Seminole 100 features 42 businesses of college's alumni, including No. 1 on the list

The Seminole 100 is an annual list that recognizes the 100 fastest-growing businesses owned or led by Florida State University alumni.

Graduates of the College of Business boast 42 businesses in the 2024 Seminole 100, an update of an annual list that recognizes the 100 fastest-growing businesses owned or led by Florida State University alumni.

Business alumnus Sean Compton (BS Real Estate ’08) serves as owner and president of the fastest-growing business on the list, Southern Spear Properties, based in Chattanooga, Tenn. He also leads two additional companies that made this year’s Seminole 100: No. 16-ranked Tomahawk Crane & Rigging and No. 96-ranked Southern Spear Ironworks.

Business alumni joining Compton in the Top 10 are College of Business Board of Governors executive committee member Kevin Little (BS Accounting '92), co-founder and CEO of the No. 4-ranked company, Boca Raton-based Health Advocates Network; and Shena Simmons (BS Marketing and Finance ’07), founder and owner of the No. 8-ranked business, women’s clothing maker Stewart Simmons. 

Other Board of Governors members to make the list were James "Chef" Barlow (BS Marketing ’95) for Blue Air Training Corp. and Scott Price (BS Accounting ’97; MAcc '97) for A-LIGN.

The FSU Alumni Association celebrated honorees and their businesses during a Saturday dinner ceremony at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship served as presenting sponsor, and Mark Zeigler, a senior lecturer and the director of first-year experience programs in the College of Business, served as emcee.

The 2024 list includes 13 college-alumni businesses new to the Seminole 100.

“The number of our alumni on this impressive list and the remarkable performance of their businesses illustrate our college’s rich tradition of teaching business skills and leadership, inspiring innovation and producing graduates who, through grit and perseverance, thrive in anything they do,” said Michael Hartline, dean of the College of Business. “We congratulate all honorees for this significant achievement.”

See the complete list, including rankings, at Seminole100.fsu.edu.