Asheville may be renowned for its rich arts scene, but our startups are pretty phenomenal, too. Today we’re bringing you the second installment of our State of Startups series, which highlights 5 of the fastest-growing startups that are headquartered right here in the 828.

ProTip: CAGR stands for Compounded Annual Growth Rate, aka, the rate of how fast a company or revenue is growing.

The 6AM Team enjoys informative sessions together. I Photo courtesy of 6AM City.

6AM City

This digital media company — which happens to be our parent company — engages local communities through a hyper-local daily newsletter and provides readers with the most positive + relevant local news.

CAGR: 116.8%
Employees: 43
Founders: Ryan Johnston + Ryan Heafy
Fun fact: 6AM City has plans to more than double in size in 2021.

Anthroware

This team of web designers + developers takes manual systems and processes and digitizes them to make them easier to use.

CAGR: 49.5%
Employees: 13
Founders: Jon Jones + Jason Stewart
Fun fact: Anthroware has assisted clients in fields ranging from health care to education.

Elite HRV

Elite HRV (the “HRV” stands for Heart Rate Variability) develops biomarker sensors technology that read our nervous system and offer real time health insights.

CAGR: 89.0%
Employees: 15
Founders: Jason + Alyssa Moore and Vivec Menon
Fun fact: The company’s tech has been consumed by over 500,000 people in 100+ countries.

The LoLo team blazes trails outside the office with regular volunteering. I Photo courtesy of LoLo.

LoLo

To say thanks to clients, contacts + employees and also support small, independent bizzes, LoLo enrolls folks in a monthly program that delivers curated local gifts and experiences.

CAGR: 74.0%
Employees: 10
Founders: Clark Harris + Matthew Simpson
Fun fact: The company has delivered 4 million gifts since launching in 2012.

Each of Rockgeist’s 7 employees work to sew bikepacking gear. I Photo courtesy of Rockgeist.

Rockgeist Bikepack USA

Rockgeist creates custom bikepacking gear in-house. Its small batch wares include bags, map pockets, and more.

CAGR: 63.6%
Employees: 7
Founder: Greg Hardy
Fun fact: Rockgeist just doubled its manufacturing space.