Celebrating 3 years on the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies list.

And at Marketing Doctor, we celebrate wins—this team has taught me that. In the five years that I’ve been here, I’ve been a part of quite a few celebrations:

• Our first 7-figure client
• Our first government RFP win
• Our first record-breaking cost-per-conversion
• A (seemingly endless) string of incredible hires
• Breaking ground on the new office that we designed as a team
• Not to mention engagements, weddings, masters degrees, new homes, milestone birthdays, and pregnancies

And when I say we celebrate, I really mean it. As Kate Popp, our Director of Sales wrote in this post, “As a company, we celebrate with pride, and flair! We pump up the music. We throw parties every holiday — and then some.”

So when we found out that Marketing Doctor ranked on the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies list for the THIRD year in row, cheers rang through the office. 455% growth in 3 years?! Mind. Blown.

Each Inc. 5000 recognition has been surreal. I’m bursting with pride reflecting back on these moments: 

#2702 

One of Janet’s famous sayings is “trust, but verify.” When we first won a ranking on the Inc. 5000 list in 2019, I had to reread the announcement email five times before it clicked. Was this for real? #2702.

Well, it was real, and we celebrated. We hosted our clients, friends, and family members in our shiny new office in honor of this achievement. We cut a red ribbon (with giant scissors), and we cut a cake fit for a wedding (with a regular-sized knife). Ecstatic and still battling disbelief, I think in some ways, we all thought this was it – this was the pinnacle; we wouldn’t be doing this again.

#1452

Then in 2020, we did it again. We achieved yet another ranking on the Inc. 5000 list. When it comes to this team, there are no flukes, just hard work.  This time, we outperformed our own benchmark (something we take so much pride in achieving for our clients), and came in at #1452.

Our celebration was quiet. With so many of our colleagues and peers facing significant business challenges and economic crises, not to mention the fact that we couldn’t gather in person, a big celebration just wasn’t in the cards. But in the midst of 2020’s turmoil, this was a port in the storm – a reassuring, true victory in what felt like the longest night imaginable.

#1063

When applications opened for 2021, we figured, why not? Bracing ourselves for the reality of a post-Covid Inc. 5000 list, we knew that familiar names would be missing, and that we’d have new companies to compete with. So many of the businesses we worked with were facing significant cuts and there were several nimble companies that identified and capitalized on major opportunity and innovation in the pandemic.

What we didn’t know—or by any means expect—was that our ranking would grow even stronger.

This year, in the spirit of one of our core values of Doing Well By Doing Good, we chose to celebrate by giving back to our community. Community is an important part of Marketing Doctor’s culture, and wins are meant to be shared. As a women-led team, we wanted to bring another diverse-owned business into the fold. .

This is exactly what makes us a Fastest Growing Company—moments of mentorship, of partnership, of celebration, of working collaboratively through a challenge (or several), and then getting to high five on the other side.

We’ve been known to tell new hires, “strap in—we’re going places.” It’s in these moments that I feel like I am exactly where I belong – and that wherever we’re going, whatever we’re working towards, that is where I want to be.