Local companies thrive, listed among state's hot 100

Jeff Wade's company has grown from two to 14 employees and is 10 times ahead in revenue of where it was seven years ago when Market Street Solutions started up.

"We are trying to continue to grow the business in both number of employees and revenue while maintaining quality we've been delivering," said Mr. Wade, who joined Bill Smith in 2002 in founding the almost $3 million business.

Several times, Market Street Solutions has been included in the BusinessTN Top 100 hottest companies.

"It's an honor to be on the list," said Mr. Wade, president and chief executive officer of Market Street Solutions, which provides services to assist clients with the installation, implementation and support of performance management software solutions.

He attributes the company's success to its employees and strong partnerships with businesses such as Microsoft, Cognos and QlikTech.

The magazine looks at a number of factors ranging from a company's revenue and employee growth to projected growth and pitfalls in putting together the list, according to its Web site.

"In sum, the third annual BusinessTN Hot100 spotlights companies that are enriching our local and regional economies, providing jobs and fueling the Volunteer State's entrepreneurial culture," according to the magazine. "These businesses speak volumes about the value of free enterprise -- especially amid today's challenging economic times."

Being included in such as list gives a company credibility, said Dr. Richard Casavant, dean of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's College of Business.

"Some of these (companies) are rather young, or new companies, but it certainly (helps them) in getting new customers and keeping established customers, which is always important for a company," he said.

Other local companies include Medium, previously known as Coptix, which recently opened an office in Chicago and also announced a partnership with Chattanooga's EPB and Alcatel-Lucent for a $226.7 million Smart Grid project in Southeast Tennessee.

"Medium is really, truly, duly humbled to be on BusinessTN magazine's Hot 100 companies for the second time," said Medium President Josiah Roe.

"Medium hopes all 100 companies on the list continue to represent the innovation and hard work that makes Tennessee one of the best places to do business. We look forward to keeping our place in this elite group," he added.

Setting yourself apart is extremely important in business, said Dr. Casavant, and being recognized for what the company is achieving can certainly help with that.

There are only two ways to make money in business and that's through profit margin and/or volume, he said.

"You got to set yourself apart. Coca-Cola has been the strongest brand for years and years, finding ways to do that is not easy but doing it is extremely important," Dr. Casavant said.

He said Chattanooga is a growing area and will increasingly be so.

"I expect the number of companies recognized in such publications will have a larger and larger share. We give a lot of attention to Volkswagen and Alstom, rightly so, but having homegrown companies is a sign of economic strength, too," Dr. Casavant added.

CHATTANOOGA'S HOT FIRMS

*East Tech Co.

*Kenco Inc.

*Lectrus Corp.

*Market Street Solutions

*Medium

*Walden Security

*Access America Transport

*Budweiser of Clarksville, Cookeville, Chattanooga, Hopkinsville and Owensboro

Source: BusinessTN, Hot100 list for 2009