15 High-Flying Ventures That Put Asheville’s Startup Scene on the Map in 2015

Happenings

Looking back over the past year or so, we’ve identified some of the top performers in Asheville’s emerging startup scene:

  1. FLS Energy – Two-time Inc. 500 company and an industry leader in megawatt solar farms, explosive growth from $8M revenue in 2009 to $150 Million last year
  2. DoctorDirectory.com – WNC’s largest tech deal in history, acquired for $65 Million by Everyday Health
  3. Theraworx – Life science startup that raised over $7M in funding at a company valuation of $122 Million; grew revenue by over 450% last year, and has expanded into national and international markets
  4. Plum Print – Raised a $1M seed round and won the IBM SmartCamp Raleigh pitch competition, also featured on The Today Show, CNBC, and TechCrunch
  5. Lab Escape – Tech startup acquired by Boston-based Teikametrics
  6. Buchi Kombucha – Won Fast Company’s “Drive Your Business Forward” contest and spotlighted by American Express, currently building a national brand
  7. Asheville Angels – A startup of its own, funded 6 startups in the Carolinas, including over $100K in Plum Print, and grew to 50 members in its first year
  8. Wicked Weed Brewing – A top 100 brewery in the world by RateBeer.com, first ever southeast brewery to win a GABF medal for an IPA and also renowned for its sour beers; expanded with a 3rd location
  9. ENO – World leading distributor of packable hammocks
  10. Hi-Wire Brewing – Named NC’s best new brewery by Ratebeer.com and Asheville’s Entrepreneur of the Year, opened a 2nd location to ramp production up to 50,000 barrels a year (equivalent to Highland)
  11. Mother Earth Produce – Won Daymond John’s vote (a regular on Shark Tank) in Atlanta to advance to the national #TaptheFuture pitch competition
  12. In Blue Handmade – Winner of the 2015 FedEx Small Business Grant contest
  13. GoWorx – One of a dozen semi-finalists chosen from 400 startups to compete in the Kauffman Foundation’s first-ever national One in a Million pitch competition
  14. Cloud for Good – Inc. 500 tech company with 3-year sales growth of 1,100%, relocated to AVL this year
  15. RISC Networks – Won multiple cloud/tech industry awards, named a tech partner with Amazon Web Services

See more #madeinAVL startups highlighted in our Venture Profiles.

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