentives 

and its ability to balance out the weather risks found in Iowa. 

“We wanted to have another market that deconcentrates us 

from that risk,” CEO Jason Hall said. “[Austin] looked like a 

good market that would be good for us.” 

The company has also completed its integration of Green 

Transitions, a small Vinton-based solar firm Moxie acquired 

in October of last year. Former Green Transitions founder and 

CEO Brandon Yoder “has been going gangbusters,” since joining 

Moxie, Mr. Hall said. 

Over the last six months, the company has also started 

Moxie Electric, which does electrical contracting work but solar 

remains “far and away” the largest revenue source for the 

company. Moxie had its best sales and installation month ever 

in March, and is now pushing 40 employees. 

“We’ve got the right people in the right places,” Mr. Hall 

said. “We haven’t actually flexed the muscle in this machine 

yet – 2017 will be the year.” 

- Adam Moore 


LEADERS 

Riding the 

e-commerce 

wave 



Clickstop President Tim Guenther stands inside the company’s Urbana facility. 

Clickstop, a CBJ 

Fastest Growing 

veteran, considers 

new locales with 

eye on distribution

Clickstop recorded 

close to $30 million 

in revenue last year 

and is on pace to 

earn about $36 

million in 2017. 

Clickstop’s headquarters in Urbana. 

Since its founding around 2005, the e-retailer has 

appeared on the CBJ’s Fastest Growing Companies 

list eight times – more than any company in the Corridor 

– and the latest retail projections suggest that 

streak will continue. 

U.S. Department of Commerce data for the fourth 

quarter of last year estimated a 14.3 percent increase 

in online sales over the fourth quarter of 2015, compared 

to an 8.3 percent increase in total retail sales 

for the same period. 

For Clickstop, which recorded close to $30 million 

in revenue last year and is on pace to earn about 

$36 million in 2017, the company’s flagship brand, 

US Cargo Control, has been central to its success. 

US Cargo Control is the largest of the five brands 

the company owns and operates, offering rigging 

supplies, flatbed truck products and moving supplies. 

The brand accounts for approximately 85 percent 

of the company’s overall sales, mainly from the 

brand’s trucking and transportation products. 

Clickstop manages its own sales teams, website 

maintenance and shipping, and also does some light 

manufacturing. 

Founder and CEO Tim Guenther said that moving 

forward, the company’s growth strategy likely 

calls for the continued acquisition of smaller brands, 

possibly as early as this year. 

“The team operating those smaller brands is in a 

situation where they’ll likely explore some acquisition 

of e-commerce stores and brands,” Mr. Guenther 

said. 

Longer term, the company will also entertain acquisitions 

related to its largest product line. An acquisition 

related to US Cargo Control likely won’t happen 

for 3-5 years, but could result in a new location, ideally 

along the East or West coasts, Mr. Guenther said. 

“Anything we acquire in another location probably 

doesn’t have the resources to support our US 

Cargo Control brand from a fulfillment center standpoint,” 

he said. “So we’re interested in the East and 

West Coast, but most of the things we’re exploring 

from an acquisition standpoint are smaller and not 

likely to include fulfillment.” 

That doesn’t mean that expanding the company’s 

shipping capabilities aren’t being considered, however. 

If and when one of those coastal acquisitions is 

made, the company will favor areas when it can build 

its own distribution center. Alternatively, Clickstop 

may seek an acquisition somewhere with existing 

distribution services that it could partner with. 

“Ideally, we’ll find an existing business that can add 

value through acquisition, then also fulfill our customers 

in that region with products we already sell,” 

Mr. Guenther said. “We’re an opportunistic company, 

CLICKSTOP PAGE 34 


FGC BY THE N 

INDUSTRY 

(out of 100 companies overall) 

CUSTOMER SERVICE------------------------------- 40 

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES------------------------21 

