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Aug. 30, 2008

Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Business finding sweet success

Just Like Sugar, other LV companies earn spot on Inc. 500 list

By JENNIFER ROBISON
REVIEW-JOURNAL

It started with a phone call from Whole Foods in 2004.

Officials with Las Vegas-based Just Like Sugar had just developed a natural sugar substitute
designed to look and cook like the real deal. They hadn't even marketed the product when a grocery
coordinator from Whole Foods in Florida called and ordered 100 cases of Just Like Sugar. Today, the
company's products line shelves in Whole Foods stores countrywide, and Just Like Sugar is reaping
the rewards. Its annual revenue gained more than 13,200 percent in three years, going from
$345,438 in 2004 to $46 million in 2007.

Now, the company's quick rise has drawn attention from a national publication.

Just Like Sugar joins seven other Nevada businesses on the Inc. 500, a list of the nation's 500
fastest-growing businesses based on revenue between 2004 and 2007. The roster, published in the
September edition of Inc. magazine, features Silver State companies in a wide range of industries,
from real estate and finance to security and printing.

Despite the state's ailing economy, Nevada fared well in the 2008 Inc. 500. The eight businesses on
this year's compilation doubled 2007's four Nevada-based Inc. 500 companies. And Nevada's Inc.
500 contingent grew faster by far than any other state's grouping; its average expansion rate of
4,690 percent handily beat out No. 2 New Jersey, where Inc. 500 businesses grew 2,545 percent on
average.

Mike Hofman, executive editor of Inc., said Nevada's slowing economy needn't spell doom for
companies. Businesses that produce an unusual good or service, for example, can put up brisk sales
even in harder times.

Innovation proved the path to success for Just Like Sugar.

Doctors asked the company's owners in 2003 to develop a sugar substitute sans artificial sweeteners
and man-made chemicals. The answer? A sugar replacement made from chicory root, calcium and
vitamin C, with orange peel for sweetness. It's a natural product that appeals to health-conscious
consumers leery of the warning labels slapped on some faux sugars, said Chief Executive Officer
Michael Sylver. Doctors refer the sweetener to patients, and Just Like Sugar execs plan to expand
the business in coming months with a brown-sugar substitute, cookbooks, chewing gum and a fiber
drink.

"It's a recession-proof product," Sylver said. "It's totally unique. You have doctors all over the
country and all over the world telling patients they need to get off sugar for their health."

Just Like Sugar isn't the only Nevada-based Inc. 500 member capitalizing on health issues.

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HealthDataInsights, an information-technology business that helps insurers, health plans and

Medicare recover claim overpayments, landed at No. 388 on the roster.

Other Inc. 500 businesses in Nevada were Group Gemstone, a Las Vegas condominium developer;
SellingSource, a Las Vegas company that provides marketing, technology and data services for
financiers of auto loans, cash advances and credit cards; Elko-based Modern Concrete, which makes
Ready-Mix concrete for residential and commercial customers; Sting Surveillance, a Henderson
security business; The Siegel Group, a Las Vegas redeveloper of apartment communities; and
commercial printer Abbott's Custom Printing of Las Vegas.

When they're not scoring thanks to one-of-a-kind products, Inc. 500 businesses find prosperity
through "superior execution of a familiar idea," or by seeking out a business model that countervails
economic trends, Hofman said.

For new and improved execution of old ideas, take Sting Surveillance. The company provides
customized surveillance systems to businesses and homeowners. Sounds straightforward, right? A
camera, a video recorder, some monitors. But Sting carved a special niche through regularly
updating its technology. Company officials have worked with a software developer for six years,
constantly adding new functions to its digital video recorders.

"We identified an industry that hadn't changed the technology in three decades," said President
Jonathan Fine. "A lot of new technologies were being introduced in the industry, and the companies
that had been in business for 15 years, 30 years or 50 years were not adopting those technologies.
We came in and provided the technology. We literally never said, 'no.' "

At SellingSource, economic downturns play into the company's business plan.

SellingSource -- the only Nevada company from 2007's Inc. 500 to make the 2008 roster --
operates credit-reporting functions and provides software for banks that provide cash advances,
credit cards and installment loans. Today's tighter financial markets mean fewer conventional
funding options for consumers, and rising unemployment and falling home values make it tougher
for people to stay ahead of their bills. Thus the rising demand for small, short-term loans such as
cash advances.

"Our business thrives in soft and strong economies because there's always a group of people living
on the financial edge," said Derek LaFavor, chief executive officer of SellingSource. "But when the
economy turns, that market increases, and it's a boon to our lenders. We have the tools and
strategies to identify consumers and get them to lenders."

Entrepreneurs also thrive in hard times when they position themselves as low-cost providers looking
to steal business from established competitors, Hofman said.

"They say, 'We're mean, we're lean and we're aggressive, and if you're used to paying a certain
amount for this service, we can save you 10 percent to 15 percent,' " Hofman said. "They feed off
negative trends in the economy."

Today's business climate offers plenty of negative trends to exploit. Taxable sales in Nevada fell 6
percent in June when compared with the same month in 2007. Visitor volume in June dropped 3.1
percent compared with June 2007, and the median resale home sold for 23.9 percent less in July
than it did a year earlier.

Still, Nevada posted more growth in the Inc. 500 than any other state. On top of its nation-leading
average expansion rate, the Silver State also boasts the only city -- Las Vegas -- with two
companies in the top 10.

Hofman credited sustained business growth in Nevada to nonstop ferment among the state's
businesses. Regions with higher-than-average bankruptcy rates typically enjoy greater startup
activity as well, he said.

"Economic churn is painful," Hofman said. "It's not as pleasant to live through as a period of

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stability. But stability can also be paralyzing. One thing about Nevada, it's a really dynamic place.
You may have companies going out of business, but you also have new companies that are small and
nimble and creative starting up and taking on entrenched interests. They're looking for better ways
to do things, and they can grow very fast."

It'll be interesting to see what happens to the Inc. 500 next year, when 2008's economic torpor
factors into earnings, Hofman said. It's conceivable that local companies, especially operations
related to the real estate sector, will post less-impressive revenue increases. But if the Inc. 500
offers one message, it's that opportunities always exist for entrepreneurs willing to rethink
traditional business models.

"Even in trying times," said Hofman, "you can have great economic success at the company level."

Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512.

LAS VEGAS BUSINESSES MAKE 500 CLUB

Inc. magazine's list of the nation's 500 fastest-growing businesses spotlights eight Nevada businesses:

Business City Rank Growth 2007 Revenue

GroupGemstone Las Vegas 5 15,465.1% $114.2 million

Just Like Sugar Las Vegas 6 13,212.7% $46 million

SellingSource Las Vegas 68 2,494.0% $129.7 million

Modern Concrete Elko 106 1,868.0% $7 million

Sting Surveillance Henderson 116 1,754.3% $9.8 million

The Siegel Group Las Vegas 209 1,202.6% $111 million

HealthDataInsights Las Vegas 388 782.9% $32.6 million

Abbott's Custom Printing Las Vegas 418 743.4% $2.8 million

*Revenue growth, 2004-2007

Source: Inc. magazine

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