Nerdery #16 on Biz Journal Fast 50

Among Minnesota's fastest growing private companies, web developers also selected by editors for monthly feature in 2010 Fast 50 Diary

Spurred on by its Nerdery Interactive Labs (The Nerdery) division, Sierra Bravo not only made Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal’s Fast 50; the web development company made the Sweet 16 thanks to a three-year growth rate of 122 percent. By the numbers, revenue grew from $2.9 million in 2006 to $6.4 million in 2008 – this after co-founders Mike Schmidt, Luke Bucklin and Mike Derheim started out with $150 between them in 2003.

This is The Nerdery’s second consecutive year on the Biz Journal Fast 50, climbing from #23 in last year’s list. To be eligible for the newspaper’s annual survey of the fastest growing privately held companies, companies must certify growth in annual revenue in each of three consecutive years.

“When we kicked off the nomination process for the Fast 50 in July, the stories I was editing were about the number of layoffs rising and quarterly earnings dropping,” said Biz Journal assistant managing editor Kim Johnson. “I was anxious – wondering if we’d even have 50 companies apply for the Fast 50. I needn’t have worried.” Nor is The Nerdery worried about a three-peat when the Fast 50 returns a year from now. Until then, The Nerdery will be one of five companies featured in the Fast 50 Diary, a monthly feature appearing the last Friday of each month in until December 2010. 

After Biz Journal’s Fast 50 event, the Nerdery crew continued to make savvy, strategic moves as they spilled out into the streets of Minneapolis in search of music and open microphones. Vice president of software development Tom O’Neill seemed to channel “The Gambler” himself when covering Kenny Rogers at Nye’s Polonaise Room, and was joined at U Otter Stop In by president Luke Bucklin in a spoken-word duet of “A Boy Named Sue” by Johnny Cash. Neither could be reached for comment today.

About Sierra Bravo and Nerdery Interactive Labs

A division of Sierra Bravo Corporation, Nerdery Interactive Labs (The Nerdery) partners with ad, design and marketing agencies nationwide to execute their clients’ web projects, including social media, mobile and Web 2.0 applications. We developed Fallon’s vision for Skimmer, a lifestreaming app pooling users’ social media content and winner of a 2009 Cannes Golden Lion. Also in 2009 we won the PhizzPop Design Challenge at SXSW Interactive by developing Zeus Jones’s Usemore idea, an application for living green. We created the  Overnight Website Challenge, a 24-hour community event pairing volunteer programmers with nonprofits to build better websites. During the first two years of our Overnight Website Challenge, volunteer web pros from the Nerdery and the web development community at large have donated more than 5,000 hours of professional services to 23 Minnesota nonprofits – with a street value of more than half-a-million dollars. Sierra Bravo is an Inc. 5000 company (2008 and 2009). The Nerdery is a real place near Minneapolis where more than 80 people draw little distinction between work and play.

Media Contact

Mark Malmberg
Communications Manager
Office: (952) 948.1211 x1069
Cell: (612) 850.3178