Loan Toolbox Westlake Village No. 10 Fastest Growing Company Overall (39.9%) David Fournier was hired at Loan Toolbox to grow the company and he hasn’t disappointed. As the mortgage industry enters a downturn primarily through defaults on sub-prime loans, the Westlake Village-based company will rely on Fournier and the staff to work hard and come up with ways to continue to make its products valuable. Loan Toolbox has more than 11,000 subscribers from among independent loan officers working from their homes and those employed by large mortgage lenders. Its web-based services teach loan officers how to better market themselves, develop leads, and the differences between the home loans made available by lenders. Getting that relevant information out to its subscriber base has been the key to the company’s growth. Between 2005 and 2006, revenues shot up 39.9 percent at Loan Toolbox, putting the company at number 10 on the Business Journal’s fastest growing private companies list. In addition, Loan Toolbox landed in the No. 428 spot on Inc. magazine’s list with 2006 revenues of $14.5 million, a 671 percent increase over the $1.9 million in revenues for 2003. Fournier’s background is in guiding rapid growth companies and scaling them so that the growth doesn’t become too burdensome. He joined Loan Toolbox in 2005 first as chief operating officer for the company, and nine months later he was elevated to CEO, replacing founder Tim Braheem, who became chief creative officer. There was already a plan in place for how the company would grow prior to Fournier came to the company and he has refined that plan since. “We didn’t wait and react,” Fournier said. “As the opportunity and the need arose we already knew what we needed to do and we were able to execute it.” Part of the company’s strategic plan for the coming year is taking LoanToolbox’s technology and services and transferring it to other industries, such as insurance, certified financial planning, and real estate. The company is also in a hiring mode, looking to fill up its new offices and add to the 100 employees it currently has. Another growth strategy is acquiring other companies.