The Almanac

A statistical look at this year's Inc. 500 companies, their business practices, and the people who run them.

Visit the Inc. 500 site, which includes a fully searchable database of winners from 1982 to the present

A statistical look at this year's Inc. 500 companies and their business practices, and the lives of the people who run them

The Companies

Number of Inc. 500 Companies by State

AK	0
AL	7
AR	0
AZ	11
CA	82
CO	12
CT	7
DC	2
DE	2
FL	34
GA	17
HI	0
IA	3
ID	1
IL	20
IN	7
KS	5
KY	4
LA	1
MA	33
MD	18
ME	0
MI	7
MN	10
MO	6
MS	1
MT	0
NC	12
ND	0
NE	1
NH	6
NJ	17
NM	3
NV	3
NY	13
OH	21
OK	7
OR	8
PA	10
RI	3
SC	2
SD	0
TN	4
TX	39
UT	9
VA	24
VT	1
WA	16
WI	11
WV	0
WY	0

By Industry

By Business Sector

Computers		30%
Business services		16%
Consumer goods and services	13%
Telecommunications		10%
Health care		7%
Construction		6%
Industrial equipment		5%
Media		4%
Transportation		4%
Financial services		3%
Environmental goods and services			2%
Service	57%
Manufacturing	27%
Distribution	11%
Retail	5%

Average Size

Average number of employees: 61

Average revenues: $9.5 million

Benchmarks Equity: On Average, Who Has How Much?

CEO	56%
Non-CEO cofounder	16%
Investors	11%
CEO's family	7%
Employees	5%
Other	5%

Higher TechnologyPercentage of CEOs using a particular technology in 1995 compared with 1991:

	1991	1995
Laptops	25%	86%
Networked PCs	34%	96%
Pagers	24%	67%
Cellular phones	39%	88%
The Internet	3%	70%

Seed Capital

Average amount raised for start-up: $25,000

Where the money came from:*

Personal savings	54%
Family members	10%
Partner(s)	7%
Personal charge cards	6%
Bank loans	4%
Venture capital	4%
Friends	3%
Angels	3%
Mortgaged property	3%
Other	5%

*Numbers do not add up to 100 because of rounding.

Productivity

Business sector	Sales per employee in that sector
Distribution	$609,000
Retail	$261,000
Manufacturing	$258,000
Service	$213,000

Zero to 60: How Long It Took to Launch and Grow the Company

From the original idea to the start of operations (on average): 6 months

From start-up to the Inc. 500 list:

5 years (the fewest possible)	21%
6 years	26%
7 years	16%
8 years	10%
9 years	6%
10­15 years	16%
More than 15 years	5%

Employee Compensation and Benefits

Percentage of companies offering a particular benefit to all employees:

Health insurance	97%
Cash bonuses	79%
401(k) plan	70%
Flextime	49%
Tuition reimbursement	47%
Profit sharing	38%
Stock options	22%
Telecommuting	20%
Sabbatical	6%
On-site child care	1%

The CEOs

CEOs' Top Reasons for Starting a Company

Inc. 500 CEOs by Age

To be my own boss or to control my own life	41%
To make money	16%
To create something new	12%
To prove I could do it	9%
Because I was not rewarded at my old job	6%
Because I was laid off from my old job	5%
Other	11%
30 or under	3%
31-40	42%
41-50	37%
51-60	13%
61 or over	5%

90% of Inc. 500 CEOs are men.

10% of Inc. 500 CEOs are women.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Greatest strength as a manager: Managing people 32%

Greatest weakness as a manager: Managing people 43%

Workload

34% of CEOs say they work harder now than they did five years ago.

Salary in 1995

$200,001 or more	29%
$100,001-$150,000	24%
$50,001-$100,000	24%
$150,001-$200,000	18%
$50,000 or less	5%

Highest Level of Education Completed

Economic Background*

*Numbers do not add up to 100 because of rounding.

M.B.A.	16%
Other graduate or
advanced degree	21%
Four-year college	44%
Two-year college	8%
High school	11%
Middle class	60%
Working class	27%
Affluent	8%
Poor	4%
Original Growth Plans for Company
To grow slowly	45%
To just survive	22%
To stay smal	3%
To grow fast	20%
To grow to reach the Inc. 500	10%

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Life of the CEO: An Annotated Desktop

Percentage of CEOs who hope to raise money in the next year from the following sources: bank, 63%; IPO, 13%; private placement, 13%; venture capital, 8%

Percentage of CEOs who are married: 84%

Average salary: $200,000

Ways of keeping skills current: newsletters and books, 81%; training seminars, 37%; study in groups, 8%; education, 8%; other, 33%

Most hated buzzwords: "downsizing," 39%; "reengineering," 32%; "empowerment," 15%; "paradigm," "TQM," "synergy," 14% each

Favorite authors: Bill Gates, Tom Peters, Peter Drucker, Stephen Covey

Average number of weeks of vacation per year: 2

Average age: 42

Fastest-changing aspect of business: new technology, 43%; general market conditions, 34%

Average number of hours slept per night: 6

Favorite people to commiserate with: fellow entrepreneurs, 41%; spouse, 23%; friends, 13%; no one, 8%; other family members, 6%; other, 9%