#21 New Era Publishing Founded in 2001, New Era Publishing of Austin has become one of the nation’s fastest growing fine art sources. The company’s mission is to develop fine art – limited editions prints – and sell it at prices that are accessible to people who live on a budget. The company’s philosophy, says founder and CEO Joe Garcia, “is to provide the best quality limited edition prints on the market at the best value, which we call FAFE (fine art for everyone).” New Era has succeeded in competing against bigger and more established businesses in the industry. New Era commissions artwork from more than 60 international artists who have created a catalog of more than 2,500 fine art images to date. The company processes and prints their product on site using 25 state of the art printers working in two shifts. Each piece is exclusive, part of a limited edition series, signed and numbered. New Era has accounts with Hilton, Hyatt, Harrah’s Casinos and retailers such as Crate and Barrel, Z Galleries; Bed, Bath and Beyond; Ethan Allen, and Macy’s homes, among others. It also markets to interior designers and individual home owners. New Era Publishing is located in Southeast Austin. Because the company works with ink coating and uses raw materials, the business needs to be located in an industrial zoned area. The location is near one of the busiest intersections in the city and close to major highways and Austin’s downtown area. "The urban setting is a perfect place,” says Garcia. “It has the zoning designation we need and it is also close to downtown, employees, transportation and a diverse community." #22 Ascellon Corporation Born in Nigeria, Ade Adebisi earned an MBA in the U.S., worked for many years as a technology consultant to KPMG and then in 1996 founded what is now Ascellon Corporation in the basement of his Baltimore home. He kept his overhead low and delivered high-quality services to clients at a fraction of the costs that larger competitors charged. Ascellon Corporation provides full lifecycle information technology as well as program support and management consulting services primarily for federal government agencies, but including municipal and private organizations. Since its inception in 1996, Ascellon has maintained a controlled and profitable growth that has seen the staff increase from one (Adebisi) to 60, and revenue reach $5.63 million in 2006. Adebisi says the company has a stable client base with no more than six clients at one time and virtually no client turnover. The company’s clients include the Department of Health and Human Services, the Navy and the Water and Sewer Board of Washington, DC. Adebisi intends to grow the company to $100 million and 1,000 employees in the next 10 years. Along the way, he wants to make it possible for the employees to own the company #23 VisionIT In 1997, David H. Segura launched VisionIT, a company that provides IT staffing for businesses and non-profit organizations of all sizes. The company’s approach is to focus on the best interests of both the IT worker and the company, providing career advice for the former and quality workers for the latter. The company also promotes diversity, enabling all groups to access opportunities in the growing IT field. In 2006, VisionIT was awarded a major contract with the Detroit Public School system, the largest IT outsourcing of any public school system in America. Competing against some of largest IT businesses for the contract, VisionIT succeeded because the school system appreciated the company’s dedication to the inner city. In addition, VisionIT's client roster today includes numerous Fortune 500 companies and government agencies throughout North America. The company supports a wide range of industries including automotive, banking, technology, telecommunications, health care and aerospace. The company offers short term, long term and direct hire contracts. After reading a profile of VisionIT in a University of Michigan publication, Grant Long, Detroit native and NBA star, contacted Segura asking to get involved. “One meeting and a handshake agreement was all it took for Long to join the show as an active investor and promoter,” says Segura. VisionIT’s success has been recognized multiple times. The company appeared on the Inc. 500 list and ranked 7th nationally on the annual list of America’s Fastest Growing Private Staffing Companies by national staffing industry expert Staffing Industry Analysts, Inc. #24 Numi Organic Tea In 1999, brother and sister pair Ahmed and Reem Rahim teamed up to start Numi Tea. Both artists and explorers, the siblings have combined their passions in the company; belief in the transcendental properties of tea, belief in the importance of sustainable and organic production, and individual passions for photography, painting and world cultures. Numi Tea started in Reem’s apartment in inner city Oakland, and has migrated to a warehouse and retail space just around the corner. The company sells premium tea products that use the highest quality organically grown and Fair Trade Certified full leaf teas and herbs. Ahmed Rahim, CEO, is the master alchemist behind the Numi Tea’s blends. He discovered the calming simplicity of tea and herbal teasans (tea mixtures) while living in Prague, where he co-owned and ran two teahouses. Each pot of Numi tea, he says, is an amalgamation of his cultural knowledge, in depth understanding of teas, and appreciation for quality. Reem is the Chief Marketing Officer and focuses on the design and marketing of the product. In fact, each Numi package features a painting Reem has done from one of Ahmed’s photos. Recently, Numi has expanded into the big-name hospitality industry, partnering with hotel chains, selling at large supermarket chains, and even teaming up with famed chef Wolfgang Puck. Numi hasn’t lost its roots though, and the company is placing an even higher importance on their commitment to global