Houston e-commerce startup cracks Inc. 5000 — here's who makes the 2022 list

by the numbers

GoExpedi, an e-commerce software company, represents Houston's tech and startup ecosystem on this year's Inc. 5000. Image courtesy of GoExpedi

In the latest edition of its roundup of fastest growing privately held companies, Inc. magazine has recognized dozens of Houston organizations.

Houston startup GoExpedi, an industrial supply chain and analytics company, is the highest ranking local tech company on the list. GoExpedi ranked No. 675 in the 2022 edition of Inc. 5000, with a 924 percent growth rate between 2018 and 2021.

"The team at GoExpedi is honored to rank number 675 among America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies on the Inc. 5000 Annual List," says Tim Neal, CEO of GoExpedi, in a news release. "GoExpedi has grown exponentially since launching in 2017 due to our forward-thinking and innovative supply chain solutions."

Real estate firm Disrupt Equity is the overall top Houston performer, and the sole Houston company to break the top 200 in the report. The company charted an impressive 2,975 percent growth rate between 2018 and 2021. The firm pushes complete multifamily real estate investment offerings that are earmarked as able to achieve and even exceed projections, clearly a safe haven in one of the biggest — and hottest — real estate markets in the entire nation.

Disrupt claims an impressive ROI for clients: The company boasts a "proven track record with over a dozen full cycle exits averaging over 36 percent annualized return to investors," director of investor relations, Tarek Moussa, tells CultureMap.

"We could not be more ecstatic to hear that Disrupt Equity has been announced as the fastest growing company in Houston by Inc 5000," says Feras Moussa, Disrupt's managing partner, in a statement. "We believe success in real estate, especially in today's economic environment, comes from being a great operator and having a strong team behind you. We believe this has been a large contributor to our success and helps us to continue to provide incredible passive real estate investment opportunities to our investors."

Speaking of real estate, another Houston firm performed well. Construction Concepts, which specializes in commercial design and build in Houston and Austin, ranked No. 497 overall, with 1,251 percent growth over three years. 5111 VENTURES, listed as a full-service real estate brokerage firm specializing in technology-driven residential and commercial sales and consulting services, was No. 558 with 1125 percent growth over three years.

In all, 468 Texas-based companies made this year’s Inc. 5000. Dallas-Fort Worth firms performed especially well:

  • No. 13 StaffDNA, Plano, 19,699 percent growth rate
  • No. 17 Blue Hammer Roofing, Dallas, 15,911 percent growth rate
  • No. 116 TimelyMD, Fort Worth, 3,852 percent growth rate
  • No. 142 Curis Functional Health, Farmers Branch, 3,380 percent growth rate
  • No. 148 SmartLight Analytics, Plano, 3,317 percent growth rate
  • No. 168 Digital Thrive, Dallas, 3,056 percent growth rate
  • No. 172 Forester Haynie, Dallas, 2,984 percent growth rate

Here are the other Texas companies appearing in the state’s top 20 and in the top 500 overall.

  • No. 60 AdOutreach, Austin, 6,052 percent growth rate
  • No. 62 Webforce, Austin, 6,009 percent growth rate
  • No. 117 Homestead Brands, Austin, 3,839 percent growth rate
  • No. 174 Disrupt Equity, Houston, 2,975 percent growth rate
  • No. 188 24HourNurse Staffing, Pittsburg, 2,801 percent growth rate
  • No. 201, Everly Health, Austin, 2,643 percent growth rate
  • No. 209, Texas Solar Integrated, San Antonio, 2,559 percent growth rate
  • No. 212, Apple Blvd Boutique, Frisco, 2,555 percent growth rate
  • No. 285 Element 26, Austin, 1,948 percent growth rate
  • No. 312 Boostlingo, Austin, 1,820 percent growth rate
  • No. 317 Cover Desk, Austin, 1,800 percent growth rate
  • No. 325 Canopy Management, Austin, 1,758 percent growth rate
  • No. 497 Construction Concepts, Houston, 1,251 percent growth rate

Companies on the 2022 Inc. 5000 are ranked by percentage growth in revenue from 2018 to 2021. To qualify for the list, a company must have been founded and been generating revenue by March 31, 2018. The company also must have been U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independent as of December 31, 2021. The minimum revenue required for 2018 was $100,000; the minimum for 2021 was $2 million.

"The accomplishment of building one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S., in light of recent economic roadblocks, cannot be overstated," says Scott Omelianuk, editor in chief of Inc. "Inc. is thrilled to honor the companies that have established themselves through innovation, hard work, and rising to the challenges of today."

A total of 90 Houston-area companies made the list last year, including Homestead Brands, Onit, GoCo.io, Velentium, Softeq, Poetic, Techwave, and more.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap. Steven Devadanam and Natalie Harms also contributed to this story.

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XSpace plans $250M industrial condo expansion with RAFA Racing Club

growth mode

Houston-based XSpace Group has teamed up with two other Houston companies, RAFA Racing Club and Maximo Capital, to develop five industrial condo projects that pair flex space and high-end car storage space with a members-only clubhouse for motorsports enthusiasts.

The five projects will be built in the Dallas-Fort Worth; Miami-Boca Raton; Charlotte-Mooresville, North Carolina; Phoenix-Scottsdale; and Los Angeles markets. Other markets, including Las Vegas, are under consideration for future phases.

XSpace says the initial five-project venture will generate estimated sales of $250 million. Condos will be available to rent or own.

The ground floor of each project will feature a RAFA Racing Club Social & Performance Centre, a members-only clubhouse, event space and lifestyle hub. The remaining floors will offer space for car storage, collectibles, offices and studios. RAFA will operate the ground floor of each building.

