-
Gary Vaynerchuk The hardest-working man in social mediapage
44
Nick WoodmanHow to inspire crazy loyalty
Neil BlumenthalHow to manage
Millennials
Tim FerrissHow to ace a
keynote speech
Gary VaynerchukHow to get Facebook
right
Jenn HymanHow to
elicit honest feedback
Johnny EarleHow to stage
a splashy opening
Alexa von TobelHow to spend
smarter
Scott AdamsHow to be funny at the ofce
THE TOP JOB CREATORS
IN AMERICA page 26
BONUS SECTION How to unite your team behind youafter page
112
Exit Rich: Inside the sale of an Inc. 5000 rm page 104
JASON FRIED WHAT YOUR EMPLOYEES
REALLY THINKpage 110
The Magazine for Growing Companies
29 skills everyfounder needs tomaster
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Your business succeeds when you take care of your people.
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You want to focus on the health of your company. Let us focus on
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products or services of,UnitedHealth Group.
2American Medical Association, 2012 National Health Insurer
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pg.104
What we needed was a home run.jeff kadlic, co-founder of
evolution Partners. The private equity rm bought an inc. 5000
company, took it to the next level, then invited Inc. to watch the
rm negotiate a sale.
photograph by Steven Laxton November 2013 - inc. - 5
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contents
solutions Turn to the Lead section for insights from some of the
most successful entrepreneurs operating today. See page 44.
26 launch the 2013 Hire Power AwardsInc.s salute to the
fast-
growing private companies
that are creating jobsmore
than 50,000 of them in the
past year and a half
104 innovate Anatomy of a DealA private equity rm ofered Inc.
a
look inside the sale of an Inc. 5000
company. We expected brinkman-
ship, twists and turns, and white-
knuckle tension. We were not
disappointed.
By Jeremy Quittner
78madeBest in ClassThe best gifts are
ones made with
passion and pride.
You know whos pretty
good at that? Here are
four extraordinary
entrepreneur-made
products, in time for
holiday shopping.
lead
the Know-how ReportWe asked two dozen accomplished
entre-preneurs for their best stuf: their insights about leading,
inspiring, growing, and generally getting stuf done. the result is
a 16-page peer-to-peer guide to what works. As told to Leigh
Buchanan, Tom Foster, Burt Helm, and Issie Lapowsky
Features
44
on The cover gArY vAYnercHuk, ceO Of vAYnerMedIA, pHOTOgrApHed
In neW YOrk cITY BY jAke cHessuM
6 - inc. - nOveMBer 2013
THIs pAge: BrIAn kluTcH/g
eTTY
cOver: sTYlIng: MIcHAel fIsHer AT sTA
rWOrksgrOup; grOOMIng: cArMel BIAncO AT rAY BrOWn
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WFCWork From Caf
The power to make informed business decisions
now follows you everywhere. Because youre
securely connected to your back o ce you can
make the sale, send the invoice, and see how
it all adds up. Why wait?
Go to: WorkFromSage.com
2013 Sage Software, Inc. and its a liated entities. All rights
reserved.
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contents
96
Departments
14 Editors Letter Creating jobs; sharing wisdom140 Founders
Forum Scott Belsky of Behance
19 launch
20 Tip Sheet Dont fear competition. It may just be the best
thing for your business.22 Owners Manual Dharmesh Shah, the
marketing guru who says marketing isnt necessarily the answer36
Inc. 5000 Insights Lessons on disrupting a staid industry from an
innovative building company 40 Eric Paley Sometimes, the best
advice is obvious. That doesnt make it wrong.
43 lead
44 Special Know-how Section Our 16-page peer-to-peer guide to
what works68 Norm Brodsky Its when you succeed that the biggest
challenges arise.
71 made
72 Tip Sheet Turning customers into designers74 How to Boost
Small Manufacturing Two steps the U.S. government can take now76
Factory Makeover An inside look at Filsons new production facility
in Seattle86 Mark Dwight How to make sustain ability a core
value
89 innovate
90 Tip Sheet Pictures speak louder than words on social media.
Are you saying the right things?92 Disrupter HealthTap brings the
doctors ofce to patients smartphones. 96 Creative Culture You
failed? Congratulations!98 How I Did It Former Van Halen frontman
Sammy Hagar is a serial entrepreneur who doesnt stray far from his
roots.110 Jason Fried Is your door really always open?
140
20
AFTEr PAgE 112, SPECIAL BONuS SECTION Eight great ideas to make
sure your senior management team is united behind your strategy
90
8 - inc. - NOVEmBEr 2013
CLOCkwISE FrOm TOP LEFT: DAVID STEwArT; m
ArIO ZUCCA; kELSEY m
cCLELLAN/COUrTESY jE
NIS SPLENDID ICE CrEAmS; DANIEL SEUNg LEE
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E-M1
With the E-M1s new Dual AF System,
I get the stopping power and agility
I need for rock solid performance.
