Hell-Bent for Lather
A high-tech car wash (all spray, no brush) aims to become the Starbucks of drive through suds. Read story
Edward O. Welles
Options, Equity,
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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?
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
A close-up look at an Inc. 500 company that has prevailed in an industry gripped by unforgiving consolidation. Read story
The People Business
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?
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
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
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
The digital economy's effects on traditional small businesses. Read story
The Greenhouse Effect
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
The digital economy's effects on traditional small businesses. Read story
The Greenhouse Effect
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
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
Tiny upstart FieldTurf plans to beat leviathan AstroTurf at its own game. Read story
Blockbuster Transformed
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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!
Linda Froehlich, inventor of the SuperClip, describes how large office-supply companies crowded out her patented product with knockoffs. Read story
