CATEGORIES

The DNA Whisperer

Anne Wojcicki's genetic testing company was almost shut down by the FDA. Now it's worth a reported $1 billion.

The 1099 Bind

The most valuable startups in America call their workers independent contractors. Courts are starting to say they arent. If your on-demand company must treat workers as employees, can the gig economy survive?

The Rise Of Kenneth Cole

Kenneth Cole hatched his eponymous brand in 1982 from the back of a trailer. Almost 20 years after taking his fashion company public - at its height, it reached a market cap of around $850 million - he took it private again in 2012, when it was valued at $280 million. Earlier this year Cole, 61, relinquished the CEO title (for the second time) of the now billion-dollar brand, maintaining his role as chief creative officer. Cole spoke recently about the seductions and pitfalls of being a public company, and why he believes private companies have more strategic swagger.

How I lost An Arm-Then Regained My Purpose

Lots of people become entrepreneurs because of an unexpected career shock, such as a corporate acquisition or layoff. Dawn Halfaker’s military career was ended by an explosion and a catastrophic injury, in Iraq, in 2004. Yet Halfaker would eventually recover and form Halfaker and Associates, an Arlington, Virginia based contractor in data analytics, cybersecurity, software engineering, and IT infrastructure for the federal government, including the Navy, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Defense.

Your Employees Want More Financial Transparency. Now What?

Advice from the founders of America’s fastest-growing private companies.

Taking Care Of Business. And Yourself

In March 1989, Daymond John launched an apparel business by selling hand-sewn hats on the streets of Hollis, Queens. Since then, his company—Fubu—has notched more than $6 billion in global sales, and he’s landed a seat as a star investor on the hit ABC series Shark Tank. In this exclusive interview with Inc., conducted over a long lunch in Chicago, John speaks candidly of the loneliness that comes with leadership, his hard-won understanding of why founders ignore their health—and the importance of a well-timed drink.

Bankruptcy, Jail, And A Second Chance

As founder of $ 30million technical support startup,Heather Blease was on top of thw world. But when one mega-client did'nt deliver, her company came crashing down. After nearly a decade, Blease decided to launch the Brunswick, Maine-based SaviLinx, another technical support startup, with a new business model— and a new perspective.

An Athlete's Second Act

This is not something I planned on,"says former college hoops star Lanny Smith. "I was always as athelete." But injuries crushed his dreams just before his rookie NBA season began. His Christian faith kept him going, and an idea to marry it with athletic wear-dreamed up while he was recuperating in a hospital-gave him a thriving Houston-based company. Oh, and his investors? They include some guy named Steph Curry.

The Warby You Don't Know

Why Warby Parker’s Founders Are Doubling Down On Deep Tech And Retail Stores—Really—To Vault Their Beloved Startup Into Its Next Phase.

Why You Should Be Willing To Turn Down Business

A sale you turn away can be as important as one you make. So how do you decide?

Plugging Into The Grid And The Source-And Playing Ping-Pong For Keeps

“We hire and retain people for their soft skills. We look for someone who is professional, communicates well, has a positive attitude, is a team player and a hard worker, and takes a collaborative approach.”

Spread The Wealth - Helaine Olen

Bracing for (Some Sort of) Regulatory Impact Washington is creating unprecedented uncertainty. How should you react?

Treating A Water Bottle Like Art

WHEN S’WELL FOUNDER Sarah Kauss locked in a distribution deal with Target, her first reflex was to make sure someone on her team actually toiled through the vendor’s phone book–size guide for new partners. It’s not all that surprising, considering Kauss began her career as a CPA at Ernst & Young and then got her MBA at Harvard Business School. “I’m so organized, it drives everyone nuts,” says Kauss. “Really, I’m a recovering accountant.”

HR Technology: The Hidden Secret Of Great Organizational Cultures

You need a great culture to land the best employees in a talent seller’s market. Technology can help.

Opensports - Organizing Pickup Games Isn't A Contradiction In Terms.

In 2014, James Gibbons was building BlackBerry apps while living with a friend who had couch space in New York City.

&Pizza, Robots & The Future Of Dining

Meet Michael Lastoria— the unlikely pizza mogul who’s quietly reinventing his industry.

Becoming Your Own Landlord Can Boost Your Retirement Income

Why investing in real estate can boost your retirement income.

Discovering The Beat Of A Business

Matt Fiedler was a product manager at a tech startup when he and his roommate, Tyler Barstow, had a very analog idea for a company: vinyl records. In 2013, they launched Vinyl Me, Please, now an e-commerce site that, for $29 a month, sends curated records to subscribers, from the vintage (Black Sabbath’s Paranoid ) to the obscure (Watch Out! by 1970s Zimbabwean band Wells Fargo). But, in 2015, Fiedler made miscalculations that led him to an emotional breakdown—and the near-unraveling of his business.

Building Your Dream Team?

Start with great benefits and attract great people.

A Tribute To The Women Who Made Him What He Is

Jarrett Bauer co-founded Health Recovery Solutions with Rohan Udeshi and Dan Priece. It seeks to reduce hospital readmissions through a platform that helps patients, and family members, monitor their recoveries. What he learned from his grandma and mother made it all possible.

How Female Founders Can Combat Bias

Research shows that investors put female founders on the defensive more than they do their male counterparts. Now theres a strategy to turn the conversation around.

It's never Too Late For A Second Act

How to start something new late in your career and still protect your retirement.

Up next / Personal Health Youth, On Tap Forever

Your stem cells hold the cure to a host of illsand maybe aging itself. Forever Labs is making sure theyll be there when you need them.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Inc. 500

The founders of this year’s Inc. 500 have already scaled great heights. Now they’re reaching for the next big summits