-John Sterling Ruth, Professional Photographer and Olympus
Visionary. Image shot with the E-M1 and Zuiko Digital ED 35-100mm
f2.0 Lens.
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CONTENTS
TOP VIDEOS on Inc.com
Esther Dyson Start-up investor
ON HIRING
The hardest thing for a start-up these days is not finding
money. Its finding a team.
INC.COM/INC-LIVE
John Mackey Co-founder of Whole Foods
ON SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Every business has the potential for a higher pur-pose besides
just making money.
INC.COM/INC-LIVE
4Tips for Hosting a HackathonNo longer just for tech start-ups,
hackathons are a great way for any company to spur inno-vation and
bring employees together. Warby Parker co-CEO Neil Blumenthal
shares his tips for hosting a companywide throwdown.
INC.COM/PEOPLE
Inc.com
Youll nd the icon at the left on selected pages throughout the
issue. Thats your signal to grab your smartphone or tablet and go
deeper with the content on the page. Heres how:
1. Download the free Layar app from the Apple or Android store
or at layar.com.2. Launch the app and scan any page carrying the
icon.3. Enjoy bonus videos and other content designed to enrich the
story.
Go Beyond the Page
1MAKE EVERYONE WELCOME
Open the hack-athon to any-one who wants infrom interns to
senior execu-tives. Each brings a unique perspective.
2LET GROUPS FORMORGANICALLY
Dont assign groups. Instead, encourage employees to form their
own based around similar ideas.
3KEEPEVERYONE WELL FED
These competi-tions tradition-ally revolve around pizza, energy
drinks, and candy, but ofering healthier options is also a good
idea.
4AWARD PRIZES
Hackathons are exhausting. Reward each teams efort by doling out
prizes for inno-vation, original-ity, and other categories.
10 - INC. - NOVEMBER 2013
ADAM VOORHES/G
ALLERY STOCK
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A more efficient supply chain
makes me happy.
UPS makes me happy.
Jack Roush
Chairman, Roush Enterprises
When Jack Roush wanted to take the kind of performance
engineering he puts into his engines and build it into his
entire
company he only made one callto UPS. By consolidating
all of his freight, package, air, tracking, billing and
reporting,
Jack saved a tremendous amount of time and money.
How does he manage it all? With UPS WorldShipthe carrier-
supplied software that lets companies process and track
their
package, air freight and LTL shipments in a single system.
Find out how logistics solutions from UPS make CEOs like
Jack Roush happy at ups.com/happy.
Copyright 2013 United Parcel Service of America, Inc.
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GROUP PUblisheR, iNTeGRATeD MARKeTiNG John M. TebeauCATeGORy
DevelOPMeNT DiReCTOR Reg ungbeRg
sAles MANAGeR KeRi haMMeR
New yORK ChRis andRews, dan hoRowiTZ, aniTa pai:
212-389-5300
seNiOR ADvisOR iRvin v. FalK
fRANChise seCTiON MANAGeR david desiMone
ATlANTA loReTTa andeRson, MaRK andeRson: 404-264-8989
ChiCAGO JaCK CaRson, sTeven newMan: 312-494-1919
DAllAs sTeven g. TieRney: 972-625-6688
DeTROiT geoRge walTeR: 248-205-3900
lOs ANGeles/sOUTheRN CAlifORNiA heaTheR MClaughlin,
RiChaRd l. Taw iii: 310-341-2341
PACifiC NORThwesT Julie ChisaR, aliCia gaMble: 415-343-1530
iNTeRNATiONAl John M. Tebeau: 212-389-5360
ClAssifieDs ann MaRie Johnson: 727-507-7505
fRANChise AND MARKeTPlACe ToM eMeRson: 212-655-5220
i n c . l i v e
DiReCTOR, sTRATeGiC PARTNeRshiPs AND eveNTs lynn shaFFeR