consciousness and environmental responsibility. Numi’s teas are not only certified organic and Fair Trade, the teabags are fully biodegradable, compostable and GMO free, making their company as sustainable as possible. #25 Cynergy Data In 1995, Marcello Paladini and John Martillo founded Cynergy Data to provide credit card processing services for merchants. Thirteen years later, the company has expanded its services to include a wide range of payment processing: credit card, debit card, gift card, electronic benefit transfer, and check conversion. It also offers businesses cash advance services, referred to as business factoring. For e-commerce businesses, Cynergy Data processes online sales through a payment gateway. At the time they launched Cynergy Data, neither Paladini nor Martillo knew much about the payments industry. What they did have was extensive sales experience in financial services, which made them acutely aware of the kind of payment processing services merchants wanted. From an office of two people, Cynergy Data has grown into an industry leader with more than 250 employees and revenues of over $60 million. #26 Straub Collaborative David Straub, founder and CEO of inner city Portland based Straub Collaborative, launched his company in 1990 when he was only 23 years old. It was a good year and a good age for someone entering the photography, advertising and post production design business. Photographic technology was advancing rapidly, as was computer aided design, so it was an advantage to be young, flexible and willing to adopt innovations as they came along. Straub switched to digital imaging in 1997, a time when most in the industry thought digital imaging was a passing phase. During the recession that began in 2001, economizing corporations began looking for alternatives to high priced advertising and photography firms. Straub took advantage. By the time the economy recovered, Straub Collaborative had made such an impression for its ability to take artistic risks that it was able to retain most of its clients. For years, business grew steadily by word of mouth, but last year the company hired a marketing manager and began advertising in trade publications. As a result, Straub now has an international clientele. Straub recognizes the need to remain flexible, because technology continues to change industry standards. The decline of newspapers and magazines and the rise of the Internet, texting and iPhones have fundamentally altered approaches to advertising and image creation. The company is now featuring more video and flash animation. Straub says inner city Portland is an ideal location for his company because of the area’s creative energy and diversity. Proximity to the light rail and bike paths is another advantage, and most of Straub Collaborative’s 22 employee use public transportation or bicycle to work. #27 Kauffman and Associates Jo Ann Kauffman, founder of Kauffman and Associates, is a member of the Nez Perce Indian Tribe and grew up in Seattle, WA, and on the Nez Perce Reservation in Kamiah, ID. After earning a Master of Public Health degree from the University of California at Berkeley, Kauffman became a lobbyist in Washington DC. In 1990, she started Kauffman and Associates to lobby the U.S. Congress and federal executive branch agencies on American Indian issues. She later expanded the company's activities as a management services firm operating both inside and beyond the borders of Indian Country, and now has offices in multiple states. In fact, Kauffman and Associates has been so successful, they recently secured contracts with U.S. Census Bureau, the Department of Health and Human Services, Casey Family Programs and the State of Montana. . Today, says Kauffman, “we have expanded into a management services firm providing communications, information technology, research and management support across the United States. The company offers interdisciplinary services that transfer easily to many sectors and audiences.” The company’s inner city location, says Kauffman, combines access to transportation – important for the company’s national scope – with proximity to a well-trained local workforce. The multiple universities in the area provide both interns and employees with the necessary technical skills for the research consulting the firm provides. #28 Gunther Douglas Lisa Gunther and Douglas Payne launched Gunther Douglas, an information technology consulting and placement firm, in Denver in 1999. They had worked together for a larger firm engaged in technology placement and consulting field, and seen their firm’s priorities shift away from delivering clients with the best services. The duo decided that going into business together would allow them to do things better. “Many of the bigger firms are more worried about their own bottom line than the bottom line of their clients,” says Payne. “We are driven by our customer needs. The number one factor determining the success or failure of a company is the quality of its employees. Gunther Douglas specializes in recruiting outstanding performers.” When Gunther Douglas opened for business in Denver’s Larimer Square district, the neighborhood was well located but rundown. It was also in the incipient stages of transformation. Artists and performers were locating there, buildings were being renovated and the Enterprise Zone designation was in the process of being lifted. For the new company, the choice came down to a standard corporate suite in the financial district or a refurbished brick building in the rough but rising cultural neighborhood. Gunther Douglas thought the latter would add panache and distinguish the company from its competitors. “Pretty much everyone complements our office space," Payne says. “We are centrally located within the two main areas where consultants are needed, downtown Denver and the Denver Tech Center.” Since then, the company has also opened a