2021 Inner City 100 Award

SALON 718 NAMED ONE OF NATION’S FASTEST-GROWING FIRMS IN UNDER-RESOURCED COMMUNITIES

Salon 718 included in Initiative for a Competitive Inner City IC 100 Ranking

(Brooklyn NY, December 9, 2021) – The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) announced that [salon]718 is a winner of the 2021 Inner City 100 (IC100) award which recognizes the 100 fastest-growing firms in under-resourced communities across America. The winners were picked based on revenue growth and job creation during the four-year period from 2016 to 2020.

The IC100 winners were announced on December 9 during the culminating ceremony of ICIC’s 2021 Annual Conference. The two-day virtual conference which was attended by more than 1,000 small business owners, investors, and economic development leaders, was sponsored by Chevron, Edward Jones, FedEx, Regions Bank, Bank of America, PNC, Appleton Partners, Arctaris Impact Investors, Bain Capital, Salesforce, Santander, Giroux Glass and Gude Management Group. The full list is available here. [salon]718, led by CEO Michaella Blissett Williams, was ranked #56.

“I am thrilled to be included again on the IC 100 List.” said Michaella Blissett Williams.

“We are grateful to be recognized alongside many amazing leaders across all industries. We will continue to be inspired by other businesses and innovation as we continue to navigate these challenging times.”

From 2016 to 2020, the 2021 Inner City 100 companies averaged 216% revenue growth and created 3,899 total jobs. Of these 100 winners, 32 are woman-owned/led, and 60 are BIPOC-owned/led, the latter of which is a record high-number in the program’s 23-year history.

“Achieving multi-year financial growth is a significant accomplishment,” said ICIC CEO Steve Grossman.

“The Inner City 100 class of 2021 sustained their momentum amid the unprecedented challenges faced during the pandemic to greatly expand their respective businesses’ revenue – a tremendous milestone we’re proud to celebrate.”

Grossman added, “These firms have been engines of job growth and helped build a healthy, inclusive economy during these incredibly challenging times. They have also been actively engaged in strengthening their communities by donating their time and resources to local organizations and charities. We are truly inspired by our IC100 winners.”

IC100 Methodology: Recognizing that concentrated poverty exists within metropolitan areas outside of big cities (and that poverty overall is suburbanizing), ICIC has revised its definition of an inner city (or under-resourced area) to encompass large areas of concentrated poverty in suburbs and smaller central cities as well as the large cities on which it has historically focused. The new inner-city definition that it has developed includes large low-income, high-poverty areas located in the urban and suburban parts of all but the smallest metropolitan areas.  Every year, ICIC identifies, ranks, and awards the 100 fastest growing businesses located in America’s under-resourced communities.

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 27^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.