Succeeding and Starting Over Again

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Many entrepreneurs have launched juggernaut companies, only to hand over the reigns and come back to the drawing board with a smaller and sweeter startup (to grow again into a juggernaut -- see Inc. 500 serial entrepreneurs).

For example, remember the late '90s toy trend, The Furby? The creator of that little emo-tronic plush owl, Roger Shiffman, recently announced that he was getting back in the ailing toy industry with a startup called Zizzle. Also, one of Inc.'s Most Fascinating Entrepreneurs, Trip Hawkins, CEO of mobile game maker Digital Chocolate, left his first tour de force Electronic Arts, and came back to the field of video games not once, but twice.

These entrepreneurs' paths (shared by countless others, as well) begs the question: Is it possible to run a successful, profitable company without growing it to the point where, eventually, you need to hand over the reigns? What businesses have succeeded without changing leadership? How have they – or you – gotten into that position?

Arthur Rubinfeld, a former executive vice president at Starbucks responsible for growing the business from 100 to 4,000 stores, weighs in on this and other growth-related topics in his new book, out today from Wharton School Publishing, Built for Growth: Expanding Your Business Around the Corner or Across the Globe.

Read a Q&A with Arthur Rubinfeld.