Ready to Rocket

2012 Call for Nominations

2012-01-24T09:00:00.000-08:00

Have a "hot" growth company in the technology sector you want the world to hear about? Nominate them to BC's 10th Annual "Ready to Rocket" list.

Rocket Builders is Seeking Nominations for the 2012 "Ready to Rocket" and "Emerging Rockets"Lists. This recognition program will showcase companies in ICT, CleanTech and Life Science sectors and will be presented before the VEF event at the end of February.

BC is home to many of Canada's most exciting technology companies. Rocket Builders has built a unique methodology for analyzing market trends and using this knowledge to predict revenue growth in the coming year. Each year Rocket Builders publishes lists which profile the BC companies that have the greatest potential in the coming year.

The "Ready to Rocket" Lists feature top technology companies that are best positioned to capitalize on the largest growth trends in the technology industry. This upcoming list will the the 10th year of this recognition list. We expect that companies selected to the "Ready to Rocket" list will outperform the economy and represent important trends that are creating rapid revenue growth.

We are seeking nominations for the 2012 "Ready to Rocket" lists that we will present on February 28th 2012. Nomination deadline is February 19th 2012, but submission as soon as possible will allow the selection committee more time to consider your nomination.

What are we looking for in "Ready to Rocket" companies?

CleanTech Ready to Rocket List for 2012

To qualify for nomination, a company must be beyond the proof of concept stage - customer validation, scalable demonstration project, and established industry relationships.

The selection committee is looking for companies that have the potential for 50% to 100% growth in the coming year, and are in good position to leverage industry trends or key industry partnerships.

CleanTech includes renewable energy (wind power, solar power, biomass, hydropower, biofuels), green transportation, electric motors, green chemistry, lighting, environmental protection (air, water, soil) and any innovation that improves energy efficiency.

Life Sciences Ready to Rocket List for 2012

To qualify, a company must be entering a breakthrough stage in their maturity - customer validation, regulatory approval, and established industry relationships.

The selection committee is looking for early indicators of long-term potential and increasing shareholder value, such as passing key regulatory hurdles and achieving related validation steps.

Life Sciences Technology includes Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, Healthcare Information Technology and other innovations improving health.

ICT Ready to Rocket List for 2012

To qualify for nomination, a company must have more than $500K in revenue and a growing base of customers.

The selection committee is looking for companies that have the potential for 50% to 100% growth in the coming year, and are in good position to leverage industry trends or key industry partnerships.

ICT includes Information, Communications, Wireless, New Media and Internet technologies.

Nominations

Nominations can be submitted online at http://www.readytorocket.com/p/nominations.html

Please nominate a company even if the company is "too early" to qualify as Rocket Builders also recognizes emerging companies. Many promising companies are too early in commercialization, too early in first revenues, or in transition to new markets or business models. Based on the potential of their technology alone, Rocket Builders recognizes their potential in a "Emerging Rockets" list. These companies represent companies to watch over the next few years and are likely to mature into "Ready to Rocket" companies.

2011 Ready to Rocket Life Science Presentation

2011-03-01T15:13:00.000-08:00

Here is the presentation presented on March 1st 2011 at the SFU Time Centre.

2011 Life Science Emerging Rockets List

2011-03-01T10:20:00.000-08:00

Agrisoma Biosciences Inc.
ARC Medical Devices Inc.
Augurex Life Sciences Corp.
Bionic Power Inc.
Cellfor Inc
Cogent Health Solutions Inc.
Del Mar Pharmaceuticals.
enGene Inc.
Indel Therapeutics Inc.
Inimex Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Superna Life Sciences
Valocor Therapeutics, Inc
VanRx PharmaSystems Inc.
viDA Therapeutics
Zymeworks Inc.

2011 "Ready to Rocket" Life Science List

2011-03-01T10:15:00.000-08:00

Aquinox Pharmaceuticals Inc
Boreal Genomics Inc.
Celator Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
GenoLogics Life Sciences Software
Kardium Inc.
LightIntegra Technology Inc.
Progressive Health Innovations Incorporated
Sirius Genomics Inc.
Wolf Medical Systems Incorporated
Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Announcing 2011 Ready to Rocket Life Science List

2011-03-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

Rocket Builders Names Top Companies to “Ready to Rocket” Life Science List

BC’s Life Science companies positioned for significant milestones in 2011

VANCOUVER, BC – March 1, 2011

Rocket Builders today released its first-ever “Ready to Rocket” list of B.C. Life Science technology companies. The ten privately-held companies are positioned to achieve significant milestones in 2011 that will lead them to rapid growth and investment.

