Charlotte’s startup community is booming, survey finds

Startups continue to be BIG news in Charlotte.

A new survey of entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs finds that the Queen City will be enhancing its reputation as a hub for emerging companies.

The Business Innovation & Growth Council’s second survey of the entrepreneurial community across Charlotte uncovers more new and emerging ventures.

Plus, companies are looking to hire more than 900 people this year.

The survey is being released today by BIG.

And they are impressive with many more companies participating. The growth rates are strong, too, reflecting a rebound from the 2008 recession.

“The companies responding to this year’s survey have revenue just under one billion dollars and an average growth rate of 37 percent over the last three years,” David Jones. chairman of BIG and Chief Executive Officer of data services provider Peak 10, says. “The survey indicates that entrepreneurial companies will add another 928 jobs to the local economy in 2013. That is an impressive message as we consider today’s economic environment.”

Terry Cox, the CEO of BIG, says she is encouraged by the 28 percent increase in the number of companies participating from a year ago.

“It is especially notable that we had 28 percent more companies respond to the survey in 2013 than 2012, while nationally the number of entrepreneurial startups has dropped slightly two years in a row,” she says.

Companies were asked to participate and were assured confidentiality about sensitive data.

Among the findings:

The number of respondents grew to 120 from 94 a year ago
Of those, 20 percent were founded over the past two years
More than half (52 percent) of the surveyed companies are less than five years old; in the previous survey it was 50 percent.
Technology dominates startups (47 percent)
Another 11 percent are focused on business services
Eight percent zero in on technology-based education
Seven percent are healthcare ventures
Five percent focus on retail
Another five percent focus on marketing
Four percent are transportation- and distribution-based ventures
Eighty-four percent are located in Charlotte’s city limits
Projected revenues of those companies is expected to reach $960 million this year, up 18 percent from a year ago
The survey forecasts a three-year average growth rate of 37%.
Employment is expected to increase 928 this year
However, of those, 42 percent are contractors
Employment overall (full-time, part-time, contractors) is up 24 percent over three years
The average size of responding companies was 49, up from 30 a year ago
Average salaries are $54,000, which is down slightly from 2012