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Program Details

The Globe and Mail’s annual ranking of the country's boldest entrepreneurial businesses is back for a sixth year.

The 2023 list of winners can be found here.

Overview

The Report on Business ranking of Canada’s Top Growing Companies ranks qualifying independent Canadian companies by the percentage of their revenue growth over three years.

For the 2024 ranking, growth rates will be calculated from the fiscal 2023 and 2020 revenues of participating companies or, in some instances, fiscal 2024 and 2021. Participation is voluntary.

The application deadline is May 24, 2024.

Winning companies will receive many benefits, including:

  • Editorial coverage in the October issue of Report on Business magazine and online at globeandmail.com, providing invaluable exposure to the large and influential audience of The Globe and Mail and Report on Business readers;
  • Opportunity to license use of the exclusive Canada’s Top Growing Companies seal, promoting your business as a supplier, partner and employer of choice;
  • Invitations to the exclusive Growth Camp event, which is built specifically for growth-minded entrepreneurial leaders.

Why Participate?

Top Growing Company winners see many benefits to participating in the program from giving their brands a boost to finding new talent.

What Top Growing Company winners say are the benefits of the program

  • 86% say the ranking gave their company a trusted endorsement
  • 82% say it improved the perception of their company
  • 80% say it elevated the stature of their company
  • 55% say it helped them attract new employees

Source: Globe Internal Research. Online Survey. December 2022

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for the 2023 ranking, a company must:

Complete the application process

  • Step one: Complete the full application process. Eligible applicants—as determined by the online entry form—will be asked to complete the full application survey, which asks more specific questions about the company and its leadership.
  • Step two: Submit financial statements to verify revenue claims

Be Canadian

  • Eligible companies must be headquartered in Canada with significant operations in Canada.
  • Eligible companies must have Canadian ownership, defined as follows:
    1. If the company is privately held by individuals, the majority ownership must be held by Canadians.
    2. If the company is privately held by a mix of individuals and investment funds or groups (e.g. pension or venture-capital funds or angel investor syndicates), a substantial percentage of shares must be held by Canadian residents or Canadian-based funds.
    3. If the company is publicly traded and widely held, its eligibility will be at the discretion of Report on Business.

Be independent and for-profit

  • Eligible companies must not be a division or subsidiary of another company, unless that company is a holding company only.
  • Eligible companies must operate at an arm’s length from any related companies.
  • Eligible companies must not be a franchisee or the member of a network (e.g. a co-operative).
  • Eligible companies must not be a charitable organization, non-governmental organization, not-for-profit organization, etc.

Be an operating company, or a holding company that has a substantial degree of management control over its holdings

  • Eligible companies must not be entities whose primary business is investing in other established companies.

Have been in continuous operation and in the same line of business throughout the revenue measurement period. (For the 2024 ranking, that means 2020 through 2023.)

Have minimum operating revenue of $2 million in its most recent fiscal year and $200,000 in the same period three years prior. For example, in 2024, an eligible company would have 2023 revenue of at least $2 million and 2020 revenue of at least $200,000.

Be operating in good standing. We reserve the right to disqualify any businesses undergoing criminal or regulatory investigation, or any other other public complaint, that might discredit the Canada's Top Growing Companies ranking or The Globe and Mail, at our sole discretion.

Ranking Methodology

The Report on Business ranking of Canada’s Top Growing Companies ranks companies on the basis of three-year percentage growth of annual operating revenue. The formula for 2024 is:

  • (2023 revenue – 2020 revenue) / 2020 revenue * 100 = % revenue growth

The above formula assumes that:

  • Each revenue period in the calculation reflects 12 months of continuous operations;
  • The revenue periods are three years (36 months) apart;
  • The revenue figures are in the same currency;
  • The company’s base-year (e.g., 2020) revenues exceed or have been adjusted to meet the minimum eligibility requirement of $200,000.

To ensure a level playing field for participating companies, reported revenues are subject to adjustment at the discretion of Report on Business. For example, if a reported fiscal year is not 12 months in length, or the two fiscal years used in the calculation are not three years apart, then an equitable measurement might be achieved by any or all of:

  • Pro-rating the revenue of a reported period;
  • Including revenue from months adjacent to the reporting period;
  • Time-shifting of the periods used in the final calculation.

Canadian currency is the default for determining revenue growth. Where a company reports in a foreign currency in both years, the growth rate will be determined using the figures supplied, without any adjustment. Where the company reports in Canadian dollars in only one of the two years measured, the revenue for the other year will be converted to Canadian dollars using the average Bank of Canada exchange rate for the period.

