The Business Model by Inc. is the multi-episode-a-week podcast for small-business owners, entrepreneurs, and startup founders who want to start, run, and grow stronger companies. Each week we deliver a curated mix of business-trend analysis, actionable playbooks, and candid interviews with real founders—from Main Street businesses to cutting-edge startups.  In this video podcast, you’ll learn how to hire and lead, raise capital, market efficiently, manage cash flow, fix operations and supply chains, and leverage new technology and AI to stay ahead. Every episode is built to fit your workweek and help you make smarter decisions, faster.  If you only have time for one business podcast to start, run, and grow your company—this is it. 

In this episode, Dr. Gina Anderson, CEO and co-founder of Luma Brighter Learning, and Marisa Murgatroyd, Founder of Live Your Message, continue their conversation. In this segment, they discuss learning how to separate yourself from your business, evolve your strategy, and give your company what it really needs to thrive. 

This is a special segment in collaboration with our partner at Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Inc. Editor-in-Chief Mike Hoffman spoke with Smarsh Founder Stephen Marsh about his remarkable journey, the legacy he has built, and the honor of being the first recipient of the inaugural Legacy Award presented by Glenfiddich at this year's Inc. 5000 gala.

Aisha Bowe talks with Rahul Vohra, founder of Superhuman. Designed to integrate seamlessly with Gmail and Outlook, Superhuman uses features like AI, summarization, and split inbox to create the fastest email experience ever made. Nothing is more valuable to founders than time. This episode offers wisdom from experienced founders about navigating the marathon of entrepreneurship, with insights on how they keep themselves and their teams productive on a day-to-day basis without burning out.

For many small businesses, social media is the only way to reach customers. But are echo-chamber algorithms stopping you from reaching the right customers? Beatrice Dixon talks with Rachel Roff, Founder of Urban Skin RX, about creating inclusive marketing campaigns, and come away with proven strategies for freeing your brand’s dependence on social media.

On today’s episode host Aisha Bowe talks with the two founders of Farther: Brad Genser and Taylor Matthews. Farther is a technology-centric wealth management firm -- combining expert knowledge with cutting edge tech to create a more holistic approach to money management for their clients. In all stages of its growth, your company’s success or failure will be determined by how you manage its cash flow. This episode offers hard-earned advice from founders about how to make sure well-managed cash flow lets your company scale to its next level.

Today’s episode comes from the Your Next Move vault and is a conversation between Bea Dixon and Jenny Fleiss. Jenny is a powerhouse entrepreneur who co-founded Rent the Runway to solve the problem of how to attend multiple weddings per season without either a limitless budget or reusing the same attire endlessly. In their conversation, they discuss how this idea became a super successful reality, and how Jenny learned to trust her people… and herself as a leader

Aisha Bowe talks with Shan-Lyn Ma, co-founder and co-CEO of Zola. One of the biggest challenges of being the founder of a high-growth company is adjusting to the changing demands of leading that enterprise. This episodes offers advice on how to navigate growing and managing teams through all of the stages of a company and how those needs change as a company progresses. It also features hard-earned wisdom about these journeys.

Patrick Dossett, co-founder and CEO of Madefor, talks with Bea Dixon about how his time in the Navy SEALs prepared him for founding his own startup and his tips for success. Discover ways to think differently about how you lead and grow your business.

It’s hard to plan a trip when you’re not sure how to get there. So, it helps to ask for directions. For Your Next Move, founders who’ve successfully charted a course to long-term financial success and big valuations share the paths they took—and also how they were able to right-size their roadmap as their companies grew. In this episode, host Aisha Bowe interviews Suneera Madhani, Founder and CEO of Worth AI.

Today’s episode comes from the Your Next Move vault and is a conversation between Bea Dixon and Tim Brown. Tim is the co-founder and co-CEO of AllBirds -- a mission-driven clothing brand focusing on innovating around sustainable materials.  In their conversation, they cover Tim’s evolution from professional soccer player to entrepreneur and how to build a strong team.

