Today Inc. magazine revealed that, for the fourth year in a row, 97th Floor made the annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy’s most dynamic segment—its independent small businesses. Microsoft, Dell, Domino’s Pizza, Pandora, Timberland, LinkedIn, Yelp, Zillow, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.

“The Inc. 5000 list is solely based on growth in revenue. What’s so special to me about making it four years in a row is that we focus on our customers and employees first and that directly effects our revenue as a result. Our sales team is a fraction of the size of our client fulfillment teams, yet here we are for the fourth year in a row." said Chris Bennett, CEO & Founder of 97th Floor.

97th Floor's mission is to elevate people and brands we believe in. We've found that when you put people first, the money and results naturally follow. We instill this belief not only in the way we operate as a company, but within the marketing we do for our own clients.

Big thanks to the amazing teams and clients who have made this all possible!

To see the full Inc. 5000 list, click here.

97th Floor was recently ranked on Entrepreneur's Top Company Cultures list, a comprehensive ranking of U.S.-based businesses exhibiting high-performance cultures created in partnership with culture management software and service provider CultureIQ®. The Top Company Cultures list has placed 97th Floor as the  26th in the Small Company category. 97th Floor is recognized for creating an exceptional culture that drives employee engagement, exceeds employee expectations and directly impacts company success.

CEO Chris Bennett says, “Company culture is our top priority and we find investing in our employees is the best application of our resources. Strong culture not only attracts the best candidates but encourages and entices the best work.”

"Great company cultures don’t happen on their own. They’re the result of great leadership, and a conscious effort to make everyone on a team feel engaged and important,” says Jason Feifer, editor in chief of Entrepreneur. “The honorees on our 2017 list are proof that strong cultures make even stronger companies. Entrepreneurs at all levels can draw inspiration from them.”

The full list, presenting a total of 153 companies categorized as small, medium-sized or large companies—with 25-49 employees, 50-99 employees and more than 100 employees respectively— is available on Entrepreneur.com. Core insights, behaviors and attributes that have helped to shape the high-performing cultures presented by the top companies are shared alongside practices to help other companies develop their own workplace environments.

"A high-performance culture leads not only to employee engagement but also to measurable business results," says Greg Besner, founder and CEO of CultureIQ.  “These organizations show us that great companies start with great culture.”

The rankings for all companies were determined using CultureIQ's methodology for measuring high-performance cultures. Employees at each company received a survey of multiple-choice questions and the answers were used to assess a company's strength across 10 core components of culture–collaboration, innovation and communication to name a few. The companies with the highest scores became the Top Company Culture list in ranking order. To be considered for the ranking, a company must have at least 25 employees, have been founded before Jan. 1, 2015 and be headquartered in the U.S.

To view 97th Floor in the full ranking, visit entm.ag/TopCultures

97th Floor was announced in the 2016 fastest growing company in Utah by MountainWest Capital Network (MWCN) (www.mwcn.org) at the 22nd annual Utah 100 Awards Program Tuesday. The annual program recognizes the 100 fastest growing Utah companies, the Top Revenue Growth companies, and the “Emerging Elite” companies.

The 100 fastest growing companies in Utah are selected from thousands of eligible applicants throughout the state and represent a cross-section from all industries.

“It is clear Utah is one of the hottest places in the country to start or run a business,” said Paul Skeen, chairman of the MWCN Utah 100 committee. “As a strong indicator, we had a record number of Utah companies vying for the 100 fastest growing companies in Utah along with about a 400 percent increase in the number of Emerging Elite nominations. It is a pleasure to recognize this year’s Emerging Elite companies along with the Utah 100 fastest growing companies.”

The percentage of revenue increase of each company between 2011 and 2015 determines the Utah 100. Those companies with the largest dollar amount of revenue growth in 2015 make up the Revenue Growth winners. The Emerging Elite are selected from among companies with less than five, but more than two years of operation that show significant promise for future success.

About MountainWest Capital Network

MountainWest Capital Network is Utah’s first and largest business networking organization devoted to supporting entrepreneurial success, and dedicated to the flow of financial, entrepreneurial and intellectual capital. For more information, visit www.mwcn.org, LIKE us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @MWCN and LinkedIn.

