Eight South Dakota corporations find themselves on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing businesses nationwide. In some cases, these are businesses looking at growth percentages in the thousands.
Though last year’s list saw two more South Dakota businesses named, there are still companies in communities large and small seeing major growth.
Take the community of Platte for example. In a city of about 1,200, the success of one business can have a big ripple on the local economy. Summit Contracting, based in Platte, reported 176-percent growth since 2019.
Tyler Samuelson is the CEO of Summit. He said it all orbits community.
“A lot of that has to do with trying to build a company in our community that is sustainable, potentially for my kids, or our partners kids, or our employee’s kids," Samuelson said. "I think if you have that kind of mindset, you can build a fairly large, successful business in a small community.”
While Summit also employs in Nebraska, Samuelson reports about 100 employees at the Platte facility.
Community and jobs are only pieces of the puzzle though, as some business owners cite their missions as a key piece to their success. Based in Pierre, Rising Hope Counseling reported growth well over eleven hundred percent. Jill Janecke is the CEO. She said she never could have predicted this kind of growth.
“I always just thought I would be by myself, but it came to a point where my services and what I was doing in my office was what clients would say is different from other experiences they had," Janecke said. "So, I wanted to expand that.”
As a result, Rising Hope now has offices and licensed therapists from Rapid City to Yankton – as well as out-of-state locations in Nebraska, Minnesota and Wyoming.
While growth is certainly welcome, Janecke said there is another thing driving the success of her business – the need for more mental health services in rural settings.
“It’s not in revenue, it’s in the amount of people we are seeing," Janecke said. "I think those are some of the blessings that came out of 2020 – there’s no longer the stigma that was. It’s a hard world and we all go through things. We’ve all had experiences that impact us on a daily basis.”
The eight South Dakota businesses on the list include:
Rising Hope Counseling, Pierre (No. 530)
Barton Publishing, Brandon (1,318)
Vanilla Bean Kings, Hartford (2,059)
Ruff Land Performance, Tea (2,716)
MarketBeat, Sioux Falls (2,891)
Summit Contracting, Platte (2,969)
Expansion Capital Group, Sioux Falls (4,651)
Premier Systems Roofing, Sioux Falls (4,847)