April 26, 2004

1. 180s, Baltimore, MD
Rank on the 2004 ICIC-Inc Magazine Inner City 100: 1
2002 Revenues: $32,644,078
CAGR: 214%
Standard 5-year Growth: 9,669%

Stylishly warm ears was Brian La Gette and Ron WilsonÕs goal when they designed 180s, an innovative ear warmer that wraps around the back of the head. Starting as a class project at the Wharton School in 1994, the two MBA students raised start-up funding through a mixture of credit card debt and $100,000 from fellow students. The company has since grown to occupy a 48,000 square foot space in BaltimoreÕs inner harbor that includes both a research and development center with a temperature control environment for in-house weather simulation and an interactive store-front where consumers can personally test new designs. Patented products, including sunglasses and gloves in addition to ear warmers, are featured at more than 18,000 retail outlets worldwide.

2. IKANO Communications, Salt Lake City, UT
Rank on the 2004 ICIC-Inc Magazine Inner City 100: 2
2002 Revenues: $28,737,596
CAGR: 209%
Standard 5-year Growth: 9,053%

IKANO was founded in 1993 as Sisna, a local Internet Service Provider (ISP) in Utah whose first client was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Through that experience, the company was able to get funding in the boom years of the early 1990s enabling them to expand into the company that would become IKANO. In 2002, they replaced IBM as the official Data Network Supplier at the Winter Olympics, the only local official supplier. IKANO provides all the pieces to outsource services for internet service providers. They provide a network across the U.S. and Canada through 9,500 regional ISPÕs with users requiring only a local dial-up number to gain access.

3. Mosaica Education, New York, NY
Rank on the 2004 ICIC-Inc Magazine Inner City 100: 3
2002 Revenues: $75,273,820
CAGR: 163%
Standard 5-year Growth: 4,714%

In early 1997 Dawn Eidelman, a humanities professor at the University of Texas, developed a humanities curriculum for K-12 students, called ÒParagon,Ó after witnessing firsthand the insufficient preparation of her first-year university students. To implement her curriculum, Eidelman and her husband started Mosaica Education and brought in CEO Michael Connelly, who came from a private equity background, to run and grow the company in the hopes of impacting the educational system nationally. The company now operates 25 charter schools, serving approximately 11,000 K-12 students across the country. The school locations are chosen based on where there is the greatest need- primarily in inner-city areas like Astoria, Queens and North Philadelphia. Their students score 25 percent above national averages on standardized tests and their teachers are paid well including performance bonuses. Each teacher is given a laptop, and every school has one computer for every three students - all with the same public funding per student as public schools.

4. Tripwire, Portland, OR
Rank on the 2004 ICIC-Inc Magazine Inner City 100: 4
2002 Revenues: $16,895,844
CAGR: 150%
Standard 5-year Growth: 3,835%

The essence of success sometimes comes from looking at a common problem in a different way. In the case of Tripwire, the approach to security was wholly different. Rather than identifying viruses and coming up with ways to eradicate them, Tripwire monitors a firmÕs network, contacting the administrator when something inappropriate, foreign, or abnormal has entered or altered the system. Tripwire focuses on customers fueled by enterprise activity, mainly operations such as banks, stock exchanges, telephone companies, and broadband providers like Comcast. About 15 percent of their business comes from large governmental organizations, where the security features of their software are tremendously important. Its popularity is a tribute to its benefits; while Purdue University was offering Tripwire free, over 1 million users downloaded it.

5. CookTek, Chicago, IL
Rank on the 2004 ICIC-Inc Magazine Inner City 100: 5
2002 Revenues: $10,497,101
CAGR: 126%
Standard 5-year Growth: 2,503%

Dominoes PizzaÕs Heat Wave system is just one heating system thought up by Inner City 100 and Inc 500 winner, Cooktek. The company designs and sells proprietary or exclusively licensed technology for convection heating and cooking. Cooktek is trying to bring induction cooking and heating technology into the mainstream, focusing primarily on commercial uses, and are looking to enter the consumer market in the near future.

6. Auction Systems Auctioneers & Appraisers, Phoenix, AZ
Rank on the 2004 ICIC-Inc Magazine Inner City 100: 6
2002 Revenues: $8,560,099
CAGR: 125%
Standard 5-year Growth: 2,444%

Auction Systems CEO Deb Weidenhamer was making her weekly flight back to Phoenix from a job that required a weekly commute when the course of her life changed. A retired auctioneer sitting next to her in first class spent the flight telling Deb about the business he loved. His passion was contagious and before long, Deb Weidenhamer became one of the few woman auctioneers in the nation, and opened Auction Systems. Her company is the SouthwestÕs most active auction and appraisal houses, an Inc. 500 company, number seven on last yearÕs Inner City 100 list and number four in 2002. In addition to running the company, Deb is an outspoken advocate for creating a fairer auction industry and pens a monthly column for an auction industry publication.

7. HRAmerica, Charlotte, NC
Rank on the 2004 ICIC-Inc Magazine Inner City 100: 7
2002 Revenues: $114,979,089
CAGR: 122%
Standard 5-year Growth: 2,335%

CEO Barry Byrd and Wynn Davis co-founded HRAmerica in 1998. Previously, Byrd served as President of Human Resource ONE, a company that he founded and took public as NovaCare Employee Services. Davis has a deep background in financial services and also has served as the president of a company. HRAmerica provides human resource fulfillment services including benefits, retirement services, payroll, and tax administration. Unlike other HR administrators, HRAmerica takes their work to the next level, using a customized web-based software program to capture employee related information to gauge metrics such as employee productivity and office efficiency. Today, under the leadership of CEO Norm Schmidt, HRAmerica works with over 350 companies in 28 states, representing over 19,000 employees.

8. DDM Direct, Buffalo, NY
Rank on the 2004 ICIC-Inc Magazine Inner City 100: 8
2002 Revenues: $4,717,400
CAGR: 115%
Standard 5-year Growth: 2,027%

After one failed business attempt and some time working in the corporate world, CEO Carl Falletta decided to make a second attempt as an entrepreneur, this time by starting a small printing company. Today, DDM provides advertising, marketing, fundraising, database management, printing and mailing services to for-profit as well as non-profit and religious organizations, for fundraising, development, publications and product sales. Some of DDMÕs clients include the Buffalo Bills, the Vatican, the Archdiocese of Boston and New York, and churches throughout the country.

9. Hubbard One, Chicago, IL
Rank on the 2004 ICIC-Inc Magazine Inner City 100: 9
2002 Revenues: $8,011,269
CAGR: 110%
Standard 5-year Growth: 1,858%

Hubbard One provides proprietary software dubbed ÒFirmConnectÓ that helps to link business and law Ð and the business of law. The company specializes in developing business solutions, including intranets, web sites, and extranets, to help corporate legal departments and law firms increase their effectiveness and efficiency. After working with investors for a few years Hubbard One has moved into a completely debt and equity-free capital structure. According to CEO John Fish, ÒitÕs not that we are debt averse, itÕs just that we have no need for it right now.Ó

10. Oakleaf Waste Management, East Hartford, CT
Rank on the 2004 ICIC-Inc Magazine Inner City 100: 10
2002 Revenues: $105,486,378
CAGR: 109%
Standard 5-year Growth: 1,805%

A 2003 Inc. 500 winner, Oakleaf Waste Management bills itself as the fastest-growing waste management company in America. The company handles waste for commercial clients, growing from just over $5 million in sales to over $100 million in just five years. Born and raised in Hartford, CT, CEO Jim Barnes received his BA in Business Administration from Marist College and worked his way to Director of Marketing for Coldwell Banker. He then moved into economic development, becoming principal of the Downtown Development Corp. in Hartford, CT. Next, he worked as a General Sales Manager for another waste-management company and took what he learned to branch out on his own to form Oakleaf Waste Management, acquiring three companies and growing to be one of the largest waste-management companies in the region.