The “Ready to Rocket” recognition list is the only predictive list of its kind in North America.

Life Science technology encompasses Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, Diagnostics, Medical Devices, Healthcare Information Technology and other innovations improving health. British Columbia has a diversified mix of companies across all of these areas.

According to Thealzel Lee, Senior Partner at Rocket Builders, “B.C. has a strong tradition of creating successful companies in Life Science sectors like biotechnology and medical devices. With strong academic and preclinical research centres, many experienced entrepreneurs, and an active community of angel investors, B.C. has a great climate to generate Life Science companies with great potential.”

The life science industry came through the recent recession remarkably well, with global growth between 4% and 6% and it is forecast to grow globally at 5% to 7% over the next 3 years. In emerging markets like South America, Asia and Russia, growth is over 15%.

The climate for investment is very positive for Life Science companies. "Last year, Life Science investment in Canada jumped 38 per cent over 2009,” said Geoffrey Hansen, Managing Partner at Rocket Builders. “And with growing demand for biotechnology and medical devices in emerging markets like China and India, the investment prospects for young innovative companies from Canada are very good."

Concurrent with the 2011 ”Ready to Rocket Life Science” list, Rocket Builders also released a list of “Emerging Rockets” of fifteen additional B.C. Life Science companies that hold potential for breakthroughs in the coming years.

2011 Ready to Rocket Cleantech Presentation

2011-02-22T20:38:00.000-08:00

Here is the presentation presented on February 22nd 2011 at the Vancity Theatre.

2011 Cleantech Emerging Rockets List

2011-02-22T20:08:00.000-08:00

Cooledge Lighting Inc.
Energy Aware Technology Inc.
Exro Technologies
General Fusion Inc.
Light-Based Technologies Inc.
Rainforest Automation Inc.
S2G Biochemicals Inc
Saltworks Technologies Inc.
SunCentral Inc.
zPoint Products Company Inc

2011 "Ready to Rocket" Cleantech List

2011-02-22T20:06:00.000-08:00

Aquatic Informatics Inc.
Corinex Communications Corp.
Corvus Energy
Delaware Power Systems Corp.
Delta-Q technologies Corp.
dPoint technologies Inc.
Endurance Wind Power
Nexterra Systems Corp.
NxtGen Emission Controls
Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies Inc.
Paradigm Environmental Technologies inc.
Pulse Energy Inc.
Rapid Electric Vehicles Inc.
Switch Materials Inc.
Tantalus Systems Corp.

Announcing 2011 Ready to Rocket Cleantech List

2011-02-22T19:47:00.000-08:00

Rocket Builders Names Top Companies to “Ready to Rocket” Clean Technology List

BC’s Cleantech sector positioned for high growth and investment

VANCOUVER, BC – February 22, 2011

Rocket Builders today released its first-ever “Ready to Rocket” list of B.C. clean technology companies. The fifteen privately-held companies are positioned to capitalize on clean technology and industry trends that will lead them to rapid growth and investment.

The “Ready to Rocket” Cleantech list is the only predictive list of its kind in North America.

British Columbia’s cleantech sector is emerging as one of the strongest contingents for recovery from the market downturn of 2008. “When the market crashed many analysts predicted that cleantech would also fall by the wayside. That’s simply not the case,” said Geoffrey Hansen, Managing Partner at Rocket Builders. “In fact, cleantech [along with life sciences] have been driving the market’s return and some of the biggest venture capital deals in Canada have been within the cleantech sector.”

For example, Chrysalix, a BC-based energy venture capital firm, was recently named the most active cleantech venture capital firm by the Cleantech Group. According to Mike Walkinshaw, Managing Director and CFO of Chrysalix, "There is a substantial amount of interest and venture capital dollars available for locally-based cleantech companies. I believe Vancouver is one of the top three cleantech hubs in North America based on management teams, technology and available finance." Chrysalix manages over $300 million in assets.

Cleantech investment accounted for approximately 40% of all Canadian venture capital investment last year. In the Vancouver area alone, there are more than 1,400 cleantech companies, and as well, British Columbia has one of the lowest corporate income tax rates in the world making it a desirable location for technology companies to establish and innovate. B.C. has a track record of consistently launching technology companies that are attractive to investors.

According to Dave Thomas, Senior Partner at Rocket Builders, “B.C.’s innovation in the area of cleantech has a number of ‘positives’ surrounding the fact that we have a large pool of engineering talent that is drawn to a substantial number of well-established anchor companies within the cleantech sector such as Ballard, Westport Innovations, MDA, as well as Creo and the like. Also, businesses here in Western Canada are very concerned about sustainability, so there is a definite market trend and mindset toward cleantech.”

Concurrent with the 2011 ”Ready to Rocket Cleantech” list, Rocket Builders also released a list of “Emerging Rockets” of ten additional B.C. cleantech companies that hold potential for market breakthroughs in the coming year.

Emerging Rockets vs Ready to Rocket

2011-01-26T18:28:00.000-08:00

I noticed from questions received and in some of the messages flying over the social media channels that there can be some confusion about what a "Ready to Rocket" company is versus what an "Emerging Rocket" company is.

On the program's website, there is a brief explanation.

Essentially, an "Emerging Rocket" is entering the market and trying to establish a base of initial customers and its primary milestones are first sales, partnerships and investment. An "Emerging Rocket" can be a startup, but many times it is a company that has been around a number of years and a change in strategy, product or market conditions open up a new opportunity.

A "Ready to Rocket" company has clearly established a base of initial customers and revenue and is rapidly increasing headcount and revenue, with the potential to exceed sector growth rates and sometimes doubling in company size in less than a year. After achieving a significant revenue base (ie. for ICT companies, this is $25 million in revenue), a company graduates from consideration for "Ready to Rocket" as the dynamics for growth will differ from companies with less revenue.

A related question seems to be "how come companies are Ready to Rocket for multiple years?" ... As long as companies can repeatedly hit our hurdle rates for superior growth rates, they are competitive for consideration for the "Ready to Rocket" list each year. A few companies have been able to be selected for recognition for 3 or 4 years in a row by meeting double digit growth targets, while others with triple digit growth quickly exceeded the "graduation" hurdle mentioned above within a couple of years.

In our public presentation in Vancouver recently we showed our "Napkin to NASDAQ" chart from the 1990's which illustrated the lifecycle from startup to IPO (see slide #7) and highlighted that a "Ready to Rocket" company is entering a phase of maximal revenue growth while an "Emerging Rocket" company is earlier in the cycle. As you can see in this chart, the ranges of these two categories overlap and cover a significant amount of time in the growth cycle.

2011 ICT Emerging Rockets List

2011-01-26T07:13:00.000-08:00

Hootsuite Media Inc.
Indicee Inc.
Mailchannels Corporation
Mingleverse Laboratories Inc.
Mobidia Technology Incorporated
Mobio Identity Systems Inc.
Optemo Technologies Inc.
QR Loyalty Systems Inc.
Veridae Systems Inc.
Wantsa Media Canada Inc.
Wishpond Technologies Ltd.
Xomo Digitial Inc

Announcing 2011 ICT Emerging Rockets List

2011-01-26T07:03:00.000-08:00

Rocket Builders Names 12 Additional BC Tech
Companies to 2011 ICT “Emerging Rockets” List

VANCOUVER, BC, January 26, 2011 – Following release of its ninth annual Information and Communications Technology (ICT) “Ready to Rocket ” list yesterday, Rocket Builders released a follow-on ICT “Emerging Rockets” list of 12 additional BC companies it believes hold great potential for investment and market breakthroughs in the coming year.

The “Emerging Rockets” list profiles technology companies it believes hold great potential for investment and market breakthroughs in 4 primary sectors:

• ICT Emerging Rockets 2011 – includes information, communications, wireless, new media and internet technologies
• CleanTech Emerging Rockets 2011
• Life Sciences Emerging Rockets 2011

Here are the 2011 ICT “Emerging Rockets”:

Hootsuite Media Inc.
Indicee Inc.
Mailchannels Corporation
Mingleverse Laboratories Inc.
Mobidia Technology Incorporated
Mobio Identity Systems Inc.
Optemo.com
QR Loyalty
Veridae Systems Inc.
wantsa
Wishpond.com
Xomo Digitial Inc.

“Emerging Rockets” lists for CleanTech and Life Sciences will be announced on February 23 and February 28, 2011 respectively.

2011 Ready to Rocket ICT Presentation

2011-01-25T21:03:00.000-08:00

Here is the presentation presented on January 25th 2011 at the Vancity Theatre.

