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V O L . X X I I N O. X X V I I I D E C E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 6 18 OTTO Pizza 576 Congress St., Portland Founded: 2009 Top leaders: Mike Keon and Anthony Allen, founders/co-owners Sales growth 2013–15: 82.49% Number of employees: 490 Contact: www.ottoportland.com Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions How would you describe your com- pany's core mission? Since we never formalized our mission state- ment, we are now taking the time to pause, take stock, fully define and reaffirm those core values. What were the key factors in your company's growth? We live in a highly competitive market. We had the confidence to scale the concept in other markets. We would be remiss to not factor in our willing- ness to take on significant risk, enthusiastically. Some of the biggest moves we made flew in the face of conventional wisdom. How have you adjusted to the rapid growth? We realized that our suc- cess relies on a higher level of organization, and more specialized team members and have been fill- ing in the foundation along the way. Do you have plans to hire additional employees? We're always hiring, due to the nature of the restaurant indus- try, but we are taking initiatives to increase retention. What can we expect for 2017? Our focus in 2017 is not on addi- tional locations, but on growing what we have already built: food quality, service, process, culture, systems and technology. We look forward to continuing our year-over- year same-store sales. Horch Roofing Inc. 2414 Camden Road, Warren Founded: 2003 Top leader: Peter Horch Sales growth 2013-15: 66.88% Number of employees: 40 Contact: 273-1111 www.horchroofing.com Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions How would you describe your com- pany's core mission? We have a defined mission and vision state- ment, along with six core values that our team is trained on: Safety, respect, quality, communication, availability and organization. What were the key factors in your company's growth? We have grown from $2.08 million in 2012 and pro- jected revenue of $5.25 million for 2016 on an average project size of $3,500. We have served 1,500 cus- tomers so far this year. How have you adjusted to the rapid growth? Our commitment to custom- er satisfaction; investing our profit- ability in cutting-edge equipment that increases efficiency; we doubled the shop and warehouse space at our Warren facility. Do you have plans to hire additional employees? Yes, we do. We have opportunities for laborers, roofers, foremen and project managers. Some of these jobs range from $40,000 to $85,000 per year. What can we expect for 2017? We are currently expanding into the southern Maine region. We are developing new inventory manage- ment systems. We have installed state-of-the-art fabrication machin- ery to increase efficiency in the metal roofing division. Tilson 245 Commercial St., Suite 203, Portland Founded: 1996 Top leader: Joshua Broder Sales growth 2013–15: 114.36% Number of employees: 200 Contact: 591-6427 www.tilsontech.com Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions How would you describe your com- pany's core mission? Our mission is to serve our customers by building, integrating and maintaining the infor- mation technology and communica- tions infrastructure that enables great organizations to innovate and deliver. What were the key factors in your company's growth? Being ambi- tious and thinking big — always stretching and growing to do some- thing bigger and harder than we had ever done before. How have you adjusted to the rapid growth? Sustaining rapid growth has required us to develop a culture of composure. We seek out really challenging projects and have confi- dence that we will find our way through the chaos. We also have to reinvent ourselves every six months because the technology changes so quickly, which really requires lead- ers, not managers. Do you have plans to hire additional employees? Yes, another 100 in the next 18 months. What can we expect for 2017? For the company to double, again, to move into our new HQ currently under construction at 16 Middle St., and for us to open two more offices nationally (adding to the current eight). Energy Circle 81 Bridge St., Suite 301, Yarmouth Founded: 2009 Top leader: Peter Troast, founder and CEO Sales growth 2013–15: 176.56% Number of employees: 22 full-time Contact: 847-3644 www.energycircle.com Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions Five questions How would you describe your com- pany's core mission? We are a digital marketing and technology firm. We measure ourselves on the success of our client network and, in turn, their impact on better buildings, lower energy use and carbon reduction. What were the key factors in your company's growth? Customer expansion across the country; extension of our verticals to high performance builders, remodelers, plumbers, engineering firms; advancement of our technology plat- forms; growth in the high perfor- mance building sector nationally. How have you adjusted to the rapid growth? Scaling recruiting, at our current level of digital and technolo- gy sophistication, assuming we remain 100% Maine-based, could be a challenge. Do you have plans to hire addition- al employees? Yes, we have four openings currently and significant additional growth expected in 2017. What can we expect for 2017? Continued innovation and advance- ment of our technology platforms; expanded verticals; additional staff; new headquarters in Portland; Pursuit of B Corp status. The Fastest Growing Companies in Maine runners up LARGE COMPANY RUNNER UP LARGE COMPANY RUNNER UP MEDIUM COMPANY RUNNER UP SMALL COMPANY RUNNER UP P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY P H O T O / DAV I D C L O U G H P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O T T O P I Z Z A P H O T O / P E T E R VA N A L L E N Joshua Broder, CEO of Tilson Peter Horch, owner of Horch Roofi ng Mike Keon and Anthony Allen, founders and co-owners of OTTO Pizza Peter Troast, founder and CEO of Energy Circle

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