The Gazelle Club
The year 1994 was a vintage year for high-growth company analysis. David Birch concluded that 3% of the fastest growing companies, known as gazelles, created most of the new jobs in the U.S. Also, Bruce Kirchhoff concluded that 4% of firms formed in 1977-78 started growing and hiring rapidly six years after being founded. And, David Storey concluded that 4% of startups that survived 10 years were responsible for 50% of new jobs in the overall economy.
Researchers have gone on to try to correlate the gazelles with high innovation rates, and no one disputes the idea that firms with superior growth and profitability—compared to their peers–do so by differentiating themselves through innovation. Continue reading 79. How to Join the Gazelle Club