In the News - October 2002

Press Release

LEARNING VOYAGE AMONG THE ENTREPRENEURIAL GROWTH LEADERS ON THIS YEAR'S INC 500 RANKING OF FASTEST GROWING PRIVATE COMPANIES

Wednesday October 9, 2002

CINCINNATI, Ohio - Learning Voyage, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, has been named one of America's entrepreneurial growth leaders by Inc Magazine, which today released its 2002 Inc 500 ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. The ranking will appear in the magazine's special Inc 500 issue, which hits newsstands October 15.

Learning Voyage achieved 600% revenue growth in the past five years, ranking the company at 397 in the list of the 500 fastest growing companies. Learning Voyage is the leading education partner of e-business infrastructure software companies, developing and delivering training solutions for distributed object technologies, middleware, WebServices, integration, portal and application server software. Founded in 1996, Learning Voyage has trained thousands of developers and architects on leading edge products and technologies on behalf of top software vendors such as BEA Systems, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Adobe, and many others.

"It is exciting and gratifying to be included among the list of the fastest-growing private companies in the country," said Chris Dirksing, Learning Voyage's President. "We're especially pleased to make the Inc 500 list in what has proved to be a very challenging economic environment."

The 2002 Inc 500 reveals surprising resiliency within the entrepreneurial sector, where leading companies are continuing to show dramatic rates of growth despite the recession. "This is the first Inc 500 ranking to reflect the full impact of the recession," said Inc editor John Koten. "Yet these entrepreneurs are managing to confound the naysayers and move ahead despite the obstacles. They're showing that smart strategies can succeed even in the toughest of times."

The average five-year growth rate of this year's Inc 500 companies is 1,521%. While that is less than the 1,933% average for companies on last year's list, it is nonetheless dramatic in the current environment. Average 2001 sales for the Inc 500 dropped only slightly, from $24,976,000 to $24,706,000. More than two-thirds (73%) of the 2002 Inc 500 companies are profitable. Despite the technology bust, "Computer Software and Services" remains the leading industry category, representing nearly 40% of the firms on the list.

To be eligible for this year's Inc 500, companies had to be independent and privately held through their fiscal year 2001, have at least $200,000 in sales in the base year of 1997, and their 2001 sales had to have exceeded their 2000 sales. Holding companies, regulated banks and utilities are not eligible. Inc verifies all information using tax forms and financial statements from certified public accountants and by conducting interviews with company officials.