News

August 19, 2015

Transfinder in Schenectady Makes Inc. 5000 List for Nine Years in a Row

Transfinder, the Schenectady-based transportation software company, is one of 15 local companies  that have made the 2015  Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing companies in the country.

It is the ninth year in a row that Transfinder had made it on list, the longest winning streak for any local company. Transfinder actually made the first Inc. 5000 list that was published in 2007, and the company has never been left off of it since. The list ranks private companies based on their three-year revenue growth.

Only two other upstate companies have made the Inc. 5000 every year since it started in addition to Transfinder. They are Sutherland Global Services of Pittsford in Monroe County and Liberty Pumps of Bergen, Genesee County

Transfinder CEO Antonio Civitella says being named to the list isn’t easy. Not only do you have to have huge revenue growth to make the list –  Transfinder was ranked 4,493 with 58 percent revenue growth – companies have to submit financial data certified by an accountant. And it’s not free, there is a $150 entry fee.

“We’re proud of our inclusion” Civitella said by phone from Austin, Texas, where he is helping ramp up a new office. Transfinder sells software that school districts use to schedule and route their school buses. Other groups have also started to use the software for transportation scheduling.

Civitella said the biggest reason that he enters the Inc. 5000 every year is to honor the company’s employees who are responsible for the company’s success.

“I want them to know that they work for a successful company,” Civitella said.

Texas and New York state are Transfinder’s two largest markets, one of the reasons why Civitella is opening the Austin office. It is located in the Arboretum area of Austin which is where Google, IBM and Microsoft also have offices.

He says that inclusion of the Inc. 5000 list is also gratifying because the transportation software business is becoming so much more competitive these days. Growth is no longer easy.

“Every year is more challenging as the market is maturing,” Civitella said. “You have to work hard to keep your clients.”

The highest-ranked local company this year was Fingerpaint, the Saratoga Springs marketing firm, which posted three-year revenue growth of 371 percent. That got Fingerpaint a ranking of 1,141.

Here is the list of Capital Region companies that made the list this year. However, the list does not include Linium, a Colonie staffing recruitment firm that was listed as having a New York City headquarters.

Linium was founded here in the Capital Region and its management team is here, including its CEO, but it typically lists its headquarters as being in New York City for the Inc. 5000 list.

Linium is No. 2,342 on the list, which would put it right behind Deep Blue Communications if they were listed with a Capital Region headquarters.