iboats.com Ranks #48 in Inc. 500�s Fastest-Growing Private Companies
Press Release | October 21, 2004
Internet
Salt Lake City, UT - October 20, 2004 � iboats, inc., (www.iboats.com) the #1 website for the boating public, ranks #48 on Inc. Magazine�s 23rd Annual Inc. 500 List of America�s Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies. iboats also achieved the highest ranking of any marine products company and was the third highest ranked e-commerce retail company selected in this year�s Inc. 500 List as a result of its four-year revenue growth of 2,061%. The Inc. 500 Issue will appear on newsstands over the next few days and will also be found online at www.inc.com as of November 22, 2004.
For the first time in their Annual Issue, Inc. Magazine also chose to prominently feature six of this year�s 500 fastest-growing private companies. iboats was the first one of those six companies featured, with three full-pages of photos showing the owners boating at Bear Lake in Utah, and displayed on pages 5 and 16-17.
�This prestigious achievement honors all of our employees, our suppliers and partners and is the direct result of their dedicated contributions to our company and to going the extra mile in serving millions of boating customers,� said Bruno Vassel III, president and CEO of iboats, inc. �This honor also confirms our success online in building and executing a financially viable, consumer-friendly e-commerce model that supports all boating, fishing and water-sports enthusiasts, without our having taken any venture capital money.�
iboats has the largest selection of boating and water-sports related purchasing opportunities online for consumers. They offer over 100,000 boating accessories and engine parts totaling 374,000 SKU�s, thousands of non-current new and slightly used boat motors, rebuilt powerheads and major components, new inflatable boats, thousands of used boats in their online classifieds, financing, insurance, and the largest boating forums and directory online. iboats also provides custom web sites, hosting and online marketing services to hundreds of marine dealers and brokers.
Focusing on companies like iboats that started in late 1998 or in 1999, Contributing Editor John Case writes in this year�s Inc. 500 Issue, �By rights, there should be no companies on this year�s Inc. 500 that were founded in 1999. None. Zero. Consider the double whammy faced by companies that were start-ups in the last bubble year and are now eligible for the Inc. 500 for the first time,� �Whammy No.1: getting started at the height of the boom.� �Whammy No. 2: surviving the recession, which hit in March 2001.�
Interesting facts about this year�s Inc. 500 winners include the following: 56% of the CEOs wrote their own business plans; 23% have the same top management as when they began; Utah, where iboats is based, is the state with the most Inc. 500 companies per million residents; Florida has the most companies on this year�s list, very closely followed by California; more than 80% of the companies, including iboats, are profitable; aggregate revenue tops $12 billion, and the average debt is a manageable 2% of operating income according to Inc. 500.
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About Inc. Magazine Inc., the only business magazine dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of fast growing private companies, delivers real solutions for today's innovative company builders. It provides hands-on tools and market-tested strategies for managing people, finances, sales, marketing and technology. Inc. is the premier publication that focuses on small-to-medium size businesses, which are responsible for more than half the nation's gross domestic product and 75% of its new jobs. And Inc. looks beyond work to address the entrepreneurial lifestyle. Inc., a Gruner + Jahr USA publication, inspires and informs, with cutting edge coverage that reflects our readers' energy, brashness and imagination.
About iboats.com iboats.com was co-founded in October of 1998 by Bruno Vassel III and his son Bruno IV. Today the company offers a broad range of e-commerce opportunities that support all boating, fishing and water-sports enthusiasts. To back up its claim of being the #1 boating site, iboats.com currently receives over 33 million visitors per year who view a quarter billion pages. iboats also covers all major areas of interest in boating with the largest number of boating items for sale online, boating classifieds, boat financing and insurance, and the largest marine directory and boating forums online. These forums currently have 549,473 answers posted to over 97,600 questions covering 21 marine-related topics, an average of 6 answers for every boating question. Some questions receive over 75 answers. As a core principle of the company, iboats strongly supports the marine manufacturers and thousands of retailers in North America, offering them online business solutions in the form of personalized web sites, e-commerce capabilities, powerful online boat-listing services, a boat and motor leads program, and significant traffic directed to participating retailers' web sites and physical establishments.
