Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2023 i Inc. Magazine

I’ve always thought it best to write these Notes From Inc. in a personal way. To talk about my own experiences and how they connect to the stories in an issue and, ideally, to your work. This one’s a bit more personal than usual. A snapshot from my childhood. It was night, in the upstairs hall, and I don’t know why I picked fight over flight, but I did, and, squaring off to avoid what would surely be a beatdown just because, I got low and lunged forward while rising up, my arms pushing out, my hands balled into fists, making contact with his chest, rocking him back, up, and off his feet, sending him crashing through the bathroom door and down to the floor. I remember neither much of…

Amy Errett is a great storyteller. In fact, give the founder and CEO of Madison Reed 60 seconds, and there’s a very good chance you’ll find yourself wanting to buy her company’s hair dye sight unseen. Errett launched Madison Reed in 2014 to create nontoxic hair dye—that also produces salon-quality results—for the millions of women who dye their hair at home. She says she named the company after her daughter because she believed so strongly in its mission: Women should not have to sacrifice health for beauty. That origin story matters, according to Errett, because beauty is "100 percent predicated on emotion.” To convert customers, she knew she had to tell the brand’s story—and not through traditional marketing channels. Television ads often feel overproduced, says Errett, “and you can’t tell…

Chaitenya Razdan wasn’t sure what to expect when visiting loved ones in a cancer ward back in February 2014. The founder and CEO of Care+Wear definitely didn’t expect to see so many chemotherapy patients wearing socks on their arms. The tube socks—toes snipped off—served as a rudimentary way for patients to keep their peripherally inserted central catheter lines in place. PICC lines thread through arm veins, typically, to deliver chemotherapy and other meds directly to a patient’s heart. If those lines shift around, infection and blood clots can follow. Given the stakes, Razdan was shocked there wasn’t a tidier option, or at least one offering a degree of dignity. The serial entrepreneur got to work, collaborating with Johns Hopkins University and the University of Virginia to develop antimicrobial PICC line…

In the mid-’90s, before its recent fall from grace, Southwest Airlines was famous for its company culture. That’s why, when Chip Conley began forming the culture at his boutique hotel chain, Joie de Vivre Hospitality, he reached out to Southwest’s co-founder for advice. It was the management guru Peter Drucker who first said, ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast.’ I’ve always taken that to heart, but when I was starting out, I didn’t know how to build a culture—I just knew whom I wanted to emulate. Southwest Airlines has always had one of my favorite cultures. It’s weird, playful, joyful. The flight attendants dress up funny and crack jokes. I figured, why not try to get Herb Kelleher, Southwest’s cofounder and CEO, on the phone and ask him a few questions.…

Icon is on fire.” The phone call woke me in the early morning of the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday. Even though it was still dark out, I had enough mental clarity to know that our COO meant it literally and not figuratively. “How bad is it?” I asked. “Bad.” All told, two buildings—our headquarters and our engineering lab—were destroyed by the fire, along with almost everything inside them. Just days earlier, we had made headlines when we announced we were building one of the largest communities of 3-D-printed homes in the world, in partnership with one of the nation’s largest developers, Lennar, and one of the world’s top architectural firms, Bjarke Ingels Group. And we were planning to make an equally large announcement in just a few days more:…

Shaquille O'Neal knows what you're thinking. You see him on the cover of this magazinewearing a suit, looking dapper and professional—and as much as you like him, you’re also groaning a little bit. Another superstar athlete presenting himself as a business genius. It is, after all, fashionable among athletes to parlay one’s sports dominance into a global conglomerate, to show that one is as preternaturally gifted in the boardroom as on the basketball court. It’s almost obligatory at this point. But do you really believe it? Maybe you think O’Neal just needs something to do with his time. He’s a brand name: He’ll do some endorsements, and, hey, good for him. But a serious entrepreneur? Shaq? The guy from Fu-Schnickens? Come on. O’Neal knows you think this. He might even…

Includes IA, IL, IN, KS, Ml, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, and Wl How My Son and I Created a Jewelry Brand by Not Giving Up CONQUERing, No 11 Milford, Ohio Tammy Nelson, co-founder and CEO Two-year revenue growth: 1,326% Growing up in Wisconsin, young Tammy Nelson dreamed of becoming a professional dancer in New York City or L.A. Despite the slim odds of any girl making it in that rarefied realm, her mother only ever expressed complete belief in her daughter. Though Nelson, 52, ultimately exchanged her tap shoes for a successful career in marketing, she’s always looked for ways to harness the fearlessness her mother instilled in her to make others feel just as supported as she did. That led her to build her fidget ring brand,…

