Boston, MA (April 21, 2005) -- For the second time in three years, Intelliseek Inc. has been named to the ICIC-Inc Magazine Inner City 100 list of the fastest growing inner-city companies in the U.S., organizers of the 2005 recognition program announced late Thursday. 

Intelliseek, a marketing intelligence firm that measures and analyzes consumer "buzz" about products, services and brands, ranked 16th on the 2005 list. The firm was an Inner City 100 winner in 2003 (No. 25) and a "Company to Watch" in 2004.

"We've set high goals for success, and this kind of national recognition reinforces our mission to pursue innovative technologies and strategies to develop new forms of marketing intelligence," said Intelliseek CEO Mike Nazzaro.

Intelliseek also made its debut appearance on the Inc. 500 list of the country's fastest-growing private firms in 2004.

Chosen from among 4,500 nominees
Companies on the 2005 Inner City 100 list, culled from 4,500 nominees, showed a cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of 63 percent and an average annual growth of 827 percent from 1999-2003, compared with an average of 716 percent for all companies appearing on the Inner City 100 since its inception in 1999. To be eligible, a company must have at least 51 percent of operations located in economically distressed urban areas, and sales of at least $150,000 in 1999 and at least $1 million in 2003.

"These companies embody the very best of American business," said John C. Minter, Jr., first vice president and national sales director for Merrill Lynch Business Financial Services, national sponsor of the event, held Thursday in Boston.

The 100 companies are based in 58 cities; Chicago, Detroit and Denver have the most winners with five each.  The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) has been studying the economic condition of the largest 100 American cities and is working to revitalize inner cities across the country by focusing on their competitive advantage. 

"Our research and work has continually shown that locating all or part of one's business in an inner city gives you inherent advantages -- from workforce diversity and availability to proximity to transportation nodes and  downtown," said Michael E. Porter, a Harvard Business School professor who founded ICIC in 1994.  "By choosing to grow businesses in America's inner cities, the owners of these businesses are transforming urban landscapes across the nation."

Highlights of the 2005 Inner City 100 list include:

• Thirty-one (31%) percent of the companies on the list are minority-owned (compared with 11 percent nationally) and 18 percent are owned by women
• Twenty-nine (29%) percent said recruiting qualified employees was one of the top factors limiting growth
• Forty-five (45%) percent of companies reported some difficulty in doing so.  In turn, 89 percent used personal assets to start their business
• Forty (40%) percent of company employees live in the inner city, including 38 percent of all "rank and file" employees and 10 percent of all senior management
• Seventy-two (72%) percent of companies lease their location, rather than own
• The average age of a CEO at the time their company was founded was 34; 53 percent of all CEOs have completed at least four years of college; and 78 percent live or have lived in an inner city
• On average, CEOs owned 62 percent of their companies, while outside investors averaged 10 percent ownership

"We have learned from the Inner City 100 CEOs and employees that success is more certain when you reverse thinking from addressing deficits in the community to building upon its assets," said Dorothy A. Terrell, president and CEO of ICIC. "Our partnership with Merrill Lynch will significantly enhance ICIC's capacity to find and celebrate the impact of the company's success on the neighborhoods where it does business."

About Initiative for a Competitive Inner City
The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) is a national not-for-profit organization founded in 1994 by Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter to promote a market-based approach and cutting-edge solutions for inner-city revitalization. ICIC's mission is to build healthy economies in America's inner cities that create jobs, income, and wealth for local residents.
We act to transform thinking, provide cities with a new vision of economic development, and engage the resources of the private sector to accelerate inner-city business growth.

About Inc
Inc is the leading magazine written for the men and women who own and manage small-to-mid-sized, fast-growing companies.  Published 12 times a year, Inc helps its 1.5 million readers by providing expert advice and practical solutions as they face the opportunities, pitfalls, and rewards of growing a company. The inc.com Web site for growing companies was named Best Online Magazine by Folio and Best Overall New Publication (all media) by the Computer Press Association.

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