Hiring and retaining the right team to help your company grow is essential at all stages of a well-run business. This episode offers detailed advice on how to build and retain a highly effective leadership team, from what roles to prioritize hiring for to how to find the best talent to meet your company’s needs. It also features hard-earned wisdom from a founder, Seth Goldman, who has worked at all life cycles of a company from launch fresh from business school to exit to rebuilding again. Seth Goldman is Co-Founder of Eat the Change®, a planet-friendly snack and drink company that recently launched Just Ice Tea, a line of organic bottled tea to go along with the company’s Cosmic carrot snacks. Seth and his co-Founder, Celebrity Chef Spike Mendelsohn are also co-founders of PLNT Burger, a plant-based quick-serve restaurant that offers delicious burgers, fries, and soft-serve. Seth is also the Co-founder of Honest Tea and Chair of the board of Beyond Meat. In 2023 he took on a new role as Chair of the Mission Guardians for Tony’s Chocolonely, an international chocolate company committed to creating an exploitation-free supply chain. He has been widely recognized for his entrepreneurial success and impact, including the Washington DC Business Hall of Fame, Partnership for Healthier America’s CEO of the Year, and EARTHDAY.ORG’s Climate Visionary of the year. He is a graduate of Harvard College (1987) and the Yale School of Management (1995). Seth and his Honest Tea co-founder, Barry Nalebuff are the authors of The New York Times bestselling comic book, Mission in a Bottle.

Today’s episode comes from the Your Next Move vault and is a conversation between Lindsay Blakely and Gail Becker. Gail is the CEO and Founder of CAULIPOWER -- a food company that started with frozen pizzas with cauliflower crust.  This company, that started in Gail’s kitchen, quickly grew into a full line of vegetable-based frozen foods that can be found in Whole Foods, Walmart, and Target.

Building the right narrative about your brand can be the difference between success and failure for your business—no matter how strong a product you are offering. This episode offers detailed advice about building a successful brand narrative. It also features wisdom from the founder of Farmer’s Fridge, whose work as a traveling salesman motivated him to create a company to solve the problem of finding healthy food options while on the road.

In the past couple of years, TikTok has provided a platform for budding entrepreneurs to connect with their consumers. But how effective is this method, and can it lead to a new level for success for founders? In a panel discussion for Inc.’s Founders House at SXSW, Diana Ransom posed this question to FYSH Foods founder Zoya Biglary, Hot Take co-founder Gabrielle Brulotte, and Bloom Nutrition founder and president Mari Llewellyn. They discuss the importance of putting a face on your brand, being personable for your audience, and how TikTok is an effective marketing tool-provided your approach is on target.

Today’s episode comes from the Your Next Move vault and is a conversation between host Bea Dixon and guest Melissa Butler. Melissa is the CEO and Founder of The Lip Bar -- a vegan lipstick company catering directly to women of color.  In their conversation, they cover Melissa’s transition from the corporate ladder to becoming a lipstick chemist. Plus, her experiences with retail chains and direct to consumer marketing, and what it means to be focused on African American women while remaining inclusive to all.

Whether you’re crowdfunding, getting a bank loan, or seeking venture capital, you need to be able to pitch yourself and your business successfully. Today's episode features some of the biggest lessons learned from the founder of clean fragrance brand MOODEAUX, who has secured funding in an incredibly challenging market.

Whether you’re crowdfunding, getting a bank loan, or seeking venture capital, you need to be able to pitch yourself and your business successfully. Today's episode features some of the biggest lessons learned from the founder of clean fragrance brand MOODEAUX, who has secured funding in an incredibly challenging market.

Karen Robinovitz and Sara Schiller had each been through multiple traumas when they found reinvention and joy through the unlikeliest of substances: slime. Yes, slime. They explain to hosts Diana Ransom and Christine Lagorio-Chafkin how they channeled their newfound joy, and passion for sensory play, into a business, the Sloomoo Institute. Sloomoo is a growing slime-museum business with four locations that makes some 600 gallons of slime each day. This episode was recorded live on-site in SoHo, New York, at the Sloomoo Institute Links: Inc.com article: www.inc.com/christine-lagorio/from-the-ground-up-sloomoo-institute-karen-robinovitz-sara-schiller-grief-as-startup-fuel.html Episode transcript: www.inc.com/transcript-from-the-ground-up-podcast-sloomoo-institute-founders-karen-robinovitz-sara-schiller.html The Sloomoo Institute: https://sloomooinstitute.com/pages/new-york-2-0?utm_source=google.com&utm_medium=organic Slime play and care (PSA about slime removal!): https://sloomooinstitute.com/pages/slime-care *note to listeners: The concepts of death and depression, are mentioned in this episode, as is the fact of a school shooting, though none are discussed in depth.

The impact of AI on finance departments will be huge.