It’s been a good year for us at 97th Floor. Between being named to Inc. magazine “50 Best Placed to Work in 2016,”, a nod to our focus on employee engagement and culture, and today being announced on Inc. magazine’s 35th annual Inc. 5000, the most prestigious ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies, we’re feeling fine.

And why shouldn’t we be? After all, companies such as Microsoft, Dell, Domino’s Pizza, Pandora, Timberland, LinkedIn, Yelp, Zillow, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees of the Inc. 5000.

The 2016 Inc. 5000—unveiled online at Inc.com and with the top 500 companies featured in the September issue of Inc. (available on newsstands August 23)—is the most competitive crop in the list’s history. The average company on the list achieved a mind-boggling three-year growth of 433%.

Our’s was 218% and we rank 1706 in the overall lineup of privately-held companies.

The Inc. 5000’s aggregate revenue is $200 billion, and the companies on the list collectively generated 640,000 jobs over the past three years, or about 8% of all jobs created in the entire economy during that period. Companies are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2012 to 2015. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2012. They had to be US-based, privately held, for profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2015. The minimum revenue required for 2012 is $100,000; the minimum for 2015 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons.

"The Inc. 5000 list stands out where it really counts,” says Inc. President and Editor-In-Chief Eric Schurenberg. “It honors real achievement by a founder or a team of them. No one makes the Inc. 5000 without building something great—usually from scratch. That’s one of the hardest things to do in business, as every company founder knows. But without it, free enterprise fails.”View the complete Inc. 5000 list here.

"I always felt strongly that by building a company that focused on the work—both as it relates to the client and to team work—that the rest would take care of itself. Being recognized as an Inc. “50 Best Places to Work,” while making the Inc. 5,000 fastest growing list in the same year is great proof of that,” said Founder and CEO Chris Bennett.

97th Floor was certified as a great workplace by the independent analysts at Great Place to Work®. 97th Floor earned this credential based on extensive ratings provided by its employees in anonymous surveys. A summary of these ratings can be found at http://reviews.greatplacetowork.com/97th-floor.

Great Place to Work® is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. Through proprietary assessment tools, advisory services, and certification programs, including Best Workplaces lists and workplace reviews, Great Place to Work® provides the benchmarks, framework, and expertise needed to create, sustain, and recognize outstanding workplace cultures. In the United States, Great Place to Work® produces the annual Fortune "100 Best Companies to Work For®" list and a series of Great Place to Work® Best Workplaces lists including lists for Millennials, Women, Diversity, Small and Medium Companies and over a half dozen different industry lists.

"We applaud 97th Floor for seeking certification and releasing its employees' feedback," said Kim Peters, Vice President of Great Place to Work's Recognition Program. "These ratings measure its capacity to earn its own employees' trust and create a great workplace - critical metrics that anyone considering working for or doing business with 97th Floor should take into account as an indicator of high performance."

“According to our study, 100 percent of 97th Floor employees say it is a great workplace,” says Sarah Lewis-Kulin, Great Place to Work's Senior Editor.

97th Floor employees completed 35 surveys, resulting in a 90 percent confidence level and a margin of error of ± 4.51.

L-R: Josh Moody, Christopher Fosse, Joe Robledo, Samantha Brown, Maggie Call

Lead Enterprise Digital Marketer and Director of Research and Development Josh Moody recently received a "Marketer of the Year" Stevie from The American Business Awards. Additionally, his team won accolades in the category for "Marketing Team of the Year" at the NYC broadcast show. The award-winning team is comprised of marketers Joe Robledo, Kade Call, Samantha Brown, writer Christopher Fosse and designer Maggie Call.

"I really do think they're the best at what they do. One thing that I like is they’re always pushing forward, they’re always pushing to be innovative in every single sphere of work."

Earlier this month 97th Floor was also announced as Inc.’s The 50 Best Places to Work in 2016, where over 500 companies were judged in three categories, including how well companies look after their staff’s financial security (retirement, insurance, benefits, PTO), employee feedback and performance innovation.

Director of Marketing Operations Paxton Gray talks innovation and what it means to be named "Agency of the Year" by the American Business Awards.

