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Thursday, May 6, 2010

Azavea, Stroll and West Insurance make Inner City 100 list

Just like there's a stat for everything in baseball, there are all sorts of lists that ranks businesses by different criteria.

On Wednesday, the 2010 Inner City 100 list of the fastest-growing urban businesses was announced, and three Philadelphia-area companies made the list, which is based on sales growth between 2004 and 2008.

At No. 18 is Stroll, a maker of self-help audio books.

Azavea, which recently changed its name from Avencia, is ranked 28th. The software developer applies its technology skills to projects such as the PhillyHistory.org database of the city's archives of historic photos and maps.

Finally, West Insurance Group is listed at No. 58. The minority-owned firm provides commercial and personal insurance products.

Two of the firms, Azavea and Stroll, made the same list last year.

The full list is expected to be posted on the Bloomberg BusinessWeek site Thursday afternoon.

The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City is behind the annual rankings. To qualify, a firm had to have at least 51 percent of their operation in an "economically distressed urban area." What is that? The group defines such an area as having a 50 percent higher unemployment level, 50 percent higher poverty level and 50 percent lower median income than the metropolitan statistical area.

Also to be eligible, a firm had to have at least 10 employees and a five-year sales history with at least $200,000 in revenues for the first year and fifth-year sales of at least $1 million.
Posted by Mike Armstrong @ 12:00 PM  Permalink | File Under: Small Business | Post a comment
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About Mike Armstrong
Mike Armstrong, a business editor and writer for nearly two decades, is the Inquirer's business columnist and PhillyInc blog editor. Contact Mike via e-mail or at 215-854-2980
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