Ingrams July 2023

Corporate Report 100

Here, Frequency Can Be a Friend … or Foe

Repeaters in the Top 10 of CR100 know what it takes to ride this bucking bronc.

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The history of the Corporate Re port 100 tells us a lot about the gap between the visionary and the per son able to execute that vision. They are not always the same person. Nowhere does that show up quite as clearly as in the ranks of the 10 fastest-growing companies each year. In nearly four decades of discerning the region’s growth leaders, we at Ingram’s have de veloped a sort of sixth sense about the potential and the pitfalls that go hand in hand for these compan- ies: “Making the CR100 is an im- pressive achievement; making it two years in a row is rare, and even more impressive. But making it three years in a row could be a warning sign that things might soon get out of hand.” That, however, is not always the case. Especially for Randy Klindt. He’s the founding partner of Con- exon, the rural internet-infrastruc- ture provider, and CEO of its sub sidiary, Conexon Connect. And he has steered Conexon into a rare position: A fourth straight Top 10 finish. Being in the right place at the right time has been a huge benefit: A fresh tranche of federal funding to expand rural internet is likely to keep Conexon on its growth arc for a while. “We have more successful projects than all of our competi- tors combined,” he says. “We keep our head down, work hard, and ensure our client success. The big- ger we become, the more our successes begin to speak for them selves.”

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Ingrams.com

July 2023