Inc.2 min read
Regionals.Inc
We’re a nation of competitors. Always have been—from the sharp-elbowed scramble for land unleashed by the Homestead Act to the improbable televised spectacle that is the American Cornhole League. In business, of course, winning is about revenue. Our
Inc.6 min readSmall Business & Entrepreneurs
Airbnb Co-Founder Joe Gebbia Is Betting on a New Wave of Design-Led Startups
Veeraj Chugh was fed up with webcams. A head of product operations at Uber with a flair for design, Chugh couldn’t stand the quality of the images produced by his computer’s built-in camera. So in 2020, he set out to build a better one. Within a matt
Inc.12 min read
N Hat’s Eating Steve Ells? what Steve Ells Is Eating
LAST JUNE, STEVE ELLS, WHO FOUNDED CHIPOTLE AND LAUNCHED THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY’S FAST-CASUAL WAVE, carved out time for a vacation. The entrepreneur—who for years poured every waking hour into chopping, grilling, and packaging his burritos into what
Inc.3 min read
Be Cool. Or Not
I’VE ALWAYS BEEN proud that Harry’s, the company I co-founded 11 years ago to rethink the men’s shaving market, employs some of the best designers on the planet. Today, we’ve grown into the parent company for multiple brands that sell razors, body ca
Inc.1 min read
A Sweet Hiring Hack
“The process of making the Body Stone lotion bar isn’t too dissimilar from making a fine chocolate truffle. I initially made the bars myself, but that became unsustainable. While prepping for launch, I made more than 5,000 of them in a few weeks. “Lo
Inc.2 min read
The Art And Science Of The Half Bath
“I grew up taking Korean half baths, but I never made them a consistent part of my routine until I started Peach & Lily in 2012. It has this unique effect of being both relaxing and energizing. Also, it’s easy to do—you just need water, your bathtub,
Inc.3 min read
Forget the Youthful Entrepreneur Stereotype
I’VE UNDERTAKEN MANY businesses in my life. In college, I sold calf-nursing bottles full of booze at football games. In my 20s, I launched a boutique hotel company, Joie de Vivre, and in my late 50s, I started the first midlife wisdom school, the Mod
Inc.2 min read
Entrepreneurship Can Be a Team Sport
It’s lonely business being an entrepreneur. When Sallie Krawcheck worked for the financial giants Citi and Bank of America, she was supported by thousands of employees. She was not prepared for the isolation she felt as the founder of Ellevest—an inv
Inc.17 min read
Team Player
IN A MAHOGANY AND marble conference room downstairs from Stephen Curry’s apartment near San Francisco’s Financial District, 10 executives from a constellation of businesses belonging to the NBA superstar have gathered to coordinate their efforts on v
Inc.3 min read
Yes, You Can Break Free of Your Brand
CANDACE NELSON, founder of the world’s first cupcake bakery, Sprinkles Cupcakes!” That was my introduction on more than 100 episodes of Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. It’s how the world came to know me—Mrs. Sprinkles. The Cupcake Queen. By co-founding
Inc.3 min read
Fruitful Feedback
We asked the following founders and CEOs how they prefer to give and receive feedback. The advice they shared ranged from tactical to philosophical, but a few recurring pieces of guidance kept cropping up: Be consistent, be respectful, and be specifi
Inc.2 min read
Golden Oldies
1. A Gilded Age progressive capitalist, George Pullman sought to improve the lives of workers, and profit from it. The Pullman Palace Car Company built luxury passenger rail cars and leased them to railroads. He was lauded for hiring Blacks to serve
Inc.4 min read
Pacific
Home to Silicon Valley, Sand Hill Road, and California’s economy—equivalent to the world’s sixth-largest country’s—the West Coast is a magnet for entrepreneurs. It boasted the second-highest median growth rate of any region, at 163 percent. No fewer
Inc.5 min read
It’s Time to Embrace the Chaos
Rohit Bhargava I INC.’S NON-OBVIOUS BUSINESS BOOKS The fovnder of the Non-Qbxiious Company, Rohit Bhargma is a trend curator and best-selling author of nine books. Brian Klaas draws from chaos theory, history, biology, and social science. What if thi
Inc.2 min read
Proving Product-Market Fit With Preorders
Running a household is a lot like running a business. But office managers don’t use chore charts, so why should a parent be stuck with antiquated tech? That question led friends Nathalie Stratton, Mei-Lin Ng, and Susie Harrison (above, from left) to
Inc.4 min read
Southwest
