Edward O. Welles


Hell-Bent for Lather

By Edward O. Welles |  Sep 1, 2001

A high-tech car wash (all spray, no brush) aims to become the Starbucks of drive through suds.  Read story

Options, Equity, Rancor

By Edward O. Welles |  Jul 1, 2001

Naveen Jain, founder of InfoSpace, is a charismatic leader who has been able to persuade talented people to join his growing company. But now, his critics al...  Read story

The Billionaire Next Door

By Edward O. Welles |  May 1, 2001

Have you ever wondered whether some people are just born to be entrepreneurs? Meet David Koretz, a 21-year-old businessman hoping to be a billionaire by 25.  Read story

Great Expectations

By Edward O. Welles |  Mar 1, 2001

With one tool that makes job expectations crystal clear, MTW Corp. has figured out a way to turn the softer side of managing people into something concrete e...  Read story

Best Practices: Acquiring New Companies

By Edward O. Welles |  Feb 1, 2001

CEO Michael Rothman has built Kenny Industrial Services LLC, a Chicago-based cleaning, painting, and maintenance company, through a series of acquisitions...  Read story

Roll Your Own

By Edward O. Welles |  Feb 1, 2001

How one hypergrowth company is perfecting the art of acquisition -- and maybe even giving roll-ups a good name.  Read story

Joining the Starbucks Parade

By Edward O. Welles |  Jan 2, 2001

Many small companies have borrowed strategies from Starbucks in hopes of replicating the java king's success. Here are four such businesses: "...  Read story

The Copycat: The Next Starbucks

By Edward O. Welles |  Jan 1, 2001

Not only is imitation the sincerest form of flattery, but it may also be the easiest way to make a buck.  Read story

The South Shall Ride Again

By Edward O. Welles |  Dec 1, 2000

This motorcycle maker has a powerful vision for his company. And he's dragging his supporters along -- whether they like it or not.  Read story

The ABCs of Profit

By Edward O. Welles |  Dec 1, 2000

The CEO of Nobel Learning Communities Inc., an operator of for-profit and charter schools, is convinced that he knows how to make money with schools -- witho...  Read story

The Fun Factor

By Edward O. Welles |  Nov 1, 2000

What's really driving the new economy -- and confounding the grand pooh-bahs of the old one -- is that individuals are having a huge impact. And an awful lot...  Read story

Planning for Growth

By Edward O. Welles |  Oct 15, 2000

One thing seems clear in today's economy: Growth seems more random and more unexpected than ever. So perhaps the fitting response to that reality is that ...  Read story

What's in a Name?

By Edward O. Welles |  Oct 15, 2000

When Pete Wilson came upon the right company name, he decided to stick with it -- even when he didn't have a company. In 1986, Wilson started a telecommun...  Read story

This Year's Model

By Edward O. Welles |  Oct 15, 2000

A close-up look at an Inc. 500 company that has prevailed in an industry gripped by unforgiving consolidation.  Read story

The People Business

By Edward O. Welles |  Oct 15, 2000

Roth Staffing, the No. 1 Inc 500 company for 1999, achieved its staggering growth by sticking to a simple growth strategy: find out what customers w...  Read story

Growth: How Fast Is Too Fast?

By Edward O. Welles |  Oct 15, 2000

An overview of the 2000 Inc. 500 list shows that companies today are growing at a stunning pace. But when exactly does fast become too fast?  Read story

Flexible Flyers

By Edward O. Welles |  Oct 15, 2000

Even as Kingston Technology topped the Inc. 500 in 1992, its founders were warned that the memory upgrade market would disappear. But they knew better.  Read story

The Mentors

By Edward O. Welles |  Jun 1, 2000

Kent Sutherland solicited Wal-Mart's Sam Walton as his business mentor 18 years ago and has prospered ever since. Here's where to find a mentor and the great...  Read story

The State of Small Business, Part 3: How It Works in the Real World

By Edward O. Welles |  May 15, 2000

The digital economy's effects on traditional small businesses.  Read story

The Greenhouse Effect

By Edward O. Welles |  May 15, 2000

Gene Gage wanted a quiet life in the country where he could indulge his hobby of growing herbs. That was before he hitched his wagon to an Internet star.  Read story