MANUFACTURING------------------------------------13 

RETAIL----------------------------------------------------- 6 

REAL ESTATE/DEVELOPMENT--------------------- 6 

MEDICAL/HEALTH------------------------------------- 4 

FINANCE/INSURANCE-------------------------------- 4 

FOOD/RESTAURANT---------------------------------- 3 

TRANSPORTATION------------------------------------ 3 

WOMEN-LED 

WOMEN-OWNED/LED 

12% 

MALE-OWNED/LED 

88% 

on 

Lisbon 

Iowa City 

North Liberty 

Coralville 

Swisher 

Washington 

Fairfax 

Urbana 

Urbana 

Riverside 

LINN 

Lisbon 

Swisher 

Marion 

North Liberty Coralville 

Washington 

Hiawatha 

Iowa City 

Cedar Rapids 

Cedar Rapids 

Hiawatha 

JONES 

BENTON 

Marion 

IOWA 

Hiawatha Hiawatha 

Cedar Cedar Rapids Rapids 

Lisbon 

Marion 

Iowa City North Liberty Coralville 

Hiawatha 

Fairfax 

Marion Urbana 

Hiawatha Cedar Rapids 

Swisher 

Lisbon 

Marion 

Hiawatha 

Iowa City 

Cedar Rapids 

Lisbon 

Marion 

North Liberty 

Hiawatha 

Iowa City 

Cedar Rapids 

Lisbon 

Marion 

Hiawatha 

WHAT CITIES ARE THE FASTEST? 

Cedar Rapids 

(Ranking the hometowns of the region’s Fastest Growing Companies) 

Fairfax 

Swisher 

Iowa City 

Marion Marion 

North Liberty 

North Liberty 

Coralville 

JOHNSON 

Cedar Rapids 

Lisbon 

HiawathaLisbon 

Riverside 

Washington 

Coralville 

Iowa City 

Lisbon Lisbon 

Coralville 

Swisher 

Iowa City North North Liberty Liberty 

Iowa City 

Lisbon 

Marion 

Iowa Cit 

Iowa City North Liberty 

Fairfax 

CEDAR 

Urbana 

Swisher Washington 

Washington 

Fairfax 

Riverside 

Swisher 

North Liberty Coralville 

Marion 

Cedar Rapids 

Lisbon 

Hiawatha 

Iowa City 

Cedar North Liberty Rapids Coralville 49 

Hiawatha 12 

Iowa City 10 

Marion 6 

North Liberty 5 

Coralville Lisbon 5 

Washington 4 

Marion 

Iowa City 

Swisher 

Fairfax 

Washington2 

Wayland 2 

Lisbon 1 

Riverside 1 

Sigourney 1 

Swisher 1 

North Liberty 

Urbana 1 

Coralville 

Fairfax 

Urbana 

Riverside 

WASHINGTON 

Washington 

Swisher Washington 

Fairfax 

Urbana 

Riverside 


UMBERS 

FASTEST OF THE FAST 

COMPANY NAME 

TOP PERCENTAGES 

Thomas L Cardella & Assoc. 919.00% 

Asoyia 851.00% 

Hybrid Transit Systems 818.00% 

Express Auto Delivery 621.00% 

Moxie Solar 536.27% 

Midwest Microwave Solutions (2012) 516.10% 

Bochner Chocolates 427.00% 

MobileDemand 421.40% 

Midwest Microwave Solutions (2014) 419.80% 

Premier Staffing Inc. 418.30% 

TO NOTE: 

Midwest Microwave Solutions is the only company to be No. 1 twice 

MobileDemand and Midwest Microwave Solutions had revenue 

increase above 300% twice 

6/12 Companies with revenue increase above 300% were No. 1 

on the list that year 

Spotix (2015) & MediRevv (2011) are the only two companies to 

be named No. 1 with revenue increase less than 300% 

SOLD OR CLOSED 

SOLD OR MERGER - 7 

PERMANENTLY 

CLOSED - 3 

REBRANDED - 2 

ORIGINAL COMPANY - 88 

Hybrid Transit Systems’ COO and Partner Gerald Moore, 

President and CEO John Miller, and Partner Robert Helgens 

pose for a photo at the company’s headquarters in Cedar Rapids 

earlier this year. The transportation service provider reported 

the third-fastest growth rate in the program’s first decade, with 

818 percent growth in 2008. 


