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A second-stage company must be characterized as an established and growing firm as defined by the traits below. They are typically past the startup phase and face growth challenges rather than survival issues. A company must meet the following for the year ending 2023:

• Be a privately held commercial enterprise headquartered in Florida (not publicly traded, subsidiary, or division of another company or nonprofit).
• Employ 6 to 150 full-time equivalent W-2 employees, including the owner.
• Have between $750,000 and $100 million in annual revenue or working capital from investors or grants.
• Have not won this award in the past.
• Demonstrate an intent and capacity to grow based on evidence such as:
  • Employee or sales growth
  • Exceptional entrepreneurial leadership
  • Sustainable competitive advantage
  • Other notable factors that showcase the company’s success

First, congratulations—your nominator thinks highly of your company! Review the eligibility criteria, then fill out an application by June 28, 2024, at 5:00 pm central time. Only online applications will be accepted.

Apply at https://growfl.com/about-growfl-flctw/apply/

Absolutely. Companies may apply directly and need not be nominated. Please complete an application by June 28, 2024, at 5:00 PM Central time.

Apply at https://growfl.com/about-growfl-flctw/apply/

The award recipients will be selected by a panel of independent judges comprised of GrowFL CEOs, economic development leaders, and partners. The judging panel has complete discretion in determining the recipients.

The award will be based on the following criteria:

• Growth in number of employees.
• Impact of the business in the job market.
• Increase in sales and/or unit volume.
• Current and past financial reports.
• Innovativeness of the product or service.
• Response to adversity.
• Contributions by the nominee to aid community-oriented projects.
• Other criteria deemed appropriate by the judges.

Special strengths make a company stand out from its competition or make it the leader in its field. A company’s strength might be its innovative products or business practices, special use of technology or involvement in its community. The application asks companies to provide examples of how they embody any of these strengths. This list is not exclusive, and companies are encouraged to provide alternatives.

We are unable to accept materials other than your application. However, refer to these materials or quote from them to support your points in the application.

Please be assured that we exercise numerous measures to ensure the information you provide is kept confidential and used only to select awardees. Information provided in the application, including the financials, is used to determine if a company is eligible for the award and to gauge a company’s growth factors. Without this information, judges have no way to determine your eligibility. Moreover, judges sign a nondisclosure agreement before they begin reviewing applications.

The information provided in the application may also be used to write a company profile for a commemorative magazine. The magazine does NOT publish revenue figures, and references to finances are made using growth percentages only, if at all (e.g., “the company experienced 45% growth over two years as a result of the new product”). At your request, we omit references to growth percentages entirely.

If selected as an honoree, a company’s contact information (namely the company’s name, principal’s name, industry, city, and description) is used to publicize the program and the awardees. Financials from specific companies are NOT used for this purpose. Specific data, such as revenue figures, are used only in the aggregate for statistical purposes. In this way, it is impossible to isolate data from the whole and attribute it to an individual company.

The application asks if information, including employee counts, revenue growth percentages, and other details entered on the application, should not be used publicly. Companies may select “No” according to their comfort level.

Franchisees are technically eligible if they are wholly owned and operated. Some franchises typically don’t fare very well in this competition if the local owner does not have complete autonomy to lead or grow the business (e.g., branding, innovating solutions, branching out). Franchisors operate differently, so if the business owner can be entrepreneurial in approach and isn’t bound by the franchisor in strategizing for growth, then it’s worth a shot. To help the judges understand that your franchise operates differently than the typical one, please address the entrepreneurial aspects of your franchise on the application.

Start-ups that meet the eligibility requirements may apply. Revenue can include equity investments and grants, in addition to sales receipts.

Nonprofit organizations are not eligible for this award. To be considered for it, a company must be a commercial enterprise.

Past honorees are not eligible as we like to say; once an honoree, always an honoree. However, past honorees are eligible for unique opportunities such as attendance at leader retreats, events, and networking. Be on the lookout for notices from GrowFL and an announcement of the new Alumni Award application.

Firms that are traded on public stock exchanges are not eligible for this award. Companies to Watch only consider businesses that are privately held.

Applicants must be privately held and not a subsidiary or division of another company. If the parent company is eligible, we encourage that entity to serve as the applicant. Companies to Watch focuses on businesses in control of their destiny regarding strategy, vision, and profit. Entities that take direction from a parent company are often unable to exercise such power. If you feel your situation is in a “gray area,” enter “Yes” to the question in Section 2K, then answer the following questions, and we will consider your situation on a case-by-case basis.

Yes, convertible debt can be included in your revenues, but explain this in the textbox immediately below the revenue amounts. Also, explain when the debt will mature and if company ownership will change upon conversion. Lastly, list the conversion as “other” in Section 4C (percentage of revenue from various sources).

Companies must have between 6 and 150 “full-time equivalent employees” in 2023 to qualify for the award. To determine “full-time equivalent” for purposes of this award, consider the following:

• An employee qualifies as full-time if working 21-40 hours/week (this amounts to 1 FTE)
• An employee qualifies as part-time if working 20 hours/week (you would then count each employee as 1/2 an FTE).
• An alternative way to calculate FTEs is to annualize this figure. This approach is ideal if seasonal employees do not work a full calendar year or work less than 20 hours per week (base the annualized figure on 2,080 hours/year, which is 1 FTE).
• If you provide staffing services or use contract employees, these personnel should be listed in the “Leased Worker” and “Contract Worker” sections. Note that leased and contract workers do not count toward eligibility.

Companies must have between $750,000 and $100 million in revenue in 2023. In addition to sales receipts, revenue may have included equity investments, grants, or other forms of funding in 2023 that were used as working capital. Be sure to apply the same approach for all requested years and list the various sources of revenue in the application.

The following best practices were followed by past winners:

• Submit your application before the deadline. Applications may be updated up until the deadline. Take this time to proofread for typos, spot errors, and edit for conciseness.
• Past winners recommend printing out the example application as soon as possible. This allowed them to collect various data and compose their “Company Strengths” statement before submitting the online form.
• Provide specific examples in the essay sections to support your statements of what was accomplished.
• Using lay terms for technical processes is helpful, and avoiding jargon and buzzwords is advisable.
• It helps to hear how your company compares to others in your field (e.g., if your practices are unique and, if so, how).
• Use exact amounts for employee counts and revenue figures (judges tend to trust exact figures more).

If you are not a contact on your company’s application, because of confidentiality, we do not provide access to applications except those listed as company contacts, or if the application contact allows us to do so. You can request a password reset on the application site where you registered. If you have any issues, contact [email protected] with your full name, title, and email address. If you are not the application contact, copy the application contact in your message. We will request permission from the application contact person on record to share the online login account with you.

A virtual finalist announcement is scheduled for August 1, 2024. Honorees will be selected from the pool of finalists and notified by mid-October. Remember that all applications are active and eligible until the final decisions are made.