The State of Small Business, Part 3: How It Works in the Real World

By Edward O. Welles |  May 1, 2000

The digital economy's effects on traditional small businesses.  Read story

The Greenhouse Effect

By Edward O. Welles |  May 1, 2000

Gene Gage wanted a quiet life in the country where he could indulge his hobby of growing herbs. That was before he hitched his wagon to an Internet star.  Read story

The Little Engineering Company that Couldn't

By Edward O. Welles |  Apr 1, 2000

Yeoman Engineering was a well-run company that treated its customers like gold. But sometimes bad things happen to good companies.  Read story

Turf Wars

By Edward O. Welles |  Feb 1, 2000

Tiny upstart FieldTurf plans to beat leviathan AstroTurf at its own game.  Read story

Blockbuster Transformed

By Edward O. Welles |  Dec 15, 1999

A chain of Blockbuster stores in the Pacific Northwest licensed to Trient Partners of Seattle commissioned the Retail Group Inc. to remodel its stores. Tr...  Read story

Mind Gains

By Edward O. Welles |  Dec 1, 1999

Here's how Viant CEO Bob Gett, fueled by his desire to quit consulting, designed a work environment that nobody would want to leave. In the process, he may h...  Read story

The Power of Brand

By Edward O. Welles |  Oct 1, 1999

As the world becomes more virtual and trust becomes more tenuous, "brands are more important than they have ever been," says J'Amy Owens, president of the...  Read story

The Next Target: Gen Y

By Edward O. Welles |  Oct 1, 1999

J'Amy Owens, president of the Retail Group Inc., a Seattle-based strategic retailconsulting firm she cofounded 12 years ago, believes the retail economy w...  Read story

Psycho-Shopping

By Edward O. Welles |  Oct 1, 1999

J'Amy Owens, president of the Retail Group Inc., a Seattle-based strategic retailconsulting firm she cofounded 12 years ago, believes that the essence of ...  Read story

The Diva of Retail

By Edward O. Welles |  Oct 1, 1999

Why did Starbucks, Blockbuster, and Nike come calling on little-known consultant J'Amy Owens? Because this president of the Retail Group knows how to make th...  Read story

The Perfect Internet Business

By Edward O. Welles |  Aug 1, 1999

Garden.com is one of the hottest Internet companies around, but what's so special about it is how basic it is. Here's what you can learn from the secrets of ...  Read story

Put Skin in the Game

By Edward O. Welles |  Jun 1, 1999

By taking equity from some of its clients in lieu of fees, the Parthenon Group, a Boston consulting firm, thinks it's hit upon a win-win formula. Others aren...  Read story

In Search of Equity

By Edward O. Welles |  May 15, 1999

Sharing equity with employees has been good medicine for any number of organizational ills. Now, about the side effects...  Read story

Upstarts: Offices-to-Go

By Edward O. Welles |  Apr 1, 1999

An overview of Laptop Lane, a Seattle-based start-up providing by-the-minute office space and computer hook-ups in airports. Plus: a travel expert rates vari...  Read story

How to Get Rich in America

By Edward O. Welles |  Apr 1, 1999

A look at how companies like Palo Alto's Lunar Design are seeking the long-term payoff by taking equity instead of cash for their services.  Read story

Not Your Father's Industry

By Edward O. Welles |  Jan 1, 1999

With relatively few experts inhabiting the E-commerce industry, many Web-company CEOs exchange ideas, council, and competitive secrets by sitting on each oth...  Read story

Ben's Big Flop

By Edward O. Welles |  Sep 1, 1998

When Ben Cohen, cofounder of Ben Jerry's, decided to start Community Products, a company that would donate most of its profits to worthy causes, ...  Read story

Going for Broke

By Edward O. Welles |  Jun 1, 1998

Harold McMaster, founder of Solar Cells, Inc., hopes to universalize solar energy, but has put off making a buck to take R D further. But will his ...  Read story

Motherhood, Apple Pie Stock Options

By Edward O. Welles |  Feb 1, 1998

Although stock options are widely used to attract quality employees, they can have negative effects on your company if employees misunderstand them of if the...  Read story

Clipped!

By Edward O. Welles |  Dec 1, 1997

Linda Froehlich, inventor of the SuperClip, describes how large office-supply companies crowded out her patented product with knockoffs.  Read story