Regionals BLAZING A TRAIL TO THE INC. 5000

We're a nation of competitors. Always have been-from the sharp-elbowed scramble for land unleashed by the Homestead Act to the improbable televised spectacle that is the American Cornhole League.

In business, of course, winning is about revenue. Our spin on this competition is to measure how quickly companies compound revenue, no matter the total.

We've been doing that for more than 40 years with the Inc. 5000, our benchmark list of America's fastest-growing private companies. And with so many early-stage companies fueling the U.S. economy-hiring while many big companies are announcing layoffs-we are once again opening up our signature ranking to younger companies through the Inc. Regionals. Rather than looking at revenue growth over three years, as we do for the Inc.

5000, Regionals tracks revenue over two years. (To drill into our methodology, turn the page.) Dividing companies into regions also gives their founders a crack at local bragging rights.

The 1,132 honorees who made the cut this year are a collection of entrepreneurs who hit the ground running with an idea that took off like a shot. People like Sophia Edelstein and Nathan Kondamuri, classmates from Stanford who created a line of eye glasses that allow wearers to change their look on a daily basis.