Hot Growth Companies

It's no small feat to spot a great business opportunity in today's fast-changing economy. Building a sustainable enterprise from that insight is even tougher. It requires speed, flexibility, innovation, and at least a little luck to thrive in the face of relentless competition. This year's annual Hot Growth list of America's fastest-growing small companies reveals an impressive lineup that has mastered that high-stakes game. Consider Las Vegas-based Shuffle Master Inc. (SHFL ). Founded in 1983 by John Breeding, an entrepreneur who figured out how to make a reliable card-shuffling machine that allowed casinos to quickly and securely deal more hands, the company has cashed in big on the explosive growth of new casinos and the resurgent popularity of poker.

That wasn't enough for Shuffle Master. Breeding left the company in 1997, but current Chairman and CEO Mark L. Yoseloff is extending his company's winning streak by plowing profits into finding new products. A former college professor with a doctorate in math from Princeton University, Yoseloff invests more than 12% of the company's revenues in research and development, far more than most peers.