100 fastest growing inner city businesses

1. CSI
1. CSI
Ken Novotny, CSI's CEO
2009 Revenues: $14.9 million
5-year Annual Growth Rate: 158%

CEO:
Ken Novotny
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
Year Founded: 2002

About the business:
In 2004, CEO Ken Novotny couldn't find a bank that would extend him the credit he needed to get his IT consulting business off the ground. Thanks to a loan from his father, seven years later, CSI rules the Inner City 100 list. With headquarters in Bricktown, Oklahoma City, CSI has 240 employees in 17 states.

It's safe to say the federal government keeps coming back for more, as CSI's loyal customers include the Army and the Air Force. With a 158% annual growth rate over the past five years, it's been a smooth ride upwards for CSI, even during the recession. At the end of 2009, they raked in $14 million in revenue. However, expectations are still higher -- the company speculates that total annual sales to reach $50 to $100 million.

--By Ashley Bush and Daron Sharps


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 2011 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. Conference of Mayors, Staples, and the Small Business Administration. Companies were ranked by compound annual growth rate (CAGR) based on their revenue over the five-year period between 2005 and 2009 (the last year for which complete data was available).
Last updated May 18 2011: 5:14 PM ET
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