Business
Inc.
How I Decided To Save My Old hood
Not long ago, Clifford Joseph Harris Jr.—the rapper, actor, and fashion impresario who’s better known as T.I.—took a hard look at the once-vibrant neighborhood he grew up in. By the age of 14, he’d been arrested several times on drug charges. To flip the script for kids like him, in 2017 he founded Buy Back the Block, a real estate venture that reimagines his old neighborhood one building at a time.
3 min |
July/August 2018
Inc.
Making An Impact
North Carolina’s Bogue Banks is home to Transportation Impact, whose 66 employees get time off from work for pursuits such as caring for their waterfront community.
2 min |
June 2019
Inc.
Founders Project Beauty Insiders
Jaime Schmidt got her natural deodorant and toothpaste onto the mass-market shelves of Walmart and Costco before selling to Unilever in 2017. Now she advises Hero Cosmetics co-founder Ju Rhyu, who’s about to go big with her skin-care business.
6 min |
June 2019
Inc.
What Happens When A Wildly Ambitious Young Startup Decides To Work With The Military?
There were hoodies. Robots. Free drinks. Young founders milling around a loftlike, concrete-floored space.
10+ min |
June 2019
Inc.
How I Built Businesses On Both Sides Of The Border—and Why We Shouldn't Have It Any Other Way
Ricardo Mora is an El Paso, Texas–based telecom entrepreneur, restaurateur, tech investor, and startup evangelist. His various ventures straddle the U.S. and Mexican markets, and give him a uniquely informed perspective on border politics. Business is better for everyone, he’s found over the years, when companies— and people—on both sides of the border work together.
3 min |
July - August 2019
Inc.
How I Proved The VCs Were Wrong
When Tope Awotona founded Atlanta-based online scheduling startup Calendly in 2013, he ran into a common problem for black founders: securing VC funds. The experience taught him to stretch every dollar so that he’d never have to rely on outside funding. He credits his family in Nigeria for showing him the way.
3 min |
July - August 2019
Inc.
Inc. 500
The founders of this year’s Inc. 500 have already scaled great heights. Now they’re reaching for the next big summits
8 min |
September 2019
Inc.
Another On-Time Arrival
No.413Matt Pyatt ARRIVE LOGISTICSThree-year growth 1,107.1% | 2018 revenue $368.6M Austin | Founded in 2014
4 min |
September 2019
Inc.
Drafting A New Business Plan
No.221Greg AvolaUNTAPPDThree-year growth 1,882% | 2018 revenue $10MWilmington, North Carolina | Founded in 2010
2 min |
September 2019
Inc.
He Escaped War, Hustled In Harlem, And Created Atop Skin Care Brand: The Saga Of Sundial
In 1987, when civil unrest in Liberia brought him to America, Rich Dennis also became an entrepreneur.
9 min |
September 2019
Inc.
Founders Project Best Dressed
No.326Michelle DeLoachREVELRYThree-year growth 1,423.4% | 2018 revenue $3.8M Austin | Founded in 2009
6 min |
September 2019
Inc.
The Next Generation Of Franchising
There are as many reasons for investing in franchises as there are franchise investors. And whether the objective is blending lifestyle with business or maximizing income, franchisers offer opportunities to match almost any motivation.
2 min |
September 2019
Inc.
What's In A Name? A Business, It Turns Out
No.274Darpan MunjalSQUADHELP.COMThree-year growth 1,600.8% | 2018 revenue $3MHoffman Estates, Illinois | Founded in 2011
3 min |
September 2019
Inc.
Horseracing- Against All Odds
Despite the sport's declining popularity and aging tracks, and new opportunities to gamble, BelindaStronachis betting that her company can remake horseracing.
3 min |
October 2018
Inc.
Discovering What Makes Athletes Tick
JAYMEE MESSLER THE PLAYERS’ TRIBUNE - Messler’s sports management firm represented Derek Jeter until the baseball superstar retired. Then the duo hatched their own sports media company.
5 min |
October 2018
Inc.
9 Best Female-Focused Funds
Founding teams that include men and women produce dramatically stronger valuation growth than all-male founding teams, according to research from First Round Capital. But startups withgender-diverseteams win just 18 percent of the venture capital pie.
