Inc. Magazine Unveils Its Fourth Annual Exclusive List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies—the Inc. 5000

NorthStar Moving Makes the List for the Fourth Year in a Row, Ranks No. 3,589 on the 2010 Inc. 5000

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Inc. magazine today ranked NorthStar Moving No. 3,589 on its fourth annual Inc. 5000, an exclusive ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. NorthStar Moving was also ranked NO. 73 in the Logistics & Transportation category. NorthStar Moving has consistently made the impressive list each year. The list represents the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy—America’s independent-minded entrepreneurs. Music website Pandora, convenience store chain 7-Eleven, Brooklyn Brewery, and Radio Flyer, maker of the iconic children’s red wagon, are among the prominent brands featured on this year’s list.

“The leaders of the companies on this year’s Inc. 5000 have figured out how to grow their businesses during the longest recession since the Great Depression”

“The leaders of the companies on this year’s Inc. 5000 have figured out how to grow their businesses during the longest recession since the Great Depression,” said Inc. president Bob LaPointe. “The 2010 Inc. 5000 showcases a particularly hardy group of entrepreneurs.”

NorthStar Moving Corporation, the leading residential and commercial mover in California, offering local, intrastate, interstate, and international moves, as well as storage services, has redefined the moving industry as the first to offer eco-luxury moving services, elevating basic moving and storage services to a new unparalleled level of customer service, customized care, and environmental consciousness. NorthStar Moving provides special care to ensure valuables are well protected—from convenient mobile storage, to eco-luxury service packages including partnerships with domestic recyclers to recycle old household items responsibly as well as professional organizers, home tech services, and even Oprah’s dog trainer. Not only has NorthStar Moving made the Inc. 5000 list for four consecutive years, it has consistently earned countless awards from consumers for its outstanding service and third party awards from it’s employees for Best Place to Work. The award-winning company is proud to provide its RED CARPET SERVICE and totally green biodiesel fleet as well other environmental-friendly practices to its celebrity clientele and continues its rapid growth in the luxury moving market.

The 2010 Inc. 5000, unveiled today on Inc.com, serves as a unique illustration of the profound changes taking place in the U.S. economy. The Government Services sector showed the biggest gain in terms of the number of companies on the list, up 33 percent from last year to 335 companies. Government Services was also the second-fastest-growing sector in terms of median revenue growth, posting a 202 percent gain over the 2006-2009 measuring period. More than half of these companies are based in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. The fastest-growing sector by median revenue growth was Real Estate, now just a tiny group of 38 young, small companies, which showed 231 percent median growth over the period. (There were 121 Real Estate firms on the inaugural Inc. 5000 in 2007.) Business Products & Services is the top industry by number of companies on the list (640) and total revenue ($80.7 billion), while Health is the biggest by total employment (287,726 jobs).

Despite the fact that most of this year’s measuring period of 2006-2009 took place during the latest recession, aggregate revenue among the companies on the list actually increased to $321.6 billion, up more than 50 percent from last year. The effects of the recession are seen, however, in the median three-year growth rate, which dropped to 96 percent from last year’s 126 percent. This year’s Inc. 5000 employ a record 1.4 million people, up from one million on last year’s list. With unemployment remaining stubbornly high, policymakers and business leaders will do well to look to the Inc. 5000 companies for fresh ideas on achieving growth and creating jobs.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found on www.inc.com/5000.

The Hottest Regions for Fast-Growing Companies

Once again, California tops the Inc. 5000 with the most companies of any state with 684. The Golden State is followed by Texas (404), New York (353), Virginia (293), and Florida (262). All 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, are represented on this year's list.

New York boasts 410 Inc. 5000 companies, making it the top metro area, followed by Washington, D.C. (363), Los Angeles (262), Chicago (203), and Boston (189).

The Inc. 5000 at a Glance

The Real Estate sector, although small, was the top-performing industry, with a total growth rate of 189 percent. Software was second with a growth rate of 126 percent, and Telecommunications was third with 119 percent.

In total, the companies on the Inc. 5000 have created 1.4 million jobs. The Health sector is the top employer with 287,726 jobs, followed by Business Products & Services (230,066), Food & Beverage (108,344), Human Resources (107,924), and Retail (96,858).

Business Products & Services had the most companies on this year’s list with 640, followed by IT Services (607), Advertising & Marketing (410), Health (396), and Government Services (336).

This year’s fastest-growing company is Ambit Energy, a Dallas-based firm that buys electricity and natural gas at wholesale prices and resells the energy to customers acquired through a direct sales channel. The company saw $325 million in revenue in 2009 and a three-year growth rate of 20,369 percent.

The top woman-run company is Lexicon Consulting (No. 4 overall), based in El Cajon, California. Lexicon creates mock Iraqi and Afghan villages used to train military personnel. The firm, founded by Jamie Arundell-Latshaw in 2005, recorded revenue of $17.9 million in 2009 and a three-year growth rate of 14,018 percent. The top minority-run company is WDFA Marketing (No. 5 overall), a San Francisco–based firm that specializes in guerrilla, grass-roots, and micromarketing. WDFA, founded by Raj Prasad, posted revenue of $38.4 million in 2008 and a three-year growth rate of 13,350 percent.