Minneapolis location and is considering other regional expansion. #29 Team Sports Planet Brian Kerrigan, who started Team Sports Planet with his wife Carrie, got the idea for a new business venture while visiting his sister who had three children, all of whom were heavily involved in sports. The Kerrigans pondered: four seasons, four sports, each requiring a separate uniform. Supplying team uniforms, Brian says, seemed to be recession proof. No matter how bad the economy gets, kids will still play sports and teams will need to replace uniforms. Team Sports Planet set up shop in inner city Philadelphia in 2001, a challenging time for dot.com startups. Fortunately, Brian and Carrie had the tools to create an extensive marketing network for their new company. Previously, Brian had developed computer software while Carrie worked for an Internet marketing company. Still, Team Sports Planet needed time to find its legs, and the Kerrigans were lucky to have an understanding landlord who believed in them and their business plan. “Our landlord,” says Brian, who is the company’s CEO, “was a business enabler. He was flexible about rent, and he also attracted other good businesses with high potential to the building.” A shirt screening business on the second floor has become a supplier for Team Sports Planet. When hiring staff, Team Sports looks for creative problems solvers, Brian says, a type that can be found everywhere in the neighborhood. Because of the nature of his business, he needs young people who recognize what’s cool and what’s not. Another advantage is neighborhood employees can either walk or take public transportation to work. #30 Integrated Management Services Rod Hill and John Calhoun, founders of Integrated Management Services (IMS), met as engineering students at Jackson State University. After graduation, Calhoun went to work as an advisor at the Mayor’s office. He began noticing that when contracts were brought before the public works board, no minority-owned engineering firms bid on them, and discovered that this was because were none in the area. In 1996 Calhoun and Hill partnered to form IMS and became the first. IMS began as a generalist firm, which in essence meant they would take on any contract they could find. Today, IMS specializes in consulting, engineering, technical management, logistics and operations. From an initial staff of three (Calhoun’s sister being the third), IMS now has 500 employees and offices in Jackson, New Orleans, Memphis and Detroit. When Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on New Orleans and the Mississippi coast in August 2005, IMS quickly gained expertise in disaster relief and infrastructure repair. “When Katrina hit, and we saw millions of yards of debris and all the homeless people, we had to think bigger than what we were,” says Calhoun. “It totally changed our paradigm, how we saw the organization, what were capable of doing. We had to respond – who else would, if we, as local people, weren’t able to?” Calhoun expects IMS will use expertise accumulated from Katrina-related work and apply it to infrastructure repair and revitalization projects throughout the country. A realistic goal for IMS over the next decade, he adds, is to grow revenues to the $100 million range. A challenge for IMS is finding qualified engineers to support its expanding business. Recently it became active in the engineering-nurturing process. IMS developed an outreach center which introduces inner city youth to practical application of math and science. The idea, says Calhoun, is to grow IMS’s own workforce. #31 WRSCompass (formerly Compass Environmental) 2007 was a big year for Compass Environmental, based in inner city Chicago. The company merged with WRS Infrastructure & Environment and Kathleen Shanahan, WRS’ CEO, became CEO of the new merged entity, WRSCompass. The new company provides full service remediation, which includes decommissioning facilities, demolition and water resource management. This type of work has both public and private markets and the merged company is now able to compete in both. Compass Environmental focused almost exclusively on private clients while WRS targeted governmental markets, so the two pre-merger companies had virtually no overlap in their client base. The merger was facilitated by an equity investment from Equity Group Investments, LLC, an investment company controlled by Sam Zell, the highly successful real estate entrepreneur. Both companies were successful prior to the merger and now the merged entity is growing at a rate of 25 percent per year. This growth necessitates the recruitment of a larger workforce, and WRS relies heavily on employee referrals which creates a more cohesive work environment. In fact, referrals are so highly valued that bonuses are provided. The company has also created mentor-mentee relationships between qualified veterans and younger employees, a program also tied to the bonus structure. #32 On-Target Supplies and Logistics Albert Black, On-Target Supplies and Logistics’ founder and CEO, has been in business for himself since fourth grade when he started a lawn care company. Black sold that business when he went to college but upon graduating formed the company that would become On-Target Supplies and Logistics. At first, On-Target provided custodial services and supplies, but after four years of struggling to make a profit Black turned exclusively to distributing supplies. Since then, On-Target has expanded exponentially in their South Dallas location where space is available and reasonably priced, and they now have close to 60,000 square feet. They have also expanded their service offerings, currently specializing in designing, implementing and managing customized logistics solutions, including supply chain management, logistics outsourcing and value added reselling. Black has been so successful, he says, because his staff is happy and driven to achieve. Black