WASHINGTON – VisaHQ, an online travel document service has been named to INC’s list of the fastest growing companies in the United States.

The firm ranked 2,645 in the list of 5,000 featured in Inc.’s September print and online editions.   In the category of travel industry, VisaHQ ranked in the top 20 and number 1 in the D.C. metro area.

VisaHQ provides online applications for travelers seeking to obtain, renew or replace visas and passports. Over the three-year period from 2007 to 2010, the firm experienced an 87 percent increase in revenue, from $2.1 to $3.8 million.

“This is a real accomplishment,” said VisaHQ president Oleg Naydonov. “And it means a second wind for us. It’s a new energy cycle for us.” VisaHQ was founded in 2003 by Naydonov and Alexander Yaroshenko, another 36-year-old native of Ukraine who is the company’s CEO.

Naydonov attributes much of VisaHQ’s success to its staff of 35, five of whom have been with him from the beginning. Like the founders, many of the employees are foreign nationals with personal experience in clearing bureaucratic obstacles to traveling and living abroad. An example: VisaHQ’s director of operations once parked cars at a lot adjacent to the company’s office on Embassy Row. 

“We owe our growth to the hard work and dedication of the employees of VisaHQ.” Naydonov said.

VisaHQ offers its services through U.S., Canadian, United Kingdom and Ukrainian websites, as well as through large travel booking portals, corporations and travel agents.  The firm has offices in Ottawa, London, Washington D.C. and Kiev and plans on opening more shortly.

“Everyone should love what they do,” Naydonov said. “We have a unique, unconventional culture. We don’t have a hierarchy. It works like a democracy.”

“I went through every position in this company, so I know what it takes to do every job,” he added. “I think this is a key element.”

About the owners:
Naydonov has a master’s degree in business administration at Johns Hopkins University.  Yaroshenko has a bachelor’s degree from King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Penn.