Inc. Magazine

inc. magazine

ACTING EDITOR IN CHIEF JON FINE VICE PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER RICHARD RUSSEY DIRECTOR, EDITORIAL OPERATIONS JANICE LOMBARDO EXECUTIVE EDITOR LAURA LORBER SAN FRANCISCO BUREAU CHIEF MATT HABER MANAGING EDITOR, INC.COM LINDSAY BLAKELY FEATURES EDITOR DIANA RANSOM DEPUTY EDITOR DOUG CANTOR SENIOR EDITORS JENNIFER EUM, MARLI GUZZETTA, GRAHAM WINFREY EDITORS-AT-LARGE LEIGH BUCHANAN, TOM FOSTER, BURT HELM, BILL SAPORITO, KIMBERLY WEISUL SENIOR WRITER CHRISTINE LAGORIO-CHAFKIN STAFF WRITERS EMILY CANAL, KEVIN J. RYAN STAFF REPORTERS CAMERON ALBERT-DEITCH, MARIA GUADALUPE GONZALEZ DATA REPORTER NICK DEVLIN ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR TIM CRINO WEB PRODUCERS SOPHIE DOWNES, ANNA MEYER, BRITTANY MORSE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT TALIB VISRAM COPY CHIEF DAVID SUTTER PRODUCTION MANAGER GREY THORNBERRY COPY EDITOR PAM WARREN CREATIVE DIRECTOR BLAKE TAYLOR PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR TRAVIS RUSE DIGITAL DESIGN AND DATA DIRECTOR KRISTIN LENZ ART DIRECTOR SARAH GARCEA DEPUTY PHOTO EDITOR ERNIE MONTEIRO PHOTO EDITOR SAMANTHA KELLY DIGITAL PRODUCTION MANAGER JOEL FROUDE DIGITAL ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR HALIE CHAVEZ BOARD OF ADVISERS ELIZABETH GORE, CHRIS HEIVLY, PHIL LIBIN,…

reflect, rest, and return

The end of the year is always a time of reflection. Many of us look back to see how much we accomplished over the past 12 months, while, at the same time, we look forward to what lies in the year ahead and where we’ll strive to go. For some, the new year is about growing an existing business, and for others it is about taking the plunge to start a company from the ground up. Whatever the current focus, the leaders of America’s businesses are responsible for building one of the healthiest economies in our history. Inc. celebrates the courageous men and women in this country who are willing to put themselves out there and start a business. It is not an easy road to walk. But that journey can be…

unconventional wisdom

One of the great joys of working at Inc. is seeing how real stories of successful entrepreneurs differ from the clichéd notions you see elsewhere. Take Pat Brown, founder of Impossible Foods, the company that brought the world the meatless burger that sizzles, sears, and bleeds like the real thing (thanks to some fancy genetic engineering). Brown, while a notably driven founder, didn’t start his first company until he was in his mid-50s—challenging the popular wisdom that entrepreneurship is for the very young. He spent decades as a star academic before launching Impossible around one very big, potentially climate-saving idea. Specifically, as Inc. editor-at-large Burt Helm puts it: “What if juicy, delicious beef didn’t come from cows?” For one thing, if it’s juicy and delicious enough to make inveterate carnivores crave fake…

the rise of the fake applicant

A few years ago, Daniel Zubairi caught a job applicant in a flagrant lie. The woman’s résumé said she worked at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That didn’t sound right. Zubairi’s Bethesda, Maryland–based cybersecurity company, SydanTech, worked closely with NOAA—and Zubairi had never heard of her. As it happened, Zubairi was at the agency’s offices during the woman’s phone interview. He asked to meet her in person. “Sir,” she said, “I’d like to end the interview now.” Click. Zubairi ran a background check. She was a home nursing assistant. Job seekers have been fudging their accomplishments forever. But founders across the country say they’ve lately seen a surge of incidents that take job-applicant fakery to new—and shadier—levels. Totally false résumés featuring fictional employers. Professional interviewees. Covert coaching of candidates with…

a lovable debt collector?

In 2013, Ohad Samet started getting calls from strange numbers. When he finally answered, he discovered the reason: He had a $120 balance on a store credit card. The agent making the call was not particularly pleasant, so, though Samet could afford the payment, he started thinking about what it must be like for those who can’t. “You get all these calls, then it’s, ‘You owe money. Cash, check, or credit card?’ And if you can’t pay,” he says, “you risk financial ruin.” So Samet founded TrueAccord, a collections agency that today counts Yelp and LendUp among its clients and communicates via friendly—even playful—texts and emails. (“I’ve been sitting here eating ice cream and listening to breakup songs because I feel like you’re avoiding me,” reads one dispatch the company’s sent.)…

mexican and korean fusion: takorean’s recipe for entrepreneurial success

Michael Lenard may not have a drop of either Mexican or Korean blood, but a passion for both cuisines courses through his veins. It was this passion that led Lenard to found Washington, D.C.-based TaKorean, his signature Korean taco grill, back in August 2010. Following the classic trajectory of a “humble beginnings” story, Lenard started his operations out of a 1985 Ford step van (which he won on eBay). Growth came quickly for the entrepreneur. The food truck was quickly followed by the company’s first food hall location, at Union Market in 2012, and its first stand-alone brick-and-mortar store, in 2014. TaKorean is now in its 10th year. And, while the truck may be gone, the restaurant is more vibrant than ever. Though he has 40 employees and four fixed-location restaurants (three in…