4 min |
October 2018
Inc.
Healing Communities One Act At A Time
​With the Subaru Love Promise, the car company is taking a stand in an age of divisiveness.
3 min |
October 2018
Inc.
The Challenges Of Building An Ethical Machine
Academics worry how A.I. will be programmed to navigate ethical dilemmas. Founders of A.I.-driven companies dont. But they should.
6 min |
November 2018
Inc.
Two Legends Talk Shop
Panera Breads Ron Shaich and Kinds Daniel Lubetzky discuss creativity, control, and the future of entrepreneurialism.
5 min |
November 2018
Inc.
Banish Payroll Headaches With Outsourcing Options
SMB leaders need to spend more time on business-critical activities and less on admin tasks. Payroll services solutions can help.
5 min |
November 2018
Inc.
Fitness Warriors
Annoyed by her lousy yoga class experience, Sarah Larson Levey created Y7 Studio. She’s part of the upward-facing boutique fitness movement.
9 min |
September 2018
Inc.
Ellen Pao On Social Media, Venture Capital, Leadership and #MeToo
Ellen Pao knows the startup world—and its skeletons—inside and out. The former venture capitalist and one-time CEO of Reddit is now the co-founder and CEO of Project Include, a nonprofit that advises tech companies on diversity and inclusion. Pao first rocked Silicon Valley in 2012 by suing her employer, legendary venture firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, for gender discrimination. Though she ultimately lost, her lawsuit sparked a long-overdue reckoning about how the tech industry treats women and people of color, and helped lay the groundwork for the ongoing #MeToo movement. In a wide-ranging interview, Pao explains why this is a critical moment for women in Silicon Valley, calls for greater regulation of the biggest internet companies, and warns entrepreneurs against the worst mistakes she sees founders make.
10+ min |
September 2018
Inc.
From Door Knockers To Bug Busters
Insects don’t respect business hours, so pest-control companies hire Slingshot to handle sales and service calls day and night. Co-founder and CEO Taylor Olson’s unusual odyssey from Mormon missionary to bug-bomb scheduler.
3 min |
September 2018
Inc.
Diagnosis: The Scrubs Market Is Comatose. The Cure? Add Fashion And Function
Trina Spear first discovered the sleepy but lucrative scrubs market when she did a private equity deal for a large U.S. scrubs maker. Then a mutual friend introduced her to Heather Hasson, a fashion designer who was working on scrub designs that featured high-tech fabrics and trendy silhouettes. The two started Figs, the first e-commerce site to sell scrubs directly to consumers. They weren’t the only ones who saw a smart idea—early investors included Lululemon’s ex-CEO Christine Day and actor Will Smith. They expect revenue this year to top $100 million.
4 min |
September 2018
Inc.
Finding Comfort In Their Own Skin
Sartorial frustration—and some encouragement from her wife, Naomi Gonzalez—drove Fran Dunaway to launch a clothing line for women with a masculine streak. But when the couple noticed that it was boxer briefs—not button-up shirts—that were flying off the shelves, they realized they had found their hero.
3 min |
September 2018
Inc.
Introducing Inc.'s Founders Project
This year, Inc. is matching 40 aspiring founders with 40 experienced mentors. Meet the first pairing: Stonyfield Farm co-founder Gary Hirshberg and Wheyward Spirit founder Emily Darchuk.
5 min |
March - April 2019
Inc.
Reliable Source
Jewel Burks Solomon launched Partpic, a startup that makes it easier to find industrial parts, in 2013, after she’d fielded one too many angry customer calls at a previous job. Soon, it was Amazon on the phone—with an acquisition offer.
2 min |
March - April 2019
Inc.
Feeding Frenzy
The incredible true story of how poke became the hottest new food business—and the startups racing to dominate it.
9 min |
July/August 2018
Inc.
How Hello Fresh Conquered America
HelloFresh blew past 100 competitors to become the No. 1 meal-kit company on the planet. The German startup is winning—but at what cost?
10+ min |
July/August 2018
Inc.
Make The Most Of Part Time Workers
They’re too often treated as stop gaps. But permanent part-timers can become a critical component in growing your company cost effectively.
5 min |