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Booming Dallas-Fort Worth alcohol distributor lands No. 4 spot on coveted Inc. 5000 list

DFW is home to more than 200 companies that made the Inc. 5000 list this year.

Photo by Sean Pavone/iStock

Dozens of Dallas-Fort Worth companies have experienced explosive revenue growth over the last few years, with one such business landing near the top of the prestigious 2023 Inc. 5000 list.

One Coppell-based company, Green Light Distribution, ranked No. 4 nationally, boasting an unimaginable 41,090 percent growth rate from 2019 to 2022. Green Light Distribution provides distribution services for small to mid-size wine and spirit brands.

For additional perspective, Green Light Distribution is also the second highest-ranked Texas business on the list. Nationally, it was bested only by St. Louis-based energy development company Birch Creek Energy (No. 3), Austin-based transportation booking company CharterUp (No. 2), and Nashville-based health services company CareBridge (No. 1).

Companies on the 2023 Inc. 5000, released August 15, are ranked by percentage growth in revenue from 2019 to 2022. To qualify for the list, a company must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2019. The company also must have been U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independent as of December 31, 2022. The minimum revenue required for 2019 was $100,000; the minimum for 2022 was $2 million.

In all, 482 Texas-based companies made this year’s list, and 216 of those are based in Dallas-Fort Worth. The report says 35 businesses are newly-founded, 119 are repeat honorees, and 30,301 jobs were added thanks to these companies.

The 16 remaining Metroplex-area businesses ranking among the top 500 include:

No. 13 – Blue Hammer Roofing, Dallas, 19,510 percent growth rate
No. 14 – eTrueNorth, Mansfield, 19,130 percent growth rate
No. 85 – Archer Review, Dallas, 5,378 percent growth rate
No. 110 – Advantis Medical Staffing, Dallas, 4,302 percent growth rate
No. 144 – Maveneer, Dallas, 3,630 percent growth rate
No. 145 – Ashland Greene, Dallas, 3,617 percent growth rate
No. 152 – Physical Therapy Biz, Dallas, 3,542 percent growth rate
No. 155 – Curis Functional Health, Dallas, 3,444 percent growth rate
No. 175 – TimelyCare, Fort Worth, 3,015 percent growth rate
No. 185 – TAP Innovations, Irving, 2,873 percent growth rate
No. 239 – Ironside Human Resources, Dallas, 2,312 percent growth rate
No. 327 – VitalTech, Carrollton, 1,745 percent growth rate
No. 368 – evolv Consulting, Dallas, 1,572 percent growth rate
No. 433 – Albers Aerospace, McKinney, 1,342 percent growth rate
No. 445 – The Indoor Golf Shop, Celina, 1,306 percent growth rate
No. 475 – Tradebloc, Dallas, 1,225 percent growth rate

Here are the other Texas companies appearing in the state’s top 20:

No. 2 – CharterUp, Austin, 111,130 percent growth rate
No. 15 – Specialty1 Partners, Houston, 18,747 percent growth rate
No. 19 – Publishing.com, Austin, 16,497 percent growth rate
No. 81 – Hawthorne Capital, Houston, 5,574 percent growth rate
No. 89 – Valiant Capital, Houston, 5,223 percent growth rate
No. 90 – Norwood, Austin, 5,189 percent growth rate
No. 104 – 24HourNurse Staffing, Pittsburg, 4,520 percent growth rate
No. 112 – CloudServus, Austin, 4,215 percent growth rate
No. 162 – Intervene K-12, Houston, 3,207 percent growth rate
No. 180 – LeasePoint Funding Group, Austin, 2,920 percent growth rate

The full list of businesses can be found on inc.com.

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innovation begins here

Texas ranks as 3rd best state for new businesses in 2026

Texas is chugging along as an innovative state.

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Texas has climbed back into the top three for the first time since 2023.

High employment growth and advantageous entrepreneurship rates have led Texas into a No. 3 spot in WalletHub's just-released ranking of "Best and Worst States to Start a Business" for 2026.

Texas bounced back into the No. 3 spot nationally for the first time since 2023. After dropping into 8th place in 2024, the state hustled into No. 4 last year.

Ever year, WalletHub compares all 50 states based on their business environment, costs, and access to financial resources to determine the best places for starting a business. The study analyzes 25 relevant metrics to determine the rankings, such as labor costs, office space affordability, financial accessibility, the number of startups per capita, and more.

When about half of all new businesses don't last more than five years, finding the right environment for a startup is vital for long-term success, the report says.

Here's how Texas ranked across the three main categories in the study:

No. 1 – Business environment
No. 11 – Access to resources
No. 34 – Business costs

The state boasts the 10th highest entrepreneurship rates nationwide, and it has the 11th-highest share of fast-growing firms. WalletHub also noted that more than half (53 percent) of all Texas businesses are located in "strong clusters," which suggests they are more likely to be successful long-term.

"Clusters are interconnected businesses that specialize in the same field, and 'strong clusters' are ones that are in the top 25 percent of all regions for their particular specialization," the report said. "If businesses fit into one of these clusters, they will have an easier time getting the materials they need, and can tap into an existing customer base. To some degree, it might mean more competition, though."

Texas business owners should also keep their eye on Dallas, which was recently ranked the 3rd best U.S. city for starting a new business. Several neighbors around Dallas have also been hailed as top U.S. career hotspots with the best environments for tech workers. Workers in Texas are the "third-most engaged" in the country, the study added, a promising attribute for employers searching for the right place to begin their next business venture.

"Business owners in Texas benefit from favorable conditions, as the state has the third-highest growth in working-age population and the third-highest employment growth in the country, too," the report said.

The top 10 best states for starting a business in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Florida
No. 2 – Utah
No. 3 – Texas
No. 4 – Oklahoma
No. 5 – Idaho
No. 6 – Mississippi
No. 7 – Georgia
No. 8 – Indiana
No. 9 – Nevada
No. 10 – California

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