Inc. Magazine

Founded in 1979 and acquired in 2005 by Mansueto Ventures LLC, Inc. is the only major brand dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of growing private companies, with the aim to deliver real solutions for today’s innovative company builders.

How Companies Are Calculating the ROI on AI

CONTRIBUTORS

Inc. Magazine

The Best Places to Start and Grow a Business Now • Across America, smaller cities like Pittsburgh and Colorado Springs are proving to be fertile ground for startups.

Mapping Regions of Startup Growth • Inc. Regionals captures the fastest-growing companies by region. Below, explore Inc.'s proprietary look at regional growth from 2022 to 2024.

Running a Clean P&L • Monica Nassif, who launched the cult-favorite cleaning brands Caldrea and Mrs. Meyer's, reflects on their enduring appeal and her most hard-earned entrepreneurial lessons.

How to Delight Customers Without Being a Doormat • If you provide amazing service, clients will reward you. But clients can also ask for too much. How do you find the right balance?

Coterie Turned a Dirty Product Into a Premium Brand • A year after taking over as CEO of the diaper and baby care company, Jess Jacobs negotiated a billion-dollar deal.

The Optimized Home • For founders, luxury is anything that turns home into a haven providing what they need most: a place to rest, recalibrate, and ready themselves for the next day's hustle.

Marina Khidekel | A wrong hire can break your startup. Here's what founders wish they'd known before making big hires.

Shuman Ghosemajumder | Artificial intelligence is amazing, but please don't use it for these common tasks.

Dave Whorton | My former colleagues helped create the modern VC model. Here's why I think there's a better way.

The Most Influential Business Owner in Congress • ★ Markwayne Mullin came to Congress to challenge the system. Instead, he became a power broker.

Managing people has never been weirder. Here are the new rules to get it right • From remote work to AI to the habits of Gen-Z, the workplace is changing fast. To help you navigate it all, Inc.'s Ask a Manager columnist, Alison Green, shares her wisdom on how to be an effective leader in 2026 and beyond.

SPEED ROUND: Some Wild, Childish Behavior • This is an office, not a frat house.

SPEED ROUND: Food at Work Because people are so funny about it. • Because people are so funny about it.

The Year Free Trade Died • President Trump's Liberation Day tariffs were supposed to upend America's place in global trade. One year later, CEOs reflect on a wild ride that didn't quite go how anyone expected.

DON'T BET AGAINST HER • CULTIVATING MAJOR INVESTORS, CREATING A SCALABLE TECH PLATFORM, LOBBYING REGULATORS: KALSHI'S LUANA LOPES LARA WANTS TO FINANCIALIZE ALL ASPECTS OF LIFE. SHE JUST NEEDS TO REWRITE THE RULES OF THE FREE MARKET.

AGENT OF CHANGE • MEET MAY HABIB, AN UNDER-THE-RADAR VISIONARY WHO QUIETLY BUILT THE GOLD STANDARD FOR ENTERPRISE AI, AND A CLIENT LIST THAT'S THE ENVY OF SILICON VALLEY.

MADE TO STICK • FAZIT CO-FOUNDERS ALIETT BUTTELMAN AND NINA LA BRUNA INVENTED A GENUINELY NEW BEAUTY CATEGORY AND TURNED GLITTER FRECKLES INTO A GLOBAL PHENOMENON. HAVING HIT $40 MILLION IN SALES, THE COMPANY HAS ONE SIMPLE GOAL: BE ICONIC.

THE REAL UNICORNS: FEMALE BILLIONAIRES

Lighting the Way Off • Many companies aspire to bring manufacturing back to the United States. With one of the largest collections of 3D printers in the world, lan Yang's Gantri just might pull it off.

CLAY NaTion • HOW LEAD-GENERATION SOFTWARE FIRM CLAY BUILT A $5 BILLION COMPANY SELLING SAAS WITH A SOUL.

HOW TO SECURE DEBT FINANCING

NEW TO CONSULTING? HERE'S...