2011 "Ready to Rocket" ICT List

2011-01-25T19:30:00.000-08:00

Alligato, Inc.
BroadbandTV Corp
Clevest Solutions Inc
Conasys Consumer Assurance Systems Inc.
Digital Payment Technologies
Fit Brains (Vivity Labs Inc)
Guard RFID Solutions
Inetco Systems Ltd.
LiveCast Media, Inc.
MetroLeap Media
Mobify
PartnerPedia
QuickMobile
Recombo Inc.
ResponseTek Networks Corp.
Rx Networks Inc.
Spark Integration Technologies Inc.
Star Solutions International Inc
Strangeloop Networks
Subserveo Inc.
Tagga Media Inc.
TenDigits Software Inc.
Teradici Corporation
Vineyard Networks Inc.
Vivonet Inc.

Announcing 2011 Ready to Rocket ICT List

2011-01-25T19:25:00.000-08:00

Rocket Builders Names Top Technology Companies

To the “Ready to Rocket” ICT list

Annual list highlights technology trends and those private

BC companies positioned for high growth in 2011.

VANCOUVER, BC – January 25, 2011

Rocket Builders today released its ninth annual “Ready to Rocket” list of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) companies that are best positioned to capitalize on the 2011 technology sector trends that will lead them to faster growth than their peers.

The annual “Ready to Rocket” ICT list provides accurate predictions of companies that will likely experience significant growth, venture capital investment or acquisition by a major player in the coming year. The “Ready to Rocket” ICT list is the only predictive list of its kind in North America.

“After a number of years of low growth in the ICT sector, spending is expected to grow and many BC companies are well positioned for significant revenue and employment growth,” said Geoffrey Hansen, Managing Partner at Rocket Builders. “For the coming 2011 year, we are predicting that companies focused upon cloud computing, social media and mobile applications will have the most opportunity for significant growth.”

There are 11 companies on the 2011 list that were on last year’s “Ready to Rocket” list. There are 14 new companies to appear on the 2011 “Ready to Rocket” ICT list including:

• Alligato, Inc.

• BroadbandTV

• LiveCast Media, Inc.

• Mobify

• PartnerPedia

• QuickMobile

• Recombo Inc.

• ResponseTek Networks Corp.

• Spark Integration Technologies Inc.

• Star Solutions International Inc.

• StrangeLoop Networks

• Subserveo Inc.

• Tagga Media Inc.

• Vineyard Networks Inc.

According to Dave Thomas, Senior Partner at Rocket Builders, “BC has consistently been launching innovative technology companies that are attractive to investors. At this year’s upcoming Canadian Financing Forum being held on February 20, 2011, many of the “Ready to Rocket” companies are, as usual, expected to attract significant investment.”

This year’s predictive 2011 “Ready to Rocket” list of companies has been expanded to three separate lists that are address specific tech sectors. The three sectors are: 1) Information and Communications Technology (ICT) that includes information, communications, wireless, new media and internet technologies, 2) CleanTech and 3) Life Sciences. Announcements of “Ready to Rocket” for CleanTech and Life Sciences will be made on February 22 and February 27, 2011, respectively, and nominations are currently being accepted. For details on the “Ready to Rocket” list and to nominate a company for the CleanTech or Life Sciences ‘ listing, please visit http://www.readytorocket.com

2010 Ready to Rocket list results

2011-01-25T19:19:00.000-08:00

2010 “Ready to Rocket” Report Card

Rocket Builders reports significant growth and employment among last year’s

2010 “Ready to Rocket” list of tech companies

VANCOUVER, BC – January 25, 2011

Each year, Rocket Builders releases a follow-up report card of the previous year’s “Ready to Rocket” list in conjunction with the announcement of the coming year’s list.

Despite last year’s challenging economy, the 2010 report card revealed better than average revenue gains, significant growth in new jobs, and a market focus on both the US and Western Europe.

“The average growth rate across 25 companies on our list was over 70%, with 5 companies more than doubling their 2009 revenue performance,” said Geoffrey Hansen, Managing Partner at Rocket Builders. “Equally impressive were the over 1,100 employees at these companies, and the 29% average headcount growth representing over 260 new jobs in BC that were created despite the slow economy.”

A significant factor in achieving the 70% growth rate was the fact that many of these companies are focused upon specific vertical markets.

