Editor’s Note They Might Be Giants

During last years presidential campaign, there was a great deal of talk about the importance of small businesses. Virtually every stump speech seemed to make some reference to the large proportion of jobs accounted for by the small business sector.

Thats certainly true. But when it comes to job creationthe key concern of every regional economynot all small companies are created equal. Two-thirds of small businesses are plumbing, retail or other small shops that employ only a handful of people. They are important, of course, but they are not a significant source of new jobs.

What really turbocharges an economy are the fast-growth companies, sometimes called gazelles. They account for just one percent of all small companies, but for 10 percent of the jobs created. We are lucky in the Puget Sound region to have a fair number of rapidly growing enterprises such as Tableau Software, which has doubled its employment year after year since it began about eight years ago; it now has more than 700 employees.

Equally important to our economy are the large companies that provide a solid base of employment through good times and bad and represent our region to the world. Our eight largest companiesthe iconic businesses of Seattle such as Boeing and Starbuckscollectively employ about 700,000 people. These titans have the resources to attract top talent, invest in research and development, and build global brands.

But whats the path from a small, hot, growth company to a corporate titan? That path wends its way through the rather ill-defined territory of the midsize company. These firms dont get the media attention of either the gazelles or the titans, and yet there is a huge amount of value there. There are more than 1,000 companies in Washington state that have more than $10 million in annual sales, and many of them have huge potential for growth, either organically or through acquisition.

A select few of those companies rise up to push sales to more than $1 billion. And even fewer of these have the management depth, the stability and the product breadth to become true corporate titans. Those that make it tend to have strong information technology systems in place, are important sources of innovation and are constantly expanding as they move into new markets. Weve chosen 10 of those companies that we call the Titans of Tomorrow, and they are the focus of this months cover story. If you want to see who they are, check out the story on page 28. If you think weve missed some, let us know.