LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The 508 nominees competing in the six Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® (EOY) 2012 Programs in the West – California, Utah, Washington and Oregon – grew their companies’ combined revenue by 51 percent, generating $30 billion in combined revenue between 2009 and 2011. This rate of growth was 25 percent higher than that of the average nominee nationwide.
“Fifty one percent revenue growth among companies these nominees founded or lead really speaks to their willingness to innovate, which is driving the economy in the West. These entrepreneurs are creating new industries – from social networking to cleantech to gene sequencing – and changing the fabric of existing industries. This is further proof that entrepreneurs are critical to job recovery, especially in the West,” said Joe Muscat, partner and West Strategic Growth Markets Leader at Ernst & Young LLP.
These West-based companies experienced a 30 percent increase in hiring between 2009 and 2011, employing more than 163,000 people today. While public company nominees reported a healthy 18 percent employment growth over the period, they were outstripped by their private company counterparts, with 37 percent job growth. This was a Western region phenomenon that ran counter to the national numbers, where public company nominees grew employment faster, at 39 percent versus 25 percent for private companies.
“It’s clear that entrepreneurs are leading us out of the recession, so it’s more important than ever that we honor and support them,” noted Muscat. “The finalists in the EOY program keep growing regardless of the economic climate and offer the strongest economic engine we have in the West.”
Financing Entrepreneurs
Based on data compiled on all Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award competitors nationwide, significant differences in employment growth existed between companies that had received venture capital investment during their life-cycle and those that did not. Companies that received venture capital funding alone grew jobs the fastest, with 74 percent job growth. All companies that received funding, whether from VC, private equity, or both venture capital and private equity funding grew employment at 31 percent.
The data is based on statistics collected from the 1,699 EOY nominees nationwide. There were 132 public companies and 1,567 private companies represented.
Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are nationally sponsored in the United States by SAP America and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
Local sponsors include, in Northern California, ADP, The Big Picture Film & Video Arts Inc., Manpower Group, Smart Business, Orrick, RoseRyan, SAP and Scherzer International. In Orange County, sponsors include Stradling, Marsh, Union Bank, ADP, Scherzer Intl., Smart Business, HKA, Inc PR, and Strategic Equity Group. In San Diego, sponsors include Cox Business, Marsh, Union Bank, ADP, Scherzer Intl., The Daily Transcript, Citrus PR, and Dr. & Mrs. J. Robert Beyster. In the Greater Los Angeles Region, sponsors include Marsh, Scherzer International, Smart Business, Union Bank, ADP, The Big Picture, Montgomery & Co, Acacia Wealth Advisors, CresaPartners, J.H. Cohn, and Strategic Equity Group. In the Utah Region, local sponsors include Automatic Data Processing, Inc., Corporate Staging Resources, Deseret News, Digital Bytes Production & Design, Diversified Insurance Group, Scherzer International, Strong & Hanni Law Firm, The Summit Group Communications and Utah Business. In the Pacific Northwest, sponsors include ADP, Puget Sound Business Journal, Scherzer International, The Big Picture Video Film & Arts, and Union Bank.
About Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year®
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential, and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 140 cities in more than 50 countries.
About Ernst & Young
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This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a US client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited.