Innholdsfortegnelse for Winter 2020 i Inc. Magazine

A few years before I arrived at Inc., I wrote a patent for the technology behind a wellness startup. If you wanted to geek out on, ahem, biotelemetrics and real-time feedback loops directing psychoacoustic content engines and light therapy inducing predetermined brainwave states, I was your guy. Meanwhile, the founder ran the sales program, which turned out to be less about solving customer problems than it was about talking about anything but customer problems. Another colleague worked the business model, constantly revising, trying to jiggle it like an empty champagne bottle to see if there were just a few more drops left, even if that wouldn’t be enough for a toast. We were all enthralled by our brilliant idea. Too bad we didn’t have a reason to exist, really. We…

Plastic bandages are out—or at least they will be if a team of University of California, Davis, students successfully create a biodegradable alternative. Sabah Khan (far right), a biosciences major, and Nadiah Mohammed (right), a design major, along with former UC Davis students Elisa Morillo and Nealah Lee, launched BioBandage in 2019 to meet a growing consumer demand for green products. “You don’t want to feel guilty when using a product,” says Mohammed. As participants in Techstars’ collegiate accelerator program, Launchpad Lift, the co-founders have been mentored by executives from Johnson & Johnson, a potential partner when they have a workable prototype. Khan and Mohammed note that, along with demanding ecofriendly products, consumers also have a desire to personalize their purchases. That’s why BioBandage’s future customers will be able to…

It’s a strange feeling, being an overnight success at age 51. Four years ago, I founded my first company, Constellation Agency (No. 65 on the 2020 Inc. 5000 list). Today, we do north of $20 million in annual revenue providing microtargeted digital advertising creative to more than 900 auto dealerships across the country. Just a few years before, though, I was at the bottom. At 40, I was a divorced single mom, consulting for auto manufacturers and burned-out by a career I wasn’t passionate about. I was doing OK, but I felt like a failure inside. I remember standing numb in front of the mirror and realizing I didn’t know what my favorite food was, what kind of movies I liked to watch, or even what clothes I liked to…

In the years since Mackey co-wrote the 2013 bestseller Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business, readers have sought out the Whole Foods Market boss to ask one question more than any other: How does one become a conscious leader? Though Mackey and his co-author, Raj Sisodia, touched on the subject of leadership in the book, which argues that business is about more than just making a profit, they left readers wanting more. A lot more. In September, Mackey published Conscious Leadership: Elevating Humanity Through Business with co-authors Steve McIntosh and Carter Phipps. The book offers nine characteristics and behaviors that purpose-driven leaders share, but Mackey is the first to admit that learning conscious leadership takes time. “You can’t read a book and all of a sudden get it,”…

COMPANY OF THE YEAR Puritan Medical Products GUILFORD, MAINE The alarm sounded twice on Saturday, March 14. First came a midmorning phone call to Timothy Templet, co-owner of Maine’s Puritan Medical Products, from Brett Giroir, the U.S. assistant secretary for health, who wanted to know how fast Puritan could ramp up production of its nasal swabs. Two hours later, a second call went to Scott Wellman, Puritan’s interim general manager, who was waiting in line for lobster rolls and sent it straight to voice mail. He would soon find out it came from Maine senator Angus King, who was trying to secure Puritan swabs on behalf of his senatorial colleague in Oregon. “All of a sudden, I’m getting a call from a U.S. senator on the weekend?” Wellman remembers thinking.…

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. MICHAEL STRAHAN WAS GASSED, his body and brain running on adrenaline when he glanced at the game clock on the evening of February 3, 2008—Super Bowl XLII. There was just 2:39 left to play, and his New York Giants were trailing the undefeated and heavily favored New England Patriots 14-10. As Giants quarterback Eli Manning prepared to run onto the field for a final, desperate drive, he saw Strahan, the team’s defensive cornerstone, corral the hulking corps of offensive linemen and shout: “Seventeen-fourteen! Believe it, and it will happen!” This sort of pep talk was part of Strahan’s job. He’d always been able to inspire…

