Growth Strategies


Recent Growth Strategies Articles

Are U.S. venture capitalists willing to invest in tech entrepreneurs who target foreign markets?

Finance & Capital mentor Guy Kawasaki's response: The advice varies and depends on the country in which the start-up is located. U....  Read more

Can I Afford My Next Acquisition?

Advice for a cash-strapped entrepreneur who needs money to complete an acquisition  Read more

Hot Cities, Hot Sites

The cover story of the December 2000 issue of Inc. magazine, " Best Cities to Start and ...  Read more

Bust-Up's Outcome: More Start-Ups

Name: Robert Shay Number of companies founded: Three Why the big appetite: Need to start ov...  Read more

When Creating Companies Is Habit-Forming

Name: Stanley Adelman Number of companies founded: Four Why the big appetite: Potential for n...  Read more

Mary Engelbreit: My Biggest Mistake

Early on, we were prompted by a number of requests to produce tabletop products like dishes and gravy boats in addition to our greeting cards and picture ...  Read more

A Changing of the Guard

After 21 years, Inc. gets a new owner. Plus, if innovation is random, how can you make it strike at your company?  Read more

A Bigger Wheel

Chris Zane's bike shop was healthy and profitable. To grow it, though, he would have to act like a CEO.  Read more

Zen and the Art of the Self-Managing Company

The owners of Great Harvest Bread Co. are building a "learning organization" -- a company that fosters innovation and almost runs itself.  Read more

Hiring Contractors via the Web

Hiring on the Web can be risky. You'll be dealing with strangers -- and, working with them from a distance, you won't have the benefit of encounters to bu...  Read more

How do we propose an owner financing plan to a business owner?

An inc.com user asks: We're a young couple, and there's a business we're interested in buying. We've secured some family loans,...  Read more

Growth Strategies of Inc. 500

Since 1982, Inc. magazine has been compiling its annual list of the fastest-growing private companies in the country -- the Inc. 500. This guide wil...  Read more

Bonding over Barbecue

The partners: Friends about town Met: 1982 Fused: 1991 Bonding event: H...  Read more

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 more

From Start-Up to Globalization: The 2000 Inc. 500

The technical savvy of many companies in the 2000 Inc. 500 is just one aspect of their high level of sophistication. A number of them already hav...  Read more

CEO's Regret #1: Being Distracted by a Buyout Proposal

Behind every successful CEO probably lurks at least one major regret. The best, or the luckiest, CEOs learn from their mistakes and get an opportunity to ...  Read more

CEO's Regret #3: Not Trying to Go Public Sooner

Behind every successful CEO probably lurks at least one major regret. The best, or the luckiest, CEOs learn from their mistakes and get an opportunity to ...  Read more

Transforming Experiences

To grow spectacularly in a tumultuous era, the 2000 Inc. 500 companies have had to invent and master a distinctive skill: real-time retooling.  Read more

Snapshots: Locations

These Inc. 500 companies relocated for various reasons -- from access to skilled labor to the CEO's love of the outdoors.  Read more

Snapshots: Hall of Fame Overview

Here's a survey of 30 of the 48 companies in the Inc. 500 Hall of Fame -- an elite group of companies that have appeared on the list at least five t...  Read more

Snapshots: Hall of Fame Second Acts

After Mark Hamister's company made the Inc. 500 list five times in the 1980s, he sold nearly all of it and semiretired. But he's caught the entrepre...  Read more

Inc. 500 All-Stars: Then and Now

What happens to entrepreneurs after their companies make the Inc . 500 list? Interviews with 12 past and present Inc. 500 CEOs show that mos...  Read more

The 2000 Inc. 500 Almanac

A statistical look at the Inc. 500 companies and the CEOs that run them.  Read more

The Long Good-bye

When four friends started Inc. 500 company IRIS (#192), they decided to sell the company ASAP. Eight years later, they've finally succeeded.  Read more

Now, On to the Really Big Time

Some Inc. 500 CEOs are choosing to cash out through IPOs or mergers when their companies are seemingly at the height of their powers. Find out why.  Read more

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 more

The Democratic Merger

When two friends decided to merge their companies, they did so in a democratic manner with heavy input from their respective employees. The result: They incr...  Read more

The Inc. 500: Class of 2005?

Two 2000 Inc. 500 CEOs demonstrate that spinning off new start-ups from within can give big benefits -- and profits -- to both parent and child.  Read more

Incubators Are Hot!

Incubators have gotten plenty of attention lately. A few of the 2000 Inc. 500 winners are exploring the concept themselves.  Read more

2000 Inc. 500 Index

The fastest-growing private companies in America in 2000, listed alphabetically.  Read more

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 more

Inc. 500 Alumni: Where Are They Now?

Each year since 1981, Inc. magazine has named the fastest-growing small privately held companies in America. When companies first make the In...  Read more

How do I deal with potential hidden liabilities in a business that's for sale?

Buying a Business mentor Tom West responds to the following question from an inc.com user: I've found a business I'm really inte...  Read more

Is the asking price right?

Buying a Business mentor Tom West responds to the following question from an inc.com user: My partner and I are looking to buy a...  Read more

How does the business valuation process work?

Buying a Business mentor Tom West responds to the above question from an inc.com user: Here's the deal: If you're considering buyin...  Read more