2017’S FASTEST 




1 Sitler’s LED Supplies Washington 289.99 

2 Moxie Solar North Liberty 225.45 

3 Higher Learning Technologies Coralville 190.27 

4 Fiberutilities Group LLC Cedar Rapids 158.85 

5 Katalyst Systems Impact Cedar Rapids 155.05 


7 Spotix North Liberty 144.17 

8 Ready Wireless Hiawatha 136.9 

9 Midwest Microwave Solutions Inc. Hiawatha 109.19 

10 Converge Consulting Cedar Rapids 107.15 

11 Ahmann Design Hiawatha 88.83 

12 Involta Cedar Rapids 84.54 

13 Hardscape Solutions of Iowa Inc. Cedar Rapids 76.31 

14 de Novo Marketing Cedar Rapids 71.72 

15 RKSJS Online DBA: IAHomes 


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STRATEGIES PAGE 7 

the business person.” 

Mr. Nelson is acutely aware of that need because it’s 

often one of the things that brings clients to the EDC. 

The center can connect company founders with business 

expertise and resources that can help if they aren’t 

ready to bring in an outsider to lead. Sometimes the answer 

can be hiring consultants, or even additional training 

for the owner to help them deal with challenges. 

“Business get caught in their own forest,” Mr. Nelson 

said. “They don’t objectively see their business 

from the outside, and that’s why businesses hire consultants 

all the time.” 

Focus & financing 

TrueNorth Companies, a three-time member of the 

CBJ’s Fastest Growing Companies list, has been one of 

the companies that exemplifies sustained, rapid growth. 

It has kept its focus by emphasizing four “pillars” of its 

business model: profitable operation, client experience, 

dynamic culture and business development. Progress 

in each of those areas is carefully tracked, down to the 

individual employee. 

TrueNorth’s 20/20 Vision initiative was the result of 

a strategic planning process, according to CEO Duane 

Smith. The initiative established a goal of more than 

$1 billion in premiums and growing to more than 400 

staff members; it has also helped the company maintain 

focus and stay on track. 

Such focus is, unfortunately, more the exception than 

the rule. 

“Companies typically don’t do that,” Mr. Nelson 

said. “They focus on the problem of the day or the 

hour, and someone [the leader] is not focusing enough 

on the overall strategic directions, goals and execution.” 

Providing financial predictability to lenders has 

been one of the keys to the success of Cedar Ridge 

Winery & Distillery in Swisher, according to owner Jeff 

Quint, who was previously CFO of the fast-growing 

data services company Involta. 

“We are a heavy equipment and inventory company, 

and you’ve got to have good banking,” Mr. Quint said. 

“To have good banking, you’ve got to line up one good 

year after another.” 

Mr. Quint said accurate forecasting of financials and 

hitting those forecasts have been crucial to his banking 

relationships. It’s something bankers have mentioned 

in extending his company additional credit. 

“They [lenders] have told us, ‘You did what you told 

us you’re going to do,’” he said. 

Defining success 

High-growth businesses are often described as “gazelles” 

and heaped with glowing praise. Mr. Nelson is 

quick to point out that growth, while a worthy goal, 

is only one definition of success. He recalled one EDC 

client who simply wanted to grow his business in the 

Cedar Ridge Winery & Distillery Owner Jeff Quint (right) stands with Head Distiller Kolin 

Brighton (left) and General Manager Jamie Siefken at the company’s facility in Swisher 

earlier this year. 

small town where it had started, using a style of “open book” management 

that empowered and informed his employees. 

For that company’s founder, Mr. Nelson said, it was important 

to follow and maintain his values and be an economic engine to his 

community, rather than maximize growth. It was a limiting factor to 

that company’s overall size, but one the founder was willing to accept. 

“What I’ve learned over time is people reach a point where they 

don’t want to continue to grow,” Mr. Nelson said. 

