Guardian Roofing, an Auburn, Wash.-based roofing contractor, has made the Puget Sound region’s ‘Midmarket Fast 50,’ a rankings list compiled by the Puget Sound Business Journal of high-performing middle-market companies within the Seattle-Tacoma-Puget Sound region. 

In a company news release on July 26, Guardian said its principal, Collin Hathaway, was also honored by the PSBJ for his leadership within the middle market. 

“To be recognized by the Puget Sound Business Journal, the trusted leader in covering business news and updates for the region, is quite the honor and not to be taken lightly,” said Hathaway. “Guardian’s continued growth can absolutely be attributed to our collective commitment to the people serve within the community while remaining loyal and fair to our internal team year after year as we scale up.” 

“Take care of your team, take care of your customer, and the money will inevitably work itself out.”  

Guardian, founded in 2005 by Matt and Lori Swanson, said it operates with the motto “…every client is a client for life.” In December 2016, Hathaway joined the company as an owner-investor and helped lead the company to record growth. 

When asked about what small businesses who want to scale up to the middle market can learn from his experience, Hathaway said, “In most businesses, the two most important elements of scaling are: (a) the end goal and (b) the people.”

Hathaway added that evaluating and improving talent can be difficult but is the fastest way to change growth trajectory. “It’s also been important for us to hire folks who’ve seen what good or big looks like, so they can help us learn faster and avoid some of the common issues associated with growth,” he added.

The Washington State Middle Market companies are ranked by Midmarket Fast 50. The middle market-weighted score considers the percent change in revenue between 2020 and 2022 and the actual value difference in revenue during the same period. This score is meant to mitigate the difference between revenue growth at smaller and larger companies within the middle market.

The Harvard Business Review noted that if the middle market were a country, it would be the fifth-largest economy in the world. HBR called the sector "stressed but resilient" coming out of the pandemic, compared with smaller and larger businesses. 

“Needless to say, we are so optimistic about the business growth we have experienced and look forward to continuing the trend into 2024,” Lori Swanson, Guardian’s CEO, said.

For more information, visit guardianhome.com.