Loftwall was just named to the Inc. 5000 list for Fastest-Growing Companies in America
Have you ever met a kid who wasn’t excited to win a trophy? The feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment is hard to beat. You want to put it on your dresser, bring it to the dinner table, and casually drop it in conversation to your friends at the park. “Oh this? Yeah just some trophy I got for…” (squints at the nameplate), “would you look at that?! First place!”
When we got the news, we looked at each other as a company and said “act like you’ve been here before, Loftwall.” But then we realized WE HAVE NEVER BEEN HERE BEFORE.
So with more than a little bit of pride, we’re excited to share that we were named to Inc. Magazine’s annual list of the 5,000 fastest-growing privately owned companies in America. We even got our specific rank, which we’ll list below.
When you win an award like this, it’s sometimes easy to forget what it took to get there. When people see NBA champions (shoutout Milwaukee) celebrating in the parade or the confetti falling on them as the buzzer sounds, the average viewer doesn’t immediately think of the late nights of practice, the sweaty gym bag, the rolled ankles, and the days where the players wondered if it would be worth all the work.
So we wanted to simultaneously celebrate this victory for Loftwall, but thank the people who helped make it possible. Our company grew faster than we could have imagined, and just like a teenager who went up two pant sizes over summer break… there were growing pains. So, in no particular order:
Thank you to Scott, for moving your family across the country and doing about six million things outside of your comfort zone. There was never a complaint, but a steely resolve that we had to deliver to our customers when they needed us most.
Thank you to Derek and Justin, who realized almost overnight that our demand increased 10x. We couldn’t hire fast enough, but they made sure to do everything in their power to get our customers the information they needed – even as we were building new systems and launching products from napkin sketch to fully formed in days (instead of months).
Thank you to Elise, who started with us during the middle of the largest growth spike we’ve ever had. Constantly changing jobs but quickly learning that this is a place you could make a difference. You were our “Employee of the Year” for a reason!
Thank you to Ernesto and Jacob for hanging with us as your team grew by dozens of people. You went from a predictable job to daily unpredictability and teaching new people every day the little things that made Loftwall special.
Thank you to Andrew for flexibility. We reinvented our business more than once as the world was rapidly changing, and you created a brand experience that helped people understand just how many ways we could deliver privacy and safety. We’ll never know the cups of coffee it took to get you through that period, but we won’t forget the role you played.
Thank you Jake for recognizing early that you could lead by example, methodically tackling the most complicated problems during the day and doing your usual job at night. It was a season of calculated risks and your attention to detail helped us say “yes” to thousands of customers.
There are dozens more to thank, and we will over time. Michelle, Dave, Rose, Bryan, Jill, Stephanie, Emily, David, Robert, Taylor, Ryan, Sean, Allie, Ashley, BK, Nick, and so many more… The trophy wasn’t won without the decisions you made each day to be great and serve our customers.
So that’s our sappy announcement. We won a trophy and it wasn’t because a product was pretty or we entered some online competition. Over 100 people woke up every day for 365 mornings and gave a damn. Most days were hard, all days were crazy, and a few of them were even fun. But we did it as a team, and this award is as much yours as it is mine. (Maybe we’ll pass it around like the Stanley Cup).
And like most great sports teams, we get to reflect, celebrate… and then get back to work to defend our title!