Company included in Initiative for a Competitive Inner City Ranking; list to be published in Fortune

Newark, November 15, 2019 – The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) announced that Newark’s Sabre88 LLC has made the 2019 Inner City 100 list of the fastest-growing inner city businesses in America based on revenue growth.

The list was revealed at the 2019 ICIC National Conference in Boston on November 13. The full list is available on Fortune’s website here. Sabre88, led by CEO Robert Cottingham Jr., was ranked 52 based on its five-year growth rate of 113.82%. Its 2018 revenue was $27,730,226.

“It is a great honor to be included on the IC100 list,” said Robert Cottingham Jr. “It is gratifying and rewarding to be recognized alongside national leaders from so many industries.” 

ICIC is a national Boston-based nonprofit created by Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter in 1994 on the premise that under-resourced communities have vast, untapped potential, purchasing power and labor markets, which can only be realized by small business owners who are growing and creating high-quality jobs. Over the past 25 years, ICIC has built a foundation for inclusive economic prosperity, proving Porter’s theory time and again.

“Inner City 100 companies are forces of economic opportunity, optimism and transformation in their communities, and Sabre88 LLC is a shining example,” said ICIC CEO Steve Grossman.  “It leads the way in innovation, job creation and economic revitalization and it’s an honor to recognize the company’s leadership.  In addition to excellence in business, these pioneering entrepreneurs have demonstrated a deep commitment to and passion for their local communities, which significantly impacts the well-being of their local economies.”

ICIC’s Inner City 100 list has long celebrated entrepreneurship in under resourced communities. Since its inception, ICIC’s list has recognized over 1,000 companies. The 2019 winners employed 8,743 people as of 2018. The Inner City 100 program opens doors for other budding entrepreneurs from under resourced communities and stimulates inclusive economic prosperity through recognition, networking and learning.

2019 Inner City 100 by the numbers:

• Average growth rate of 227% between 2014 and 2018
• Represent 47 cities in 25 states
• Created 4,299 new jobs in the last five years
  • 86% of those jobs are full-time
• On average, 33% of employees live in same neighborhood as the company
• Average company age:  17 years
• Average 2018 revenue:  $12.2 million
• 31% of companies are women-led
• 38% of companies are minority-led
• Represent 19 industries

2019 Inner City 100 and Sabre88:

This year, Sabre88 celebrates its sixth time being recognized on the ICIC’s Inner CIty 100 list. In fact, having been on the list 5+ times, Sabre88 is recognized in the ICIC’s Hall of Fame. This is no small feat, as Lauren Cataldo of the ICIC states, “being part of the Hall of Fame is truly an impressive achievement! We were so happy to recognize Sabre88 during the National Conference for its continued growth, and for being on the list six times!”

As of 2019, 1,023 Inner City 100 winners have been recognized. Of those winners, only 92 have been recognized as Hall of Fame winners.

To add perspective to the gravity of this achievement, only 46 companies have ever been recognized on the Inner City 100 list six times. Fewer than 4.5% of companies to make the list have done so six times as Sabre88 now has.

CEOs from the winning companies were invited to the 2019 ICIC National Conference. The event provided an opportunity to network and learn from current ICIC program participants, small business alumni and other high-growth small business owners. Past winners have reported connecting with multi-million-dollar investors as a result of appearing on the Inner City 100 list and attending the conference.

Inner City 100 Methodology: The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) defines inner cities as core urban areas with higher unemployment and poverty rates and lower median incomes than the surrounding metropolitan statistical areas. Every year, ICIC identifies, ranks, and awards the 100 fastest growing businesses located in America’s inner cities. In 2019, companies were ranked by revenue growth over the five-year period between 2014 and 2018.

About ICIC:

ICIC is a national nonprofit founded in 1994 by Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter. ICIC drives inclusive economic prosperity in under-resourced communities through innovative research and programs to create jobs, income and wealth for local residents.

Through its research on inner city economies, ICIC provides businesses, governments and investors with the most comprehensive and actionable information in the field about urban market opportunities. Now in its 25^th year, the organization supports urban businesses through the Inner City 100, Inner City Capital Connections, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, and Santander Bank’s Cultivate Small Business program.

Learn more at www.icic.org or @icicorg. 

 

Annual ranking showcases the fastest-growing urban businesses in America

For the third time in as many years The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) and Fortune have announced that Sabre88 has been selected for its prestigious 2016 Inner City 100 list. This recognition places Sabre88 in an exemplary lineage of nearly 900 fast-growing and innovative inner city businesses.

