The East Valley is the premier hub for rapidly growing businesses in Arizona, according to the latest list of the nation’s fastest growing privately held companies compiled by Inc. magazine.
Seventeen of the 500 fastest growing companies have their headquarters in Arizona, and of that group, 12 are in the East Valley, according to the magazine, which released its 2007 list Friday.
For the first time this year the magazine expanded its list to name the 5,000 fastest growing companies, and of that group (which includes the top 500 within it), 142 are located in Arizona. And nearly half of that crowd — 69 — have their headquarters in East Valley cities.
The fastest growing company in Arizona — ranking 47th in the nation — is Scottsdalebased National Patient Services, a business that helps pharmaceutical firms get doctors to prescribe their medicines.
NPS provides doctors with vouchers good for free samples of medicines, which doctors in turn can give to their patients to take to their pharmacist. Increasing restrictions on the ways drug companies can offer product samples has driven the growth of the voucher program, according to Inc.
NPS president Rick Randall said the voucher program is safer than physicians carrying sample stocks in their offices because it adds the pharmacist to the equation.
The pharmacist provides an extra check to make sure the patient won’t suffer an adverse reaction to a new medication, he said.
The second-fastest growing Arizona company is 50thranked Mesa-based Succeed Corp., which supplies e-commerce services such as Web hosting and payment processing to small businesses.
Founded in 2001, the company’s revenue grew 2,392 percent in three years because it is expanding its services to include such offerings as e-mail marketing and sourcing of wholesales products, Inc. said.
Omar Sayed, founder and chief executive, said the company has grown rapidly in the past few years after several years of product development.
How they ranked
Fastest growing private East Valley companies (listed by their national ranking):
No. 47
National Patient Services Scottsdale Growth - 2,426.9 percent
No. 50
Succeed Corp. Mesa Growth - 2,391.8 percent
No. 82
Massage Envy Scottsdale Growth - 1,782.2 percent
No. 162
American Solar Electric Scottsdale Growth - 1,232.6 percent
No. 179
Limelight Networks Tempe Growth - 1,179 percent
No. 202
Troon Construction Mesa Growth - 1,060 percent
No. 258
Infusion Software Gilbert Growth - 917.8 percent
No. 266
Liquid Productions Mesa Growth - 909.3 percent
No. 286
Phoenician Properties Realty Scottsdale Growth - 875.6 percent
No. 303
iCrossing Scottsdale Growth - 856.8 percent
No. 373
Ristal Mesa Growth - 760.0 percent
No. 492
Nothing But NET Tempe Growth - 601.6 percent Source: Inc. magazine
