Rosetta Stone Named To Inc. 500
HARRISONBURG— Rosetta Stone Inc. is among the 500 fastest growing companies in the United States, according to a new report in Inc. magazine.
The holding company of Fairfield Language Technologies is No. 431 on the Inc. 500, featured in the magazine’s September issue.
While Inc. has been ranking privately owned companies by three-year revenue growth for 25 years, this year’s ranking is Rosetta Stone’s debut on the list.
"It’s a huge deal," said Rosetta Stone President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Adams. "The most exciting companies have been on the Inc. 500."
Founded in 1992, Rosetta Stone produces and markets language-learning programs for 30 languages that are used in 150 countries throughout the world. The company posted 2005 sales of $48.4 million, a three-year growth rate of 341 percent, according to the Inc. profile.
Rosetta Growth
Earlier this year, two private equity firms, ABS Capital Partners and Norwest Equity Partners, acquired a majority share of Rosetta Stone.
No decision has been made on taking Rosetta Stone public; however, the company has built a professional board of directors, Adams said.
"The company is doing extremely well, and we have to consider all the alternatives we have," Adams said. "We have three first-rate directors on the board now."
The board includes John Coleman, former president and chief operating officer of Bose Corp.; Laurence Franklin, president and chief executive officer of Tumi Inc.; and Patrick Gross, chairman of The Lovell Group.
Rosetta Stone’s growth is no secret.
For two consecutive years, accounting giant Deloitte and Touche has listed the company among Virginia’s 50 fastest growing technology firms.
The company employs 580 people and has facilities in Harrisonburg, Fairfax and London, with plans to open a Tokyo office this year, Adams said.
In September 2005, Rosetta Stone landed a $4.2 million deal with the U.S. Army to make its courses available online to every soldier. Among Rosetta Stone’s languages are Arabic and Pashto, which troops encounter in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The company also is aggressive in the consumer, corporate and education markets.
"We try to reach language learners, and we’re agnostic as to where they are," Adams said.
Adams, a native of Sweden who grew up in England and France, speaks four languages. He is one of 55 of this year’s Inc. 500 CEOs who were born outside the United States.
Other programs under development include Seminole, Mohawk and the language of the Inupiat people of Alaska’s north and northwest regions, although these programs are more in the realm of language preservation, Adams said.
The company’s language library uses interactive technology to duplicate the way children learn their native languages. Company founder John Fairfield developed the method, called dynamic immersion.
Contact Dan Wright at 574-6293 or dwright@dnronline.com