Sabre88 ranked 14 overall on the list of 100. Sabre88, which provides consulting services to the federal government, reported 2015 revenues of 2.7 million and a five-year growth rate of 731 percent from 2011-2015.  “We are delighted to earn a spot on the list of fastest growing inner city businesses.  It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Sabre88 team serving our government customers each day.”  stated CEO Robert Cottingham.

ICIC’s Inner City 100 is an annually compiled and released list featuring high-power, high-potential businesses from around the country with headquarters in inner cities. Each company is selected by ICIC with help from a national network of nominating partners who seek to identify, spotlight, and further enable the named companies’ innovative urban entrepreneurship. Ranked by revenue growth, the esteemed recipients go on to have their names published in Fortune.

The list can be viewed on the Fortune website here.

In addition to announcing the list, company CEOs were invited to gather for a full-day event featuring thought-provoking sessions, insightful leadership advice, and robust networking opportunities. Past winners have reported meeting future multi-million dollar investors as a result of appearing on the Inner City 100 list and attending the accompanying colloquium.

The rankings for each company were announced at the Inner City 100 Conference and Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, September 14, 2016 at the Aloft Hotel in Boston, MA. Before the awards celebration, winners gathered for a full-day business symposium featuring management case studies from Harvard Business School professors and interactive sessions with top CEOs. Keynote speakers at this year’s event included Interim CEO of Staples Shira Goodman, Chairman and CEO of Pinnacle Group and Inner City 100 alumnus Nina Vaca, and Harvard Business School Professor and ICIC Founder and Chairman Michael E. Porter.  Other speakers included Corey Thomas, CEO of Rapid 7, Loren Feldman of Forbes, Lynda Applegate and Amy Edmondson from Harvard Business School,  John Stuart of PTC, Robert Wallace, CEO of Bithenergy, and Brook Colangelo of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

“We are extraordinarily proud of these pioneering entrepreneurs who lead the way in economic revitalization in America’s inner cities,” says Steve Grossman, CEO of ICIC, of the list of 100.

The Inner City 100 program recognizes and supports successful inner city business leaders, and celebrates their role in providing innovation and job creation in America’s cities. These companies strengthen local American economies, provide job opportunities for underrepresented communities, and drive forward economic and social development.

Boasting an average five-year growth rate of 458 percent between 2011 and 2015, the 2016 Inner City 100 winners represent a wide span of geography, hailing from 42 cities and 25 states. Collectively, the winners employed 7,324 people in 2015, and on average over a third of their employees live in the same neighborhood as the company.

Highlights of the 2016 Inner City 100 include:

• Employ 7,324 workers total in 2015.
• Created 4,696 new jobs in the last five years.
• On average, 34% of employees live in same neighborhood as the company.
• Average company age is 16 years.
• Average 2015 revenue is $12.2 million.
• 34% are women-owned.
• 37% are minority-owned.
• 6% of the winners are certified B-Corps.
• 26 industries represented in the top 100.

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Company description:  Sabre88 is a global consulting firm applying capabilities in financial services, billing support, FOIA, IT Help Desk Support, Data Entry and Document Scanning to government and commercial clients. With more than twenty years of combined personnel experience offering strategic solutions, Sabre88 staff advance the firm’s mission to provide civilian and defense agencies of the government with the necessary tools to address emerging challenges. Sabre88 was formed in January of 2008, with a mission to serve both civilian and defense agencies of the federal government. The founder, Robert Cottingham, Jr., started the firm out of a government need for innovative small businesses which provide a 100% customer focused service.

Inner City 100 Methodology: The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) defines inner cities as core urban areas with higher unemployment and poverty rates and lower median incomes than their surrounding metropolitan statistical areas. Every year, ICIC identifies, ranks, and spotlights the 100 fastest-growing businesses located in America’s inner cities. In 2016, Companies were ranked by revenue growth over the five-year period between 2011 and 2015. This list was audited by the independent accounting firm Rucci, Bardaro, and Falzone, PC.

Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC)

ICIC is a national nonprofit founded in 1994 by Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter. ICIC’s mission is to promote economic prosperity in America’s inner cities through private sector investment that leads to jobs, income and wealth creation for local residents. Through its research on inner city economies, ICIC provides businesses, governments and investors with the most comprehensive and actionable information in the field about urban market opportunities. The organization supports urban businesses through the Inner City 100, Inner City Capital Connections and the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses programs. Learn more at www.icic.org or @icicorg.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Benjamin Bratton
973-321-4886
bbratton@sabre88.com

Matt Camp, ICIC
(617) 238-3014
mcamp@icic.org