US Chamber names top 100 small businesses in America

The United States Chamber of Commerce released its list of the top 100 small businesses in the country on Thursday, recognizing entrepreneurs from across the nation.

The “CO–100,” as the list is known, is not ranked, and represents the finalists out of 14,000 applicants, which will be winnowed down to a top 10, and a single overall winner will be crowned next month.

“Small businesses embody the resilience and ingenuity that define America’s free enterprise system, yet they often go unrecognized,” Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of CO Jeanette Mulvey told FOX Business in a statement. 

“As the world’s largest business organization and network representing companies of all sizes and industries, we understand what makes a business great.”

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The CO–100 honorees for 2024 represent 31 states and Washington, D.C., and were measured for their company culture, ability to innovate and success in overcoming challenges. More than half of them – 64% – generated $1 million or more in revenue last year.

This year’s list, as always, spans across several industries, too, from microbreweries like Holidaily Brewing Company in Golden, Colorado, to aerospace suppliers such as 2Lyons Aerospace in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. There are also health care startups, fisheries, florists, and an array of retailers that made the cut.

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The small businesses in the top 100 will each receive VIP treatment at the Chamber’s CO–100 Small Business Forum on Oct. 8, when the top 10 will be named and awarded $2,000. The one overall top business will receive $25,000.

The award ceremony will also feature a former Olympian who has built a successful small business herself.

Former Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes introduces first lady Michelle Obama on March 15, 2016 in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. Dawes will be a featured special guest at the U.S. Chamber’s CO-100 Small Business Forum on Oct. 8. (Pete Marovich/Getty Images / Getty Images)

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“The CO—100 will have an exclusive meet and greet with Dominique Dawes, the three-time Olympian and gold medalist, mom, and small business owner who will share her story of grit and perseverance and how those qualities pushed her to the top of her sport and, later, led to the launch of the successful Dominique Dawes Gymnastics & Ninja Academies,” Mulvey said in a statement.