News
Turbo-charged San Mateo firms exploding
If 2013’s Inc. 500/5000 wasn’t enough to convince skeptics, this year’s San Francisco Business Times’ biennial survey of the region’s fastest-growing companies might do the trick. San Mateo boasts some of the top companies that are growing big, growing fast and showing no signs of stopping.
The city of San Mateo is headquarters to nine of the Business Times’ 100 fastest growing private companies. For its research, the publication looked at businesses based in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties and the city of Palo Alto.
The Peninsula as a region particularly flexed its muscle in super-growth companies, with businesses based here showing the biggest revenue growth: 476% as compared to firms located in Marin with 428% growth, San Francisco with 330% growth and those in the East Bay showing 225% growth.
While newer start-ups show up in volume on a fast-growth list, some more seasoned companies are soaring, as well. Chief among those would be San Mateo-based GoPro, maker of high-definition personal cameras. GoPro, founded in 2002, was among the top five money-makers on the list of 100, charting $985.7M in revenue in 2013. GoPro was also among the top fastest-growing employers, ranking 2nd only to Flynn Restaurant Group, owners of Applebee’s and Taco Bell.
So, what’s the secret sauce in San Mateo and the mid-Peninsula area that is attracting these high-performing companies? As the squeeze is on for space in San Francisco and in the South Bay, more firms are locating in San Mateo. With easy access to transit and in the center of the greater region, San Mateo has become a hotbed for growing companies.
| Company | Rank | Growth | Revenue | Employees |
| Loqate | 14 | 536% | $4.4M | 25 |
| ABD Insurance & Financial | 17 | 431% | $28M | 133 |
| GoPro | 28 | 320% | $985.7M | 646 |
| Kinetix Technology Services | 33 | 277% | $3.5M | 21 |
| 3Q Digital | 44 | 189% | $9.6M | 85 |
| Novel ASPect | 47 | 168% | $2.4M | 12 |
| Jobvite | 64 | 125% | $14.5M | 122 |
| Century 21 Realty | 79 | 89% | $9.05M | 129 |
| BioPharm Systems | 93 | 70% | $14.6M | 65 |
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