believes that education promotes personal satisfaction as well enhancing job performance, and has instituted a program that encourages employees to further their education no matter what level they reached. As an incentive, On-Target reimburses 100 percent of the cost of a course in which the employee receives an “A,” 80 percent for a “B,” and 50 percent for a “C.” As a native of inner city Dallas, Black remains very invested in both their employees and their inner city location. He “takes pride in enabling tax users to become tax producers, improving infrastructure and taking places people fear and making them places to embrace.” #33 Long Wave In 2006 Phillip Miller, founder and CEO of Oklahoma City-based Long Wave, was named the Oklahoma Small Business Person of the Year by the US Small Business Administration for his success building a thriving inner city business. His company, Long Wave, is a communications, engineering, IT and program management services provider, and specializes in military communications and XML-related technologies, software and internet development. The company was launched in Miller’s home in 1995 and eventually moved to the Bricktown section of Oklahoma City, which is officially designated a HUB Zone. Miller readily acknowledges the advantages of both the HUB Zone designation and his inner city location. Long Wave has won over $80 million in government contracts in the past few years, and has no plans to relocate out of the inner city. “The inner city of Oklahoma City, called Bricktown, is the best place to work in the state,” says Miller. “We continue to be an inner city government contractor in one of the best inner cities in the country,” As a testament to his commitment to the inner city, Miller has leased more space in Bricktown for future use. Long Wave provides services in fifteen states and four companies for clients such as the U.S Armed Forces, the British, French, and Korean governments, Motorola, Time Warner Telecom, and AT&T. #34 Cellular Specialties Cellular Specialties, which designs and manufactures amplifiers and related equipment for in-building wireless systems, was one of several start-up companies to locate in a renovated millhouse factory in Manchester’s inner city. The space was designed for use as a small-business incubator. As the company grew, it eventually took over the whole building and the city found new space for small business incubation. Cellular Specialties’ CEO Fred Goodrich got his start in the late 1990s installing and servicing bi-directional amplifiers for cellular providers while his company was a Nextel dealer. By 2000, the dealership had developed the capability to engineer products and deliver service on its own. By 2006, Cellular Specialties released a digital product that enables it to market beyond the US. The company focused on Mexico and South America in 2007 and hopes to expand to Europe. The Cellular Specialties service team installed the in-building communications system in the Arizona Cardinals football stadium where the 2008 Super Bowl was played. Cellular Specialties has continued to expand, with 2007 revenues exceeding $24.9 million. The company has also released a Digital Signal Processor amplifier which will become the standard for the wireless service providers. #35 Ellicott Dredge Enterprises Ellicott Dredge Enterprises was founded in 1885, at a time when canals were a major component of the transportation infrastructure and swamps were being drained for development and sanitation. More than 100 years later, Peter Bowe acquired the venerable company and combined it with several other acquisitions to form a full-service dredging company that competes on a global scale. Ellicott Dredge, located in inner city Baltimore, designs all components of dredging systems, including winches, pumps, excavators and specialty gears. Its reputation for building reliable, durable systems has led to contracts in 70 countries and a rapid growth rate – and with heightened global awareness of environmental hazards, the demand for remediation dredging, waste water treatment systems and sanitation canals is only increasing. As the company expands, the need for experienced engineers has grown proportionately. Recruiting qualified staff has proven to be a challenge, especially in the Baltimore-Washington corridor where the market for engineers is extremely competitive. Recently, the company decided to create a training program with a pipeline to employment at Ellicott. It partnered with a local community college to develop a mechanics program and also teamed up with the city of Baltimore on an initiative to identify potential employees. Looking forward, this solid employee base will enable Ellicott to expand its global reach and develop new products to meet the specific requirements of individual clients. #36 White Construction After eight years working as an engineer at Turner Construction, Bernard White founded White Construction in 1989 in inner city Detroit. At that time the city was entering its economic slump, which in an oblique way was good news for White. Few large construction projects were breaking ground but there were many smaller ones – renovations and adaptive re-use. Small companies with growing reputations for delivering quality services, like White Construction, were in demand. Over the years, White Construction has grown to a full service construction firm while maintaining its reputation for quality, on time work at a fair cost. Their mission statement, “Constructing Your Vision,” has helped them secure a variety of projects including work for the Ford Motor Company and at various healthcare facilities. Recruiting employees who have experience and can hit the ground running has become a major challenge for White. Internally, the company has implemented a comprehensive training program that standardizes procedures, allowing employees to shift easily from one project to