Houston


The 2009 Inc. 500: The Top Ten Metro Areas

Which cities are home to the most fast-growing private companies? Washington, D.C., leads the way, followed by New York and Los Angeles, then Chicago and San Francisco.

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The Gospel According To Fatjo

"There's nothing wrong with a desire to make a huge amount of money, but it's the mission that's all consuming."  Read more

A City With Upward Mobility

Crime is on the rise, as you might expect in a boom town; air quality still doesn't meet federal standards; and planning is atrocious. "The Public Works ...  Read more

Private Lives;

"People in Houston were walking away from land deals, bailing our of the housing industry," Russ Hutchins was explaining over his car telephone from Dalla...  Read more

Fourth Wave;

SOME OF THE HEAT IS GOING out of parts of the Sunbelt, as boomtowns like Houston become less attractive to companies that are on the move or expanding. Re...  Read more

Julie Spear Merritt

Age: 30 Hometown: Houston Undergraduate Degree: Southern Methodist University Business School: Graduate School of Business, University o...  Read more

Oil Flow

Houston company tests a new method for cleaning clogged oil wells.  Read more

Executive Travel: Hotels Where You Can Really Work

A list of five national hotel chains offering special rooms with access to business equipment, plus room rates.  Read more

Study Finds Small Firms Drive Growth

Dec. 13, 2006 -- Urban economic centers rely more on small businesses for growth than older business districts, according to a report iss...  Read more

Brett Zamore Designed a Stylish, Affordable Kit Home.

Now he wants to go national.  Read more

A Rose Blooms In Houston

As a housewife, she was shy, miserable, bullied. As a widow, Rosemary Garbett has breathed life into her late husband's restaurant chain and taken the Housto...  Read more

Go Down, Robot

A look at a new construction technology, microtunneling, and how one company has taken the lead in its use.  Read more

Do-It-Yourself Networking

When Jack Plunkett, a Houston-based CEO, went to Silicon Valley to learn more about technology networking, he brought back a new idea for a more structured n...  Read more

After The Crash

The strength of hidden aggressive smaller companies stimulates the economy when it falters.  Read more

The Best 4 Small-Business Neighborhoods in America

Here's what entrepreneurs are looking for when selecting a community for start-ups, and what they're finding.  Read more

Study: Immigrant Entrepreneurs Fuel Growth

Feb. 6, 2007 -- Immigrant entrepreneurs are starting businesses at a higher rate than native-born residents, according to a new study rel...  Read more

Catching A Post-boom Chill

When Big Oil sneezes, many of Houston's small companies catch pneumonia.  Read more

The Inc. 500

Note: This table may be divided, and additional information on a particular entry may appear on more than one screen. Sales Growth 197781 Perc...  Read more

What Goes Up

Volatility creates ulcers for entrepreneurs and headaches for people who deal with them, but it's what keeps our economy strong  Read more

The Secrets of Bootstrapping

Profile of 13 companies which were started for less than $1,000.  Read more

The Secrets of Bootstrapping

18 ways to grow or survive by substituting imagination, know-how, or effort for capital.  Read more

FYI: Patriot Games

Now may not be the best time to start a business. There. We said it.  Read more

Coupon Card

Company creates a plastic card that can be used year-round instead of paper coupons.  Read more

Building Boom: A Shaky Foundation

Are we heading for a commercial real estate crash? Most cities already have a glut of office space, especially when you consider the amount of const...  Read more

The Inner City 100

100 street-smart companies.  Read more

The Friendly Skies Of Deregulation

With airlines dropping like wounded mallards, the talk in the last few months has focused on the problems of deregulation. Often overlooked is the fact th...  Read more

Flow Charts

While some companies are carried up on a rising tide, others succeed by bucking the industry trends.  Read more

Benchmark: Family Businesses on the Go

Some data comparing some traits of high-growth family owned businesses to low-growth family owned companies.  Read more

Whatever Happened To The Class Of '83?

Fifteen companies were acquired. Fourteen companies went public. Two companies went under.  Read more

Possible Premiums

Periodic examination of insurance claim reserves, fund set aside by an insurance company in anticipation of claims, could trim increases in your premium c...  Read more

Why Start a Company?

Entrepreneurs from the 2009 Inc. 500 say that money is only one reason among many  Read more

Here Comes The Neighborhood

A listing of nine high-growth neighborhoods in and around older, slower-growth cities.  Read more

Bad Boys of Capitalism

The story of how a start-up is making money for itself and its clients through NASDAQ's Small-Order Execution System.  Read more

Singing For His Supper Club

Harold Farb, chairman of the board of The Farb Cos. in Houston, is no Sinatra, but he insists that "my great love is music" and he enjoys singing in the b...  Read more

Drumming Up Business

To get to know the people who ultimately use its products, Pro-Mark, a premier drumstick maker in Houston, made its magazine advertising more interactive ...  Read more

Exceptions To The Rule

Why some INC. 500 companies are growing in industries that aren't.  Read more

Using Their Noodles

New business that customizes shoes, lamps, spectacles, art objects, clothing, etc. with macaroni.  Read more

Changing Diapers

The second try for a diaper start-up company is proving more successful.  Read more

Going Their Way

Whatever else catapulted them to the peak, it wasn't conformity to the norms of business  Read more

What Ever Happened to the Class of 1983?

Profile of Inc. 500 companies from 1983.  Read more

CEO's Notebook

CEOs give advice on: advertising on cable TV, helping obese employees, going public without an IPO, hiring women for corporate boards, and replacing your ISD...  Read more