Inc. 5000Lindsay Blakely Being Positive and Strategic While Hurting InsideThe owner of a Houston-based pediatric clinic recalls racism in financing her own business, and works toward a fairer economy.
LeadTom Foster Turning Virtue Signaling Into Actual VirtueThe founder of an Austin travel-tech company on the need to raise his voice for minority entrepreneurs.
LeadLindsay Blakely Board Up for What? In South Central L.A., a Restaurant Owner Is in It for the Long HaulKim Prince is from a long line of entrepreneurs who have had to deal with oppression and racism. She deplores the violence, but wonders why she still has to face the very same issues.
How I Did ItEmily Canal This Founder Scored Almost $1 Million on 'Shark Tank'--But First, She Had to Sell Her Car, Cash Out Her 401(k), and Battle a Serious IllnessShe spent 20 days in the hospital fighting for her life, months after emigrating alone from Malaysia. Her experience gave her the courage to start a company. Her story made her a Shark Tank darling.
StartupBrian Hamilton Thinking About Going From Employee to Entrepreneur? Make These Mindset Changes FirstRunning your own business is significantly different than being an employee. These are the four mindset shifts you'll need to make as an entrepreneur.
How I Did ItGuadalupe Gonzalez Impossible Foods Founder and CEO on Why His Company Doesn't Do Annual Planning AnymoreFollowing a months-long burger shortage that put his plant-based meat company to the test, founder and CEO Pat Brown had to make some major operational changes.
How I Did ItTom Foster This CEO Bet Big on Texas--and Helped His Food-Delivery Company Finally Turn a ProfitHe was hired to scale the business. He didn't think it would play out like this.
How I Did ItInc. Video Staff02:42 How This Founder Discovered a Way to Avoid Tricky Startup CostsIn 1999, Rackspace was a fledgling startup facing a major issue: the company couldn't afford the expensive hardware necessary to run their server business. Instead of trying to raise more VC funding, co-founder Morris Miller decided to buy the hardware on consignment instead.
Female FoundersLeigh Buchanan After 50 Years and $100 Million in Revenue, Jazzercise Still Views the Couch as Its Only CompetitorThose fitness classes you go to? She basically invented them.
How I Got StartedCathy Huyghe 9 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Starting a StartupWe're all seduced, to some extent, by the life of an entrepreneur. But do you have what it takes to go beyond the romance of it? Here are 9 questions to kick the tires on your answer.
How I Pitched ItJames Atamian04:01 How Ugg Went From West Coast Surf Shops to Billions in SalesAfter a disappointing first year of sales, Ugg founder Brian Smith realized he was sending the wrong message to his target market. He swapped the company's sleek ads for authentic surfing shots--and Ugg took off.
How I Got StartedCraig Bloem What my First Job at a Salad Dressing Bottling Plant Taught Me About Being an EntrepreneurI learned a lot from my first jobs. Including the fact that someday, I wanted to be my own boss.
How I Did ItLizabeth Frohwein This Founder Thought He Had It Made When He Got His Products Into Target. Instead, It Almost Broke His CompanyMethod co-founder Adam Lowry thought this design innovation would be one of his product's biggest selling points. It almost broke the company.
Inc. 5000Zoë Henry Dining Out Helped This Founder Connect With Her Immigrant Parents. Now Nearly 5,000 Restaurants Depend on Her CompanyKrystle Mobayeni thought she'd never pay off her debts. Her food tech startup now rivals Seamless and has $25 million in funding.
How I Did ItSheila Marikar He Started as a Doorman at a Marriott. Now He Runs a $3 Billion Hotel EmpireWhy Alan Fuerstman, founder of the luxury-resort chain Montage International, was right to skip going to law school.
Inc. 5000Burt Helm She Was a Physical Therapist for NBA and Women's Soccer Athletes. Then She Started a $100 Million Software BusinessShe was a promising college hoops player. A bad landing truncated that career, and set her on a different path.
How I Did ItJames Ledbetter These Inspiring Founders' Stories Will Help Take Your Business From Launch to SaleNo matter what stage you're at in your business journey, Inc. is with you, every step of the way.
How I Did ItTom Foster How I Built Thriving Businesses on Both Sides of the U.S.-Mexico Border (and Why I Wouldn't Do It Any Other Way)As he shuttles between his businesses in El Paso and Mexico's Ciudad Juárez, serial entrepreneur Ricardo Mora has gained a unique perspective on border politics.