“With many of the “Ready to Rocket” companies being vertically focused, we observe their growth rate to vary across industry focus,” said Reg Nordman, Managing Partner at Rocket Builders. “And despite the slow economic progress in the United States and Western Europe, many companies reported these regions offered the greatest sales growth.” According to research company Gartner, worldwide IT spending grew only 5.4% in 2010 and is forecast to grow at 5.1% in 2011.

Other key indicators in Rocket Builder’s 2010 report card:

• 40% of companies on the list secured $30M of new investment capital

• Many companies that did not receive investment are profitably operating

• One company, Bycast, was acquired by a US-based company

• Approximately 260 new jobs were created last year

Rocket Builders also announced today that this year’s predictive 2011 “Ready to Rocket” listing of companies is being expanded to three separate lists that are address specific tech sectors. The three sectors are: 1) Information and Communications Technology (ICT) that includes information, communications, wireless, new media and internet technologies, 2) CleanTech and 3) Life Sciences.

For details on the “Ready to Rocket” list please visit http://www.readytorocket.com

Announcing Changes to the 2011 Ready to Rocket Program

2010-11-25T13:00:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to announce that the 2011 Ready to Rocket Recognition Program will feature 3 Ready to Rocket lists:

January 25th 2011 - Ready to Rocket ICT List (Information and Communications Technologies)
February 22nd 2011 - Ready to Rocket CleanTech List
February 27th 2011 - Ready to Rocket Life Sciences List

Nominations for all 3 lists will open November 29th 2010.

Emerging Rockets 2010 - Internet, Wireless and New Media

2010-01-26T22:58:00.000-08:00

Internet, Wireless and New Media companies recognized as Emerging Rockets:

Aegis Mobility
AppSocial
EcoBuddies
HootSuite
Mobidia
Mingleverse
Tagga Media

Emerging Rockets 2010 - CleanTech

2010-01-26T22:39:00.000-08:00

CleanTech companies recognized as Emerging Rockets:

Delaware Power Systems
Etalim
Light Based Technologies
NxtGen Emission Controls
Rapid Electric Vehicles Inc. (REV)
Saltworks Technology
Switch Materials

Emerging Rockets 2010 - ICT

2010-01-26T22:29:00.000-08:00

The Information Technology and Communications companies recognized as Emerging Rockets:

Clarity Accounting
Cryptolyx
Disternet
Indicee
Oprius
Veridae
Vineyard Networks

B.C.'s Hot and Emerging BioTech and HealthTech Companies for 2010

2010-01-26T22:05:00.000-08:00

This year, in addition to the Ready to Rocket list which profiles superior revenue performance, we are recognizing some BioTech Commercialization Rockets. We have identified some BioTech Companies with a breakthrough year upcoming:

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Sirius Genomics Inc.
enGene, Inc.

The 2010 Emerging Rockets list for BioTech and HealthTech companies in B.C.:

ARC Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Cogent Health Solutions Inc.
HealthSpace Integrated Solutions Ltd.
Inimex Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Kardium Inc.
LightIntegra Technology Inc.
Zymeworks Inc.

2010 Ready to Rocket list

2010-01-26T21:47:00.000-08:00

Advanced Ecommerce Research Systems
Antarctica Digital Marketing Ltd.
Aquatic Informatics Inc.
Avigilon Corporation
Axia Software Corporation
Bycast Inc.
Carbonetworks Corporation
Clevest Solutions Inc
Colligo Networks Inc.
Conasys Consumer Assurance Systems Inc
Contigo Systems Inc.
Digital Payment Technologies
Fit Brains (Vivity Labs Inc)
GenoLogics Life Science Software Inc.
Guard RFID Solutions
In Motion Technology Inc.
Inetco Systems Ltd.
MetroLeap Media
Pulse Energy, Inc
RX Networks Inc.
Sempa Power Systems Ltd.
Tantalus Systems Corporation
TenDigits Software Inc.
Teradici Corporation
Vivonet Inc

Ready to Rocket 2010 Presentation

2010-01-26T21:43:00.000-08:00

Announcing 2010 Ready to Rocket List

2010-01-26T21:41:00.000-08:00

Rocket Builders Names Top 25 Technology Companies to
the 2010 ‘Ready to Rocket 25’ List

Annual list highlights technology trends and those private BC companies
positioned for high growth potential in 2010

VANCOUVER, BC – January 26, 2010 –
Rocket Builders today released its eighth annual ‘Ready to Rocket 25’ list naming 25 privately held BC companies that are best positioned
to capitalize on the 2010 technology sector trends that will lead them to faster growth than their peers.

