Seven Utah companies listed on Inc. magazine's 500 fastest-growing private companies

NEW YORK CITY — Seven Utah businesses rank among the nation's top 500 fastest-growing private companies this year, according to Inc. magazine.

The rankings appeared in the publication's Inc. 500|5000 list, released last week, which included nearly 80 more Utah-based companies in its top 5,000.

VIP International was the highest-ranked Utah business, coming in at No. 115 overall and No. 12 in consumer products and services. The garden decor importer and wholesaler headquartered in Lehi has grown 2,364 percent over the last three years.

Though it sells nonessential products in a struggling economy, VIP International has succeeded and grown largely by revamping its products and their design, and by finding the right price points for its merchandise, said company president Mark Tuttle.

"Nothing we sell is actually a necessity of life," he said. "We have the right products at the right prices and it just seems to work."

Since its inception as a three-person operation in 2006, VIP International has branched out into retail, operating multiple stores in Utah and Nevada, and acquired another company.

"We're still growing every year," Tuttle said. "Our future is bright and we're plugging along."

While this was VIP International's first time making the list, Layton's Real Property Management, Lendio of South Jordan and Salt Lake City's Neutron Interactive made the top 500 for the second year in a row.

“Being named to the list two years in a row is extremely satisfying," Lendio CEO Brock Blake said in a press release. "There are a lot of great companies around the country mentioned in the list this year; it’s an honor to be part of it."

Formerly known as FundingUniverse, Lendio is a finance company that helps small businesses find funding. The company recently rolled out a technology that pairs small-business owners with lenders and loans, renamed itself and launched a new website.

“These are big changes that will help more businesses find the capital they need —capital that will help them hire more people and grow their business to have similar success as we’ve had in the last few years,” Blake said.

Several of Utah's Inc. 500 companies are among the fastest growing in their respective industries. In addition to VIP International, Real Property Management ranked No. 7 nationally in real estate, IntegraCore was No. 9 in logistics and transportation and Lendio came in at No. 19 in financial services.