America's Fastest-Growing Environmental Services Company

CleanScapes president Chris Martin took cleaning up the streets of Seattle very seriously, eventually landing a $36 million deal with the city.

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Chris Martin

No. 1 in Environmental Services

CleanScapes
1,119.3% Three-Year Growth
Revenue: $38.6 Million
Employees: 260
President: Chris Martin
Founded: 1997
Overall RANK: No. 274
Seattle cleanscapes.com

In the mid-'90s, Chris Martin was working at an ad agency in Seattle and living in the downtown Pioneer Square district. The area was plagued with overflowing Dumpsters, clogged storm drains, graffiti, and broken streetlights. Martin wrote letters to the city complaining about the conditions. When he didn't receive a positive response, the adman became a garbage- and graffiti-removal guy. Martin advertised his new company, CleanScapes, to local buildings through direct mail, and within weeks 60 buildings had signed prepaid contracts. The company continued to add customers and ultimately landed a $36 million deal with the city of Seattle in 2007. Today, CleanScapes provides street cleaning, garbage and recycling collection, and other services in Seattle; Shoreline, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and San Francisco.

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