Internet
Salt Lake City, UT - October 20, 2004 � iboats, inc., (www.iboats.com) the #1 website for the boating public, ranks #48 on Inc. Magazine�s 23rd Annual Inc. 500 List of America�s Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies. iboats also achieved the highest ranking of any marine products company and was the third highest ranked e-commerce retail company selected in this year�s Inc. 500 List as a result of its four-year revenue growth of 2,061%. The Inc. 500 Issue will appear on newsstands over the next few days and will also be found online at www.inc.com as of November 22, 2004.
For the first time in their Annual Issue, Inc. Magazine also chose to prominently feature six of this year�s 500 fastest-growing private companies. iboats was the first one of those six companies featured, with three full-pages of photos showing the owners boating at Bear Lake in Utah, and displayed on pages 5 and 16-17.
�This prestigious achievement honors all of our employees, our suppliers and partners and is the direct result of their dedicated contributions to our company and to going the extra mile in serving millions of boating customers,� said Bruno Vassel III, president and CEO of iboats, inc. �This honor also confirms our success online in building and executing a financially viable, consumer-friendly e-commerce model that supports all boating, fishing and water-sports enthusiasts, without our having taken any venture capital money.�
iboats has the largest selection of boating and water-sports related purchasing opportunities online for consumers. They offer over 100,000 boating accessories and engine parts totaling 374,000 SKU�s, thousands of non-current new and slightly used boat motors, rebuilt powerheads and major components, new inflatable boats, thousands of used boats in their online classifieds, financing, insurance, and the largest boating forums and directory online. iboats also provides custom web sites, hosting and online marketing services to hundreds of marine dealers and brokers.
Focusing on companies like iboats that started in late 1998 or in 1999, Contributing Editor John Case writes in this year�s Inc. 500 Issue, �By rights, there should be no companies on this year�s Inc. 500 that were founded in 1999. None. Zero. Consider the double whammy faced by companies that were start-ups in the last bubble year and are now eligible for the Inc. 500 for the first time,� �Whammy No.1: getting started at the height of the boom.� �Whammy No. 2: surviving the recession, which hit in March 2001.�
Interesting facts about this year�s Inc. 500 winners include the following: 56% of the CEOs wrote their own business plans; 23% have the same top management as when they began; Utah, where iboats is based, is the state with the most Inc. 500 companies per million residents; Florida has the most companies on this year�s list, very closely followed by California; more than 80% of the companies, including iboats, are profitable; aggregate revenue tops $12 billion, and the average debt is a manageable 2% of operating income according to Inc. 500.
About Inc. Magazine Inc., the only business magazine dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of fast growing private companies, delivers real solutions for today's innovative company builders. It provides hands-on tools and market-tested strategies for managing people, finances, sales, marketing and technology. Inc. is the premier publication that focuses on small-to-medium size businesses, which are responsible for more than half the nation's gross domestic product and 75% of its new jobs. And Inc. looks beyond work to address the entrepreneurial lifestyle. Inc., a Gruner + Jahr USA publication, inspires and informs, with cutting edge coverage that reflects our readers' energy, brashness and imagination.
About iboats.com iboats.com was co-founded in October of 1998 by Bruno Vassel III and his son Bruno IV. Today the company offers a broad range of e-commerce opportunities that support all boating, fishing and water-sports enthusiasts. To back up its claim of being the #1 boating site, iboats.com currently receives over 33 million visitors per year who view a quarter billion pages. iboats also covers all major areas of interest in boating with the largest number of boating items for sale online, boating classifieds, boat financing and insurance, and the largest marine directory and boating forums online. These forums currently have 549,473 answers posted to over 97,600 questions covering 21 marine-related topics, an average of 6 answers for every boating question. Some questions receive over 75 answers. As a core principle of the company, iboats strongly supports the marine manufacturers and thousands of retailers in North America, offering them online business solutions in the form of personalized web sites, e-commerce capabilities, powerful online boat-listing services, a boat and motor leads program, and significant traffic directed to participating retailers' web sites and physical establishments.
