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Posted 12-11-00
CLEVELAND -- When Steve Marks purchased a derelict Akron building at a sheriff's auction in 1987, he never imagined that it would begin a train of events that would land his company at the top of the Weatherhead 100, the annual survey of Northeast Ohio's fastest-growing companies.
A CPA by training, Marks bought the building as an investment, but to qualify for low-interest financing he had to put a retail store on the first floor. He decided to start a muffin store, Main Street Muffins. "I found I liked it so much I sold my accounting business and went full time into this," says Marks, who holds the title of co-CEO along with Harvey S. Nelson.
In the period 1995-99 the company, now renamed Main Street Gourmet, saw its sales grow by 7,526 percent, making it number one among the Weatherhead 100. It also shifted to selling ready-to-bake muffins to institutions such as restaurants, hotels, and hospitals.
Main Street was recognized for its outstanding growth at the 13th annual Weatherhead 100 dinner, held December 5 at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel in downtown Cleveland.
The Weatherhead 100 list is compiled annually by Enterprise Development Inc. (EDI), part of Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management, and ranks companies in Northeast Ohio based on revenues from 1995-99. Companies with net sales of more than $100,000 in 1995 and more than $1 million in 1999 were eligible for nomination.
In addition to the main Weatherhead 100 list, EDI recognizes two other categories of firms: Weatherhead Upstart companies, which have met the percentage sales growth criteria of the Weatherhead 100, but had sales of less than $1 million in 1999 or had fewer than 16 employees; and Weatherhead Centurions, with sales growth of 100 percent or more from 1995-99 and net sales of $100 million or more in 1999.
This year's Upstarts list contained 15 entries, led by Power Direct, a Cleveland-based direct marketing firm which saw its sales grow by 1,484 percent. Leading the 15 Centurion Companies was Flight Options, Inc. of Richmond Heights, which provides fractional aircraft ownership, and had sales growth of 1,174 percent.
Ben Keller, EDI program director, said the 130 companies collectively had employment growth of 126 percent from 1995-99, from 28,400 to 64,200. "This growth is a strong indicator of the dynamism of the Northeast Ohio economy," Keller pointed out.
This year's list also includes the first-ever company to appear on the Weatherhead 100 10 times -- the Reserves Network of Fairview Park (86). Other repeaters include ProForma (63) and TMW Systems, Inc. (87), both of which have been on eight times. Among the Centurions, the roster of repeat winners includes Progressive Insurance (14), which has been on eight times, and Flight Options (1), which has been on seven.
Completing the top 10 in this year's Weatherhead 100 are Group Management Services, Inc. of Valley View; Wolcott Systems Group, Inc. of Fairlawn; Technical Information Management Services, Inc. of Highland Heights; ConsulTech of Hudson; Thermagon, Inc. of Cleveland; the NRP Group of Garfield Heights; USA Instruments, Inc. of Aurora; OneSource Services Inc. of Cleveland; and MMI Services, Inc. of Perry.
Again this year, service companies dominate the main Weatherhead 100 list with 57. Twenty-two companies are manufacturers. Other categories are wholesale/distribution (eight companies), construction/real estate (six), retail (two), and miscellaneous (five).
Cuyahoga County is home to the greatest number of Weatherhead 100, Upstart, and Centurion companies with 79, followed by Summit County with 22. Rounding out the geographical distribution are Lake County (12), Lorain and Medina counties (four each), Stark County (three), Portage and Erie counties (two), and Richland and Trumbull counties (one each).
Founded in 1987, EDI acts as a catalyst for economic growth in Northeast Ohio by helping entrepreneurs find, assemble, and employ people, technology, capital, and facilities to fuel their growth. EDI offers classes for entrepreneurs, manages three incubator programs, and publishes Cleveland Enterprise magazine. More information is available on the EDI Web site at http://www.enterprise-development.org/.