The free-market system has produced some of the most innovative products and services the world has seen in almost every corner of the economy. How is it that aspects of the American health care system remain such a glaring exception to this phenomenon? That question nagged at Tony Dale, a former physician from Great Britain, after a disquieting encounter with the American health care system following surgery in the mid-1990s. It spurred him to create Sedera, an Austin, Texas-based medical cost-sharing community that has grown by more than 2,000 percent over the past three years. Medical cost-sharing is often misconstrued as a type of health insurance, but it’s not. Medical cost-sharing organizations, like Sedera, offer an innovative approach to managing large health care costs through direct member-to-member sharing. “Sedera is…

It’s a rare but serendipitous occurrence when a business ends up doing well by doing good, but that’s just what happened to Jacksonville, Florida-based advertising agency Brunet-García on its journey from bootstrapped startup to Inc. 5000 recognition. Lacking promotional dollars to build awareness in its early days, the agency focused on pro bono campaigns for regional arts and social services organizations. That largesse heightened its visibility and led to high-profile national advertising and design awards. Doing good in its community is a Brunet-García hallmark that remains pivotal to its culture today. Jorge and Diane Brunet-García, ad industry vets with 30 years of major brand experience under their belts, launched the agency in 2003 with just $25,000 and two small accounts generating about $125,000 in revenue. They focused on outreach to…

Businesses can have a hard time paying rent, salaries, and product costs. Adding in credit card processing fees can impact profits. That’s one reason WOW Payments’ CEO Eugene Gold finds his business so meaningful. Gold wants to make it simple for merchants: with a flat $49.99 monthly membership, they can process unlimited credit card transactions and choose to participate in the cash discount or surcharge program. While they have some competitors offering a cheaper rate, “you get what you pay for. We pride ourselves on quality,” Gold says. “We build mutually beneficial relationships with all our customers, which is why they do not go to competitors.” That attitude first landed them the No. 64 spot on the Inc. 5000 list in 2018, and then No. 1,766 in 2019 in addition…

As a late teen, Peter Ranzino would sneak into the Louisiana State University library to read business books and magazines, including Inc. “At the time, school was not a financial option, but I wanted to learn how to start a business, and in that library, I knew there was an answer to my question, ‘How do I get from where I am now to where I want to be?’” he says. The answer came quickly: find a customer. Ranzino hit the phones and landed his first meeting with a $6 billion insurance broker in Chicago. He had only a vision, nothing tangible. In a subsequent meeting with the company’s director, he landed his first client. He later sold the intellectual property of the Multimedia Training Network to that same firm.…

$500 million Projected 2020 Sales $56 million Sales in Sept. 2020 A common mistake entrepreneurs make is thinking they will get rich quick, explains Jayson Waller, an award-winning serial entrepreneur and founder of POWERHOME SOLAR, No. 255 on the Inc. 5000. In 2014, Waller left a lucrative home security business to launch POWERHOME SOLAR, only to lose millions his first few years. But he stayed the course, and in doing so, built a soon-to-be billion-dollar business on a mission to empower Americans to own their energy. The turning point came in 2017, when Waller’s company switched from installing Chinese panels to U.S.-made products. It was risky because the panels were more expensive, but they were better products with a longer warranty. Customers responded, and the company doubled nearly overnight, Waller…

Ask What Not to Do When Wagmo founder and CEO Christie Horvath started her pet insurance company, she talked to former employees of rival firms to learn about their pain points. Those conversations informed Horvath’s decision to build her own processing system for wellness claims instead of buying something off the shelf. Automated imaging technology helps Wagmo pay claims in about 24 hours instead of the weeks typical of the industry. “Position it as advice,” says Horvath. “People hesitate to tell you what to do, but asking for someone’s expertise can go a long way.” Leave the Beaten Path Colin McIntosh set out to build a bedding company that zigs when other brands zag. His startup, Sheets & Giggles, regularly uses Facebook’s Ad Library tool to keep an eye on…

At Invisibly, you’re trying to help consumers understand how their data is monetized for ads. Why? I believe that individuals should own their data. We have several very powerful companies whose business is to give you “free” stuff, but you essentially pay them with your identity. Can you tell me about micropayments? Efficient micropayments would be hugely valuable in media, for example, where the current model is a lump subscription fee that doesn’t make sense for most consumers. Other than micropayments, what has you excited? I’m interested in how information can be used to make credit more fair. If you look at a system like Square, we have a lot of information about what merchants are selling. That information allows us to trust customers more than if we didn’t have…

In my new book about the post-pandemic business world, I write about some of the traits that will determine which businesses survive the recession. Companies with variable cost structures and asset-light models are more likely to withstand revenue declines. Products and services that give back time to people juggling work and schooling at home will be highly valued. And leaders who can increase employee satisfaction and innovation during the “great dispersion” of remote work will emerge with a potent new skill in their management toolkit. READ MORE OF THE BOOK’S KEY LESSONS AT INC.COM/MAGAZINE.…

Faced with a tough decision that needs to be made quickly, most leaders’ command-and-control instincts kick in. They are often wrong. In a world changing at an extraordinary pace, expecting a leader under pressure to make the call alone is to overlook the talent in the team. The better answer is quick-fire collaboration. Today’s economy demands that value be extracted from the interdependencies within a team. The real challenge of rapid decision-making is to adopt behaviors and practices that accelerate team collaboration. Rapid, collaborative decision-making is at the heart of the principle I call co-elevation. By definition, co-elevation happens when a team is committed to the growth of the business—and one another. They go higher, together. They don’t just co-exist. When team members merely co-exist, and collaboration is the exception…

“YOU CAN HAVE INFLUENCES AND PEOPLE WHO ARE CLOSE TO YOU TO HELP GUIDE YOU TO THE RIGHT DECISION, BUT ULTIMATELY YOU DRIVE YOUR CAREER.” MARIA SHARAPOVA In October, Sharapova, winner of five Grand Slam singles tennis titles and co-founder of high-end candy company Sugarpova, spoke with Inc. about balancing the guidance of the team around you with your own instincts and judgment. “A great mentor is the one who pushes back, who says, ‘No, I disagree. I don’t think that’s going to work.’ Then you have to prove it.” TARIQ FARID Founder of fresh fruit gift basket franchise Edible Arrangements, Farid noted in June that while many mentors will help you navigate career questions, a mentor who also challenges your ideas and sends you back to the drawing board…

“TAKE IN THE DISAPPOINTMENTS. THEY WILL COME. THEY ARE IMPORTANT. THEY ARE PART OF THE OPPORTUNITY TO CLARIFY WHAT YOU WANT TO DO.” TRACEE ELLIS ROSS Actor, producer, and activist Ross couldn’t just add “founder” to her résumé-she had to prove herself as an entrepreneur first. Now the CEO of hair care line Pattern, she shared with Inc. in November that after some early rejection left her in tears, she ultimately learned how the feedback could help her grow. How heavily should data weigh in your strategy decisions? Julia Cheek has some advice at inc.com/real-talk. “You’re in business to satisfy customers, and if you can’t do that, you’re going to fail.” JOHN MACKEY Mackey, co-founder of Whole Foods Market, learned early in his career that being successful requires compromise. In…

$62 million 2019 Revenue 30 Employees With 90 percent of consumers now watching streaming video content, according to advisory firm PwC, people continue to “cut the cord.” Consequently, advertising dollars are moving to where the action is. “With ad budgets shifting from traditional media toward streaming and digital outlets,” says Tedd Barr, managing partner at Converze Media Group, “Converze is uniquely positioned to capture that business.” Converze is one of the fastest-growing direct response TV (DRTV) and over-the-top (OTT) media buyers, while also being one of the largest Sirius XM, terrestrial radio, and podcast buyers in the country. It has relationships with more than 20,000 TV and radio stations, providing the ability to negotiate rates for clients that are as much as 80 percent less than traditional rates. However, at…

“IN TENNIS, I BELIEVE IN ONE WINNER. THAT’S THE GREAT THING ABOUT BUSINESS. THERE ISN’T JUST ONE WINNER. THERE’S ROOM FOR EVERYONE TO WIN I LOVE THAT." VENUS WILLIAMS Founder of athleisure brand EleVen by Venus Williams, the tennis great made plenty of rookie mistakes when starting her business. Williams stressed to Inc. the importance of putting your entire team—rather than just yourself—in a position to win. “There should be no convincing your staff of anything. It’s not about convincing. It’s about inspiring. It’s about showing up at work and being very, very honest.” SIMON SINEK A business coach and best-selling author, Sinek calls crisis “the great revealer.” In a June Real Talk, he said that crises create a moment for leaders to reaffirm why they do what they do, and—just…

Growing up in a family of entrepreneurial immigrants, Suneera Madhani, founder and CEO of Orlando, Florida-based Fattmerchant, culled firsthand knowledge about the pain points of running a small business, one of which was payment processing. As she pursued her own career in that very industry, she recognized a massive opportunity for creative disruption. “The industry was outdated, heavily commoditized, and had zero regard for the success of its clients,” she says. “I knew there had to be a better way.” Madhani is a self-described “data nerd” and lover of all things subscription. She saw the tremendous volume of transactions midmarket businesses were running as a motherlode of data value that no one was mining. Radically simplifying the payment experience with a first-of-its-kind, subscription-based credit card processing company would provide merchants…

“HOW DO YOU HIRE PEOPLE WHO RAISE THE BAR FOR EVERYONE ELSE? I LOVE THAT CONCEPT, BECAUSE I AM SOMEONE WHO LOVES TO LEARN FROM OTHER PEOPLE. AND SO WITH EACH EXECUTIVE LEADER WE’VE BROUGHT ON WHO HAS DEEP EXPERIENCE IN THAT FUNCTION, I KNOW THEY’RE RAISING THE BAR FOR EVERYONE.” SHAN-LYN MA Co-lounder and CEO of wedding-registry startup Zola, Ma relies on her love of learning to help her grow as an entrepreneur. During an Inc. interview in June, she talked about how. she hires executives with complementary experience to help the rest of her team learn skills she couldn’t teach them herself. “It’s easy to lay people off. It’s hard to hire people back.” CAREY SMITH Founder of Big Ass Fans and Unorthodox Ventures, from an Inc. conversation…

1208% 3-Year Growth 1+ million Pet Families Served Blake Anderson, CEO of Pet Parents, can vividly remember one of the first product reviews ever posted for his company’s washable dog diapers. In the review, the customer wrote that his beloved 14-year-old dog had sadly been relegated to the kitchen due to incontinence issues, and thanks to Pet Parents, the dog could now rejoin his family in the rest of the home. “I’ll never forget that,” Anderson says, “and now I and everyone at Pet Parents works tirelessly to create more moments like that one.” AN EXPLODING MARKET There are as many as 89.7 million pet dogs in the U.S., according to the American Pet Products Association, with owners expected to spend more than $94 billion on pet products and services…

(required by Act of August 12, 1970: Section 3685, Title 39, United States Code). 1. INC. 2. ISSN: 0162-8968 3. Filing date: 10/1/2020. 4. Issue frequency: 7 times per year. 5. Number of issues published annually: 7. 6. The annual subscription price is $19. 7. Complete mailing address of known office of publication: 7 WORLD TRADE CENTER, NEW YORK, NY 10007-2195. Contact person: Kolin Rankin. Telephone: 305-859-0063. 8. Complete mailing address of headquarters or general business office of publisher: 7 WORLD TRADE CENTER, NEW YORK, NY 10007-2195. 9. Full names and complete mailing addresses of publisher, editor, and managing editor. Publisher, RICHARD RUSSEY, 7 WORLD TRADE CENTER, NEW YORK, NY 10007-2195; editor, SCOTT OMELIANUK, 7 WORLD TRADE CENTER, NEW YORK, NY 10007-2195; managing editor, JANICE LOMBARDO, 7 WORLD TRADE CENTER,…

Brandin Cohen PEAK PERFORMANCE POWDER ≫ In 2012, when he was 24 years old, Cohen founded Liquid I.V., which makes an electrolyte drink mix. Eight years later, more than 35,000 U.S. stores carry the company’s products. STAR POWER ≫ The company has attracted a large group of celebrity investors, including Justin Bieber, Kevin Hart, and Kendall Jenner. GLOBAL AMBITIONS ≫ Unilever acquired Liquid I.V. in September for an undisclosed sum and will help the company expand internationally. Global expansion is typically a years-long process, even if you overcome all of the logistical and regulatory hurdles. Unless, that is, like this founder, you find a buyer that already has that reach. Now, Cohen says, his company has everything it needs to move at “warp speed.” —GRAHAM WINFREY You started developing Liquid…

