Inc. Magazine

no single path

With the rise of video games in the late 20th century came the rise of cheat code culture: “Buy this book [or visit this site] and you will learn everything you need to win at Galactic Insect Invasion.” The advice is usually effective, if a little unsavory. But, in case you need a reminder, most of life—and starting a business in particular—is not like a video game. The annual Inc. 500 list serves as a colorful and potent reminder that there is no cheat code for business growth, no single path to success. Take, for example, Josh Levin, founder of Empowered Electric (No. 210 on this year’s list, and featured on page 108). He is about as far from the Harvard MBA path as it’s possible to get. He may never even…

inc.

EDITOR IN CHIEF JAMES LEDBETTER VICE PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER RICHARD RUSSEY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EDITORIAL JON FINE DIRECTOR, EDITORIAL OPERATIONS JANICE LOMBARDO EXECUTIVE EDITOR LAURA LORBER MANAGING EDITOR, INC.COM LINDSAY BLAKELY FEATURES EDITOR DIANA RANSOM SENIOR EDITORS DOUG CANTOR, JENNIFER EUM, GRAHAM WINFREY EDITORS-AT-LARGE MARIA ASPAN, LEIGH BUCHANAN, TOM FOSTER, BURT HELM, BILL SAPORITO, KIMBERLY WEISUL SENIOR WRITER CHRISTINE LAGORIO-CHAFKIN STAFF WRITERS EMILY CANAL, KEVIN J. RYAN STAFF REPORTER MARIA GUADALUPE GONZALEZ DATA REPORTER NICK DEVLIN ASSISTANT EDITOR CAMERON ALBERT-DEITCH WEB PRODUCERS SOPHIE DOWNES, ANNA MEYER, BRITTANY MORSE ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR TIM CRINO EDITORIAL ASSISTANT TALIB VISRAM COPY CHIEF DAVID SUTTER RESEARCH DIRECTOR MARLI GUZZETTA 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 ART INTERN GABRIELA PESQUEIRA DIGITAL PRODUCTION MANAGER JOEL…

grit, growth, and great ideas

Every year, the Inc. team gathers the data, crunches the numbers, and compiles the Inc. 5000. And the Inc. 5000 is not a mere list of the fastest-growing private companies in America. It’s the backbone of the U.S. economy. These businesses generate hundreds of thousands of jobs, and billions of dollars in revenue, in their hometowns across the country. While the Inc. 500 issue always focuses on companies whose growth rates boggle the mind, it also shines a light on the smart marketers who work tirelessly to help these companies achieve and maintain that level of growth year after year. In doing so, these marketers walk side-by-side with the founders, and share in the innovation that drives their success. This year, Inc. is celebrating its 40th birthday, and it continues to reinforce…

peak performance

TRIPLE TRIPLE DOUBLE DOUBLE DOUBLE That’s the formula CEO Todd Olson followed to drive Pendo, the cloud-based software platform he co-founded in 2013, to $20.9 million in sales in just five years. Olson learned it from a VC who told him that category leaders—the kinds of companies that go public—triple revenue in the first two years after hitting $1 million, and then double it in each of the next three. “I can tell you that second triple was incredibly challenging,” says Olson, who pulled it off by restructuring Pendo’s team and rethinking his product marketing. Now Olson, a serial entrepreneur with two prior companies under his belt—one failed, one acquired—has landed Pendo on the 2019 Inc. 500. It debuts at No. 73, with 4,267 percent three-year growth, and Olson wants to keep…

freestar

Three-year growth 36,680.4% | 2018 revenue $36.9M Phoenix | Founded in 2015 The story of the fastest-growing private company in America, a profitable technology startup called Freestar whose revenue growth since 2015 has been a staggering 36,680 percent, starts with a calendar. Not a buzzy new calendar app. Not a life-altering meeting request. A printed wall calendar. One of those relics with pictures of animals or landscapes that we all used to tack up in the kitchen. This particular calendar—Tempe12—had, well, swimsuit models. Arizona State University co-eds in bikinis, to be exact. “All the girls had to have a minimum 3.0 GPA, so they had beauty and brains,” explains Freestar co founder David Freedman, without a trace of sheepishness. Freedman, who launched the calendar when he was a 22-year-old fifth-year senior at ASU…

how the 2019 inc. 500 companies were selected

Companies on the 2019 Inc. 500 are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2015 to 2018. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2015. They must be U.S.- based, privately held, for-profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2018. (Since then, some on the list may have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2015 is $100,000; the minimum for 2018 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Growth rates used to determine company rankings were calculated to three decimal places. There were no ties on this year’s Inc. 500. OPEN HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR’S INC. 500…