In the fall of 1999, it seemed there was start-up money for any tech company with an outstretched hand. But not for Overstock.com.

"Four years ago this week, I was in Silicon Valley trying to raise money from venture capitalists, for this idea of this company back in Utah," Patrick Byrne, Overstock's chief executive, said Thursday. "I was turned down by 55 venture capitalists in the fall of 1999. I think I'm the only guy in the fall of 1999 who got turned down by venture capitalists."

But on Thursday, Byrne chuckled victoriously when Overstock.com was named Utah's fastest growing company by the MountainWest Venture Group.

Overstock received the award at MWVG's ninth annual "Utah 100" awards ceremony, held at the Grand America Hotel. Todd Stevens, MWVG president, said several hundred companies submitted applications this year, of which 100 were chosen based on revenue growth over the past five years.

Overstock moved up from its second-place showing last year to lead the group. The top five honorees also included United Underwriters, 4Life Research, Axiom Financial Inc. and IKANO Communications. Together, those companies averaged a 7,694 percent growth rate from 1998 to 2002.

MountainWest Venture Group also named its "2003 Utah 100 Top Revenue Growth Companies" on Thursday, which was again led by Zions Bancorp. The 15 companies, which also included SkyWest Inc., Icon Health and Fitness Inc. and Questar Corp., generated about $7 billion in revenues in 2002, with average sales per company of $467 million.

Despite the down economy, Stevens said the percent change in growth reported by this year's applicants is level with past years.

"What we have seen over the last few years is a change in the mix of companies," Stevens said. "In the early years of the Utah 100, we had more technology companies in the mix. Now, we're seeing a higher percentage of service and consumer-related companies."

Overstock being the exception.

Over the last five years, Byrne estimated that Overstock's revenue grew about 9,000 percent: from $2.6 million in sales in 1999 to nearly $300 million this year.

"We have the best deals on the Internet," Byrne said, when asked to explain the company's growth. "Secondly, by being in Utah, we've really focused on plain old-fashioned business, not hype. Utah is great for that. It's not California, where it's all hype."

For Byrne, the honor perhaps was sweet salve on a bumpy week, when Overstock responded to customer concerns that a Tiffany & Co. pendant it sold was of poor quality and may have been a fake. Upon hearing the complaints, the company stated it reverified that the pendants were the real deal, posting an original invoice on its Web site. Overstock also offered to waive fees and pick up the tab for shipping costs on returns for the item and offer customers who return the pendant a credit for the amount they paid ($47).

On Thursday, Byrne referred related questions to Overstock's attorney, Jonathan E. Johnson III.

"We're vigorously defending ourselves, and we think we're in the right," Johnson said. "We will do all that we can to protect ourselves."

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E-mail: jnii@desnews.com