Revenues for each period must be drawn from the same eligible company. Adjustments may be required of companies involved in mergers, acquisitions and the like, particularly when those transactions took place in or around the base year of the calculation. (For instance, if a shell company acquires an operating company in the base year, then the reported revenues for the base year should be those of the operating company.)

If a company reports base-year revenue below the minimum for eligibility ($200,000), its growth rate will be calculated using the minimum. For instance, a company with actual revenue of $75,000 in 2020 and $10 million in 2023 would have an unadjusted growth rate of 13,233%. Post-adjustment, its growth rate would be 4,900%. The post-adjustment calculation would determine the company’s ranking.

Company revenues must be reported according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). For most companies, the eligible revenue equals the “gross revenue” at the top of their income statement (P&L). However, the “real” revenue of many companies is their net revenue, e.g. after returns or costs of goods sold. Agencies, resellers and publishers are among the types of business to which such adjustments might apply.

Report on Business reserves the right to disqualify applicant companies believed to be ineligible and/or engaged in illegal or disreputable activity, at any time and at the sole discretion of Report on Business.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between the online entry form and the full application survey?

The entry form is how your company declares its candidacy for the ranking. The full application survey—sent to all eligible companies that submit an online entry form—is used to further verify your company’s eligibility, learn more about your growth and gather key information used in assessing your candidacy. Both forms are digital.

How long and detailed is the full application survey?

It’s designed to be short and easy to complete. The application form collects the following:

  • Contact information for the company and key individuals involved in the Canada’s Top Growing Companies ranking process;
  • Basic operational data (e.g. employee counts);
  • Information required to determine the company’s eligibility and growth rate;
  • A basic description of what the company does;
  • In brief, what makes the company successful and noteworthy.

Is there any cost to participate?

No. There is no cost to participate in the application, nor to earn a spot on the ranking.

What financial details provided by my company during the application process will be published by Report on Business?

To protect the interests of privately held companies that apply for the ranking, the only financial information gathered during the application or revenue verification process that is subject to publication is the company’s:

  • Three-year growth rate, and
  • Revenue range for the most recent fiscal year (e.g. $10M - $25M)

Report on Business will not publish any revenue information for the base year of the calculation, nor any information related to the profitability of the company, if that company is privately held. Publicly traded companies may be treated in largely the same way, although the public availability of most of this financial information precludes the need for confidentiality.

Should my company report its gross revenue?

Generally, yes, but please see the above ranking methodology for more detail.

My company reports in US dollars. Should I convert the revenue figures to Canadian dollars?

No. If US dollars were reported in both years, no adjustments will be made. If US dollars were reported in only one of the two years, then Report on Business researchers will make the necessary adjustment, as per the above ranking methodology.

What kind of revenue verification is required?

Companies (whether privately held or publicly traded) are asked to submit their income statements (P&L) for the measured periods. Balance sheets and statements of cash flows are not required. Audited statements are preferred but are not required. However, statements must be final and officially recognized by the company. Report on Business researchers may require your company’s chief executive and/or finance head to sign an attestation form confirming the veracity of the statements.

What are the minimum and maximum revenue requirements for eligibility?

There is no maximum. The minimum is $2 million in the most recent fiscal year used in the three-year growth calculation, and $200,000 in the base year (i.e. the period three years prior). In 2024, the years used will be 2023 and 2020.

What are the minimum and maximum age requirements for eligibility?

There is no maximum. As for the minimum, companies must have been in operation long enough to show three years of growth: a base year followed, generally, by three more years (for four years in total). However, Report on Business will consider for inclusion, on a case-by-case basis, companies that complete their fourth year in business within three months of the posted application deadline of May 24. For 2024, that means companies must have been founded and generating operating revenue before August 31, 2020 in order to be eligible.

When and where will the ranking be published?

The ranking and additional coverage of Report on Business’s 2024 Canada’s Top Growing Companies program will be published in September 2024 online at tagm.ca/TopGrowing and in print in the October issue of Report on Business magazine.

What are the terms and conditions?

You can read them here.

I still have questions. Who can I contact?

Please contact the Canada’s Top Growing Companies research team at TopGrowing@globeandmail.com.

Growth Camp

Each year in October, The Globe and Mail hosts Growth Camp, an exclusive event for the leaders of the Top Growing Companies.

This in-person event features panels, round-table discussions and more for winners to make powerful connections, share winning strategies and celebrate success.

For event details, including sponsorship opportunities, contact marketing@globeandmail.com

Canada’s Top Growing Companies - Application

The application period is now open for the 2024 Canada's Top Growing Companies ranking.