Browse the Hot 500
Company Snapshots
#1 - DivX Inc.
Expanding the Digital Horizon
A little teamwork and a lot of vision have taken an online media company to the top of our list.
#3 - SUNRx Inc.
Shining Light on Perscription Plans
To curb health-care costs, an enterprising pair tackled one source of the pain: prescription drugs.
#38 - Vineyard Vines
Vineyard Vines Branches Out
For a clothing and accessories retailer, growing fast and having fun aren't mutually exclusive.
#91 - Hoku Scientific Inc.
Technology Cleans Up the Air
Looks like blue skies ahead as some eco-conscious entrepreneurs light the way to clean energy.
#96 - Odoi Associates Inc.
Defining the American Dream
Moving to the U.S. let an immigrant from Ghana realize his entrepreneurial destiny.
Hot 500 at a Glance
The People
Who are the entrepreneurs behind the companies in our Hot 500 for 2007? Here's a look.
The Numbers
A roundup of the basic figures.
$12.6 billion
Total Revenue for 2006
2,807
Total Employment On First Day
58,776
Total Employment Project by 2008
The Funding
Where did they get the money to start?
387
Savings and Personal Funds
The Staying Power
By their second year in business...
61% had turned to profit
56% had earned their first million
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The Perks
Here's how our Hot 500 entrepreneurs share their success with their employees.
258
Car Allowance/Company Car
163
Tuition Reimbursement
The Industries
These industries had the most companies from the Hot 500 for 2007.
29
Government Contractors
23
Advertising and Marketing
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About the Hot 500
The Hot 500 rankings are compiled with the help of the Corporate Research Board, a research organization. Entrepreneur and CRB started with CRB's database of more than 19 million U.S. businesses and considered only those businesses that met the following criteria:
- Must have been founded no earlier than 1998 and no later than 2002
- Company sales in 2002 must be $1 million or greater; 2006 sales must not exceed $1 billion
- Must have positive job growth between 2002 and 2006
- Must have a minimum levels of sales growth or a sales growth quantifier of 1 or higher between 2002 and 2006; the growth quantifier is a measurement that combines percentage and absolute growth.
Only 95,000 businesses--or 0.5 percent of the 19 million businesses--met the above criteria. Entrepreneur then contacted the businesses with the greatest growth to confirm eligibility. To be eligible, the founder must be actively involved in the company, the company cannot be a spinoff or a division of a larger company, and the company sales for 2006 must be at least $1 million. From this list, the Hot 500 was selected.
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