Ingram's Magazine July 2022

Corporate Report100

Lead Bank Gross Revenue:

6 th Year

Sethmar Transportation Gross Revenue: 2018: $9,499,043 Growth: 590.514% Average Annual Growth Rate: 196.84% Full-time employees: 31 There’s no question that Kansas City has been fertile ground for companies operating in the logistics sector generally, and within the transporation sector in particular. Exhibit A in defense of that proposition might well be Sethmar Transportation, which roared to CR100 prominence in 2019, reaching No. 2 on the list, then topping it in 2021. For most companies, 2016 wasn’t that long ago, but Sethmar is light years away from earning $313,000 in revenues that year, and taking it to a mind-reeling $65.6 million last year. Under the guidance of owner Ben Bolan and Andy Tuley, president, the Overland Park company has found a sweet spot helping shippers with its services in supply-chain management, warehousing, and consolidated distribution services. It’s yet another example of how companies today can reach beyond their roots to become technology companies. Personalized service, the company says, and independent owners are the keys to Sethmar’s value advantage, derived from global services provided through a network of qualified independent business owners. As revenue models go, Brett Suddreth has almost every other business leering with envy: The services for Seismic Digital are almost entirely pre paid. That says something about the confidence that clients have in this Leawood firm, where Suddreth seeks business where it presents itself. That means serving global companies where it can but not neglecting hyperlocal enterprises in need of consulting services in digital marketing, strategy and activation. Founded in 2016, Seismic Digital paints from a service palette that includes paid digital media, search engine optimi zation, paid and organic social media, influencer marketing, analytics, consumer insights, digital brand management, and more. “Ultimately, we create full-funnel, digital marketing campaigns focusing on quality traffic, analytics, and strategic thought leadership,” Suddreth says. By investing in product development, services offerings and sales, he says, the firm set its course for growth, while “we also grew revenue organically with existing clients” and by partnering with larger agencies that had prospects who did not meet their revenue requirements. From No. 45 to No. 20, to No. 8, and now to the fifth spot on Corporate Report 100, Lead Bank continues to show the power of pivoting. From its roots as a community bank, it shifted gears to become a champion of small business lending, dra matically building its portfolio with an intense focus on emerg ing companies that, like the bank itself, have the potential to become something much bigger. Revenues have soared as the bank boostered its assets by nearly 58 percent between 2018 and 2021—an impressive feat in a regional marketplace that is vastly more competitive than you’ll find in most cities of similar size. As part of that, interest-bearing balances surged more than 3,000 percent in that same time period, and the portfolio of real estate rocketed from $70,000 to $1.72 million—a tidy jump of 2,353 per cent. Under CEO Josh Rowland, whose family acquired the Garden City bank in 2005, and President/COO Greg Bynum, the bank has become a go-to lender for aspiring entrepreneurs. 2021: $65,592,198 Seismic Digital 1 st Year Gross Revenue: 2018: $614,840 Growth: 652.198% Average Annual Growth Rate: 217.40% Full-time employees: 20 2021: $4,624,815 2021: $146,368,000 2018: $19,445,000 Growth: 652.728% Average Annual Growth Rate: 217.58% Full-time employees: 47 3 rd Year

(l-r): Greg Bynum, President/COO; Melissa Beltrame, Chief Marketing Officer; Josh Rowland, CEO/Vice Chairman; Angela Blackburn, HR Director; Julie Pine, Chief Risk Officer/General Counsel; Mike Beattie, Chief Technology Officer; Brooke Clouse, Deputy Chief Operating Officer.

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(l-r): Kari Cohen, Chief People Officer; Brett Suddreth, founder/CEO; Nick Barkman, Chief Growth Officer; Jim Henderson, COO.

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(l-r): Ben Bolan, Owner; Andy Tuley, President.

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I n g r a m ’ s

July 2022

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