11. BankServ, San Francisco, CA

12. ISITE Design, Portland, OR

13. Chesterfield Health Services, Seattle, WA

14. RetroBox, Columbus, OH

15. Legal Network, Pittsburgh, PA

16. QED Technologies, Rochester, NY

17. Human Resource, Kansas City, MO

18. Rego Realty Corp., Hartford, CT

19. Miratek Corporation, El Paso, TX

20. Compass Environmental, Chicago, IL

21. MRE Consulting, Houston, TX

22. National Logistics Management, Detroit, MI

23. A.M.E.Õs Uniforms, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

24. ScriptSave, Tucson, AZ

25. Co-Advantage Resources, Orlando, FL

26. Newport Furnishings, Phoenix, AZ

27. The Jones Company of South Florida, Lauderhill, FL

28. Capitol, Sacramento, CA

29. Click Wine Group, Seattle, WA

30. MAYA Viz, Pittsburgh, PA

31. High End Products, Santa Ana, CA

32. Spectrum Communications, Corona, CA

33. CrunchTime! Information Systems, Boston, MA

34. ComFrame Software Corporation, Birmingham, AL

35. Digital Visual Display Technologies, Atlanta, GA

36. DocuVault, Denver, CO

37. Redbarn Pet Products, Long Beach, CA

38. Kaizen Direct, Rochester, NY

39. V-Tech Services, Philadelphia, PA

40. Campaign Consultation, Baltimore, MD

41. Thinsolutions, Cleveland, OH

42. GRT Corporation, Stamford, CT

43. Somerset Capital Group, Bridgeport, CT

44. GarCom, El Paso, TX

45. 1-888-OhioComp, Cleveland, OH

46. Schaller Anderson, Phoenix, AZ

47. AG Housey Company, Detroit, MI

48. Danielle Ashley Advertising and Public Relations, Chicago, IL

49. Automated Teller Accessories, Salt Lake City, UT

50. American Apparel, Los Angeles, CA

51. Access US, St. Louis, MO

52. Niman Ranch, Oakland, CA

53. Long Wave, Oklahoma City, OK

54. Christy Webber and Company, Chicago, IL

55. Amerisource Funding, Houston, TX

56. Evans Food Products, Chicago, IL

57. Base One Technologies, New Rochelle, NY

58. Guerra DeBerry Coody, San Antonio, TX

59. Four Hands, Austin, TX

60. ETI, New Orleans, LA

61. Dynetech Corporation, Orlando, FL

62. Educational Directories Unlimited, Chester, PA

63. Commonwealth Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation, Boston, MA

64. Rel Comm, Rochester, NY

65. HDS Cosmetic Labs, Yonkers, NY

66. City Fresh Foods, Boston, MA

67. G & A International Trading, New York, NY

68. Ellis Construction, New Orleans, LA

69. JOMAR Building Company, Detroit, MI

70. American Radiation, Baton Rouge, LA

71. Salamander Designs, Hartford, CT

72. GimaSport, Hartford, CT

73. International Medical Group, Indianapolis, IN

74. Execuscribe, Rochester, NY

75. Biotech Pharmacy, EL Paso, TX

76. Two West, Kansas City, MO

77. Ditto Document Solutions, Pittsburgh, PA

78. City Lights Electrical, Boston, MA

79. Fast Track Litigation Support, Oakland, CA

80. Interactive Ink, Columbus, OH

81. RES Exhibit Services, Rochester, NY

82. Global Protection Corporation, Boston, MA

83. Selrico Services, San Antonio, TX

84. Malone Advertising, Akron, OH

85. Gateway Security, Newark, NJ

86. Custom Foods, Vernon, CA

87. Envios, R.D. Corporation/Pronto Envios, New York, NY

88. El Taller Colaborativo, Newark, NJ

89. Shawmut Design and Construction, Boston, MA

90. Union Packaging, Kansas City, MO

91. Belkin Corporation, Compton, CA

92. Orbital Research, Cleveland, OH

93. American Christmas Decorations, New York, NY

94. 1 to 1 Contact Centers, Lancaster, PA

95. Hydrojet Services, Reading, PA

96. J&J General Contracting, El Paso, TX

97. El Clasificado, Los Angeles, CA

98. Bills Khakis, Reading, PA

99. JT2 Integrated Resources, Oakland, CA

100. PARC Specialty Contractors, Sacramento, CA