UCF Ever Upward
Fastest Growing Knight Businesses

Inspired by the spirit of our alma mater, Ever Upward celebrates not only where we came from, but where we’re headed. This annual competition recognizes and celebrates the success of the fastest-growing Knight-owned or led businesses around the world.

Congratulations to our Inaugural Ever Upward Top 25 Winners

Exposure gallery with photos and company biographies of the 2026 Ever Upward finalists

Event photo gallery highlighting our inaugural awards program and reception

Orange Tree Staffing logo: orange circular tree emblem on the left with cyan text on the right reading ORANGE TREE STAFFING

4. Orange Tree Staffing

Mardly R. Smith ’95

Craig Smith ’94

Brand logo: navy square mark on the left with a mint-green stylized wordmark to the right.

5. Quadrant Engineering, P.C.

Rafiqul Chowdhury ’09 ’11MS

Island Direct Primary Care logo: teal 'ISLAND' text with orange 'DIRECT PRIMARY CARE', palm trees and a blue house with a cross on a sandy island under an orange arc.

6. Island Direct Primary Care

John W. Rothwell III ’13 ’15MS ’18DNP

Logo with overlapping light and dark blue geometric shapes forming a mountain emblem.

7. Martin Aquatic Design and Engineering

Josh Martin ’07

Maymont Senior Care logo with a purple wordmark and a blue lighthouse icon above the light-blue 'Senior Care' text

8. Maymont Senior Care

Nicole R. Blake-Little ’15

Logo for Boys Electrical Contractors with a yellow lightning bolt, navy text, and the slogan 'Powering the Way'.

9. Boys Electrical Contractors

Kyle A. Nylander ’02 ’09

Logo featuring a rust-colored abstract mark on the left and a gray wordmark on the right.

10. Brewlando

Shara Sooknarine Pathak ’04

11. Qu5 Services, Inc.

Zachary P. Quandt ’84

Logo for I'm All Ears Audiology featuring a stylized ear, a microphone, and blue/red waves with the slogan 'Better hearing. Better living.'

12. I'm All Ears

Shelby J. Roemer ’08, PhD

Logo with a maroon wordmark and a gold diamond-shaped emblem in the center.

13. Strategos Group

Adam J. Giery ’08 ’11MA

14. CJS Communications

Christopher M. Slaven ’13

Alexander N. Fackler Sr. ’11

15. Space Coast Pool School

Lauren Broom ’00

16. Buckalew Hospitality

David “Skee” Buckalew ’05

Knight Federal Solutions logo with red shield emblem and gray wordmark, tagline: "Armored in excellence. Driven by results."

17. Knight Federal Solutions

Chris Baeten ’03

Boston Data Pro logo with a blue globe of connected nodes and the tagline Data Analytics Cloud AI Tech Staffing.

18. Boston Data Pro, LLC

Rajeev Verma ’04MSEE

McGinniss Himmel Insurance Agency logo with a red shield, house icon, and the company name.”] ,

19. McGinniss Himmel Insurance Agency

Allen T. McGinniss ’05

Logo with gold MG initials on a dark navy background.

20. Threaded Marketing Group

Kelly Jo Jefferis ’04

Blue square icon beside a dark blue wordmark logo.

21. Garney Construction

Matthew W. Reaves ’05

22. aVenue Event Group

Sean P. Hughes Jr. ’10

Logo for S COOK Productions, LLC featuring a blue 'S', red 'COOK', a stylized clapperboard above, and 'PRODUCTIONS, LLC' beneath.

23. S Cook Productions, LLC

Stacey L. Cook ’99

Blue logo centered on a black header bar.

24. Global Ktech

Kannan Srinivasan ’96MS

Kayako brand logo with a red swoosh and gray wordmark

25. Kavaliro

Mark Moore ’99

John Mahony ’96

Diane Mahony ’96 ’01Med

Bill Peppler ’96

About Ever Upward

Introducing Ever Upward, a NEW signature event from UCF Alumni!

Inspired by the spirit of our alma mater, Ever Upward celebrates not only where we came from, but where we’re headed. This annual competition will recognize and celebrate the success of the fastest-growing Knight-owned or led businesses around the world.

Nominated companies will be ranked by percentage of cumulative annual growth in revenue for the company’s 12-month reporting periods of 2022, 2023, 2024 . The top companies with the highest revenue growth rates, as tabulated by the official tabulation firm, will be selected for Ever Upward and honored at an event on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026 . Your completed and signed application must be received no later than the close of business on Thursday, March 26, 2026. Applications received after this time will not be considered.

2027 Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for Ever Upward: Fastest Growing Knight Businesses, companies must meet the following criteria:

Company must have been in operation from at least January 2023 to present.
Company must have verifiable revenues of at least $100,000 in both 2023 and 2024 and a minimum of $250,000 in 2025.
Company must be owned or led by a UCF Knight who meets one of the following:
- Must own 20% or more of the company during the eligible period.
  - OR
- Must serve as the company’s chief executive (e.g. chairman, CEO, president or managing partner) during the eligible period.
  - OR
- Must have founded the company and been an active member of the most senior management team during the eligible period.

2027 Event Timeline

December 2026 | Applications open

February 2027 | Applications close

May 2027 | Recipients notified

August 2027 | Awards program and reception

2027 Application Process

Applications for 2027 will open in December.

Download the application
Complete and sign application.
Compile financial statements or tax return information to support revenue figures for these three 12-month reporting years: 2022, 2023, 2024.
Send all materials via email to Jennifer Christensen ’99MA at ucfeverupward@CRIadv.com

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can apply?