Includes AK, CA, HI, OR, and WA How I Reinvented Fresh Produce Lettuce Grow, No. 11 Los Angeles, California Jacob Pechenik, co-founder and CEO Two-year revenue growth: 1,665% Jacob Pechenik, 50, had founded and exited three companies by the time his then-partner, actor Zooey Deschanel, was pregnant with their first child. As many do in such circumstances, the family adopted healthy eating habits—only to be astounded by the cost of organic produce, and disappointed by the quality. Pechenik, seeing an opportunity, decided to launch an aquaponic organic farm. It was inspiring, grounding, and—ultimately—unsustainable. Grocery store margins were just too slim. He chalked it up to our inefficient system of bringing food to market, and in 2017 he decided to bring farming back to the American backyard. Pechenik envisioned a sculptural…

“The opportunity to learn from true business visionaries and to network with terrific entrepreneurs from across the country was incredible!” “Without a doubt, one of the best networking events I have ever attended. This conference draws the most diverse and innovative humans that are changing the world!" “The conference exceeded my expectations— everything from the venue to the speakers, networking and gala. The energy of the most successful entrepreneurs in one place was contagious.” “A must for any founder of a fastgrowing company.” “The Inc. 5000 Conference & Gala is a life-changing and transformative experience. It is a chance for us to learn from the best in business.” “This was my first time at the Inc. 5000. Networking with like minded entrepreneurs who are on the same growth trajectory and…

Inc.5000 COMPANY SPOTLIGHT N°3076 2022 Ranking 307% 3-Year Growth 17 Years In Business $35.4M 2021 Revenue Ask anyone who's lived the American Dream, and they'll tell you it happens through hard work. Richard Zaher, the founder and CEO of Paramount Business Jets, clearly put in the effort and perseverance. However, it was ethics and competence that helped land his company on the 2022 Inc. 5000 list of America's fastestgrowing private companies. In the 1980s, Zaher's family fled war, immigrating to America with just $35. His mother—known for her "golden voice” throughout Central Asia—continued as a full-time Voice of America broadcaster and worked weekends at a convenience store. At 12, Zaher emulated his mother's work ethic and bought a lawnmower at a yard sale, fixed it, and started a business cutting…

Inc.5000 COMPANY SPOTLIGHT N°2204 2022 Ranking 3X Inc. 5000 Honoree $250M Medical Care Provided, 2022 $800M Medical Liens Serviced Thirty million U.S. residents lack health insurance, according to a 2021 National Health Interview Survey. Yet less than half of Americans have enough savings in their bank account to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense, a 2022 Bankrate survey found. So, what happens when someone is injured in an accident, such as a car crash? Reid Zeising, CEO and founder of Gain (formally Cherokee Legal Holdings), a medical lien servicing and legal funding company, believes anyone injured through no fault of their own deserves quality medical care, regardless of their financial or insurance status. He started Gain in 2011 to provide financial options to personal injury victims while they awaited their settlements.…

Inc. has been my professional home for more than 16 years. And for almost all that time, I’ve been a member of the integrated marketing team, developing creative programs and integrations for our marketing partners and sponsors across the full sweep of the Inc. portfolio. As a result, I’ve come to know deeply the Inc. audience and your uncompromising stake in building purpose-driven businesses that transform industries, sectors, communities, lives, workplaces, and so much more—to make our world a better place. In October, I transitioned to lead our outstanding ad sales team—a group of colleagues who treat our clients’ businesses like their very own. Each of us understands the great responsibility we have in leveraging the brilliant work of our editorial team. That team, led by editor-in-chief Scott O., builds…

As an angel investor, former partner at Kairos Ventures, and co-founder and managing partner of Divergent Capital, Katie Shea’s $6 billion portfolio includes companies like Parade, Real, and Bombas. She sat down with Inc. to tell us what she looks for in a pitch. I think of myself as a talent scout rather than an investor. Over the years, I’ve identified a few characteristics and skills that tend to lead to success. One of the most important differentiators is motive. I’m not interested in founders who just like the idea of owning a business. I want them to be obsessed with solving a problem that they’ve spent a lot of time thinking about. From there, I look at soft skills—three in particular. Most investors look for charismatic, magnetic storytellers. I…

