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Comerica Bank Arizona
Companies to Watch
The Comerica Bank Arizona Companies to Watch Award Program (the "Award Program") is conducted by The Edward Lowe Foundation (the "Foundation") in association with and on behalf of the ASBA (the Arizona Small Business Association) (the "Associates").
Eligibility
Companies interested in participating in Comerica Bank Arizona Companies to Watch must meet certain minimum qualifications of second-stage companies. Specifically, in order to be considered for the Award Program, a company must meet the following for the year ending 2007:
- Be privately held (not a subsidiary or division of another company).
- Be past the startup stage.
- Be facing issues of growth, not survival.
- Employ 10 to 100 full-time equivalent employees, including the owner.
- Have between $750,000 and $100 million in annual revenue or working capital in place from investors or grants.
- Be headquartered in Arizona.
- Demonstrate the intent and capacity to grow based on evidence such as:
- Employee or sales growth
- Exceptional entrepreneurial leadership
- Sustainable competitive advantage
- Other notable factors that showcase the company's success
Requirements for Entry
Companies can be considered for the Award Program in one of two ways: (1) anyone who is associated with a successful second-stage company can nominate a candidate by completing a nomination form on behalf of the nominee and (2) companies may simply submit an application form. Third parties that may participate in the nomination process include journalists, employees, bankers, attorneys, chambers of commerce or small business organizations. Information on submitting a nomination form can be found by contacting the ASBA (the Arizona Small Business Association) or ArizonaCTW@lowe.org. Nominations must be received on or before June 9, 2008 midnight eastern time.
All Nominees must submit an application form, which can be found at the Web site AZCompaniesToWatch.org. Only individuals over 18 years old and authorized to act on behalf of the nominee may submit an application form. All application information and biographical information contained in the application form must be accurate, and the Associates reserve the right to verify all of the information in the application form. Application forms with unverifiable or incomplete information may be disqualified. Completed application forms must be received by June 20, 2008 at midnight E.S.T. (the "Application Deadline"). The Associates are not responsible for application forms that are not received by the Application Deadline due to any reason, including, but not limited to, problems or technical malfunctions of any telephone equipment, software, failure of e-mail or traffic congestion on the Internet or any Web site or combination thereof.
Judging
The award recipients will be selected by a panel of independent judges comprised of representatives of the Associates and others as deemed appropriate by the Associates and the Foundation. The award will be based on the following criteria: growth in number of employees, impact of the business in the job market, increase in sales and/or unit volume, current and past financial reports, innovativeness of the product or service, response to adversity, contributions by the nominee to aid community-oriented projects, and other criteria deemed appropriate by the judges. The judging panel is allowed complete discretion in determining award recipients.
Award Recipients
Selected companies (50 Winners) will be notified of their selection as one of the Comerica Bank Arizona Companies to Watch in late August and honored in November.