"We work really hard to meet our client's goals, but we don't stop once we hit those goals. We keep going and we spend that extra time innovating and finding new ways and new tactics. Really what matters is helping our clients build their businesses."

97th Floor was announced as Inc.'s The 50 Best Places to Work in 2016. Over 500 companies were judged in three categories, including how well companies look after their staff's financial security (retirement, insurance, benefits, PTO), employee feedback and performance innovation.

COO Wayne Sleight talks about what makes 97th Floor great, from the employees, to the work to the partnership with clients.

"We've got a group of people that just truly have a passion for marketing," said Wayne.

In addition to being a Silver “Stevie” finalist for “Marketing Agency of the Year” from the American Business Awards, 97th Floor was recently named as Inc.’s The 50 Best Places to Work in 2016.

97th Floor was announced as Inc.'s The 50 Best Places to Work in 2016. Over 500 companies were judged in three categories, including how well companies look after their staff's financial security (retirement, insurance, benefits, PTO), employee feedback and performance innovation.

As a recent Silver "Stevie" finalist for "Marketing Agency of the Year" from the American Business Awards, CEO Chris Bennett shares his thoughts on cultivating an excellent culture, one that attracts and keeps the best people.

For the full list of The 50 Best Places to Work in 2016, visit the official website.

COO Wayne Sleight is a recent finalist for "Maverick of the Year" in the 2016 American Business Awards. In the last year, Wayne has also been recognized by Utah Business Magazine in their first-ever Twenty in their 20s awards program, joining other "young, business-savvy executives bringing new ideas and a fresh approach to Utah’s business community."

Wayne talks success and what motivates him to achieve his business and life goals:

97th Floor has been honored with a total of eight Stevie awards at this year’s American Business Awards which will be presented at the 14th annual American Business Awards banquet on Monday, June 20th, 2016 in New York City.

For the full list of winners, visit the official website.

Lead Enterprise Digital Marketer and Director of Research and Development Josh Moody was announced as a Bronze Finalist for Marketer of the Year at the 2016 American Business Awards. His team was additionally awarded Marketer Team of the Year. Both "Stevies" will be presented at the 14th annual American Business Awards banquet on Monday, June 20th, 2016 in New York City.

We recently discussed the topic of leadership and his approach to running a high performing team:

For the full list of winners, visit the official website.

Also, follow 97th Floor on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for behind-the-scenes moments from the 2016 American Business Awards on June 20.

Congratulations to Wayne Sleight, 97th Floor’s Chief Operating Officer, who this week was named one of Utah Business’s 20 in Their 20s for 2015!

Meet the #Utah20inTheir20s: @WayneSleight, Chief Operating Officer at @97thfloor https://t.co/zixNcYzhi0 pic.twitter.com/HZCxAEbpQW

— (@UtahBusiness) November 4, 2015

Wayne Sleight speaking at the Utah Business 20 in Their 20s reception

Utah Business selected 20 individuals who, before the age of 30, have already made a significant mark on the world—whether that means climbing rapidly on the corporate ladder; launching successful business ventures; or impacting business, government, or nonprofit territories. Last night, Utah Business held a reception and awards dinner in Salt Lake City for the honorees, which several of Wayne's friends and colleagues from 97th Floor attended to support him.

Paxton Gray, Josh Moody, Wayne Sleight, Chris Bennett, and Andrew Yeager at the Utah Business 20 in Their 20s banquet

When asked about his achievement, Wayne responded, “This is a huge honor for me, and I'm grateful to be recognized for the accomplishments I've had the last six years at 97th Floor. That said, I fully recognize that I've surrounded myself with amazingly talented people at 97th Floor, and that is what has allowed me to be a part of really big successes and get this recognition.”

We at 97th Floor couldn’t be prouder of the work Wayne has done and continues to do. He is an integral part of the company and has made an impact on nearly every aspect of the business.

“Wayne is being recognized as someone to watch because he’s young, but the truth is, his accomplishments are significant regardless of age,” says Chris Bennett, CEO and founder of 97th Floor. “The current culture, company growth, and awesome client retention rate that we enjoy at 97th Floor all have Wayne’s influence behind them. The best part is, he’s just getting started.”

Great job, Wayne!