HOPIE STOCKMAN NEVER met a craft she didn’t like. Growing up in New Jersey, Stockman and her three sisters would spend hours painting, knitting, and sewing. During the summer, they went to weaving camp together. “We were always obsessed with highly specific artistic processes,” says Stockman, 38. In 2013, Stockman and her sister Lily turned their passion for crafts into a business by partnering with a co-op of block printers Lily had met in India. The sisters launched Block Shop Textiles in Los Angeles, specializing in home goods and hand-block-printed apparel made using centuries-old methods. Today, the eight-person company works with small textile mills, printers, and weavers in India, Italy, and the U.S. to create everything from robes and scarves to curtains and table linens. And though Stockman spent five…

Includes DC, DE, MD, NC, VA, and WV How I Covered a Packaging Mistake to Rescue Our Company Before Launch Brutus Bone Broth, No. 15 Owings, Maryland Sue Delegan, co-founder and CEO Two-year revenue growth: 860% The week that Brutus Bone Broth, a pet food maker, launched in May 2018, co-founder and CEO Sue Delegan, 44, was recovering from a double mastectomy. The surgery was preventative, a decision taken after she learned that she carried the BRCA2 inherited gene mutation, which put her at high risk for breast cancer. Despite the operation, Delegan was overseeing shipments from the warehouse to Wegmans, displaying the sort of resilience she would need to overcome a major packaging misstep—one that boiled down to a single missing word. She and her sister and co-founder, Kim Hehir,…

Includes AZ, NM, OK, and TX How I Built a Recruiting Company Around Values TalentWoo, No. 7 Gilbert, Arizona Jerel Cain, founder and president Two-year revenue growth: 2,937% Jerel Cain, 53, spent the aughts bouncing around Silicon Valley, building out recruiting teams and recruiting processes at various startups looking to hire. When he moved to the Phoenix area, he realized he could do the same for a fast-growing industry there: real estate. In 2011, he founded TalentWoo, a recruitment process outsourcing company that helps real estate organizations find, attract, and hire talent quickly to scale their operations. TalentWoo operated as a one-man show until an influx of business during the pandemic led Cain to hire more than 30 people. As it would turn out, hiring was the easy part for him.…

The local time here in the cloud forest of Costa Rica is 11 a.m., and today is November 11, which means that in a little over 11 minutes, the full time and date will be 11:11:11 on 11/11—a cosmic alignment so conspicuous I can’t help but feel like I’ve arrived in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. A resonant note of reassurance helps when you’re contemplating a plateful of magic mushrooms in a circle of 10 mostly strangers and about to go on your first psychedelic journey, already far from home. As for the place itself, I’m at Holos retreat center, part wellness destination, part incubator for plant medicine startups, a sensorial staging ground for a growing list of entrepreneurs who are building retreat programs around specific…

Inc.5000 COMPANY SPOTLIGHT N°3855 2022 Ranking 5X Inc.5000 Honoree $100+M Annual Wholesale Revenue 400+ Locations Nationwide At Retail Service Systems (RSS), there are no sales goals. Yet the parent company of the mattress and home furnishings franchise brand BoxDrop® is in the rarefied air of making the Inc. 5000 list five years in a row as one of the fastest-growing franchise opportunities nationwide. In the age of e-commerce, RSS generates 98 percent of its revenue through brick-and-mortar retail locations. In less than a decade, the company has grown from 17 locations to 400 and from less than $5 million in wholesale revenue to more than $100 million. RSS offers its BoxDrop® Mattress and Sofa franchisees a piece of the $120 billion home furnishings industry by sourcing and manufacturing high-quality, private…

When Georgetown student Jonathan Neman couldn’t find a healthy lunch option near campus, he decided to create one himself. In 2007, Neman and two classmates founded fast-casual salad chain Sweetgreen. Their ambition soon scaled. Over the next 14 years, they opened more than 120 locations, aspiring to become the McDonald’s of their generation, but with healthy food. In 2021, when Sweetgreen went public, the by-then L.A.-based company raised $364 million in its IPO. But the founders soon discovered that being publicly traded comes with entirely new challenges. The IPO process brought me back to the early days of founding a startup, when you’re writing your business plan and telling your story. It forced us to really sharpen our strategy and ask: What are our competitive advantages? We’re focusing on what…