The Inc. 5000 posted an aggregate revenue of $321.6 billion in 2009, up more than 50 percent from the previous year. The top five industries by total revenue are Business Products & Services ($84.7 billion), Health ($48.3 billion), Consumer Products & Services ($26.4 billion), Retail ($22.3 billion), and Government Services ($15.1 billion).

The Top 10 Inc. 5000 Companies Ranked by Growth
Rank	Company	Location	Industry	Year Founded	Three-Year	2009 Revenue
					Revenue
					Growth
No. 1	Ambit Energy	Dallas	Energy	2006	20,369.4%	$325 million
No. 2	ModCloth	Pittsburgh	Retail	2002	17,191.4%	$15.6 million
No. 3	Luke & Associates	Merritt Island, Florida	Government Services	2004	16,636.6%	$37.5 million
No. 4	Lexicon Consulting	El Cajon, California	Government Services	2005	14,017.7%	$17.9 million
No. 5	WDFA Marketing	San Francisco	Advertising & Marketing	2006	13,969.5%	$96.4 million
No. 6	Coyote Logistics	Lake Forest, Illinois	Logistics & Transportation	2006	13,846.8%	$249.8 million
No. 7	Debt Free Associates	Oklahoma City	Financial Services	2006	12,376.2%	$26.2 million
No. 8	LifeLock	Tempe, Arizona	Security	2005	11,474.3%	$131.4 million
No. 9	Carbonite	Boston	IT Services	2005	11,207.6%	$19.1 million
No. 10	KPaul	Indianapolis	Government Services	2004	10,925.6%	$11.2 million

The Top 10 Inc. 5000 Companies Ranked by Total Revenue
Overall Rank	Company	Location	Industry	2009 Revenue
No. 4,512	HCA	Nashville	Health	$30.1 billion
No. 4,929	7-Eleven	Dallas	Consumer Products & Services	$15.1 billion
No. 4,932	Toys “R” Us	Wayne, New Jersey	Retail	$13.6 billion
No. 4,819	Univar	Redmond, Washington	Business Products & Services	$7.2 billion
No. 3,247	Booz Allen Hamilton	McLean, Virginia	Business Products & Services	$5.1 billion
No. 4,708	Kingston Technology	Fountain Valley, California	Computer Hardware	$4.1 billion
No. 3,626	Mansfield Oil	Gainesville, Georgia	Energy	$2.9 billion
No. 3,294	LPL Investment Holdings	Boston	Financial Services	$2.7 billion
No. 1,018	Vizio	Irvine, California	Consumer Products & Services	$2.5 billion
No. 4288	AMC Entertainment	Kansas City, Missouri	Media	$2.4 billion

Methodology

The 2010 Inc. 500|5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2006 to 2009. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by June 30, 2006. Additionally, they had to be based in the United States, privately held, for profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2009. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2006 is $80,000; the minimum for 2009 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. The top 10 percent of companies on the list constitute the Inc. 500, now in its 29th year.

About Inc. Magazine

Founded in 1979 and acquired in 2005 by Mansueto Ventures LLC, Inc. (www.inc.com) is the only major business magazine dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of growing private companies that delivers real solutions for today’s innovative company builders. With a total paid circulation of 712,647, Inc. provides hands-on tools and market-tested strategies for managing people, finances, sales, marketing, and technology. Visit us online at www.inc.com.

About the Inc. 500|5000 Conference

Each year, Inc. and Inc.com celebrate the remarkable achievements of today’s entrepreneurial superstars—the privately held small businesses that drive our economy. The Inc. 500|5000 Conference & Awards Ceremony brings together members of the Inc. community, both a new class of Inc. 500|5000 honorees and the list’s alumni, for three days of powerful networking, inspired learning, and momentous celebration. Please join us September 30–October 2, 2010, at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, located minutes from downtown Washington, D.C. For more information about the 2010 Inc. 500|5000 Conference & Awards Ceremony and to register, visit www.inc500conference.com or call 866-901-3205.

About NorthStar Moving Corporation

Founded in 1994, Los Angeles-based NorthStar Moving Corporation has redefined the moving industry as the first to offer eco-luxury moving services, elevating basic moving and storage services to a new unparalleled level of customer service, customized care, and environmental consciousness. “A+” rated by the Better Business Bureau, voted Citysearch “Best Mover”, awarded the company with the most five star ratings on Trustlink, recipient of multiple Angie’s List Super Service Awards, featured in The Robb Report Collection, recommended by The Franklin Report, MovingInsurance.com, and an impressive list of celebrity clientele, NorthStar Moving has proven the state-of-the-art way to move is with its red carpet service. In addition, NorthStar Moving’s corporate culture and growth continue to blaze a trail locally and nationally, ranked on the Inc. 5,000 list for the fastest growing companies in the U.S. for the fourth consecutive year, named one of the Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies for the second consecutive year and Top 75 Best Places to Work by the Los Angeles Business Journal, and one of the Top 50 Fastest Growing Private Companies for the fourth consecutive year and Top 20 Best Places to Work for the second consecutive year by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal. The company's services include local, long distance, international, residential, and commercial moves, as well as full-service and mobile storage. NorthStar Moving Corporation’s mission is to exceed their clients’ expectations with graceful customer care and to move service back into what should have always been the ultimate service industry: the moving industry. For more information, please visit www.NorthStarMoving.com or call (800) Ask-Pros [phone].