How do you manage a company that grew by more than 3,400 percent from 2003 to the end of last year?
A big part of the answer is looking inward for talented leaders instead of bringing outsiders into the company, says Brad Stone, chief executive officer of Heritage Web Solutions, a Provo Web site design and programming business.
Heritage’s revenue reached $8.2 million last year after growing by 3,443 percent over the four-year period. The blistering pace put Heritage near the top of Inc. magazine’s latest inventory of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States. The list, which usually catalogs 500 companies, was expanded to 5,000 this year.
“It’s been a home-grown group of leaders. We’ve not hired anyone from the outside to our leadership,” said Stone, ticking off a list of managers who started at the bottom of the company and worked their way into executive jobs.
The vice president of sales and marketing began as a telemarketer. The vice president of accounting doesn’t have an accounting degree; he was hired to compile statistics the company thought it should track. The manager in charge of Web design started as a designer, Stone said.
“I think coming up through the ranks is key for them to think as we think and to make decision the way we would make decisions. You bring someone in from the outside, they have their own style and sometimes baggage that’s really not conducive to how we do things.”
Heritage got started in 2001. Today the company has about 190 employees. The number moves up and down because Heritage regularly hires - and fires - workers in order to sift out marginal employees.
Heritage first spread the word about its services primarily through direct mail and telemarketing. Today, the company has shifted to the Web, spending about $100,000 a month on a pay-per-click sales campaign. The value of Inc.’s list is difficult to pin down since companies nominate themselves for consideration. The magazine says the list is a roster of the most innovative businesses in the country.

Salt Lake Tribune Article

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