Fast 50 kick off

I've been getting plenty of calls this year about the Fast 50.First, I should apologize to people who have called that I didn't get back to. No good excuses, the calls just came at times when I was under the crush of other priorities.The deadline is Aug. 1. The issue is Oct. 6. The gap is to give us time to verify the applications, analyze the data, market the issue and write our stories.Here are some tips that I hope will help.Tip #1: The You'll find the requirements and the formula on this page.Tip #2: We are looking for government revenue growth from 2003-2007. It can be prime contract revenue and subcontracting revenue. Commercial revenue doesn't count.Tip #3: Use the PDF as a guide. The application doesn't have to look exactly like the PDF. Just make sure we can easily identify the revenue numbers.Tip #4: Doing the math ? I can't explain the compound annual growth rate formula. Math isn't my strong suit. But we will check everyone's calculations.Tip #5: Accountant's statement ? This is a reality check for us. It adds important credibility to the process. If you don't have an accountant, we'll accept tax returns as verification.As I said, the deadline is Aug. 1. Post any questions here and we'll make the blog a FAQ.