CATEGORIES

Cybercriminals Target SMBs, But New Technology Helps Fight Them Off

Contrary to popular belief, big companies are not the only favored targets of cybercriminals. SMBs are just as attractive.

Invitation To a Crisis

Sometimes, a little added pressure can help your team scale new heights.

Is This a Business?

Marco Zappia, a former bar director in Minneapolis, has an idea for a cocktail commissary business.

How To Spy On Your Rivals

Inc. doesn’t recommend corporate espionage—but if you can get creative while staying on the right side of the law, go for it. That’s what John Ross, CEO of Test Prep Insight, was thinking when he heard that one of his competitors was meeting with a potential buyer. Ross—who was also contemplating a sale of his Sacramento-based online education company, wanted to get some intel on the buyer. But how?

Should You Be More Like Bezos?

As the Amazon founder exits the CEO role, he leaves his successor a set of rules that might be helpful to any entrepreneur bent on conquering the known universe.

I Was Wrong: No More Mr. Nice Guy

For three years, Dan O’Malley tried to be the boss everyone loves—never criticizing, always smiling. Now, he says that was the wrong approach.

Razor's Edge

The founders of razor upstart Harry’s relished their challenger status, picked a fight with a consumer goods giant, and made the biggest deal of their lives. They then learned some of the toughest lessons of hardball capitalism.

Stifling Our Startups

Student-loan debt is crippling entrepreneurship in the U.S.—and not just in obvious ways

Seesaw – Best in Class

For helping to make remote learning work during the pandemic.

The Future of Finance

When Jim McKelvey co-founded Square in 2009, most shoppers still purchased goods by swiping a credit card. Eleven years later, the way we pay for things has changed drastically. What’s next?

Lightning in a Bottle

For reviving a lost history and balancing the boardroom.

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.