Two local technology companies that delivered big growth from 2017 to 2020 have made the Deloitte Fast 500 list for the first time, and are among just six Tennessee technology companies on the ranking this year.
Text Request, which builds text messaging software for small businesses, is on the list for the first time at No. 108 with 1,355% growth. FreightWaves, a provider of supply chain and logistics data, news and information, debuted on the list at No. 210, with 651% growth.
“It’s definitely motivating and something everyone can really rally around day-to-day,” said Text Request CEO Brian Elrod.
Though FreightWaves is both a media company and a software company, the Deloitte list is technology-specific and only looks at the software side of the business, said CEO Craig Fuller. The pandemic gutted the company’s live events business in 2020, but raised the profile of the logistics and supply chain FreightWaves provides, he said.
“In ’21 we’ve seen a huge amount of tailwind coming from the supply chain side,” he said, noting that this list only measures growth through 2020.