The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) and Fortune announced that Raining Rose Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was selected for the 2014 Inner City 100, a list of the fastest-growing inner city businesses in the U.S.
This year, for the first time in the list’s 16-year history, the Inner City 100 consists of 10 fast-growing businesses from 10 industry categories. The 10 industry categories are: construction; manufacturing; professional services; food and beverage; retail; media and communications; software and information technology; transportation and logistics; healthcare and biotechnology; and arts, entertainment and recreation. Applicants were ranked according to revenue growth against their industry peers, as well as overall.
Raining Rose ranked No. 8 in the Fastest Growing Companies industry category and 41 overall on the list of 100. The Inner City 100 program recognizes successful inner city businesses and their CEOs as role models for entrepreneurship, innovative business practices and job creation in America’s urban communities. Raining Rose reported a gross growth rate of 311.3 percent from 2009 to 2013.
“It’s important to recognize businesses like Raining Rose that are truly driving economic growth and job creation and America’s urban cores,” said Matt Camp, president of ICIC. “We believe that inner cities hold unique competitive advantages for business and the success of these firms underscores that market opportunity.”
The 2014 Inner City 100 winners represent a wide span of geography, hailing from 53 cities and 23 states. The winners grew at an average compound annual growth rate of 39 percent and an average gross growth rate of 336 percent between 2009 and 2013. Collectively, the top 100 inner city businesses employ 8,276 people and have created 5,119 new jobs between 2009 and 2013.
Not only are the winners powerful job creators in their communities, they also help develop their employees. Seventy-three percent provide business skills training and 69 percent provide professional development training to all full-time employees.
Highlights of the 2014 Inner City 100 include:
- Employ 8,276 workers (approximately 35 percent are inner city residents).
- Created 5,119 new jobs in the last five years.
- 25 percent have woman CEOs. Nationally, only 10 percent of companies with more than $1 million in annual revenues are woman-owned.
- 35 percent have a minority CEO. Nationally, only 21 percent of all companies are headed by minorities.
- Average company age is 17 years.
- 39 percent average compound annual growth rate.
- Companies generated $42.2 million in 2013 revenues on average and $4.2 billion in the aggregate.
For more information Raining Rose, visit www.rainingrose.com. For information on ICIC, visit www.ICIC.org.
