Gator Nation News

The Gator Nation Is In Business

Thirteen of UF's 16 colleges and units were represented at this year's Gator100, which President Kent Fuchs said highlighted UF's widespread culture of entrepreneurship.

Since 2015, Gator100 has honored the 100 fastest-growing Gator-owned or -led businesses.

2022 standouts run the gamut, from construction firms and pharmaceutical companies to businesses serving aspiring musicians (that would be No. 17 honoree, Piano in 21 Days, founded by ’12 MBA recipient Jacques Hopkins) and the proud feline fanciers among us (No. 48, CatLadyBox, the brainchild of Dorian Wagner, an ’02 Journalism graduate).

With analytics assistance from Ernst & Young, the countdown from No. 100 to No. 1 recently took place in Gainesville.

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Jon and Ron Antevy, whose e-Builder made the Gator100 four times, were this year's Pinnacle Award winners.

The UF Alumni Association also presented the Gator100 S. Clark Butler Pinnacle Award to College of Design, Construction and Planning graduate Jon Antevy (BDES ’93, MSBC ’94) and Wertheim College of Engineering graduate Ron Antevy (BSCE ’91). The two brothers, who call Fort Lauderdale home, were the leaders of e-Builder, Inc., a four-time Gator100 company, before it was acquired by Trimble in 2018. Today, Jon is the co-founder of e-Builder, Inc. and Ron is the Managing Director and co-head of Trimble Ventures. The Pinnacle Award recognizes alumni who are established business leaders with demonstrated success in his/her industry who embody the spirit of entrepreneurship in action.

Meet this year’s Top 10 Gator100 businesses, and click here for the full list.

Dhvanit Patel (BSBC '98), owner of Onicx Group was named the No. 1 Gator100 company.

#1

Onicx Group
Dhvanit Patel (BSBC ’98)

Tampa
Onicx Group is a private real estate firm with core competencies in development, construction, investments, acquisitions, property management, tenant project management, brokerage and asset management. Their primary focus is health care real estate, multifamily and mixed-used projects. As an integrated company, they use their knowledge to build long-term strategic partnerships that focus on their understanding of the complex challenges their clients face; then, creating solutions that deliver results.

Three questions with Dhvanit Patel, president and CEO of No. 1 Onicx Group

Describe UF in one word.
“World-class”
Best speaker?
“Winston Churchill.”
Best advice you’ve ever received?
“Have no fear, never give up.”
#2

Bearbottom Clothing
Robert Felder (BSA ’16, BSBA ’16), Josh Firestone (BSADV ’18) and Megan Simon (BSBA ’16)

Clearwater
Bearbottom Clothing aims to be the go-to online men’s apparel brand for everyday comfort. The brand’s casual and activewear collections are designed with an emphasis on versatility, fit and value. Leveraging a buy-one-give-one model, Bearbottom has donated hundreds of thousands of children’s shorts and school meals to garment-producing regions in India and Bangladesh.

#3

Bryan Builders LLC
Scott Bryan (BSBC ’00) and Martin Foster (BSBC ’92)

Longwood
Founded in 2010, Bryan Builders, LLC is a National General Contracting firm primarily specializing in the Industrial/Commercial space, partnering with many well-known e-commerce and logistics clients on a national scale. Their growing team brings over 300 years of experience to the table for their clients. A proud Gator-owned business, they have six University of Florida DCP alumni on their team.

#4

Mid-Atlantic Dental Partners
Leigh Feenburg (BSHSE ’04)

Plymouth Meeting, PA
Mid-Atlantic Dental Partners is a growing national dental support organization founded on the principle that high-quality dental care requires a three-way partnership between the patient, the dentist and their support organization. They make up 230+ dental practices in Colorado, Texas, Pennsylvania, and 15 other states.

#5

MonsterInsights
Syed Balkhi (BA ’11)

West Palm Beach
MonsterInsights is the most popular Google Analytics plugin for WordPress. In 2016, Syed Balkhi acquired MonsterInsights and launched WPForms with a single goal: make analytics easy for beginners. MonsterInsights builds software that helps users get the stats that matter, so they can make data-driven decisions to grow their website and business.

