4 Walnut Creek Companies Make List Of Startups To Watch

WALNUT CREEK, CA — Four startups with roots in Walnut Creek were worth keeping an eye on, Inc. magazine said with the release of its 2023 Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America.

The startup companies were ranked by revenue growth from 2019 to 2022. To be considered, they needed to bring in a minimum of $100,000 in revenue in 2019 and at least $2 million in earnings by the end of 2022. To be considered, the companies must have been up and generating revenue by March 31, 2019, as independent, U.S.-based, for-profit, privately held companies.

Six hundred and seventy-five California-based companies made the ranking. Of those, four were Walnut Creek-based:

• AspenHR, a human resources company, grew by 419 percent and ranked 1,396th nationally.
• Network Optix, a software company, grew by 171 percent and ranked 3,032nd nationally.
• Look Left Marketing, an advertising and marketing company, grew by 135 percent and ranked 3,609th nationally.
• Mary Frances Accessories, a consumer products company, grew by 76 percent and ranked 4,924th nationally.

Nationally, the Inc. 5000 companies had combined revenues of $358.2 billion, added nearly 1.2 million jobs, and grew at a median rate of 219 percent. The list featured 638 newly founded companies and 3,047 repeat honorees.

Among the 675 California startups to watch this year, 378 were repeat honorees and 85 were newly founded. Altogether, the 675 companies added 648,833 jobs to the state and grew at a median rate of 234 percent.

The magazine noted that some of the companies on its 2023 Inc. 5000 list may have been acquired or gone public since their initial startup days.