(FORTUNE Magazine) – Kenny Troutt, CEO of Excel Communications, is a firm believer that great fortunes are made every day in America. At a convention of 4,500 Excel sales reps in Dallas last August, Troutt used this theme to pump up his troops. "What we're talking about here is chump change!" he boomed to thunderous applause. "The real money is coming." Today, with the market for initial public offerings positively frothy (see The IPO Boom), Troutt's promise is awfully close to coming true.

Excel is planning to go public in early May at an expected price of about $15 a share, giving the company an instant market capitalization of $1.6 billion. Troutt's 60% stake would be worth $963 million. If the stock moves up a single point, he's a billionaire.

So what is Excel, and who is Kenny Troutt? Company first: Excel is a Dallas-based reseller of long-distance telephone service that operates as a multilevel marketer. (You know, like Mary Kay or Amway, where sales reps sell products and sign up more reps.) Excel reps earn a percentage of the monthly long-distance service they sell plus bonuses for the performance of their recruits. Multilevel marketing companies are sometimes regarded with suspicion because of the potential for pyramid scheme abuses, which is why so few of these companies are public--Wall Street's comfort level is low, and the fear of litigation is high. According to Excel's prospectus, "Informal complaints regarding [sales rep] misrepresentations and subscriber billing issues have been filed from time to time with state attorney general offices."

That makes some folks nervous. South Carolina secretary of state Jim Miles, who spoke to a gathering of 4,000 Excelites in Atlanta in November, wouldn't comment on his relationship with the company. But Miles's attorney would: "I can't stress this enough. What he does with Excel has nothing to do with his official job capacity. We don't know anything about these speaking engagements."

Why would Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette underwrite this deal? Well, the numbers are compelling. Last year Excel had sales of $507 million, up from $31 million in 1993, while earnings jumped from $2.3 million to $44.5 million. "The company's selling something everyone needs, it isn't selling vitamins," says Jeffrey Kagan, head of Kagan Telecom Associates in Atlanta.

And who is Mr. Troutt? He grew up in a housing project in Mount Vernon, Illinois, the son of a bartender. Troutt earned a partial football scholarship to Southern Illinois University, where he sold life insurance on the side. Jobs in construction and the oil industry followed until he founded Excel in 1988. Troutt, 48, lives in Dallas with his wife, Lisa, and young sons, Preston and Grant, in a 14,000-square-foot house across the street from Ross Perot. "I paid cash for it too,'' Troutt told a local newspaper.

At a recent Excel road-show stop at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City, analysts listened to Troutt's pitch while feasting on thyme rock shrimp, oven-roasted tomatoes, and garlic white beans. One verdict: "I've been to a lot of road shows in my life and this was the slickest thing I've ever seen," said a money manager. "We asked what the cash flow was from signing up new reps, and Troutt wouldn't answer. Cash flow is the key to this company. Simply amazing," said the money manager, shaking his head, walking away.

--Susan Caminiti