MeetMe #21 on Deloitte Fast 500, but I'd add an asterisk to that

Tom Paine

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New Hope-based MeetMe was ranked #21 nationally and #3 among Internet companies on the 2014 Deloitte Fast 500 (last year it was #3 overall), but although MeetMe is an impressive, growing company, as I explained last year its ranking by Deloitte is a bit misleading, though not intentionally so.

Deloitte's 2009-2013 growth rate for MeetMe reflects the addition of myYearbook's revenue to Quepasa's relatively tiny base after Quepasa (essentially little more than a public shell) technically acquired myYeabook in 2010 though myYearbook was the much larger company. The merged company was subsequently renamed MeetMe. So MeetMe being so high on the list is something of an aberration. Again, this is not a knock on MeetMe, which has performed well. It reported revenue of $11.6 million, up 15% from last year, and break even net income for the 3rd quarter 2014 as it continues to transition from desktop to mobile.

A Deloitte spokesperson confirmed by email last year that its methodology in the case of public companies is to take revenue from the public company's 10-K and doesn't distinguish between organic and inorganic growth.

The Philadelphia Business Journal shows what area companies made the Deloitte 2014 Fast 500.

Deloitte releases Fast 500: MeetMe #3?; Here are Philly area representatives

Tom Paine

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Deloitte recently released its Technology Fast 500 (pdf) for 2013. Prior to 2012, Deloitte had released Fast 50 rankings for major metro areas including Philadelphia, but switched last year to releasing just one Fast 500 covering North America.

New Hope-based MeetMe was ranked #3, with growth of 83,209% from 2008 to 2012. MeetMe has had impressive growth (it has declined this year due to the discontinuance of an unprofitable revenue stream and MeetMe has been transitioning from web to mobile advertising, though it has shown sequential growth each of the past two quarters). However, I think Deloitte's 2008-2012 growth rate for MeetMe reflects the addition of myYearbook's revenue to Quepasa's relatively small base after Quepasa (essentially a public shell) technically acquired myYeabook in 2010 though myYearbook was the much larger company. The merged company was subsequently renamed MeetMe. So MeetMe being so high on the list is something of an aberration.

A Deloitte spokesperson confirmed by email that its methodology in the case of public companies is to take revenue from the public company's 10-K and doesn't distinguish between organic and inorganic growth. It used a 2008 revenue base of $56,000 to calculate MeetMe's growth, but myYearbook had 2008 revenue in the $11 to $12 million range according to reports at the time. My only suggestion would be that Deloitte add asterisks with explanations in some cases.

Based on MeetMe's full year 2012 revenue of $46.7 million, a quadrupling since 2008 or growth of 300% would be more reasonable. That would rank about #300 on the Fast 500.

Note: I didn't write this as a knock on MeetMe, a company I admire and think has considerable potential. I just analytically saw a number that didn't make sense to me
and wanted to explain where it came from.

The other Philly area software/infotech companies on the Deloitte Fast 500 are:

#129 Centrak (Newtown)

#170 Universal Display (Ewing NJ)

#191 SevOne (Wilmington)

#201 InstaMed (Philadelphia)

#225 SkillSurvey (Wayne)

#235 iPipeline (Exton)

#260 Billtrust (Hamilton, NJ)

#345 QlikTech (Radnor)

#353 PHD Virtual (Philadelphia)

#373 Futura Mobility (Fort Washington)

#394 Halfpenny Technologies (Blue Bell)

#411 eMaint Enterprises (Marlton)

#430 EPAM Systems (Newtown)

#431 Beyond.com (King of Prussia)

#442 CRF Health (Plymouth Meeting)

#452 Education Management Solutions (Exton)

#483 Health Advocate (Plymouth Meeting)

Of course, several life sciences firms from the area also made the Deloitte rankings.