Marital status
Married: 81.15%
Single, never married: 9.16%
Divorced: 8.38%
Other long-term relationship: 0.79%
Widow or widower: 0.52%
Top Four Worries
Percentage of the 2001 Inc 500 CEOs who say they worry about
Rising cost of benefits: 19%
Federal taxes: 16%
Tighter capital markets: 13%
Employment laws: 12%
If I Could Write the Book on Starting and Growing a Business ...
The CEOs of the class of 2001 have kept their sense of humor in the midst of fast growth. Here's our pick of the titles they suggest:
- How to Change Tires While Moving at 300 MPH
- Boss Lady: How to Be Both
- The Art and Science of Juggling Bowling Balls
- Thriving in Chaos
- How to Grow a Business by Avoiding the 100 Dumbest Mistakes That I've Made for You
- And finally, James D. Murphy of Afterburner Seminars (#355) has actually gone ahead and written his book, Business Is Combat, published by HarperCollins last year.
Starting Up
Home but Not Alone
Basements, garages, and second-floor guest rooms have been converted into start-up offices like no one's business. Back in 1995, 39% of the Inc 500 companies told us home was where the start was; last year 61% of them did. But 56% of this year's class were launched from home, leading us to believe the trend has peaked. Still, as in the past, it was well over a year before the 2001 Inc 500 companies that were started at home finally flew the coop, often with handful of employees in tow.
Among the 2001 Inc 500 companies started at home, the percentage that, when they moved to their next location, had
One to 5 employees: 62.98%
6 to 10 employees: 10.58%
More than 10 employees: 7.69%
No employees: 18.75%
Average age of those companies when they moved to their next location: 1.5 years
Percentage of this year's companies started by two or more people: 62%
Percentage of those companies with a written partnership agreement: 56%
One for the Money, Two for the Show ...
You don't have to be wealthy to launch an Inc 500 company. Half the group left the starting gate with $20,000 or less. Most, or 88%, of the CEOs reached into their own personal piggy banks for seed money, and more than a third of them turned to their cofounders for funds. That's almost five times the percentage of CEOs on the 1999 list who tapped their cofounders. Likewise, compared with the figures from the list just two years ago, nearly three times as many companies, or 11%, found a sugar daddy in strategic partners and customers.
If money was tough to find in the beginning, it got easier to locate later on. Fully half the group went on to raise more than $1.1 million in additional rounds of financing. Bankers stopped laughing and started lending. Even venture capitalists were captivated. Of course, the money came at a price: although the majority of the chief executives today retain at least 50% of the equity in their companies, only about a quarter of them own the whole show.
Seed Capital
Percentage of the 2001 Inc 500 that had initial start-up capital of
Less than $1,000: 14.66%
$1,000 to $10,000: 23.82%
$10,001 to $20,000: 11.26%
$20,001 to $50,000: 19.63%
$50,001 to $100,000: 8.64%
More than $100,000: 21.99%
Percentage of 2001 Inc 500 CEOs who raised start-up capital by tapping
Personal assets: 88%
Other cofounders' personal assets: 39%
Assets of family and friends: 30%
Bank lines of credit: 15%
Commercial loans; 11%
Strategic partners and customers: 11%
Venture capital: 3%
Government grants: 1%
Percentage of CEOs who got seed money from
|
Class of
2001 |
Class of
2000 |
Class of
1999 |
| Cofounders |
39% |
36% |
8% |
| Family and friends |
30% |
33% |
14% |
| Strategic partners and customers |
11% |
6% |
4% |
Later-Stage Money
Percentage of the 2001 Inc 500 that raised additional financing from
Bank lines of credit: 80%
Commercial loans: 52%
Personal assets: 45%
Assets of family and friends: 26%
Venture capital: 18%
Other cofounders' personal assets: 17%
Strategic partners or customers: 13%
Grants from the government or nonprofits: 3%
Exit Strategies at Start-up
Percentage of this year's CEOs who had an exit strategy when they founded the company: 40%
Percentage of those CEOs whose exit strategy was to go public: 33%
Percentage whose exit strategy was to sell out to another company: 53%
The Companies
The 2001 Inc 500 by Industry
Computer software and services: 38%
Diversified services: 21%
Telecommunications: 5%
Computer hardware: 4%
Materials and construction: 4%
Consumer products: 4%
Manufacturing; 3%
Electronics and miscellaneous technology: 3%
Health products and services: 3%
Financial services: 2%
Aerospace and defense: 2%
Other: 11%
