HAUPPAUGE, NY – October 11, 2001 – International Video-Conferencing, Inc. (IVCi), (www.ivci.com), a leading global integrator of video conferencing, audio/visual and conference room scheduling and management solutions, has been named one of America’s entrepreneurial growth leaders by Inc magazine, which today released its annual ranking of the Inc 500, the nation’s fastest-growing private companies.
Started in 1982, the Inc 500 ranks the nation’s leading entrepreneurial firms according to sales growth over the previous five years. Former Inc 500 companies that have gone on to become household names include Microsoft, Timberland and Domino’s Pizza. This year’s Inc 500 set records in terms of both collective sales and growth rates, racking up a collective total of $12.5 billion in sales and an average five year growth rate of almost 2,000 percent.
“To be recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in America is exciting and extremely gratifying for IVCi,” said President & CEO, Adam Zeitsiff. “Being included in Inc magazine’s prestigious ranking is a spectacular achievement for our company, our employees and our valued customers. We are honored to be acknowledged by Inc. magazine for such a milestone.”
IVCi’s revenues grew some 2,600 percent in the past five years, with sales rising from $367,000 in 1996 to over $10 million in 2000.
“The video conferencing industry has undergone a tremendous surge in the last few years,” said Robert Swing, Executive Vice President of IVCi. “Companies are continuing to adopt this technology due to increased quality in equipment, greater availability of bandwidth and lower costs for equipping multiple sites with a system. IVCi continues to promote the benefits of video conferencing across the country, and we feel that our company’s growth will also increase as more companies adopt this productive and reliable form of face-to-face communications.”
“The Inc 500 gives America a window on the future – which companies will be the Microsofts and Timberlands of tomorrow,” said George Gendron, Inc editor-in-chief. The economy may have slowed, but entrepreneurial enterprises have always been, and will continue to be, the nation’s foremost engine of growth and job creation.”
California is once again home to the greatest number of Inc 500 businesses this year (59), followed by New York (33). Massachusetts and Texas tied for third place, each having 29 ranked companies, followed by Virginia (27) and Florida (26). Among the key trends: Inc 500 enterprises are dramatically larger then they were 10 years ago, with an average of 160 employees, compared with just 61 employees on average in 1991. In existence on average of eight years, 56 percent were started at home, approximately 63 percent of which had five or less employees when they moved from home. About 50 percent were started with an investment of $20,000 or less, and 15 percent were started with less than $1,000. The companies as a group generated a total of 80,188 jobs and some 76 percent of Inc 500 companies were profitable in 2000.
Reflecting the technology boom in the past five years, the largest percentage (38%) of Inc 500 companies were in “computer software and services,” followed by “diversified services,” such as human resources and advertising, (21%). Telecommunications was a distant third with five percent.
To be eligible for this year’s Inc 500, companies has to be independent and privately held through 2000, have at least $200,000 in sales in the base year of 1996, and their 2000 sales had to have exceeded 1999 sales. Holding companies, regulated banks and utilities are not eligible. Inc verifies all information using tax forms and financial statements from certified public accountants and by conducting interviews with company officials.
Operating three offices in New York State, as well as Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Diego, North Carolina, New England and Salt Lake City, in addition to a sister-company with two offices in the United Kingdom, IVCi is highly regarded and well known within the video conferencing industry. Boasting an active customer-base of various Fortune 5000 companies, the firm has worked closely with clients such as ADP Employer Services, The Hartford, Deutsche Bank, Reuters, Vivendi Universal, ideaLabs, American Express and Chase Manhattan Bank to meet their video conferencing needs. IVCi also operates two separate divisions, an Audio/Visual Division and Global Scheduling Solutions®, which is a leading global provider of scheduling and resource management software solutions.
For additional information on IVCi’s suite of products and services, please contact the IVCi Corporate Headquarters in Hauppauge, New York, USA at 800-224-7083, or visit our web site at www.ivci.com.
Founded in 1979, Boston-based Inc magazine was acquired last year by G&J USA, one of America’s largest magazine publishers and is part of the company’s newly-formed Business Innovator Group. G&J USA also publishes Fast Company, Rosie, Child, Family Circle, Fitness, Homestyle, Parents and YM. The company is 25.1 percent owned by the Jahr Group and 74.9 percent owned by Bertelsmann AG, the largest privately held and the fifth largest media company in the world with yearly revenues at $16 billion.
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