Not long ago, Scott Everett, the founder of Dallas-based real estate firm S2 Capital, was on government assistance and waiting tables to support his family. He was also teaching himself the real estate business, and trying a number of different ideas before hitting on a business model that worked: investing in distressed or underperforming apartment complexes. He founded S2 in 2012 and completed just one deal, but his volume would soon begin to increase rapidly. To date, the company has acquired roughly 17,000 units at around $1.6 billion in portfolio value, and has averaged better than 40 percent returns for its investors. 

As S2's deals have increased, so has its revenue. The 250-employee company made the Inc. 500 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. the past two years. It generated $89.5 million in 2017, and Everett says the company is on track for $160 million this year. Everett, who has never raised funding from outside sources and retains 100 percent ownership of S2, now has his eye on new territories. The company has recently invested in properties in Florida, and plans to expand to Arizona and Nevada soon. --Doug Cantor