Growth Matters: Companies That Will Lead Us Out of the Recession

As the U.S. economy withdraws from the worst recession since the Great Depression, there are certain growth companies that will help to move the process along. While it's unlikely that borrowing, spending and investing will get back to their lofty pre-2008 levels, fast growing companies will still borrow, spend and invest to create new products, drive up consumer spending and, in the process, provide sorely needed new jobs.

The most innovative businesses are those that combine the web's best practices with the physical world, creating unique value for consumers. It can be tricky, but the fastest growing companies have figured out how to do this to generate profits and to set themselves apart from their competitors.

Growing During Tough Times

In this Special Report, Growth Matters, you will find some 30 innovative, U.S. and European companies that are doing this best. You will find out how FreshDirect turned the grocery industry into an online success, while others, such as Webvan, failed and how its business is now set to prosper. You will read about how one CEO's frustration with getting useful information about road conditions on his personal navigation device led to the development of Waze, an Israeli-based company that now provides users with accurate mapping and road conditions on their smart phones, and is, by the way, quickly expanding and selling its service.

Another glimpse into this report: Mint.com, which Intuit acquired in 2009. Mint has become an online success by helping consumers switch their deposits to accounts that earn higher yields. Got to love that, especially in times like these.

This series starts today and will continue for the next few weeks. Come back often to find out which companies are forging ahead. This series will leave you not only with some valuable lessons about what it takes to run an innovative company and to grow during tough times, but it will also leave you with some hope for the future of our economy.

Click here, for our listing of some of the fastest growing companies in the U.S. and Europe.