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Now in its 36th year, ColoradoBiz magazine’s Top Company Awards program recognizes businesses and organizations based in Colorado or with a significant presence in the state that are leading the way in their fields, as demonstrated by financial performance, notable company achievements and community engagement.
To be considered, Top Company entrants submitted applications throughout the year online at ColoradoBiz.com. From those entries, which numbered in the hundreds, the magazine’s editorial board narrowed the field to three finalists (in most cases) in each industry category. A judging panel made up of area business leaders and ColoradoBiz staff then met to compare notes on the finalists and decide winners in 14 industries plus the Startup category, for companies in business four years or less.
Congratulations are in order not only to the 41 winners and finalists profiled on the following pages, but to all the companies that took the time to tell us about their achievements and obstacles surmounted over the past year that make them worthy of Top Company consideration.
READ: Fall 2023 Issue — Top Company Awards, Inside the CHIPS and SCIENCE Act, and More
WINNER
Emergenetics International
Centennial, CO
Website: emergenetics.com
Emergenetics helps employees, teams and companies transform the ways they work together by providing insights into people’s inherent tendencies so that individuals and organizations can use this information to improve productivity, communication and employee engagement.
“What’s so remarkable about Emergenetics is the fact that our proprietary assessment has withstood the test of time and continues to deliver empowering insights to individuals and organizations across the globe,” CEO Marie Unger says.
In the late 1980s, Dr. Geil Browning recognized the need to create a practical assessment that would explain the most prevalent thinking and behavioral preferences of adults so that individuals could understand their strengths and teams could learn to work together effectively. Extensive research led to the creation of the Emergenetics Profile.
Browning launched the Browning Group in 1985 (before establishing Emergenetics International in 1991) to use the Emergenetics Profile, the Meeting of the Minds workshop and subsequent programs to enable companies to utilize strength-based insights to build successful workplaces.
Today, Emergenetics International has a presence in more than 40 countries and has grown significantly across the Americas, Central Asia, Europe and Africa, with more than 2,000 Emergenetics associates worldwide.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought significant change to Emergenetics International in a time of uncertainty for all businesses. Within the first two months of the crisis, Emergenetics’ Learning & Development team retooled its in-person workshop experiences to create the same level of connection and engagement via a virtual platform.
These virtual workshops were essential in helping Emergenetics to operate successfully in an increasingly remote world. Moreover, they provided global clients with resources to engage employees and empower them to improve teamwork, communication and productivity, which are major challenges for today’s distributed workforces.
This development also led to a transformative period at Emergenetics, which had historically relied on in-person programming to support revenue generation. The company has expanded its product suite to provide online learning opportunities to its client base. Clients now have a multitude of tools to increase engagement no matter where their employees are located.
FINALISTS
GEM Family Law
Denver, CO
Website: familylawco.com
Gebhardt Emerson Moodie Bonanno LLC (GEM Family Law) is a boutique firm led by four women in their 30s – all mothers to young children — providing comprehensive services to families in transition. That includes representation in divorce, child custody, support, dependency and neglect, adoption cases, and neutral third-party expert work as mediators, arbitrators, child and family investigators and more.
Notably, in 2023, GEM accomplished its long-time goal of starting a trust and estate planning department, bringing on an Of Counsel attorney from a prominent “big law” firm to head it up. Now, the 21-employee GEM will be able to serve families planning for life transitions at all stages.
It’s been quite an evolution for a firm that started out in 2018 with only three attorneys and one part-time support staffer.
Since 2019, GEM has been recognized by the Colorado Supreme Court for reaching its commitment to provide 50 hours of pro bono service per attorney, per year. Pro bono legal representation is provided through partnerships with organizations such as Alight, which assists victims of human trafficking, Project Safeguard, which serves victims of domestic violence, and Metro Volunteer Lawyers.
Johnson Storage & Moving Co.
Centennial, CO
Website: johnson-united.com
Owned and operated by fourth-generation members of the Johnson family, Johnson Storage & Moving Co. has been in business since 1900, predating the Ford Model T by eight years.
From its founding site in Denver, the company has expanded to multiple locations and grown to include Security Van Lines (an agent for Mayflower Van Lines Transit) in Colorado Springs, as well as Johnson Storage & Moving Co. (an agent for United Van Lines) with operations throughout Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, California, Kansas and Texas.
The company’s moving and storage services span residential and commercial, office and industrial, hotel/dorm installations and more. With locations in 12 states, it handles local, interstate and international moves.
The company attributes its enduring success to “keeping stellar reviews from our most vocal critics … our clients.”
The COVID pandemic challenged businesses everywhere, but Ken Schappert, director of commercial sales in Colorado Springs, credits President Don Hindman for navigating the company through disruptive times.
“Johnson pivoted, which allowed us to expand where other companies were cutting back,” Schappert says. “Don kept everyone informed. Good and bad. I, for one, am very proud of how this transpired.”
Universal Chain Inc.
Denver, CO
Website: uchaininc.com
In business for 41 years, Universal Chain is a third-party logistics partner to Fortune 100-500 companies across North America. UChain offers a comprehensive suite of services.
“Our service capabilities cover all aspects critical to our partner’s operational needs,” Senior Vice President Michael Peterson says. “We offer a robust suite of warehousing solutions focused on process improvement driven by first-rate people and award-winning supply chain technology.”
As with most businesses, COVID impacted UChain in ways both unexpected and unavoidable. UChain teams needed to observe safe practices and social distancing yet still get the work completed. COVID leave policies ensured that all who needed time off received it; drivers entering distribution centers that UChain services were provided with Remote Driver Check-in so they didn’t have to leave the cab of their truck. UChain also provided multiple travel teams to assist customers in completing their required work when COVID impacted their workforce.
“All the challenges of COVID were met with our ‘Will to Win’ spirit, and we continued to thrive and grow even in the toughest of times,” Peterson says. “Post-COVID, we continue those processes, and we’ve worked to improve in every area and continue on our quest: We don’t want to be the largest 3PL, only the best.”
House of Revenue
Denver, CO
Website: houseofrevenue.com
House of Revenue helps second-stage growth companies to scale by aligning marketing, sales, customer success and revenue-operations teams with a shared playbook to profitably scale revenue.
The Denver-based firm, a 2021 Colorado Companies to Watch winner, operates with the belief that in a changing economy, companies MUST be agile in adapting to what the market requires. Many CEOs are still trying to solve revenue problems with a silo-attack, focusing on singular sales or marketing initiatives. In House of Revenue’s observations, that does not work.
The firm points to a client that lost $2 million over a two-month period in 2020 because its clients were pausing services. House of Revenue’s team was able to act quickly and help this client pivot. Analyzing the industries of that company’s clients, House of Revenue found the ones that could flourish with the market shifts. All marketing and sales efforts were thus moved to focus on the industries they could serve well, resulting in revenue growth from $14 million to $17.2 million, including recovery of the aforementioned $2 million loss.
