Even in the best of times it's tough for a smallish tech firm in Charlotte such as Skookum Digital Works or Jackrabbit Technologies to grab the spotlight.

It's virtually impossible when a big hometown employer such as Bank of America is making news from a plunging stock price and assorted woes stemming from the mortgage meltdown.

But as the bank took another round of lumps last week, Skookum and Jackrabbit proudly prepared to take their bow.

The companies were named by the Council for Entrepreneurial Development as among the 25 North Carolina Companies to Watch.

The award is given to innovative, second-stage companies enjoying robust growth. And while Charlotte firms don't exactly dominate the list (we had three winners last year ), Skookum and Jackrabbit go far in proving that Charlotte's reputation as safe and predictable is - at least in some cases - a bit overstated.

Take Skookum, the 18-employee software company founded six years ago by former Defense Department programmers Bryan Delaney and James Hartsell.

The firm, which specializes in creating Web-based solutions for non-tech businesses, expects revenues to rise about 30 percent this year, to $6 million.

Yet what's most impressive about Skookum is not only its growth, but that it's out to defy its customers' expectations that the best programmers are in places like Silicon Valley.

As Delaney, Skookum's 32-year-old co-founder proudly says: "Most of our developers and engineers are homegrown; we've been an oasis for creative programmers who want to work on big projects outside of the banking sector."

He adds: "We might not be able to go after the rock star developers out of college, but someone who's 30 with kids - Charlotte's not a tough sell to those people."

As for the cheaper overseas rivals cropping up from India to South America: "Anybody can crack open a book and become a programmer," Delaney says. "But the product won't be sleek, simple to use and intuitive like ours."

Mark Mahoney, Jackrabbit's co-founder, admits his company doesn't boast "Earth-shattering technology."

Since 2005, Jackrabbit has been offering Web-based enrollment and billing software for class-based organizations such as dance and gymnastics studios, martial arts, music and swim schools. Last year, the company, with 200 clients across the U.S. and 14 countries, saw its revenues rise 45 percent to $3 million.

Most impressive is that Jackrabbit did it without a home office. The 15 employees, scattered from Lake Norman to Ballantyne to Gastonia to Cleveland, Ohio, communicate daily via Skype, Instant Messenger, and other Web-based tools.

"The virtual approach allows us to hire employees we normally couldn't hire," says Mahoney, 50. "It gives us an advantage over larger companies like Bank of America. Our employees don't have a 45-minute, one-way commute, and they can eat lunch with their kids. And as long as we're paying competitive salaries, they're loyal to us. It's all about putting the right people in the right position and giving them the right tools."