CATEGORIES

Clif Bar's Crusade

They could’ve taken the money and run. Instead, they became evangelists in the corporate sustainability movement.

Customers Love Her Olive Oil. Can She Meet Rising Expectations?

John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market, talks retail expansion and new product development with fellow Texas entrepreneur Aishwarya Iyer, founder of olive oil upstart Brightland.

A Good Egg

For building a kinder, more sustainable hen-laying ecosystem.

RAPID GROWTH FORMULA

CHIEF EXECUTIVEOPTIMIZER

Michael Strahan Executes His Game Plan

"I’m not going to fool you. This is who I am. This is what you get. I think people have seen every side of me." He retired a Super Bowl champion. Then he let his curiosity, personality, empathy, and leadership skills steer him into a thriving television and business career.

My Mentor Taught Me Always Go Deeper

A branding expert weighs in on a promising business idea.

Why Every Small Business Must Embrace Digital Payments

Post-pandemic it’s more important than ever that your company offer contactless payment options, and here’s how

Ask an Expert – Is This a Business?

In her 20 years at Inc., Leigh Buchanan has had some time to cook up a few business ideas. She ran one past an expert.

Disruptive MBA Startups You've Never Heard Of

Some of the hottest ventures currently coming out of the world’s best business schools

THE FUTURE OF FOOD

“THE OLD RESTAURANT MODEL IS DEAD. IT NO LONGER MAKES SENSE TO PAY FIXED RENT FOR SPACE PEOPLE CAN’T SIT IN.”

Smart Solutions Tame Payroll Complexity

Always a fundamental responsibility for employers, payroll has played an even more important role for SMBs during the COVID-19 pandemic

TY HANEY REFASHIONS HER LIFE

The Outdoor Voices founder talks about her return to the once-troubled, too-fast startup— and what she shares with a string of recently ousted female founders. AS TOLD TO TOM FOSTER

WISDOM OF WOMEN

THE WOMEN OF THIS YEAR’S FEMALE FOUNDERS 100 SHARE THE LESSONS THEY’VE LEARNED FROM BEING FIRST, FEARLESS, AND FORMIDABLE.

Kabir Barday – Cookie Monster

Kabir Barday, founder of OneTrust, is a first-generation American entrepreneur— and was early to realize that online privacy laws are creating a massive new market.

Instacanvas – Living The Dream

Matt Munson faced down entrepreneurship’s hidden demons— loneliness, depression, and a crippling fear of failure—and emerged as a great leader and a better person. Now, he wants to help you do the same.

Best Parts – Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Founder?

In 1971, I founded a payroll-processing company—Paychex.

Outer Aisle – The Matriarch

How I converted my husband and four sons into my business partners.

The Google Whisperer

Matt Wursta’s startup helps founders make the most of Google cloud tools. When Covid-19 hit, his service was critical to companies that could no longer afford it. He helped them anyway.

THE POWER PLAYER

How I leveled the playing field to give women and minorities more opportunities in the energy industry.

THE MAVERIC

How I restarted after my mentor died.

THE DESIGNATED SURVIVOR

How I stepped up to guide my daughter’s company in the middle of a pandemic.

THE MERCHANT OF EVERYTHING

How I failed and failed and failed until finding a product retailers love

THE CLOSER

How I learned to outsell the sexists in auto showrooms and leveraged the experience to sell ad programs to dealerships.

OPENING THE WAREHOUSE DOORS: Cloud Computing and Distributed Warehousing

How logistics is leveling the playing field for small and midsize businesses

Place & Purpose

So much for the onsite gym and the free lunch. They’ll return someday. But, as the 389 firms on our fourth annual Best Workplaces list show, how you work together is more important than the place you call work. Meet six of the companies rising to the new challenge.

DTC Isn't Dead— It's Everywhere

Rumors abound of the end of direct-to consumer e-commerce. So why are DTC sales expected to grow almost 25 percent this year?

Exit Interview – Andy Dunn

CLOTHES MADE THE MAN – Dunn co-founded menswear retailer Bonobos with Brian Spaly in 2007. (He is seen here at the Madison Avenue store in New York City.)

Alertmedia – Don't Start a Business Unless You Have a Mission To Build It On

Brian Cruver was a cocky, 29-year-old, freshly minted MBA who thought he had landed in the big leagues when he took a job in 2001 — at Enron.

Lead With Purpose

Inc. tapped three masters of team management—Stanley McChrystal, Raj Kumar, and Daniel Coyle—for advice on sharpening your leadership skills in good times and bad.

They Helped Save Their Co-Founder While Building a Company

Every founder knows that the culture they create can ensure their company’s survival. Rarely, though, does it save an actual life. But that’s exactly what happened at MX, a Lehi, Utah-based fintech company co-founded by Ryan Caldwell and Brandon Dewitt in 2010.