FLCTW

A virtual finalist announcement is scheduled for August 1, 2025. Honorees will be selected from the pool of finalists and notified by October. Remember that all applications are active and eligible until the final decisions are made.

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 [...]

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 [...]

Companies must have between $750,000 and $100 million in revenue in 2024. In addition to sales receipts, revenue may have included equity investments, grants, or other forms of funding in 2024 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.

Companies must have between 6 and 150 “full-time equivalent employees” in 2024 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 [...]

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).

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,” [...]

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

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.

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