'Team Sport'

The first assignment Mellisa Allen took on at Tervis in 2008 was to update the number of employees listed on the “about us” section on the firm's website to 200.

Allen's title at the Venice-based insulated drinkware firm back then was e-commerce marketing manager. She was a department of one. Six years later, Allen oversees a technology department of 20 people at Tervis, which has since exploded to around 900 employees.

That rocket-like growth, not only in payroll, but in sales and national branding presence, has turned Tervis into the rare gazelle of the Sarasota-Bradenton business community. The firm no longer discloses annual revenues, but in 2011, when it had 425 employees, sales were around $100 million, up from $75 million in 2010.