280 Va. companies ranked on Inc. 5000 list

Richmond retailer Sassy Jones tops state's rankings

Published August 12, 2020 by Sydney Lake

Sassy Jones founder and owner Charis Jones. Photo courtesy Sassy Jones

This year, 280 Virginia companies are ranked on the most recent list of the nation’s fastest-growing, privately held companies — the Inc. 5000, released Wednesday morning.

Leading the pack in Virginia at spot No. 75 is Sassy Jones, an online jewelry and accessory retailer based in Richmond. Founder and owner Charis Jones founded the retailer of bright, bold and often sparkly jewelry in 2013, working from her dining room table and her minivan.

“I’ve always had an affection for beautiful jewelry and accessories that allowed me to express myself in a meaningful way,” Jones says in the story of her company. “It felt crazy at the time but I knew Sassy Jones was my opportunity to share that affection with other women, while also giving them a boost in their self-confidence.”

Jones told Inc. magazine that switching to e-commerce helped the company grow by 4,515%.

“Sassy Jones is definitely growing the most in e-commerce,” Jones told Inc. magazine. “We were not born in e-commerce — we were born actually doing trade shows. But the last three years we’ve been able to grow over 300% year over year, focusing on e-com only.”

Jones said in a virtual forum Wednesday morning that it has long been a dream of hers to be on the list.

“Starting out as a budding entrepreneur, this was a huge goal,” Jones said, emphasizing the fact that her small, Black woman-owned business had ranked on the list this year.

The only other company in Virginia to be included in the top 100 spots was Gravy Analytics, a Sterling-based technology company that specializes in location data and intelligence. The company was co-founded by CEO Jeff White, Chief Technology Officer Guy DeCorte and Data General Manager Aaron Vance. The company had a 3,623% growth rate, according to Inc. magazine.

Virginia companies on the Inc. 5000 list this year had a median growth rate of 166% and brought in $13.9 billion in total revenue. Collectively, the companies have added 22,132 jobs to the state economy during the last three years. Out of this year’s 281 Virginia-based honorees, 201 were repeat winners.

Among Virginia’s neighboring states, North Carolina has 139 companies on the list and Maryland has 148.

The top 25 Virginia companies on the Inc. 5000 list include (in order of ranking):

No. 75: Sassy Jones, 4,515%, retail, Richmond
No. 93: Gravy Analytics, 3,623%, software, Sterling
No. 146: Broadleaf, 2,583%, government services, Manassas
No. 150: SNA International, 2,544%, government services, Alexandria
No. 155: Lateetud, 2,503%, IT system development, Ashburn
No. 160: Spinnaker Consulting Group, 2,419%, business products and services, Richmond
No. 189: Capital Telecom Services, 2,198%, telecommunications, Sterling
No. 191: FITT Scientific, 2,196%, government services, Colonial Heights
No. 216: Core One Solutions, 2,009%, government services, Sterling
No. 221: Urgently, 1,971%, logistics and transportation, Vienna
No. 225: Saliense Consulting, 1,956%, government services, McLean
No. 263: Sun Tribe, 1,699%, energy, Charlottesville
No. 274: Invictus International Consulting, 1,629%, government services, Alexandria
No. 303: B3 Group, 1,490%, government services, Herndon
No. 318: The Building People, 1,434%, real estate, Leesburg
No. 328: JDSAT, 1,385%, business products and services, Tysons
No. 333: Royce Geospatial Consultants, 1,369%, government services, Arlington
No. 356: SMARTEDGE IT, 1,270%, software, Herndon
No. 358: Objective Area Solutions, 1,259%, business products and services, Arlington
No. 368: Numero Data, 1,236%, software, Herndon
No. 381: SECURE PLANET Inc., 1,201%, government services, Arlington
No. 390: Aptive Resources, 1,189%, business products and services, Alexandria
No. 407: Kern Technology Group, 1,127%, government services, Virginia Beach
No. 408: Pathfinder Consultants, 1,127%, IT management, Sterling
No. 428: Capitol Bridge, 1,069%, government services, Arlington