Fast, faster, fastest: Entrepreneur and Dun & Bradstreet's fifth annual hot 100 - the fastest-growing new businesses in America

Entrepreneur, June, 1999 by Geof Williams

AT LONG LAST, ENTREPRENEURS HAVE PULLED UP TO THE RED CARPET. IF YOU'RE THE BRAINS, THE INTUITION, THE VOICE BE HIND A NEW AND FAST-GROWING BUSINESS, YOU'RE CONSIDERED A SUPERSTAR OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMY.

Here at Entrepreneur, we were on the lookout for the latest and greatest businesses long before the world in general, and the Silicon Valley in particular, labeled entrepreneurship a craze. Five years ago, we decided to quantify our longtime quest for America's hottest new entrepreneurs. We enlisted the help of Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), the world's top research-based business information provider, and began searching for America's Hot 100 entrepreneurs. It's now one of our most rewarding endeavors - a chance to sneak-preview some of tomorrow's Microsofts and Starbucks.

What did we find this year? It's a tech, tech, tech, tech world. In our final Hot 100 of the millennium, many of the companies (in fact, our top five) are tech-based. Internet companies, which made their first appearance in last year's rankings, continued to score big, while more "old-fashioned" tech companies, such as computer wholesalers and retail hardware stores, rose in the ranks.

Less tech-y, and arguably less sexy firms, including food distributors, a rubber manufacturer and a specialty valve engineering firm, accounted for a respectable portion of the Hot 100. Other businesses that made the cut were just plain cool: a commercial greenhouse manufacturer, a DVD producer and a company that constructs golf courses.

Diversity in our Hot 100 isn't restricted to industry - our fast-growing start-ups come from both humble: beginning and big money. Our No. 1 start-up, for example, began with $20,000 and makes more than $100 million today.

But these entrepreneurs are more than just names, numbers, sales and startup costs. They're people who've poured their entire beings into their businesses. For a look at the businesses - and the beings behind them - we present thc following ranking and profiles of a tow Hot 100 finalists.

TECH BARONS

If most of us owned a company worth more than $100 million, we'd be jetting off to Paris. Chances are, we'd be looking into buying Paris. But Louis Hazim, 29, and Michael Perez, 30, the owners of number-one-ranked Technologix Inc. in Kirkland, Washington, are low-key about their success. "Well, we went to Hawaii, of course," says Hazim, when asked if he's gone anywhere exciting now that he's rich. "And we do a lot of trips to Phoenix, where one of our main distributors is located." With all due respect to our fine readers in the capital of the 48th state: Phoenix? Well, never mind. Most people are encouraged to think big, but because Perez and Hazim think small, they've become big . . . very big. And, thus, Technologix ranks No. 1 in our list of the 100 hottest new small businesses.

It was April 1997 when the computer solutions provider opened its doors to the public (that would be Perez's master bedroom door and his garage door, which led to the company's "office" and "warehouse"). But despite a shaky start - their $20,000 in start-up costs came from maxed-out credit cards - Technologix earned $264,000 during its first year in business. In 1998, they crossed the $100 million mark and now have 21 employees.

Their incredible growth is a surprise even to Hazim and Perez. With a long list of potential clients, they and their three sales reps cold-called thousands of companies throughout most of 1998. "We tried to get a lot of big companies," says Perez. "We [told them] customer service is our core value. And we tried to appear to be a larger company than we really were."

Although Hazim and Perez provide technological solutions for companies like Microsoft and government giants like the FBI and the IRS, Technologix specializes in serving companies most people probably haven't heard of. Perez, who is co-president and the CEO, says he still goes on sales calls himself, quite frequently to small, independent outfits. "A lot of people don't understand that small and midsized businesses are the future," he says. "That's where the money is right now."

Hazim and Perez met in Seattle, where they both worked in the tech industry. Continuing their friendship as they both went on to become successful salesmen, they decided to venture out on their own. They knew many companies needed help with technology issues, from software problems to the challenges of e-commerce, and they believed they could ease other entrepreneurs' tech burdens. So before quitting their jobs, they interviewed potential customers, says Perez. "We asked people what they wanted," he says. "Our company is based on what our customers want - it's not about what we should give them, but what they want, what they need."

Perhaps Hazim and Perez can still think small because they recently were small. After all, during the first several months they were in business, Hazim and Perez were earning nothing. Hazim had left a $30,000 job, and Perez, one with a $100,000 salary. Each had a wife and children to support. "It was scary, but I guess you don't learn if you don't take a chance," muses Perez. "That's the bottom line."