24. NewBath
24. NewBath
2010 Revenues: $7.9 million
5-year Annual Growth Rate: 53%

CEO:
Larry Closs
Location: New Orleans, LA

About the business:
We all want a Jacuzzi, but most of us probably don't know how to install a bathtub. If you live in certain cities in the deep South, a company called NewBath can step in and take care of it.

The company, founded in New Orleans in 2003, focuses specifically on bathroom renovations. The bulk of its business doesn't come from luxury remodels, however, but rather from fixing up bathrooms to be more accessible for elderly patients who might need, say, a walk-in tub.

Founder Larry Closs wants to stay local, in its current Louisiana and Texas markets, and ultimately grow the business by expanding out of the bathroom and into the broader world of home improvement.


The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) defines inner cities as core urban areas with higher unemployment and poverty rates and lower median incomes than their surrounding metropolitan statistical areas. For the 2012 list, ICIC received more than 2,000 solicited nominations using its database of small businesses and through the support of its nominating partners, including the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Staples, New York City Department of Small Business Services, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Companies were ranked by compound annual growth rate (CAGR) based on their revenue over the five-year period between 2006 and 2010, the last year for which complete data was available. This list was audited by the independent accounting firm of Rucci Bardaro and Barrett, PC.
@FortuneMagazine - Last updated May 11 2012: 10:59 AM ET
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