Fast Lane

41. Summit Industrial Construction, Lawrenceville, GA
Industrial construction & maintenance
Michael T. Ballard, Mark W. Bryan
Began: 1996 w/12 employees; 35 employees
Initial investment: $50K from bank loan, savings
1997 sales: $3.52M

42. Business Alliance Capital Corp., Princeton, NJ
Commercial financing
Theodore Kompa, Jeffrey Goldrich
Began: 1995 w/5 employees; 28 employees
Initial investment: $6.1M from priv. Investors
1997 sales: $5.21M

43. Tactica Technology Group, Dallas, TX
Business & technology consulting, software products
Rene Larrave, Kevin Albright, Eddie Mayfield
Began: 1996 w/15 employees; 30 employees
Initial investment: $400K from priv. Investors
1997 sales: $3.46M

44. Lakeshore Staffing Inc., Chicago, IL
Temporary & permanent staffing services
John P. Johnson, Scott C. Allen
Began: 1995 w/4 employees; 20 employees
Initial investment: $100K from savings
1997 sales: $5.17M

45. Steele Solutions Inc., Waukesha, WI
Custom mezzanines
Richard G. Kuchler, Terry E. Young, Micheal J. Thelen, Bill D. Benning
Began: 1996 w/7 employees; 9 employees
Initial investment: $80K from savings
1997 sales: $3.36M

46. Sams Data Products Inc., Annapolis, MD
VAR of computer products & services
John D. Soderberg
Began: 1995 w/3 employees; 11 employees
Initial investment: $60K from friends/family
1997 sales: $5.02M

47. IXC Marketing Inc., Anaheim, CA
Long-distance services reseller
Mohamad Hassan, Mazda Begum
Began: 1996 w/10 employees; 35 employees
Initial investment: $60K from friends/family
1997 sales: $3.34M

48. Rankserve, Newbury Park, CA
Copier products
Tim J. Marr
Began: 1996 w/1 employee; 3 employees
Initial investment: $5K from savings
1997 sales: $3.25M

49. Fastener Link Inc., Houston, TX
Industrial fasteners
Nick Hasegawa
Began: 1996 w/4 employees; 4 employees
Initial investment: $100K from savings
1997 sales: $3.24M

50. Consignment Plus Home Furnishings Inc., Walnut Creek, CA
Home furnishings/accessories, art/jewelry on consignment
Patti Evans
Began: 1996 w/4 employees; 28 employees
Initial investment: $78K from friends/family
1997 sales: $3.16M

This article was originally published in the June 1998 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Fast Lane.