Consulting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd.‘s technology arm has released its annual list of Canada’s fastest-growing tech companies, and the names at the top are more diverse – in both location and workforce composition – than you might expect.
The top three firms named in the organization’s 19th annual list are all based in western Canada, rather than the vaunted Toronto-Waterloo corridor (where, admittedly, six of the other winners are from).
They are also more diverse than last year’s winners – women made up at least 40 per cent of new hires at 32 per cent of the companies, four times last year’s eight per cent – and more successful, achieving an average three-year revenue growth of 2,652 percent, more than double the average in 2015.
In a statement, Deloitte Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) managing partner and Technology Fast 50 program leader Anders McKenzie praised the winners for being the types of companies Canada needs to complete on a global stage by valuing both innovation and diversity.
“It’s encouraging that Fast 50 companies are not only investing in innovation and pursuing better business outcomes, but they also understand the value of leveraging diverse perspectives and experiences to propel their businesses forward,” he said.
The Fast 50 were selected by Deloitte for demonstrating “innovation, leadership, and rapid revenue growth” during their last four years of operation, the company said. Thirty-one were first-time winners, while just over half – 26 – were from Ontario. British Columbia and Quebec were the other leading sources, with 12 and seven companies respectively.
However, the top three winners were all from western provinces, and by a wide margin: UrtheCast, a Vancouver-based technology firm that serves the geospatial and geoanalytics markets, reported revenue growth of 72,938 per cent between 2012 and 2015. Second place went to Cooledge Lighting Inc., another Vancouver-based company that specializes in innovative lighting solutions and posted 16,966 per cent growth between 2012 and 2015.
In third place was Calgary-based online giving, matching, volunteering, and integrated grant management solutions firm Benevity Inc., which posted 5,869 per cent growth.
In fourth place, Toronto marketing email platform developer Maropost reported considerably lower 3809.2 per cent growth.
Check out the top 10 below. The full list of winners can be found here.
- Vancouver’s UrtheCast, which saw 72938.0 per cent growth.
- Richmond, B.C.’s Cooledge Lighting Inc., which grew by 16966.1 per cent.
- Calgary’s Benevity Inc., which grew by 5869.7 per cent.
- Toronto’s Maropost, which grew by 3809.2 per cent.
- Toronto’s Prodigy Ventures, which grew by 3802.6 per cent.
- Vancouver’s Canada Drives, which grew by 2703.4 per cent.
- Toronto’s iotum, which grew by 2146.8 per cent.
- Kitchener, Ont.’s Sortable, which grew by 1704.5 per cent.
- Toronto’s Wave, which grew by 1640.3 per cent.
- Waterloo, Ont.’s Axonify, which grew by 1519.6 per cent.