“Our goal from day one with RAFA Racing has been to connect people through a shared love of performance and community,” Rafael Martinez, founder of RAFA Racing Club and principal of Maximo Capital, said in a news release. “By pairing XSpace’s forward-thinking condominium design with the exclusive hospitality, networking and high-performance environment of a RAFA Racing Club clubhouse, we’re establishing a community blueprint where passion meets community.”

Each clubhouse will offer:

  • Lounges
  • Dining, working and networking spaces
  • Concierge service
  • Driving simulators
  • Fitness and conditioning capabilities

“We’re building the most valuable community-driven real estate product in America — and RAFA Racing Club is the anchor that makes it unlike anything else on the market," Byron Smith, founder of XSpace, added in a release. “By integrating our flexible, high-end industrial condominiums with RAFA’s world-class hospitality and automotive community spaces, we are completely redefining what commercial real estate can be for the motorsports enthusiast.”

RAFA operates facilities for motorsports fans in Houston and Austin. The clubs, geared toward wealthy people, entrepreneurs, executives, and brand partners, combine a clubhouse, garage, paddock (racing’s version of a locker room), a “human performance” center and driver training programs.

RAFA plans to open seven clubs in the U.S. and three outside the U.S. over the next four years.

XSpace operates a high-end office, warehouse, and lifestyle condo project in Austin and is building a project in Houston that’s set to open in 2027.

Walmart expands drone delivery service to 8 new Houston-area stores

Now Landing

More Walmart delivery drones are now buzzing around Houston-area skies.

In January, Walmart launched its drone delivery service in partnership with Wing at five locations in the Houston area. The retail giant just added eight more stores to its Houston-area drone delivery network.

Wing says the expansion makes drone delivery available to more than 1 million residents of the Houston area. “Many can now bypass notorious Houston traffic to get everyday Walmart essentials delivered by drone in minutes,” Wing said in a release.

The eight Walmart stores that joined the drone delivery network are:

  • 13003 Tomball Pkwy. Houston
  • 12353 FM 1960 Rd. West, Houston
  • 2901 Riley Fuzzel Rd., Spring
  • 20310 U.S. Highway 59, New Caney
  • 1025 Sawdust Rd., Spring, TX 77380
  • 13484 Northwest Fwy., Houston, TX
  • 13750 East Fwy., Houston
  • 3506 Highway 6 South, Houston

Stores where drone delivery was already available are:

  • 14215 FM 2100 Rd., Crosby
  • 1313 N. Fry Rd., Katy
  • 15955 FM 529 Rd., Houston
  • 255 FM 518, Kemah
  • 6060 N. Fry Rd., Katy

Houstonians can learn whether their address is eligible for drone delivery from a Walmart store by visiting wing.com/walmart. Drone-delivered orders can be placed on the Walmart app, the Wing app, or at Walmart.com.

Once an order is ready, it’s loaded onto a delivery drone. The drone then flies up to 60 mph and at a cruising altitude of about 150 feet to reach the customer’s home. The average flight takes less than 5 minutes.

Once it arrives at the customer’s home, the drone stops, hovers at roughly 23 feet, and lowers the order via a tether. Wing says its drones gently lower orders to the ground to protect fragile items like eggs and coffee.

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

TMC expands Korea BioBridge, welcomes 12 biotech companies to Houston

welcome to hou

The powerful partnership between Texas Medical Center (TMC) innovation and the world of Korean biotech advancement is already growing in scope. Just six months after the new TMC Republic of Korea BioBridge was first announced, 12 new companies from the Republic of Korea will establish on-site presences in Houston to further collaboration between the two nations and medical industries.

The expansion comes from a new agreement between TMC and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI). William McKeon, president and CEO of Texas Medical Center, applauded the move and predicted it would benefit both Houston and Korea immensely.

“Korea has established itself as a global leader in biohealth innovation, with a growing pipeline of breakthrough technologies across digital health, biotechnology, and medical devices,” McKeon said in the news release. “Through the TMC Korea BioBridge, we are creating a direct connection between Korea’s innovators and the world’s largest medical city. This collaboration between TMC and KHIDI provides companies with a place to establish a presence, build strategic relationships, engage with leading clinicians and researchers, and accelerate the path toward commercialization and patient impact in the United States.”

The companies that will be in residence at the TMC Innovation Factory include Ardens Lifescience, whose new CAROL device is currently in human trials tackling lung cancer by using the airway network as electrodes to perform bronchoscopic ablation; stem cell-based gene therapy firm CELLeBRAIN, currently working on neurological disorders and solid cancers; and Wellysis, the developer of the S-Patch wearable cardiac monitoring device.

Additional companies include:

  • Antigravity
  • ARPI
  • CTCELLS
  • elecell
  • HUVER Inc.
  • Hutom
  • ORGANOIDSCIENCES
  • YOUTH BIO GLOBAL
  • Seoul Medical Informatics Intelligence Lab Inc.

“This collaboration establishes a strong foundation for connecting Korea’s biohealth innovation ecosystem with world-class clinical and innovation resources in the United States,” Younghun Jeong, executive director of the KHIDI, added in the news release. “Through partnerships with Texas Medical Center and the Korean-American Medical Association Texas, we look forward to fostering meaningful collaboration among innovators, clinicians, and industry leaders while creating new opportunities for clinical validation, commercialization, and global growth. KHIDI remains committed to expanding global partnerships that support biohealth innovation, clinical collaboration, commercialization, and international growth.”

This is the seventh international strategic partnership for the TMC. It launched its first BioBridge with the Health Informatics Society of Australia in 2016. It launched its TMC Japan BioBridge, focused on advancing cancer treatments, last year. It also has BioBridge partnerships with the Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark and the United Kingdom.

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