This week’s edition of PBN includes the annual Fastest Growing & Innovative Companies special section, including profiles of 33 companies that were recognized for high growth and innovative products and services.
The top five companies in the four revenue categories in the fastest-growing portion of the program combined for nearly $1.5 billion in revenue in 2017, with each of the leaders showing strong double- or triple-digit percentage growth from 2015 to 2017.
The most innovative companies have either brought products to market or are about to, and it will not be a surprise if we see some on a fastest-growing companies list soon as well.
A cross-section of the winning entries reveals how varied the talent base here is, with new treatments for cancer, financial assistance to those who need it most, fertilizer created by worms and creators of animatronic pets for the elderly either in the market or gathering significant investments based on their potential.
Much has been made of the need for Rhode Island to support specific sectors, or clusters, and build public policy around companies that fit into or expand upon those predetermined areas. And there is a certain logic to that approach, especially when more and more entrants in a sector create enough critical mass to put the region on the map to investors, other companies and entrepreneurs.
But as the profiles of the winners in this special section demonstrate, success can also be singular in nature, and public policy should not ignore the potential for transformative success that an interesting idea can have.