How I Did ItMaria Aspan How I Overcame Imposter Syndrome, Learned to Delegate Like Crazy, and Became a Successful CEOA longtime second-in-command, Climb Credit's Angela Ceresnie was used to being "the practical person" instead of the big-picture visionary. Then she agreed to step up.
How I Did ItLindsay Blakely At Age 13, I Emigrated From Taiwan Alone. Now, My Multimillion-Dollar Company Has 62 EmployeesJerry Jao found success co-founding marketing tech company Retention Science, which has helped some of the hottest e-commerce brands take off. A crucial decision he made at 13 helped change his entire future.
How I Did ItCameron Albert-Deitch This Atlanta Founder's Secret Weapon in Building His $30 Million Company: Growing Up in NigeriaGrowing up in Nigeria, Calendly founder Tope Awotona overcame tragedy--and gained the resilience he'd need to prove the doubters wrong.
How I Did ItGraham Winfrey This Founder Grew Up Listening to Metallica. Now He Makes Craft Beer With ThemGreg Koch's Stone Brewing has always gone against the grain of big beer brands--even after becoming one.
How I Did ItChristine Lagorio-Chafkin Reddit Was 'Actively Committing Suicide.' Here's How Steve Huffman Rebuilt Its Culture--and Saved the CompanyWhen Reddit co-founder Steve Huffman returned to the company as CEO, he had his work cut out for him.
How I Did ItTom Foster Friends Thought Beyond Meat's Founder Was Crazy. His Billion-Dollar IPO Proved Them WrongHow Ethan Brown spotted--and grabbed--the huge opportunity everyone else almost missed.
How I Did ItMaria Aspan How the Star of Netflix's Smash Hit 'Salt Fat Acid Heat' Learned to Tame Her Temper--and Become a Better BossSamin Nosrat never wanted to have employees again. Now, she's starting a new business--and figuring out how to manage her first hires.
How I Did ItTom Foster This Warby Parker Co-Founder's Next Startup Set Out to Beat a Razor Giant. 6 Years Later, He Sold Harry's for $1.3 BillionHarry's aimed to disrupt its industry--then, it sold to an incumbent. Co-founder Jeff Raider sees the acquisition as a new opportunity.
How I Did ItSheila Marikar How I Raised 5 Kids and Learned to Run My Husband's Business After He DiedWhen tragedy struck, Mary Celeste Beall had to run a business alone. Here's how she persevered.
How I Did ItUna Morera How These Founders Built a $10 Million Company While Traveling the World With Their ToddlersTwelve years of revenue growth, five children, and a whole lot of globetrotting.
How I Did ItCameron Albert-Deitch I Spent 13 Years Building MoviePass--and Then I Was Fired. Here's How I Recovered to Build Something NewThe co-founder of MoviePass was fired from his own startup. Then, he went to the movies.
How I Did ItSheila Marikar How Everlane Is Cutting (Way) Back on PlasticEverlane made a commitment to use no new plastic. Here's how founder Michael Preysman is making it happen.
How I Did ItJames Ledbetter How I Bounced Back After Losing My Mother and Half My BusinessAfter losing her mother, Press House founder Dawn Kamerling suffered another loss--in her company. Here's how she found strength through it.
Founders ProjectChristine Lagorio-Chafkin They Told Me to Get an MBA. I Started a Billion-Dollar Company InsteadAway co-founder Jen Rubio describes her unconventional path to $300 million in revenue--and what happened when her company almost went out of business.
Founders ProjectChristine Lagorio-Chafkin How Jen Rubio's Rolodex of Famous Friends Helped Her Grow Away Into a $300 Million BusinessFor first-time founders, there are a lot of unknowns. Jen Rubio of Away says to ask for help--and do so relentlessly.
How I Did ItKimberly Weisul How I Beat Cancer While Still Running My CompanyAfter her diagnosis, Saundra Pelletier was determined not to step back from her startup. Now cancer-free, she's embraced delegation.
Surge CitiesLeigh Buchanan This Refugee Founded a Company to Protect Domestic WorkersYasmine Mustafa, once an undocumented immigrant, knows what it's like to be afraid. Now her panic-button business keeps other immigrant women safe.
Surge CitiesLeigh Buchanan This Acclaimed Chef Didn't Hit His Stride Until He Embraced Something He Had Long Hoped to Forget: Where He's FromMichael Solomonov, the country's premier interpreter of Israeli food, is transforming Philadelphia's restaurant scene. But first he had to come to terms with his brother's killing and his own addiction.
