Inc. Magazine – September 2019

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very 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 home-

towns 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 birth-

day, and it continues to reinforce its position as

the only brand with a long and storied history

of celebrating the great ideas, determination,

and passion of the entrepreneurs who have

built companies that have changed the world.

Long before companies like Facebook, Chobani, and

Under Armour were iconic brands, they were on the Inc.

5000. Long before their founders were household names,

they graced Inc.’s pages and covers, because Inc. recognized

how big they would become. Over the years, we watched

many of these companies go public or get acquired. And

Inc. now celebrates those companies that choose to remain

private, with the new Inc. Private Titans initiative.

As Inc. 5000 founders continue to grow their companies

at incredible rates, they will keep needing new technologies

to keep pace with their business, new fi nancial partners

to advise them, new business and legal services as they add

to head count and expand operations—and, of course, some

time off now and then, to enjoy their many successes.

In October, nearly 2,000 founders and executives from

these fast-growing companies will come together in

Phoenix at the Inc. 5000 Conference & Gala. There, they

will network, share their stories, learn from other success-

ful business builders, and celebrate their successes in what

has been called the ultimate gathering of business owners.

(Or, as Joel McHale—the emcee of last year’s conference

Gala—put it: the “Workaholics’

Prom.”) They also get to interact

with the sponsors who provide the

products and services that have

helped them get there. These

include longtime Presenting and

Gold Level Inc. 5000 sponsors

Insperity and Mercedes-Benz

Vans. They’ll all be there, because

the Inc. community knows there is

no better event for helping them

as they continue to grow their

companies and better understand

the ideas and solutions they will

need along that path.

At Inc., we have always been

and will continue to be dedicated to helping business

builders start and scale their companies while leveraging

that passion and loyalty for marketers whose products and

services support that very growth.

Together, everybody wins.

Grit,

Growth,

and Great

Ideas

PUBLISHER’S LETTER

E

● ● ● ● ● ● SEPTEMBER 2019 ● INC. ● 13

CELEBRATED

Attendees in San Antonio

at last year’s Inc. 5000

conference, basking in their

hard-won success.

Rich Russey [email protected]