Inc. Magazine released their list of the top 5,000 fastest-growing private companies last week. Ranked 1,189 is The Tailgate Guys, founded by Auburn alumni.
The Green Space is covered in a sea of white tents on any Auburn game day, thanks to the hard work of The Tailgate Guys.
The Tailgate Guys set up and disassemble tailgating tents, leaving almost no work for Auburn fans after the football game.
"We have just loved how easy they have made it for us," said Anita Carter, Auburn tailgater.
Carter is a long time Auburn fan, but first time customer of The Tailgate Guys.
"We split the tent between 10 different families," Carter said. "We all have freshmen here at Auburn, and we knew this would be the best way for them to experience their first Auburn game as students."
There is an option to have your tailgate catered as well.
The Tailgate Guys have partnered with Tiger Dining and Chick-Fil-A to provide a wide selection of food for tailgaters.
After the game, The Tailgate Guys remove the tents and have the green space looking exactly how it was before.
"We don't have to do anything in terms of clean-up in The Tailgate Guys territory," said Bob Ritenbaugh, Auburn's associate vice president of auxiliary services, who has been on board with the company since the beginning. "That's one big area we don't have to worry about."
President and CEO Parker Duffey and his partner Michael Otwell said they are proud of their humble beginnings with the company.
"We started out our first year with Michael and I and six guys," Duffey said.
The Tailgate Guys started with an enclosed trailer, a borrowed landscape trailer and two pick-up trucks.
The team began in 2009 with only eight employees who set up 55 tents.
The company soon built their way up to an average of 250 tents per game with a full staff.
"If they had 50 more tents, they would sell them," Ritenbaugh said. "They can meet any request and they just keep growing and growing."
The company has recently begun to provide their services to the University of Florida and Texas A&M University.
Beginning this year, the company will also provide their services to Georgia Tech.
"We are trying things a little different with Georgia Tech," Duffey said. "We would like to solely manage them out of Auburn, since it's only an hour and a half away."
In the winter of 2013, the business continued to expand. The parent company, The Tailgate Guys, created The Event Group to provide year-round party and event rental needs.
The Event Group caters to weddings, on-campus events or anywhere a tent is needed.
"I am so grateful for everyone that I work with," Duffey said.
According to Duffey, everyone involved with The Tailgate Guys is important to the business.
"We wouldn't be where we were today if it wasn't for the hard work put in by everyone," Duffey said.
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