Private investment firm Clavis Capital Partners, which operates and grows U.S.-based industrial businesses, has been named the fastest-growing privately held company in the annual Dallas 100 ranking.

Ranked No. 1, the investment firm exceeded 1,000 percent growth over the last 3 years. That’s well beyond the collective average growth of this year’s 100 companies, which totaled average growth of 106 percent, according to the school.

Clavis Capital Partners calls its private equity model unique. Completely staffed by professionals with experience running industrial companies and deep domain expertise, the firm has the “capability to find hidden gems and see value where others can’t,” according to its bio on LinkedIn. The firm’s focus is on control equity buyouts for companies with $2 million to $20 million in EBITDA.

Coming in at No. 2 is Scout & Cellar. The direct-to-consumer maker of wine-based beverages, founded by former commercial litigator Sarah Shadonix, launched as a ‘clean-crafted’ wine club in 2017.

Shadonix sourced wine produced from fruit grown naturally without synthetic pesticides and vinified without modifications or added sugar. “It’s a movement as much as a business model,” said one consultant at the time.

With e-commerce booming during the pandemic, the pioneering startup introduced a new lower-alcohol alternative for cocktails, MIXABLES.

Ranking the fastest-growing entrepreneurial companies in DFW

For the past 30 years, the Dallas100 ranking by Southern Methodist University’s Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship has served as a way to celebrate the fastest growing companies in Dallas-Fort Worth.

This year’s Dallas 100 companies “basically doubled sales from 2017 to 2019,” according to the Caruth Institute. Collectively, all 100 companies generated more than $6 billion in revenue over the past three years. 

Clavis Capital Partners exceeded 1,000 percent growth over the last 3 years.

Companies are ranked by the Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship on percentage growth and absolute dollar growth over the previous three years, with an emphasis on economic contributions to the Dallas-area economy. 

DFW “growth engines” contributed $6 billion and 6,000 jobs

The companies are growth engines for DFW, says Simon Mak, executive director of the Caruth Institute of Entrepreneurship, in a statement. “This year’s 100 companies created almost 6,000 jobs between them—about 600 jobs per company.”

“This year’s 100 companies created almost 6,000 jobs between them—about 600 jobs per company,” says Simon Mak.

The companies create thousands of jobs and pump “hundreds of millions of dollars into our economy year after year,” he says. “That’s exactly why we started this annual event 30 years ago: to call attention to the critical impact the entrepreneurial spirit makes on the Dallas economy.” 

This year, the area’s top entrepreneurial companies were revealed in rank order from 100 to one in a virtual ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 18. The event, which was live-streamed this year because of COVID-19, was facilitated by one of this year’s Dallas 100 honorees, business-to-business media provider MarketScale.   

Top 10 winners in the 2020 Dallas 100

The top 10 companies were given special recognition at the event:

1. Clavis Capital Partners, an investment firm that focuses on manufacturers of industrial products;
2. Scout & Cellar, a direct-to-consumer producer of wine-based beverages;
3. Provident General Contractors, a project management firm specializing in multifamily and commercial construction;
4. Tek Leaders Inc., business intelligence solutions provider;
5. The Crowther Group, a general contractor in retail, healthcare, and education;
6. Cloud Ingenuity, providers of multi-cloud, cybersecurity network modernization;
7. Lurin, a real estate firm in the manufacturing sector;
8. Compass Datacenters, providers of custom, move-in ready data centers;
9. GridLiance, independent electricity transmission; and
10. Improving, providers of software development, technology management consulting, and training services.

2020 Dallas 100 winners, ranked

This year’s winners represent Dallas and 14 area cities. Here’s the complete list of SMU Cox Dallas 100 companies for 2020, listed from one to 100:

This year, The Caruth Institute worked with accounting firm BKD to examine sales from hundreds of companies for 2017 to 2019, which was the last year for available complete data. Company sponsors of the Dallas 100 program include BKD, Cushman & Wakefield, Mass Mutual DFW, and Texas Capital Bank.

SMU says the Caruth Institute plans to resume holding a traditional event to honor its 2021 Dallas 100 winners in November 2021, if COVID-19 protocols allow for a large-scale in-person gathering.   

Two city listings were updated on Feb. 19, 2021, at 10 a.m.: No. 59 Nepris is in Frisco, and No. 85 Robokind is in Dallas, per SMU COX. 

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