On downtown Lawrence’s Massachusetts Street, a business named Mass Metal LLC could be almost anything. A sword shop. (Remember when we had one of those?) An aluminum recycling business specializing in beer cans that have rolled down Mount Oread. Or even a tribute store for Motley Crue, KISS, AC/DC and other heavy metal bands that fill my cassette case.

But before you get your Gene Simmons makeup kit out, take a look at the website of the respected business magazine Inc.com. You’ll find Mass Metal LLC is actually the 618th fastest growing private company in the country and the only Lawrence-based firm to land on the Inc. 5000 list.

The eight-person firm is based in second-floor office space at 706 Massachusetts St., and from that spot it has watched its revenue grow by a staggering 759 percent over the last three years, reaching $17.5 million in 2013. The metals that are fueling that growth are gold and silver.

A group led by Lawrence resident Jeremy Brakenhoff founded Mass Metal in 2008 with the idea that there should be an easier way for ordinary investors to purchase gold and silver. The result was the online site silversaver.com that allows investors to make gold and silver purchases online much like they would purchase a stock through an online brokerage house.

Perhaps you already thought purchasing gold or silver through a traditional online brokerage was easy. But in many cases, Brakenhoff said, those brokerage firms are selling shares in a gold or silver-based fund. Owning gold or silver in that fashion carries a different set of risks than actually owning gold or silver bullion. Through the silversaver.com site, the company allows you to purchase actual gold and silver and have it delivered to a location of your choice, or stored in a secure Delaware-based depository until you decide to take possession of it.

“People in the industry caught wind of what we were doing, it resonated with a lot of people, and it has been a really fun ride,” Brakenhoff said.

Now the company has clients in all 50 states, with some buying as little as $25 worth of gold or silver and others buying more than $25,000 a week of the precious metals.

The business certainly benefited from the financial downturn that hammered stocks. Many investors started turning to gold and silver to diversify their portfolios, and some turned to gold out of fear that the U.S. monetary system was going to collapse.

Brakenhoff said Mass Metal will help anyone buy gold or silver, but doesn’t try to use fear to convince people to get into the precious metals market. Instead, he touts the value of gold and silver being a part of a well-diversified portfolio.

“Selling fear doesn’t help anyone,” Brakenhoff said. “We want to empower people to be smart and to diversify.”

As for the company’s future in Lawrence, Brakenhoff said he was living in Lawrence at the time the company was founded, working as a traditional investment adviser. He’s not offering any predictions on how large the company may become in terms of employees, but he said additional sales and customer service positions are likely. Some of those positions likely will be in Lawrence while others may be in branch offices that would be established in the future. But Brakenhoff said the company likes the idea of keeping its headquarters in Lawrence.

“I love Lawrence,” Brakenhoff said. “There is a great group of people here. I don’t see any reasons why we would leave here.”

Mass Metal ended up being ranked the sixth fastest growing private company in the state of Kansas. The No. 1 ranked company? Lenexa-based Sainstore, a company that offers market research, Web development and e-commerce services. The firm has grown from 15 employees in 2010 to about 135 today. Its revenues have grown from about $135,000 in 2010 to $19.2 million in 2013. Sainstore ranked No. 12 on Inc.’s overall list of the fastest growing private companies in the country.

Other Kansas companies that you may recognize include: Overland Park-based Title Boxing Club at No. 202; Wichita-based Freddy’s Frozen Custard at No. 2,111; and the Manhattan-based online auction site Purple Wave at No. 3,803.

In other news and notes from around town:

• I believe in diversification too. That’s why when I order barbecue, I always get the sampler platter. If you remember a few weeks ago, I told you I had the chance to sample ribs, pork. chicken, brisket and other delights as a judge for the Fire in the Hole BBQ competition that benefits Toys for Tots and Lawrence Police Blue Santa Program. Well, organizers of the event recently told me they tallied the proceeds. The event raised $7,000 to be split between the two organizations. The groups will use the money to purchase gifts and food for families in need this holiday season.