Four Burnsville Businesses Score Spots on Biz Journal's Fast 50 List

In a time of famine, four Burnsville companies are feasting—and their growth in payroll and profits has caught the attention of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal. Innovative Office Solutions, Emergent Networks, Lancet Software Development and Pawn America have all been chosen for the publication's Fast 50 List, a ranking of local, private companies that are waxing when many are on the wane.

Here are some quick stats gathered by the folks at the Business Journal:

Innovative Office Solutions

• Rank: No. 22
• Profile: IOS offers office supplies, print services and furniture. It was founded in 2001.
• CEO: Jennifer Smith
• Growth in Headcount: About 34 percent from 2009 to present, jumping from 56 employees to 75, and counting. Smith told the Journal that her biggest challenge was hiring. 
• Overall Growth Rate: 114.72 percent
• 2011 Revenue: $42,738,090 

Emergent Networks

• Rank: No. 23
• Profile: Emergent offers IT consulting. It was founded in 1985.
• President: Jamie Anderson
• Growth in Headcount: The company has almost tripled its staff since 2009, growing from 11 to 32 as of now.
• Overall Growth Rate: 113.83 percent
• 2011 Revenue: $8,697,027

Lancet Software Development Inc.

• Rank: No. 36
• Profile: The company, founded in 1997, offers business software consultations and resale. It is quickly going national, finding new markets on the east coast and southwest, and could even have a presence abroad in coming years.
• CEO: Thomas Niccum
• Growth in Headcount: The company has grown by leaps and bounds since 2009, when just 36 people were on staff. Lancet has doubled its payroll between the end of 2011 and the present, bringing its total employee count to 102.
• Overall Growth Rate: 70.55 percent
• 2011 revenue: $11,652,833

Pawn America

• Rank: No. 50
• Profile: Pawn America is a familiar company to most Burnsville residents. The chain of pawn shops and payday lending service was founded in 1991. It has been on a tear during the recession, and now boasts 24 locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota and North Dakota. In August, Pawn America opened its largest store yet—a 32,500 square foot shop in Inver Grove Heights—and it looks like more are on the way. This is the fourth year that Pawn America has made the Fast 50 list.
• President: Brad Rixmann
• Growth in Headcount: The company has almost quadrupled in size, growing from 135 employees in 2009 to 430 at present.
• Overall Growth Rate: 55.59 percent.
• 2011 revenue: $72,456,614