Another fact that Mr. Nelson has observed with high-growth companies 

is that many don’t remain independent for too long. Most entrepreneurs 

don’t start out their first successful business with the idea of 

selling it, Mr. Nelson said, but “if you build something that’s successful, 

someone will want to buy it.” 

Selling a business may end the entrepreneur’s growth story, Mr. 

Nelson said, but it can also set the stage for the next phase of the company’s 

growth, and for the entrepreneur to start again with another 

company. CBJ 


CLICKSTOP PAGE 29 

Clickstop’s Tim Guenther stands with 

the company’s awards, including the 

CBJ’s Fastest Growing Companies and 

Coolest Places to Work honors. 

so that’s probably the approach we’re taking.” 

The company’s eye for opportunities that 

could compliment its distribution reflects one of 

online retail’s most important recent changes: expectations 

for fast shipping, which could work to 

Clickstop’s advantage. 

“Shipping is happening a lot faster than it ever 

has,” Mr. Guenther said. “It makes us wonder 

how long it is before these carriers figure out that 

being in the middle of the country is actually a 

pretty good place to be.” 

As to whether a new acquisition would carry 

the Clickstop name, as opposed to the US Cargo 

Control brand or another altogether, Mr. Guenther 

said the company has yet to clearly demarcate 

the Clickstop name and its individual brands, 

which also cover lifting and moving supplies and 

building products. 

“So that’s a tough one for us, and I wish it 

wasn’t that way,” Mr. Guenther said. 

Presently, Clickstop has 117 full-time and 23- 

part time employees, with two facilities located 

in Urbana, including a $2.5 million facility with 

warehousing and distribution space that opened 

on Blue Creek Drive in 2011. 

The company also continues to own its original 

office on Bing Miller Lane, which now includes 

a warehouse and the company’s nonprofit, 

Clickstop Cares. Once a roughly 53,000-squarefoot 

expansion of the new office is completed this 

summer, however, those operations will move to 

Blue Creek Drive. CBJ 

SPOTIX PAGE 24 

nications. With the company’s platforms now dialed in, he 

said he views any significant spike in email or phone contact 

with customers as an indicator of possible issues. 

“It’s actually a really good barometer for the overall status… 

of the content, the service, the product,” he said. 

Mr. Verhorevoort believes the business outlook for Spotix is 

positive due to economic indicators such as home construction 

and new home sales, which increased 6 percent nationwide the 

first quarter of 2015 over the same time period last year. 

“I think it looks like a pretty rosy picture with some slow, 

steady growth for the next couple of years, at least as far as 

big-picture, macro growth goes,” he said. 


Spotix has kept the fire going since topping the CBJ’s Fastest 

Growing Companies list in 2015. The company ranked No. 5 in 

2016 with 169 percent growth, and No. 7 this year, at 144 percent. 

Although the company has a sales floor at its new facility 

at the I-380 Industrial Park, where it relocated in December, 

more than 95 percent of the company’s sales continue to be 

earned online. 

“A sale is a sale, whether it’s online or in-person out of the 

showroom,” Aaron Verhorevoort, now president, said. “Any 

sale is a good sale.” 

The company more than doubled its space with the move, 

and Spotix now occupies about 23,000 square feet, including 

its warehouse, in the 90,0000-square-foot building. 

The new space also boasts a revamped showroom, which 

serves two purposes, according to Mr. Verhorevoort. Like any 

showroom, the space allows the company to display hardware 

to prospective buyers. Perhaps more importantly, however, the 

room helps staff familiarize themselves with the products in-person 

so that they can better answer questions for customers online. 

“And that level of experience is more common in brickand-mortar 

retail space, but it’s not as common online,” Mr. 

Verhorevoort said. “That’s kind of what helps us have a little 

bit of an upper-hand or unique edge over the competition.” 

As of April, the company had 13 full-time employees, with 

plans to hire about six more full-time employees in 2017 and 

another half-dozen employees next year. Among those positions 

slated to be hired are sales, marketing, development and 

possibly 1-2 service positions. 

“We’re certainly still on pace for that timeline and maybe a 

little bit ahead of it,” Mr. Verhorevoort said. 

– Chase Castle 


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