another as the need arises. White Construction’s management team has set a goal to build a 20 story building themselves by 2020. The building size is a metaphor for arrival into the big leagues of the construction industry. To be able to take on a project of that magnitude requires the company increase in scale and experience, and White says his team is committed to making it happen. #37 Raining Rose Chuck Hammond and Art Christoffersen had grown three businesses together, and were looking for a new endeavor that would allow them to “make something,” when they came upon Raining Rose in Cedar Rapids. Raining Rose (which at the time had only one product – lip balm) was founded and operated by a husband and wife team who were uncomfortable with the increasing managerial obligations. Hammond and Chrisoffersen, who sadly has since passed away, purchased Raining Rose in 2002 and added soaps, shampoos and lotions to the company’s product line. Their vision was to make Raining Rose a more mainstream company and less of a hardcore naturalist company, although their products are made from all natural ingredients. The majority of the business is manufacturing products, still predominantly lip balm, for private labels. For example, Raining Rose made 9 of the 14 lip balms on display at a recent natural lip balm show. Hammond is now working on refining the company’s business plan, focusing on their core competencies as a manufacturer. Raining Rose plans to continue expanding production capacity with additional equipment and personnel to meet demand. “We continue to receive excellent press coverage at the local level because we manufacture a relatively novel product (lip balms, soaps and lotions) in a downtown area and because of our growth and recognition as an Inner City 100 winner,” wrote Hammond. “During the transition following Art’s death, I was approached by a number of potential investors but thus far we have declined from bringing in any outside investors. We can still support our growth internally and we intend to continue to pursue that approach for the foreseeable future.” #38 Pacific Outdoor Living Terry Morrill and his two sons are the owners of Pacific Outdoor Living, located in Sun Valley, CA near Los Angeles. Terry started the company in 1999 with just one crewmember, his son Trent. His other son Chad joined the business in 2001. Pacific Outdoor Living installs concrete paving stone patios, walks and driveways all over Southern California and has earned a reputation for high quality work. "When I tell people that we are simply the best - we use the best paving stone system, the best pavers, the best crews, and that I guarantee 100 percent satisfaction with their job, they believe me because it’s the truth,” Morrill says. “If it’s not true, you can only tell the lie so many times before you and your company begin to self destruct." Morrill chose to locate his business in an inner city neighborhood of Los Angeles because it offers precisely the competitive advantages his company requires. The neighborhood has a large available workforce, and more than 75 percent of the company’s employees are Latino immigrants, most of whom do not speak English as their primary language. The neighborhood also offers open real estate to store building materials, gravel, sand and other equipment. #39 Park Inc. Brian Haupricht, founder and CEO of Park Inc., and a friend were working for the Columbus, OH valet service of the famed steakhouse Morton’s when they were approached to take over the valet service contract. Though he was only 21, Haupricht jumped at the chance to open his own company, and after a few years of operating in Columbus, moved Park Inc. to Charlotte as a new Morton’s opened. His company then went about securing contracts at major hospitals and today, provides parking management for lots and garages, shuttle services, valet parking, traffic control and meter systems. Park Inc. operates in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, New York and New Jersey. Park Inc.’s headquarters is located on the boundary of Charlotte’s downtown. Haupricht characterizes the neighborhood as on the “edge of Charlotte’s redevelopment” and notes that rents in the area are increasing as more vacant lots are built out. As Park Inc. has grown, Haupricht has begun to install a more formal corporate management structure. He also established a five year plan that includes the objective of reaching $7.5 million in revenues by 2009. #40 Sanco Industries Founded in 1991 by Brett Zachary and Kevin Appenzeller, Sanco Industries is the leading manufacturer of aquatic chemicals in the United States. It has its headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Fort Wayne, Indiana and warehouse distribution facilities in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Houston, Texas. The company initially manufactured solvents and cleaners for the automotive industry and almost by chance moved into the pond maintenance business. While purchasing raw materials for their cleaning solvents, they noticed that a pond cleaning product contained many of the same ingredients, and decided to explore the pond cleaning market. They named their product "Crystal Blue" after the song "Crystal Blue Persuasion," which was playing on the store’s loudspeakers when they made their fateful decision. Today, sales of Crystal Blue account for 90 percent of Sanco’s revenue, and their core product is sold at Wal-Mart stores, farm ranch and garden dealers, hardware and home improvement centers, and through professional aquatic management companies. Zachary attributes a large portion of the company’s success to the dealer and distributor partnerships that it has established. Sanco’s manufacturing facility has been located in inner city Fort Wayne for the past seven years. Recently, Sanco purchased a new building in the same area, which, among other advantages, is designated an Enterprise Zone. |