TRACY SUN, CO-FOUNDER, POSHMARK: What I have learned from Aileen Lee [founder of VC firm Cowboy Ventures] over the years is to speak without asking for permission. Aileen is not scared to share controversial opinions. It’s not arrogance. She really believes in what she says, and she doesn’t shy away. That sticks with me. I’m a softspoken female in a field that’s dominated by men. And I grew up in an immigrant family where women aren’t supposed to have a career like mine. To break through those barriers, I have had to push hard against imposter syndrome. It’s hard when you look around and not many people look like you, so when I first learned of Aileen, I was like, ‘Oh, it’s an Asian woman! Who’s really powerful! And she…

Zach Supalla, CEO, Particle: The reMarkable tablet is a lifesaver for people like me. I live out of my notebook and take notes constantly—it helps me remember conversations better and think through sticky problems. It’s an e-paper tablet, so it feels basically like pen and paper, which makes the whole system more natural and flexible than some of the apps out there. Because the tablet saves everything in a digital format to the cloud, it’s a great replacement for keeping piles of old notebooks lying around. It can even convert handwriting to typed text, and with two weeks of battery, I’m not tethered to an outlet. For me, reMarkable is particularly powerful when combined with the bullet journal method. Bullet journaling, which has been around for a while, includes a…

The vow “First, do no harm” is associated with doctors, but those exact words aren’t written in the Hippocratic oath. And I’d go so far as to say that such a vow is much better suited for other professionals. Take, oh, I don’t know, maybe investors—particularly the kind who back young, up-and-coming enterprises. Just imagine how different the world of venture capital would be if firms tried to live by that motto. They’d have to find something else to do with all the money they could no longer heap willy-nilly on entrepreneurs, because there’s no question that it often causes harm—to both the entrepreneurs and to the VCs’ own investors. Studies suggest that 75 percent of VC-backed companies don’t pay off. Maybe VCs would be forced to get creative and…

THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY of the first Whole Foods Market in September was bittersweet for co-founder and CEO John Mackey. He marked the occasion with the publication of his second book, Conscious Leadership, a follow up to 2013’s Conscious Capitalism, but knew the pandemic had made 2020 the worst year of many people’s lives, including his. Still, like most successful entrepreneurs, Mackey is an optimist—and resilient. “I always keep my chin up and move forward,” he says. “Life is short. We should live it with heart and passion.” In October, Mackey talked with fellow Houston native Aishwarya Iyer, founder of the handcrafted olive oil brand Brightland, to share some of his optimism—and wisdom. Founded in 2018, Los Angeles-based Brightland launched a line of direct-to-consumer extra virgin olive oils sourced from family-owned…

There was a time, maybe you remember it, when all a business had to do to make an impact was put more black than red in the ledger. Hell, every year for 40 years, Inc. has recognized businesses with skyrocketing revenue by including them in the prestigious Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America. Making the 5000 list remains a preeminent achievement. But more than hitting sales targets, having an impact in 2020 has meant being bold. Putting purpose before profit. Leaving your collaborators, clients, customers, employees, and surroundings better off than when you found them. This year, the editors of Inc. are recognizing this impact—recognizing you—by launching our Best in Business Awards featuring the Company of the Year. In its inaugural outing, this program attracted 2,700…

King Camp Gillette, inventor, entrepreneur, author, and anticapitalist-utopian millionaire, was so eccentric as to make Elon Musk seem average. Yet as the creator of the double-edge safety razor and founder of the firm that still bears his name, Gillette is an American business immortal—and not merely for the product he patented in 1904. Gillette exploited a business model that is still worshiped at the altar of marketing: Sell the handle cheap and make a killing on the blades, which will be purchased continually for as long as beards keep growing. Gillette’s is still a model model. Hewlett-Packard will gladly sell you a $70 printer in return for your buying its $15-to-$25 ink cartridges for the next five years. Nespresso prices a sleek espresso maker at $104 to sell you the…

