Inc. staff

The Inner City 100 Almanac

A statistical look at the 1999 Inner City 100 companies and the CEOs who run them.

 

The Companies: At a glance

Average five-year growth rate: 701%

Average five-year compound annual growth rate: 44%

Average 1997 sales: $13,868,970

Median 1997 sales: $6,080,567

Collective 1997 sales: $1,386,897,014

Average number of employees: 105

Median number of employees: 52

Collective number of full-time jobs in 1997: 10,485

Collective number of new full-time jobs created in the past five years: 4,695

Number of companies with more than $30 million in revenues: 13

The CEOs

Educational background*

High school: 18%

Two-year college: 15%

Four-year college: 42%

M.B.A.: 17%

Other advanced degree: 7%

Economic origins

Affluent: 9%

Middle class: 55%

Working class: 29%

Poor: 7%

Ethnicity*

Caucasian: 71%

Black/African American: 10%

Hispanic: 7%

Asian/Pacific Islander: 7%

Other: 4%

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

CEOs' Vital Stats

Average annual compensation: $223,138

Median annual compensation: $150,000

Average age of CEO when the company was founded: 34

Number of CEOs who raised more than $100,000 in start-up funds: 20

Number of CEOs who raised less than $10,000 in start-up funds: 31

Number of CEOs who plan to take their company public before 2001: 11

Number of CEOs who had no management experience before starting company: 39

Number of CEOs who offered business idea to previous employer: 13

The Opportunities

Inner City 100 by industry

Business products or services: 24%

Construction products or services: 20%

Consumer goods: 18%

High-tech products or services: 12%

Real estate: 6%

Accommodations or food: 4%

Professional or scientific services: 4%

Transportation: 4%

Other: 8%

The Workers

Benefits, etc.

Percentage of companies offering

Health insurance: 97%

Bonus plan: 66%

Retirement plan: 65%

Tuition reimbursement: 44%

Disability insurance: 39%

Profit sharing: 35%

Flextime: 30%

Percentage of companies practicing open-book management: 51%

Pay

Average hourly wage of rank-and-file employees: $11.61

Pros and Cons of Inner Cities The top competitive advantages
(as cited most frequently by CEOs)

1. Proximity to customers

2. Low real estate costs

3. Available labor

The top competitive disadvantages
(as cited most frequently by CEOs)

1. Perception of crime

2. Negative perception of inner city

3. Lack of space to expand

Inner City 100 by sector

Manufacturing: 35%

Service: 44%

Retail trade: 11%

Distribution/wholesale: 10%