How I Did ItKevin J. Ryan This Engineer Built a Crazy Unmanned Vehicle to Break World Records, and It Accidentally Became a Venture-Backed StartupSaildrone's solar-powered vehicles gather valuable data about the world's oceans.
How I Did ItBurt Helm How These 2 Entrepreneurs Turned an Urban Seafood Shack Into a $60 Million EmpireLuke's Lobster founders Luke Holden and Ben Conniff started a small chain of simple lobster shacks. Then they started thinking much bigger.
Founders ProjectKevin J. Ryan When a Crisis Struck, I Became CEO. Here's How My Company Survived--and What We All LearnedMighty AI CEO Matt Bencke's medical condition shocked everyone. But the hardest part was still to come.
Founders ProjectChristine Lagorio-Chafkin Chobani Founder: 'Almost 30 Percent of Our Workforce Is Refugees. This Is the American Way.'Hamdi Ulukaya didn't start out knowing everything there is to know about the yogurt business. But that's exactly what helped him a build a diverse, innovative corporate culture.
Female FoundersYasmin Gagné The Players' Tribune Is an Online Juggernaut. She's the Secret Force Behind ItJaymee Messler's sports management firm represented Derek Jeter until the baseball superstar retired. Then the duo hatched their own sports media company.
Female FoundersKimberly Weisul She Almost Threw Her Money at an MBA--but Founded This $220 Million Cult Yogurt Startup InsteadFor this entrepreneur, learning the intricacies of the dairy business was the easy part. Getting her product out to the masses was the challenge of her career.
Founders ProjectMaria Aspan How This Founder Overcame Hundreds of Rejections to Finally Raise $52 MillionFundraising mistakes. Getting ignored by sexist investors. Falling short in her first round. Policygenius CEO Jennifer Fitzgerald explains how she finally triumphed.
How I Did ItLindsay Blakely Why a Former Pro Soccer Player and His Co-Founder Decided to Make Allbirds All About 'Simplicity'The co-founders of Allbirds set out to make the simplest sneaker they possibly could. That turned out to be very complicated.
How I Did ItKimberly Weisul How This Startup Is Fixing Its Diversity Problem With Radical TransparencyThis startup has a bold strategy to improve diversity and pay equity among its employees.
How I Did ItBurt Helm Walmart Slashed Its Orders. His Equipment Melted Down. This Guy Made It Work AnywayAkasha Crystals founder Adam Kasha brought his company back from the brink--more than once.
Women Entrepreneurship ReportChristine Lagorio-Chafkin Investors Said My Business Was Insane. I Raised $3 Million AnywayPhaedra Ellis-Lamkins's startup, Promise, created an app to help solve prison overcrowding.
How I Did ItYasmin Gagné Her Mentor Passed Away. It Inspired Her to Make a Change--and Launch a StartupFor Gixo co-founder Selina Tobaccowala, losing a mentor inspired a business.
How I Did ItCameron Albert-Deitch She Needed $25,000 to Adopt Her Son--and Lost It in the Recession. Her Fundraiser Became a Successful StartupIn 2008, Jessica Honegger couldn't afford to adopt an orphaned Rwandan child. Now she runs Noonday Collection, one of America's fastest-growing companies.
Founders ProjectMaria Aspan This Company Made Hundreds of Millions on the Internet. Here's Why It's Moving Into the Real WorldCo-founder and CEO Philip Krim discusses how his $300 million-revenue startup adjusted to brick-and-mortar sales--and why he doesn't worry about traditional competition.
How I Did ItLiz Welch Jake Burton Was So Sick He Couldn't Walk or Talk. Here's How He Fought His Way Back to the Slopes (and Back to Work)How Jake Burton beat back a life-threatening illness and got back on his snowboard.
How I Did ItUna Morera How My Company Went From Zero to $125 Million in 5 Years--and Why I Decided to SellAt first, Udi Baron was skeptical about gluten-free bread. Then it became a nationwide sensation.
How I Did ItJane Porter How I Escaped the Islamist Regime in Iran ... and Started a Winery in America36 years after a harrowing escape from Islamist Iran, Moe Momtazi runs a successful family wine business.
Founders ProjectEmily Canal First, I Lost on 'Shark Tank.' Then, I Sold My Startup for Over $1 BillionFailing on "Shark Tank" was a low point for Ring founder Jamie Siminoff -- but it forced him to succeed.