ERIKA KULLBERG did everything right. In 2015, during her third year at Georgetown Law, she and classmate Jimmy McNamara founded ReferU, which added a social dimension to the referral of new tenants for apartment buildings. The partners made their way around a conference for the apartment-management industry, memorizing the names and faces of big players they wanted to approach. There, they scored meetings that produced verbal commitments from three property-management businesses. Wanting a mentor, they reached celebrity VC Chris Sacca by trying multiple permutations of his Gmail address, and landed a Skype session. Interns came on board. Angels began to circle. In February 2016, Kullberg assessed her situation, weighing the potential of ReferU against a lucrative offer from international law firm Morrison & Foerster. The deciding factor in favor of…

Ramen noodles used to mean college kid food—an inexpensive meal hack for people on a budget. A-Sha Foods’ ramen noodles are different. They’re tasty, certainly, but they are also made with sustainable, premium ingredients and air-dried, not deep-fried like other brands. With a 1,182 percent three-year growth rate, A-Sha Foods ranks no. 392 on the Inc. 5000. CEO Young Chang says they are poised for even more explosive growth and on a mission to become a well-known American brand. He credits success to the quality of the product, perseverance, and a strong leadership team. A “NEW” BUSINESS WITH A LONG HISTORY Chang officially launched the company in 2015, but the noodles originate from a noodle factory in Tainan, Taiwan, that started in 1977 using a 100-year-old Taiwanese recipe. Chang’s business…

“A TRUE ENTREPRENEUR DOES THE BEST THEY CAN DO FOR THE CUSTOMER TODAY AND WAKES UP TOMORROW AND DOES THE BEST THING THEY CAN DO FOR THEIR CUSTOMER TOMORROW.” DAYMOND JOHN Co-star of ABC’s Shark Tank and founder and CEO of apparel line FUBU, John lives by the phrase “rise and grind.” During a Real Talk conversation in June, he advised entrepreneurs to stay productive by sticking to their number one mission, day in and day out: helping their customers. “When I work remotely, I don’t feel busy. I feel efficient. I feel like I’m spending my time wisely.” JASON FRIED Co-founder and CEO of software company Basecamp, from a May Inc. interview CAREY SMITH Founder of fan-and-light-maker Big Ass Fans and investment firm Unorthodox Ventures, Smith often rejects conventional…

Elliott Noble-Holt’s personal motto is “live so you don’t have to explain.” His late mother used to say this to remind him to do the right thing, professionally and personally. With ethics and honesty, Holt has grown his company MediCopy from a one-man show in Nashville, Tennessee, to a national health information management company with 200 employees. MediCopy facilitates the secure delivery of protected information from health care partners to requesting parties, namely attorneys, insurance companies, government agencies, and patients. By prioritizing quality assurance and creating an inclusive and caring culture, MediCopy has landed on the Inc. 5000 seven times since its launch in 2000. “I CAN DO IT BETTER” Holt has a long history with medical records. When he was 15, he would accompany his mother to her job…

You might say that Khash Saghafi, a lifelong wrestler, has been pinned to the mat a few times in the mortgage lending business. By the time he founded Liberty Home Mortgage Corporation in 2014, he had been through the Great Recession, mounting credit card debt, and two near bankruptcies. His relentless optimism – “You cannot keep a negative thought inside of me for more than one second”– kept him from calling it quits. That perseverance has helped him achieve an annual growth rate of nearly 250 percent for his Cleveland, Ohio-based business. He credits what he calls his greatest assets—his employees—with getting him to this point. SLOW GOING A first-generation Iranian-American born into a family full of doctors, Saghafi originally intended to take the same path. But ultimately, he ended…

After four years of military service, Victor Delacruz found himself in what he calls ‘‘a pretty precarious situation.” He’d moved to New York for graduate study at New York University and owned a successful business. But a dispute with his partner put that in jeopardy. “I spent all my money on legal fees, and I lost everything,” he recalls. He lost focus and failed to complete his degree. Reduced to couch surfing, he became increasingly Isolated, and his mental health was suffering. But rather than just giving up, he tapped into his strong Christian faith to turn his life around. His next venture was Faith Bridge, Publisher of the Christian Planner line of organizer products. In just four years, he’s grown the company from a Kickstarter Launch to eight figures…