Edge Financial Makes the Inc. 5000: A Second Time for Everything

It’s almost hard to believe it when we say it out loud, but it’s true: Edge Financial has been honored as an Inc. 5000 company. Again.

That’s right. For the second straight year, our team has been honored by Inc. as one of the nation’s fastest growing and most successful companies in the U.S.

Though this isn’t our first year making the list, it marks a significant milestone. Making the list is a near Herculean task, requiring a combination of sustained growth in company size and revenue.

(Fun fact: Did you know that 6 companies on this year’s Inc. 5000 have made the list fourteen times each? Talk about sustained growth!)

While we’re excited about this accomplishment and definitely celebrated with some delicious cake—we’re also humbled. It’s the sustained growth we’ve had over the past several years that got us here, but it’s the lessons we’ve learned along the way that are responsible.

To mark this milestone in Edge Financial’s eighteen-year journey, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the lessons learned that not only propelled us here—but will take us many years into the future.

About the Inc. 5000

Last year when we made the list for the first time, we gave a little bit of context about the honor. In case you missed the article, here’s a little bit about the Inc. 5000 itself:

Each year, Inc. compiles a ranked list of the fastest-growing companies in the United States. You don’t have to be a big company, and you don’t have to be in a specific industry. You just need to have grown substantially over the last three years. The Inc. 5000 has been compiling lists for nearly 40 years, and some pretty big names have found themselves on the list before: Dell, LinkedIn, and even Microsoft!

Because we’ve helped more and more clients with tax prep and other tax needs, we grew by 97%—making us the fastest growing company in Encino!

Remembering Our Roots

Eighteen years ago, we set out on a journey to resolve our clients’ IRS issues. Since then, we’ve shifted our focus toward tax preparation and developed pioneering tax technology to do it faster, more accurately, and cheaper than our competitors. We’ve moved into a beautiful, expansive new headquarters, we’ve sponsored the ATP Tour and the BNP Paribas Open (We’re tennis junkies, too!), and we’ve done it all while remaining entirely dedicated to our clients.

But that’s not what got us here.

Culture > Growth

Any company can chase growth, revenue, or ratings. In fact, many do. To each their own.

A few years back, we changed our focus to cultivating our culture—and it has made all the difference. We realized that our growth wasn’t our goal; it was a byproduct of our goal, or a symptom letting us know we were on the right track. We want our team to feel supported and challenged, which is why we’ve made strides to adapt a “family feeling” to our growing size.

Team spirit days, bowling nights, and even Bring Your Children to Work Day are all ways of creating a better environment. We’ve added an employee referral bonus program, an education reimbursement program, and a healthy smile dental care program in the last two years. Heck, even the impromptu fro-yo pop-up goes a long way to making Edge Financial feel a bit more like home.

These changes range from small to large, but we believe they all make a fundamental impact on our culture. And when you pair cultural improvements with cutting-edge technology and a dedication to your clients, well—we believe growth is inevitable.

Inc. 5000 and The Long Road Ahead

Last year when we heard the news about making the Inc. 5000 for the first time ever, we had to wonder if it would happen again. And the truth is, you never really know! Whether we make the list next year or not will remain a byproduct of the hard work our team has done—and continues to do—every single day.

We believe we’re revolutionizing tax preparation, and we’re thrilled to be honored alongside companies doing the same in their respective industries. But the Inc. 5000 is just one way of acknowledging we’re taking the right steps on the right path.

For now, we just plan to focus on putting one foot in front of the other—headed toward the horizon.