Your Awkward Phase, And Why You Should Love It

All growing companies eventually reach an adolescence - a no man's land between scrappy startup and big, established company. It may make you feel like an overwhelmed teen again. Don't let it.

The Next Steve Jobs

Many entrepreneurs and their backers will tell you they're playing the long game. But no one's doing it quite like Theranos's Elizabeth Holmes.

Will The Next Steve Jobs Be A Woman?

Why a rising tide of female founders will finally bring us the next iconic entrepreneur.

Inside The Mind Of Sheryl Sandberg

Facebook's COO is arguably the most influential woman in business. Now, even after personal tragedy, she wants to spread that influence to small businesses - and get women into seats of power everywhere.

How A Terrible Day Spawned a $70 Million Business

Megan Tamte was living her lifelong dream of motherhood - and she was miserable. Launching a store for other mothers turned everything around.

How Creative Perks Strengthen Corporate Culture

When you cant swing egg freezing and baby cash bonuses, consider more modest options that employees will appreciate.

One Woman's Escape From Silicon Valley

When the connected future finally arrives, Jahangir Mohammed will be sitting there, reeling it in.

Where to Find Your Next Superstar Freelancer

You can get great freelance help at a great price - if you know the right place to look.

Want to Beat Hackers Once and for All? Hire One Yourself

Want to strengthen your digital security? Pay someone to break into your software - and your systems.

How Even the Smallest Company Can Offer Great Parental Leave

More companies are offering new parents paid time off. With smart planning, a parental leave policy won’t break the bank.

So, You Have This Great Idea...

Hiring a prototype contractor can be a cheaper and easier way to design your product. Use these tips to start building.

Want To Earn More? Sure. Live Somewhere Else? Why Not? The Company That Can't Say No

ANTHONY SALADINO, 26, made more than $100,000 last year—but he doesn’t have a fixed salary. He’s an account manager, helping clients like the fashion brand Alexander Wang get the perfect position in the search results when you Google “fashion” or “designer.” His income reflects how much the clients pay his company. Saladino works for Elite SEM, a digital marketing business based in New York City, whose CEO allows employees to select their compensation: straight salary or a commission-based hybrid. In either case, there are opportunities for addons. Ben Kirshner, the company’s 39-year-old founder and chief executive, doesn’t mince words: “One of my greatest frustrations when I was 21 was that I wasn’t getting paid what people with more experience were being paid,” he says.

The Smartest Money Advice I Ever Got

When to spend it, when to save it, and how to ask for it: Bobbi Brown, Max Levchin, Daymond John, and 19 other founders pass along the financial wisdom that led to their success

Fetishizing Simplicity

PERUSE A RACK OF PROTEIN BARS at any grocery story and they all blend together: claims of what the food does (or does not) contain, promises of protein, and some stamp of approval by the latest fad diet. Rxbar, founded in 2013 by Peter Rahal and Jared Smith, used to be one of them. But 18 months ago, the Chicago-based company gave its protein-bar packaging a radical overhaul, and they soon began landing in retailers including Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Target, and Kroger. Rahal talks Inc. through logo shrinkage, packaging noise, and graphic-design enlightenment. 

Where Road Trips Are Both Work And A Perk

“It’s a competitive environment, but one where the overall interests of company and team and seeing the customer succeed rank higher than any individual’s success.”

Cynthia Rowley

Though her name is synonymous with fashion design, her work now ranges from developing office supplies to supporting new entrepreneurs

Project Management: Not Just For The Big Guys Anymore

Affordable—even free—technology solutions give smaller businesses access to critical project management advantages.

Going Global The Art Of Knowing Where To Launch

Stasis Labs found its first market overseas. What’s its best next move?

The Smart Way to Pay Taxes on Retirement Savings

Don’t pay all at once— and use these tips to increase your nest egg BY KATHY KRISTOF

Anthony Casalena

Anthony Casalena In 2016, his company generated more than $200 million in revenue, but the founder of website-building platform Squarespace doesn’t spend a penny he doesn’t have to As told to KRIS FRIESWICK

When Is It Time To Outsource?

Happy customers are repeat customers. But they may be happier if someone else does customer service.

Taking On Goliath

In 2013, former co-workers Julie Dacar and Amrita Grewal paired up to build their own staffing firm. Neither imagined that three years later their upstart, Washington, D.C.–based TalEx, would dethrone an industry giant, which also happened to be the parent of their former employer.

Southern Style

Today, Lauren James Enterprises, a Fayetteville, Arkansas–based apparel company that sells preppy dresses and T-shirts with a southern flavor, has more than 100 employees, three retail locations, and $13 million in revenue. In the beginning, it was just Lance and Lauren Stokes, their baby, and the business—and no time to sleep.

The Drive To Thrive

Armir Harris came to the U.S. as a political refugee, but under the wing of his uncle, who immigrated two years later, he acquired the tools to shape his own American dream. Harris is the founder of Shofur, an Atlanta-based platform that books buses for events and tracks their location in real time.

Building A Business On The Move

Cameron Cruse faced a problem common to those who marry into the military: Relocating often, it's hard to find a job, much less build a career. Cruse teamed with fellow military spouse Lisa Bradley to put people like themselves to work making high-end handbags. With R. Riveter, in Southern pines, North Carolina, they've built a network of spouses to make their products.

Making America Great

STARTING A successful business is tough. Even tougher: starting a successful business after emigrating to another country. All of these founders did just that, moving thousands of miles from home to where their talents and drive would be most appreciated. “The spirit of entrepreneurship in America is unparalleled,” says Vinita Negi, the New Delhi–born founder of Trigent Solutions (No. 369 on this year’s Inc. 500), a D.C. area–based business and IT consultancy. “There’s no comparison to what it’s like in India, or even other countries.” They still call it the American dream. These founders show us why.

Get Smart About Social Security

Maximize your retirement income with these tips.

How I Built— And Maintain— A Cult Brand (Even After Selling To Private Equity)

Greg Koch was a wannabe musician who ran a rehearsal studio in Los Angeles for renowned rock bands like Fear Factory, Fishbone, and the Melvins. Then he co-founded Stone Brewing, which quickly became enormously influential in the craft beer world, thanks to its strong brews and even stronger personality. Stone Brewing is a 12-time Inc. 5000 honoree. But forgive Koch for being more excited about a recent collaboration with Metallica.

How I Spotted— And Grabbed— The Huge Opportunity That Almost Everyone Else Missed

When Ethan Brown founded the plant-based protein company Beyond Meat in 2009, he knew he was on to something big, even if everyone around him thought he was crazy. Then Whole Foods and other grocery chains came calling. The massively successful IPO that Beyond Meat launched this May gave more proof that he just might have been right all along.

How I Joined An Industry Incumbent I'd Set Out To Defeat

After co-founding the wildly successful direct-to-consumer eyewear company Warby Parker, Jeff Raider co-founded DTC shaving brand Harry’s, which Edgewell Personal Care, the parent company of Schick, bought in May for $1.37 billion. In Raider’s view, the deal vaults him and co-founder Andy Katz-Mayfield closer to their goal of reinventing a huge category.