Podium, an interaction management platform for local businesses, has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2019.
The list honors the businesses making the most profound impact on both industry and culture, showcasing a variety of ways to thrive in today’s quickly evolving business landscape. Half of the companies on this year’s Most Innovative Companies list are appearing for the first time.
“The economy has grown and evolved in a way that requires local businesses to modernize the way they interact,” said Eric Rea, CEO of Podium. “This award is confirmation that Podium is providing real innovation to modernize these businesses that we work with everyday, and we’re excited to share what else we have in store for 2019 in the coming months.”
Founded in 2014 and now working with more than 30,000 businesses to create more than 4 million customer interactions a month, Podium has quickly become one of the fastest-growing SaaS companies in the U.S. As the leading interaction platform helping local businesses cross the offline-to-online chasm, one in seven U.S. cell phone owners have connected with a local business via its platform.
The award is the latest in a series of recognitions and milestones for Podium over the past year. In the fall, the company was named to Forbes’ Next Billion-Dollar Startups List for 2018, a list of the 25 companies the media giant predicts have the best chance of reaching $1 billion valuation or more in the near future. Podium also was named to the Forbes 2018 Cloud 100. In addition, Podium ranked No. 9 on the 2018 Deloitte Technology Fast 500, as well as No. 13 on the Inc. 5000 – both honors the company earned with its three-year growth margin of more than 13,000 percent. In August, Podium cut the ribbon on its new 125,000 square foot headquarters in Lehi, Utah, to house the company’s 430 existing employees, as well as the 375 more it plans to hire through the end of 2019.
This year, Fast Company’s editors and writers sought out groundbreaking businesses across 35 industries and every region. They also judged nominations received through their application process.
The World’s Most Innovative Companies is Fast Company’s signature franchise and one of its most highly anticipated editorial efforts of the year. It provides both a snapshot and a road map for the future of innovation across the most dynamic sectors of the economy.
“Established players are showing the same kind of nimbleness that we’ve generally associated with startups,” said Fast Company Deputy Editor David Lidsky, who oversaw the issue with senior editor Amy Farley.
Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies issue (March-April 2019) is now available online at https://www.fastcompany.com/MIC, as well as in app form via iTunes and on newsstands.
