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Olympic Media, Arlo Solutions, Vemo Education and other DC tech companies made the 2021 Inc. 5000 list

The list of fast-growing companies from across the country included 330 firms from the DMV. The overall local tally dipped a little from last year, but was still higher than 2019.

The team behind HUNGRY. (Photo via @TryHungry on Twitter)
Update: Vive Organic was removed from this post, since it is not a DC-area company. It was incorrectly listed as such on the Inc 5000.(8/18/21, 4:35 p.m.) Updated to add RestoraPet (8/19/21, 12:30 p.m.)

The results are in: Inc. Magazine dropped its 2021 Inc 5000 list on Tuesday morning, and the D.C. region was well-represented.

The list offers a directory of the fastest-growing private companies in the US. It arrives amid a continuing global pandemic, taking stock of the companies that report three-year revenue growth. This year’s list features 330 DMV companies. It’s not quite the eye-catching 462 from last year, but it’s still more than the 312 featured in 2019, indicating that recovery from the last year is happening, albeit slowly.

Only one company, Arlington, Virginia-based digital marketing firm Olympic Media (#13), managed to crack the top 20, though Baltimore-based real estate company Chasen Companies did also make it at #18. Rockville, Maryland-based mental health provider Behavioral Framework (#46) also rang into the top 50. Altogether, the list included 138 companies from Maryland and 310 from Virginia.

The highest-ranked company from the District is also a noteworthy one. Arlo Solutions (#153), a women-owned, downtown DC-based IT management firm, made the list for the first time. According to a statement from the 40-person strong company, Arlo landed five federal government contracts in 2020 for its spot, providing tech to the Air Force, Department of Agriculture and Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security. Lonye Ford and Arlene Wube founded the company in 2014.

“This is our first time joining this renowned list and we are completely overwhelmed with gratitude,” said Ford, the company’s CEO, in a statement. “We are grateful for our growth, our passionate team, our loyal partners, and our clients for trusting us with some of the nation’s hardest problems.”

After a banner year for growth in the DMV, a few other growth tech companies earned a place in the rankings on the heels of recent triumphs. Arlington-based income-based payment platform Vemo Education (#586) acquired Boston-based Edmit in June; Bethesda, Maryland-based video-based patient engagement company Mytonomy (#835) raised a $25 million Series B round in July and EveryAction (#3,757) joined two other startups in an acquisition to form a social impact SaaS company valued at $2 billion. Two local firms, DC-based data intelligence company Morning Consult (#1,495) and McLean, Virginia-based identity verification company ID.me (#1,461) are also both newly minted unicorns as of this year.

Gaithersburg got a shoutout with the inclusion of pet supplement startup RestoraPet (#218), which company reps said is the fastest-growing pet business in the US. Vienna, Virginia-based Urgent.ly (#1,058) also snagged a place on the list for the third year running. The company hosts a roadside assistance app using location-based services, real-time data, AI and machine-to-machine communication.

“I am incredibly proud of our amazing team and its ability to sustain the level of innovation and growth required to be included on the Inc. 5000 list year after year,” said Urgently CEO Chris Spanos, in a statement. “It is their dedication that has enabled Urgently to grow into the leading global mobility and roadside assistance platform, delivering better experiences for customers and partners across rapidly evolving global automotive, insurance and mobility markets.”

Here are 10 more DC-area companies that made the cut:

Plus, a few more who made it multiple years in a row:

Companies: Truebill / Vemo Education / Morning Consult / Urgently / ID.me / Inc Magazine
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