October 08, 2004   |   Mary Huss — For some Bay Area companies, the rebounding economy is fueling spectacular growth.

On these pages, we chronicle the growth of 100 outstanding privately held companies that are adding jobs and revenues to our region's economy.

In this our 13th year of publishing our annual "Top 100" rankings of the Fastest-Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area, we continue to show that certain companies have a resilience and tenacity that defies traditional economic cycles.

These are the little -- and not so little -- engines that could, and would and did keep plugging away during the downturn.

The companies on these pages were ranked by percent revenue increase from 2001 to 2003. The companies' growth ranged from Alameda-based Telecare's 30.3 percent to the eye-popping 1,602 .8 percent growth of Palo Alto-based Metreo.

Although we continue to hear about a jobless recovery, these companies collectively employed 11,543 people in 2003, adding an impressive 44 percent to their worker rolls in the preceding two years.

The companies range from the tiny -- Stagedhomes.com, which we profile on Page 12, reported three employees in 2003 -- to the sizable, like Telecare, which reported 2,000 employees.

Explosive growth comes more easily to newer companies, as we demonstrate graphically on Page 35. But age is no barrier to entry in this exclusive club. Take Rainbow Waterproofing & Restoration, a 77-year-old company whose 930.8 percent revenue growth puts it at No. 3 on our List. The company is profiled on Page 10.

The high achievers revealed in this issue represent a broad cross section of the business community, from construction (Novo Construction, No. 5) to real estate (numerous examples, including ZipRealty, No. 6) to software (Uptilt, No. 13) to marketing (Claria Corp., No. 12).

The leaders of these remarkable companies were honored Oct. 7 at a gala event at the San Francisco Marriott.

As always when we host this event each year, we find the busy executives we honor enjoy not only the recognition, but also the opportunity to meet with their peers.

Many of them are regulars. Thirty-seven of the 100 are repeat honorees. The rest have been inaugurated into a select club. Welcome to everyone!

It takes tremendous patience and persistence to assemble the data behind this List of private company growth. Research Director Thomas Pisarek spent long hours to make our List as comprehensive as it is. Art Director Carol Collier created this publication's engaging graphic design and built the charts that illustrate many of the most interesting pieces of data we culled. Reporter Mark Calvey and contributors Vera H-C Chan, Liz Montalbano and Kristen Bole contributed their talents for profiles and stories highlighting some of the most interesting aspects of our Fastest-Growing Private Companies. Senior Editor Patrick Twohy coordinated the editorial team on the project. Thanks to them for their hard work.

And thanks also to Event Manager Felicia Brown who once again put on a memorable evening to honor our listees and their exceptional companies.

We also want to thank our research partner and co-presenter, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, including partner Mick Friend and auditor and partner Maryanne Perreira.

Thanks as well to our Fast 100 sponsors: Cingular SBC, City National Bank, HR Solutions, Kaiser Permanente, Microsoft, Nixon Peabody LLP and Staples.

Congratulations to each of the companies who made the Top 100 List for your outstanding success. You provide inspiration to many looking to follow your example.