Inc. Magazine

Founded in 1979 and acquired in 2005 by Mansueto Ventures LLC, Inc. is the only major brand dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of growing private companies, with the aim to deliver real solutions for today’s innovative company builders.

Better Than Breakfast

DON’T BREAK UP BIG TECH • The platforms have been brutal to startups. But there’s a simpler fix.

Like Doritos, but Buggier

HEROES AND VILLAINS

Detroit • The rebirth of Inc.’s No. 45 Surge City means the talent here is getting creative—and staying put.

Freelancer or Full-Timer: Which Worker Is Ideal? • Contractors and freelancers can bring agility to any workplace. But when it comes to building your business, should you rely on such workers—or should you place your bet on full-time staffers? To find out, Inc. coaxed two sharp founders on opposite sides of this issue into the ring.

The Jargonator • Swatting the buzzwords of business since 2014.

How Athleisure Conquered the World • Athleisure—athletic clothing reenvisioned as everyday wear—is not merely an apparel category. It represents a lifestyle shift. It’s wellness for Boomers, self-care for Millennials, and a smidgen of ease we reclaim for ourselves in an uneasy world. Companies like Under Armour, Sweaty Betty, and Outdoor Voices are driving today’s crazy growth: Activewear now claims 24 percent of all global apparel sales. But the togs we wear while enjoying today’s active lifestyles—or while eating takeout in front of the TV—have been finding their footing for decades.

Skullcandy Restores Its Soul • Going private again allowed the company’s culture to reemerge.

3 STRATEGIES DESIGNED TO END CASH FLOW INSOMNIA

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A WILDLY AMBITIOUS YOUNG STARTUP DECIDES TO WORK WITH THE MILITARY? It’s complicated.

Should Startups Work With the Military?

Mobility’s NEXT BIG MOVE • THE PATH TO A SAFER, GREENER FUTURE

How Should You Feel After the Deal? • Most startups aren’t going public. So what happens after you get bought?

GET OFF OF THAT CLOUD • Storage vendors can box you in if you try to switch. How to avoid the data trap.

THE DATA GOLIATHS • These companies offer some of the most popular cloud-hosted applications for business users. Bet your company uses at least one of these. Have you considered what it would take to pry your data away from them?

Who Else Does?

How to Grow Wings • Congratulations—you have enough money to start investing in fellow startups. What to know to become a supportive—and successful—angel investor.

Founders Project Beauty Insiders • Jaime Schmidt got her natural deodorant and toothpaste onto the mass-market shelves of Walmart and Costco before selling to Unilever in 2017. Now she advises Hero Cosmetics co-founder Ju Rhyu, who’s about to go big with her skin-care business.

Welcome to the Founders House

Beating the Office-Space Blues • The occupancy limits, nursing rooms, and fine print of finding the right real estate for your business.

YOUR EMPLOYEES WANT MORE FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY. NOW WHAT? • Advice from the founders of America’s fastest-growing private companies.

Partners • How the women who started women’s wear company AYR—it stands for All Year Round and sounds like what you breathe—manage the three-way dance that keeps it going.

CULTURE, TECH, AND FLEXIBILITY: KEYS TO TALENT ACQUISITION • Hiring and keeping the best employees is a big challenge in the current labor market, but SMBs have advantages they can leverage.

Talking Is the New Typing • How voice search will revolutionize your business.

Sweet Deal • Following the sale of her business, Southampton, New York–based Tate’s Bake Shop, Kathleen King retired in 2018. It was a move she’d...