As I reviewed the finalists for Insight’s 2025 Fastest Growing Companies awards, the size discrepancy of the companies stuck out to me — our largest ranked company, Faith Technologies Incorporated (FTI), has 4,600 employees, and our two smallest, RISE Leadership and Guardian Risk Solutions, each have four.
It reminded me of a conversation I had last year with Element President Nikki Peroutka, who reflected on what growth meant to the marketing agency.
“I’ve really detached the idea of growth and success being determined by the size of our business,” she said. “It’s about the quality of the people, both from our client side and the people who we employ.”
As Peroutka points out, growth isn’t just about a business’ number of employees or revenue — although that’s traditionally how it’s measured. Growth can be found in community impact, customer retention, revenue diversification, increased talent attraction, you name it. While we are honoring our 2025 Fastest Growing Companies based on revenue growth over a three-year period, that’s only one part of their much larger success stories. Turn to page 27 to learn more about this year’s honorees.
Our cover subject, Dr. Tina Sauerhammer, knows all about the evolving nature of growth. She started her medical career with a focus on pediatrics, but today is one of Northeast Wisconsin’s only female plastic surgeons. This summer, she opened Wisconsin Institute of Plastic Surgery’s new Appleton location, complete with a surgery center — something others told her she was crazy for attempting. Now, her all-female team of 15 is providing cosmetic and reconstructive surgery as well as dermatology services in the luxury setting of Tina’s dreams. Read more on page 20.
Tina never intended to start a business, but she realized along the way it was the path to truly growing her medical practice on her terms. I think the moral of the story is whether you are working toward your dream position within a corporation or striking out on your own, whether you have four employees or 4,000, growth is achievable and worth celebrating.
As we close out 2025, I hope you take the opportunity to reflect on what worked this year — and maybe a little of what didn’t — and dream of ways to stretch in the new year.
Cheers to growth in 2026, however that looks for you.