The annual ‘Ready to Rocket 25’ list provides accurate predictions of companies that will likely experience significant revenue growth, venture capital investment or acquisition by a major player in the coming year. The ‘Ready to Rocket 25’ list is the only predictive list of its kind in North America.

The Ready to Rocket list is viewed by investors from around the world. According to Kevin Cable, an Executive Vice President with Seattle-based Cascadia Capital, "When a BC company hits my radar I check to see if they are on the Ready to Rocket list. It helps me understand if they are a company I should get to know."

There are 19 companies on the 2010 list that repeat as “Ready to Rocket” recipients. The 6 new companies to appear on the “Ready to Rocket” list are:
• MetroLeap Media
• Axia Software Corporation
• Clevest Solutions Inc
• Advanced Ecommerce Research Systems (AERS)
• Conasys Consumer Assurance Systems Inc
• Pulse Energy, Inc

Each year, Rocket Builders does many man months of investigation into market trends and companies to refine its selection criteria. For 2010, much attention was spent on identifying industry sectors where the economy will recover more quickly while also identifying solutions where customer demand is more urgent.

“In the past we have observed how trends like Software-as-a-Service or new wireless technologies like the BlackBerry had driven growth of B.C. companies.” said Geoffrey Hansen, Managing Partner at Rocket Builders. “For the coming year, we are predicting a big impact for Smart Grid technology. We’ve already observed increased Venture Capital interest, including a recent large financing of B.C.’s Tantalus Systems.”

MetroLeap, Axia, Clevest and AERS are past recipients of “Emerging Rocket” recognition, a list that identifies pre-growth companies with high likelihood of acquiring investment and customers to position themselves for future selection as “Ready to Rocket” companies.

Today, Rocket Builders is also publishing its 2010 lists of “Emerging Rockets” and highlights companies across 4 areas of technology:
• BioTech & HealthTech
• CleanTech
• Information Technology and Communications (ICT)
• Internet, Wireless and New Media

According to Dave Thomas, Senior Partner at Rocket Builders, "B.C. has strong clusters of emerging technology companies that are attractive to investors. At this year’s Canadian Financing Forum in Vancouver later this week, attendees have indicated increased interest in early stage investing in B.C. companies."

For details on the ‘Ready to Rocket 25” list and the “Emerging Rockets” lists, please visit http://www.readytorocket.com

2009 Ready to Rocket list results

2010-01-26T21:38:00.000-08:00

Rocket Builders Reveals Success of the 2009 ‘Ready to Rocket 25’ List

Despite challenging economic conditions, companies on 2009 Ready to Rocket List have breakthrough growth and drive employment

VANCOUVER, BC – January 26, 2010 –

Each year, Rocket Builders releases a report card of the previous year’s Ready to Rocket list in conjunction with the announcement of the next year’s Ready to Rocket list.

Companies on the 2009 list far exceeded the performance of the economy and the technology sector as a whole (which grew at close to 3% to 4% last year).

“The average growth rate across the 25 companies on our list was 75% revenue growth with 9 companies more than doubling their 2008 revenue performance.” said Geoffrey Hansen, Managing Partner at Rocket Builders. “Equally impressive was the 900 employees employed by these companies and the 11% average headcount growth representing new jobs created despite the slow economy.”

This data is consistent with economic forecasts predicting “small businesses” as they key drivers of new jobs in the current economy.
Many economists are reporting an “asymmetric recovery” for the economy, meaning that some industry sectors will recover much sooner than others.

“With many of the Ready to Rocket companies being vertically focused, we observe their growth to vary across industry focus” said Reg Nordman, Managing Partner at Rocket Builders, “We noted that some companies saw good quarters all through 2009, while others saw increasing performance in the latter part of the year. In fact, some companies observed record lows and highs for their recent company history within the 2009 year.”

Another positive performance indicator was the financial positions and investment and acquisition activity observed:
• Neoteric was acquired by a US company in April of 2009
• 10 of the 25 companies received significant investment capital in 2009
• many companies reported a record quarter in the 4th quarter of the 2009 calendar year
• many companies that did not receive investment are operating as profitable companies

For details on the ‘Ready to Rocket 25” list and the “Emerging Rockets” lists, please visit http://www.readytorocket.com