To make the Five to Watch, companies had to demonstrate high sales growth between 2017 and 2019 and generate more than $1 million in revenue annually. The Five Companies to Watch are businesses that have not generated the revenue, yet, to make the Private 100 but whose sales are skyrocketing. Here is one of those companies:
Foundation Armor
Three-Year Avg. Growth: 70.3%
Headquarters: 3 Howe Drive, Suite 2, Amherst, NH 03031
Product/Service: Manufacturer of concrete sealers and coatings
President: Tanya Schifone
Founded: 2012
Total Number of Employees: 13
Website: foundationarmor.com
It should come as little surprise that the couple behind Foundation Armor would have one of the most successful small companies in the state. This is the fourth company Tanya Schifone, president of Foundation Armor, and her husband, Eric Schifone, senior manager, have started. The concrete sealers and coatings company landed on the Inc. 5000 list this year and was the fastest growing company on Business NH Magazine’s annual list of Top Women-Led Businesses in NH.
Eric previously developed patents for men’s underwear as well as for a database with live video feed, both of which he sold. The couple also had a website development and marketing firm. Then, in 2012, the couple went back to Eric’s roots as a third generation “concrete guy.” Tanya says, “He’s been mixing concrete since he was 12.”
They saw a “big gap” in the market for a high-quality sealer, so they worked with a chemist to formulate an industrial-grade concrete sealer for residential use, Tanya says. From there, the company developed another 25 products.
Tanya says what differentiates them is their customer service. While they could have sold their products in big-box chains, Tanya says they prefer to control distribution and educate consumers via phone or live chat.
“We work with them so they can understand how it’s going to perform, how long it will last and what the sealer can do and what it can’t,” she says.
The family-owned business has doubled revenue annually for the past four years and expanded to 13 employees. And, despite the pandemic, sales have almost doubled.
“We were actually very blessed. We were planning for the worst and hoping for the best. People were home and doing more home projects,” says Tanya.
(Pictured: Eric Schifone, senior manager and Tanya Schifone, president)