When he co-founded Reddit in 2005, Alexis Ohanian could never have dreamed the social platform would eventually be worth $6 billion. He just wanted people to share stories. Here, Ohanian reflects on the evolution of social media, and what’s next for the industry. How will social media change over the next decade? I think as a society we’re tapped out on the current model. I see it anecdotally and in the data, in terms of time spent and engagement. Social media was marketed as a chance to connect with people all over the world. But everyone is a brand online now. We’re all performing in some way. Plus, we’ve seen how these algorithms metastasize the worst behavior and reward tribalism. Is that why people demand “authentic” content on TikTok? TikTok…

In 2001, I became Brooks Running’s fourth CEO in two years. Employees had a pool on how long I’d last; most did not know bankruptcy was only a payday away. The 90year-old company was over $30 million in debt, and sixth or seventh in sales behind every other athletic brand—most of which had daily marketing budgets that dwarfed our annual spend. My book, Running With Purpose, details the game plan I used to set Brooks apart. It all started with answering one question: Who are you for? At the time, other brands featured epic athletic achievement in their marketing. We thought Brooks should be about supporting the average runner, and divested from everything except running shoes to create high-quality products at affordable prices. Since then, Brooks has grown steadily—and last…

IT NEVER CEASES to amaze me how the same companies that gladly fork over vast sums of money to marketing agencies to “build their brands” then go to such extraordinary lengths to undermine them. How difficult is it to part with a few more pennies and actually do the right thing, when it pays off in spades? If you want to keep your good name, and keep those five-star recommendations coming (and why wouldn’t you?), then it’s vital to keep your customers happy when they ask for help. And that includes some good old-fashioned conversation between one human and another. Years ago, I paid a sh*t-ton of money for a topof-the-line, commercial-grade faucet with a threefunction spray head. For ambitious home chefs, the company said. Eventually, that faucet malfunctioned, and…

WHEN BRIAN CHESKY moved to San Francisco after college, he and then-roommate Joe Gebbia sold air-mattress space on their floor to raise rent money. Within a year, they had a ticket to Y Combinator, and soon they were adding listings in more than 500 cities. By 2014, their startup was Inc.’s Company of the Year. Revenue soared to $4.8 billion by 2019. And then came trouble. • In early 2020, the pandemic hit hard, eliminating 80 percent of Airbnb’s business in eight weeks—and putting its imminent IPO in peril. But Chesky, the CEO, reorganized and regrouped, taking the company public in December 2020 at a more than $100 billion valuation. With that behind him, you might think he’d take a victory lap. Instead, when we caught up with him at…

Includes AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, PR, SC, and TN How I Built an IT Business That Proves I Belong LaunchTech, No. 3 Huntsville, Alabama Venus Quates, founder and CEO Two-year revenue growth: 5,121% Venus Quates, 43, grew up in a single-parent household in inner-city Buffalo, New York, where her smarts got her into a college prep school. While most of her classmates went off to Ivy League colleges, Quates decided to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps and join the Air Force. She spent four years working in information management in locations such as South Korea, Italy, and Saudi Arabia, and then landed a job at the aerospace firm General Dynamics. Throughout her 15 years working technical jobs, Quates was often the only Brown woman in the room…

Includes CO, ID, MT, NV, UT, and WY How We Monetized Our Market-Research Mind-Meld GoodQues, No. 5 Denver, Colorado Holland Martini and Maria Vorovich, co-founders Two-year revenue growth: 2,202% Holland Martini, 32, and Maria Vorovich, 34, like to say that their brains couldn’t be more different. As rising stars in the competitive world of market research, both shared a passion for distilling complex patterns into digestible business intelligence. But it was only by combining Martini’s gift for identifying patterns in large data sets with Vorovich’s instinct for storytelling that both could truly soar. As colleagues at advertising giant Grey Group, they pioneered a “human-centric” approach to market research, but were dissatisfied by the slow pace of change at their company. So they struck out on their own, co-founding GoodQues, a self-described…

Includes CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, and VT How I Spun a Horrible Summer Job Experience Into a Lucrative Niche Outsourcing Business Horatio, No. 8 New York City Jose Herrera, co-founder and CEO Two-year revenue growth: 1,960% Jose Herrera, 34, had always wanted to be an entrepreneur, but was afraid of giving up his perfectly sweet career in investment banking. When he entered Columbia Business School in 2017, he was, in fact, going for his MBA to boost his standing back at Morgan Stanley. Instead, he wound up wrangling classmates Alex Ross, 33, and Jared Karson, 31, into becoming seed investors with him in a direct-to-consumer, ecofriendly cleaning company called Cleancult. In doing so, the three friends learned of one of the startup’s pain points. Cleancult’s founders wanted to…