Syed Balkhi (BA '11), owner of MonsterInsights and WPForms landed the number five and sixth spots on the Gator100.

#6

WPForms
Syed Balkhi (BA ’11)

West Palm Beach
WPForms is a user-friendly drag & drop form builder that helps users create attractive, responsive online forms for websites in minutes. It can be used to create contact forms, online surveys, polls, order forms, donation forms, and more. WPForms is currently being used on over 5 million websites.

Three questions with Top 10 (x 2!) winner Syed Balkhi

Best advice for graduating Gators?
“The greatest enemy of a good plan is a dream of a perfect plan. Don’t wait, keep on moving forward … slow and steady wins.”
Favorite activities outside of work?
“Traveling and playing basketball.”
Best book you’ve ever read?
“I've read so many, but I think for graduates the ones that’ll make the most impact are ‘Atomic Habits,’ by James Clear and ‘Psychology of Money,’ by Morgan Housel.”
#7

Davis Goldman PLLC
Aaron Davis (BS ’05, JD ’08) and Jason Goldman (BA ’06)

Miami
Davis Goldman serves the legal needs of leading national corporations and innovative small and medium-sized privately-owned businesses, start-ups and individuals. Their practice focuses on complex business and personal injury litigation, and outside general counsel services. Davis Goldman is known for its attorneys’ dynamic legal experience, for responsiveness to client concerns and for providing efficient and cost-effective legal representation, both inside and outside the courtroom.

#8

Peerfit
Ed Buckley (BSPR ’07, MPH ’11, PHD ’15)

Orlando
Peerfit is a digital fitness platform that gives employers, their employees, and Medicare Advantage members access to a variety of fitness studios, gyms, and digitally-streamed workouts, making wellness more accessible. Peerfit has set out to empower users to personalize their journey to wellness and to lead more active and healthier lives.

#9

Invisors
Keith Diego, BSBA ’90

Atlanta
Invisors is a Workday partner providing strategic consulting, system implementation and ongoing optimization. They believe the most important measure of their team’s success is their clients’ ability to achieve their big-picture vision. From initial deployments to ongoing projects, they are focused on elevating perspectives and transforming results.

Brian Lampp and Morgan Lampp recently acquired new property for their business in Newberry.

#10

Hypolita Co.
Morgan Lampp, BA ’08 and Brian Lampp, Alumnus

Newberry
Hypolita is an ecommerce-based wholesale and dropshipping company specializing in home decor and personalized gifts. It has become an online leader in design, production and fulfillment of custom merchandise that is quickly delivered to the consumer.

3 questions with Morgan Lampp, CEO, Hypolita Co.

Favorite UF professor?
“Elizabeth Dale, because it is a rare talent to make Constitutional History fun.”
Best book you’ve ever read?
“’Atomic Habits.’ It will challenge you no matter how many times you have read it.”
Favorite travel spot?
“St. Augustine Beach”

Gator100 Class of ’22 Fast Facts

  • $3,964,416,141: combined total revenue of the 2022 Gator100 class
  • 47: first-time companies on the list
  • 13: UF colleges represented by recipients
  • 75: Florida companies on this year’s list (Other top state headquarters include Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia.)
  • 29: honorees who hold two or more degrees from UF
  • 2006: the most represented UF class, with nine Gator leaders on the list
  • 1969: The earliest class year represented. That’s the year honoree Harley Miller, CEO of Miller Construction Company in Fort Lauderdale, graduated from the College of Design, Construction & Planning.
  • 2018: the most recent class year of an honoree. That’s Josh Firestone (BSADV ’18), Chief Marketing Officer of Bearbottom Clothing in Clearwater.
  • 8: number of years Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice, led by Dani McVety (BSA ’04, DVM ’09) and Mary Gardner (DVM ’08), has made the list. Lap of Love is the only honoree to make the Gator100 for all eight years.