This region, which includes Texas, always gets props for its size, but our winners are also super efficient, delivering 320 percent growth per employee—the highest rate of any region. There were energy companies, yes, but also software startups, test
Inc.4 min read
Northeast
More than half of this region’s honorees have made the list before—a testament to their durable growth strategies. They hail from advertising, engineering, telecom, hospitality, and more: There’s a junk-removal business, an Al-powered GPS dog fence,
Inc.3 min read
Creative Direction
Fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff founded her eponymous brand in New York City in 2005, starting with handbags and expanding into clothing and shoes. Global supply chain issues flattened sales in 2021, as overseas manufacturers prioritized larger reta
Inc.1 min read
Everyday Empathy
Tune into your emotions to strengthen your emotional awareness. Feeling anxious? Fatigued? When you’re more in tune with your emotions, you’re also more in tune with how others feel. That means you can listen more intently rather than doing all the t
Inc.1 min read
Enter the Curryverse
Unanimous Media produces films and shows, books, podcasts, and video games. Branding agency 7K develops the identities of Curry properties. The Underrated Golf tour, with four stops at major courses, showcases diverse young golfers. Underrated Basket
Inc.1 min read
Inc. Magazine
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT SALES Jennifer Henkus CREATIVE DIRECTOR Richard Baker DIRECTOR, EDITORIAL OPERATIONS Janice Lombardo EXECUTIVE EDITORS Laura Lorber, Diana Ransom FEATURES EDITOR Graham Winfrey SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR Eric Hagerman EDITORS-AT-LA
Inc.1 min read
Sam Yagan, Co-founder Of SparkNotes, OkCupid, And Corazon Capital, Answers: What’s The Biggest Mistake You’ve Ever Made As A Serial Entrepreneur, And What Did You Learn?
“The biggest mistake of my career was not buying back SparkNotes when my co-founders and I had the chance. We incorporated the company in March 1999 and sold it to this internet company, iTurf, for $30 million— about half in cash and half to be paid
Inc.4 min read
Rocky Mountain
This rugged region claims the largest ratio of female founders, at 26 percent. From Denver to Las Vegas, women launched IV hydration clinics, formalwear disrupters, and trade show booth makers. Way-out-there Wyoming had the biggest spike in new busin
Inc.3 min read
Insta-Worthy Retail—Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
Modern Age, New York City Massive storefront windows offer passersby a glimpse into what appears to be a posh purveyor of beauty creams, cleansers, and other wellness wares. The spare but elegant retail setting, however, is actually an introduction t
Inc.1 min read
What’s An Unexpected Question You Ask Job Candidates?
Do you have any unfulfilled dreams? “Even if the dream is something unrelated to the job—like a vacation in Tahiti or going parasailing—the creativity of their answer can be telling. It reveals a lot about their personality.” —Liviu Tanase, founder a
Inc.4 min read
Midwest
Honorees in the Midwest maintained their work ethic, notching the highest total revenue, $24.5 billion. Illinois contributed the most to that growth, followed by Wisconsin—home to the region’s No. 1 company, canned cocktail brand Carbliss, which laun
Inc.2 min read
Sheila Johnson
As told to Christine Lagorio-Chafkin SHEILA JOHNSON IS America’s first Black female billionaire. She’s lived multiple entrepreneurial journeys, from co-founding BET in 1980 to creating her luxury resort management company in 2005. She’s since purchas
Inc.2 min read
The Logistics Provider Boldly Going Where Others Can’t
Inc. Power Partner CATEGORY WINNER: LOGISTICS & TRANSPORTATION KEY CLIENTS: MAJOR GLOBAL ORGANIZATIONS YEAR FOUNDED: 2001 HQ: FAIRFAX, VA LOGENIX.COM Logenix goes where other logistics services companies won’t or can’t: the developing world. Its myop
Inc.2 min read
The Software Company That Helps Individuals Find Meaningful Employment
Inc. Power Partner CATEGORY WINNER: CLOUD COMPUTING/SAAS, CRM KEY CLIENTS: U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCIES YEAR FOUNDED: 1992 HQ: PALM HARBOR, FL GEOGRAPHICSOLUTIONS.COM For employers and job seekers, searching for the right talent or role can be exhausting
Inc.2 min read
What’s Our Business? Celebrating
As the world adapts to constant challenges and shifting market conditions, Inc. continues to deliver the most useful and timely content and experiences for our audience—the smalland midsize-business leaders who drive the American economy. After over
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