Based: Houston
Employees: 13
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After the Obama Administration issued its deepwater-drilling moratorium in May 2010, the Hot Shot Delivery courier service had to scramble. Most of its clients belong to, or service, the energy sector, whose oil and gas companies cut back drastically, says President Eric Donaldson. "The moratorium may have appeared to be aimed at the big oil companies, but many small businesses all the way down the line felt the effects of the activity coming to a halt," he says. Donaldson, 34, who took over from his father as president of the 33-year-old business in 2006, filled the gap by delivering secure documents to New Orleans. Now business is picking up, he says. "You can't just sit on your hands—you either grow or you go."