seNiOR eveNT PRODUCeR Tennille M. Robinson
MANAGeR, TAleNT AND CONTeNT DevelOPMeNT JusTin a. deFReeCe
eveNTs COORDiNATOR shannon byRd
b u s i n e s s r e s o u r c e s
DiReCTOR, CONTeNT DevelOPMeNT Jon Feld
sAles DevelOPMeNT DiReCTOR JenniFeR henKus
iNTeGRATeD MARKeTiNG MANAGeRs neil Jones, MaRy MooRe
ACCOUNT DiReCTOR daRCy lewis
seNiOR ACCOUNT MANAGeRs billie gibson, KyRa shapuRJi
ACCOUNT MANAGeR CelesTe gaRCia
sAles AND MARKeTiNG COORDiNATOR eRinn noRTon
GROUP viCe PResiDeNT, MARKeTiNG paTRiCK hainaulT eveNTs
MARKeTiNG MANAGeR MaRCie RosensToCK
AssOCiATe MARKeTiNG MANAGeR linda lau
DesiGN MANAGeR hoJoon Jon
DesiGNeR Myung-hun Jin
ReseARCh MANAGeR ben ohaRa
p r o d u c t i o n
GROUP DiReCTOR KaThleen oleaRy
ADveRTisiNG OPeRATiONs MANAGeR sung woon Kil
GROUP MANAGeR Jane haZel
fiNANCe MANAGeR bob bRonZo
AssOCiATe MANAGeR dave powell
c o n s um e r m a r k e t i n g
DiReCTOR anne MaRie oKeeFe
CiRCUlATiON OPeRATiONs DiReCTOR doug sMiTh
seNiOR MANAGeRs TyleR adaMs, KaThRyn C. KMioTeK
MANAGeR MiChelle TRigosso
d i g i ta l
GROUP PUblisheR, DiGiTAl whelan MahoneyseNiOR ACCOUNT eXeCUTive
aMy ChRisTiansen
DiGiTAl PROjeCT MANAGeR/ANAlysT young-John Tung
GROUP DiReCTOR, DiGiTAl DevelOPMeNT Jason Tagg DesiGN DiReCTOR
haewon Kye seNiOR ART DiReCTOR JaneT waegel
seNiOR DevelOPeR John guaRagno
DevelOPeRs sean ConneR, shashanK KodupuganTi
PRODUCTiON DesiGN sPeCiAlisT adaM Kelly
d i g i ta l m e d i a a n d o p e r at i o n s
GROUP DiReCTOR sTeven suThiana
seNiOR MANAGeR, bUsiNess OPeRATiONs Jonelle MaRino lasala
seNiOR COORDiNATOR, bUsiNess OPeRATiONs selin eRdinC
COORDiNATOR, ANAlyTiCs AND bUsiNess OPeRATiONs williaM won
seNiOR MANAGeR, ReveNUe OPeRATiONs david vasqueZ
COORDiNATOR, ReveNUe OPeRATiONs ChRisTina Chin
AssOCiATes, ReveNUe OPeRATiONs Rian Rooney, JaMes van
sweRingen
CONsUlTANT david RosenbauM
a c c o u n t i n g
CONTROlleR eve pai
ACCOUNT MANAGeR JaCqueline nuRse
sTAff ACCOUNTANT shaRiTa neveRson
ACCOUNTs PAyAble MANAGeR MaRilou oRdillas
PAyROll MANAGeR/ACCOUNTANT ChaReyl RaMos
man s u e t o v e n t u r e s l l c
ChAiRMAN Joe MansueToChief fiNANCiAl OffiCeR MaRK RosenbeRg
DiReCTOR, hUMAN ResOURCes Miles M. MeRwin
DiReCTOR, fACiliTies Randy davis
eXeCUTive AssisTANT loRi plevRiTes
ReCePTiONisT/fACiliTies AssisTANT sMRiThy ThoMas
PResiDeNT RobeRT lapoinTe
eDiTOR eRiC sChuRenbeRg DePUTy eDiTOR dan FeRRaRa DePUTy eDiTOR,
iNC.COM allison Fass
eXeCUTive eDiTOR laRRy KanTeR
ARTiCles eDiTOR bobbie gossage seNiOR eDiTORs lindsay blaKely,
nadine heinTZ
sTAff eDiTOR Kasey wehRuM AssOCiATe eDiTOR Jill KRasny
sAN fRANCisCO bUReAU Chief niCole CaRTeR
eDiTORs-AT-lARGe will bouRne, leigh buChanan, bo buRlinghaM, ToM
FosTeR, KiMbeRly weisul
seNiOR wRiTeRs buRT helM, ChRisTine lagoRio-ChaFKin
sTAff wRiTeRs issie lapowsKy, eRiC MaRKowiTZ, JeReMy quiTTneR
RePORTeRs abigail TRaCy, will yaKowiCZ
CReATive DiReCTOR blaKe TayloR
PhOTOGRAPhy DiReCTOR TRavis Ruse
ART DiReCTORs saRah gaRCea, KRisTin lenZ
DePUTy PhOTO eDiTOR heidi hoFFMan AssisTANT PhOTO eDiTOR MoniCa
siwieC PhOTO eDiTOR, iNC.COM Joel FRoude
viDeO eDiTOR andRew MaClean viDeO PRODUCeR TiM RiCe
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AssOCiATe doMiniCK sanTise
seNiOR CONTRibUTiNG eDiTOR noRM bRodsKy
CONTRibUTiNG eDiTORs adaM baeR, JeFF bailey, John bRandon,
daRRen dahl, MaRK dwighT, donna Fenn,
david h. FReedMan, Jason FRied, JeFF haden, bill haRRis, Meg
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web DiReCTOR anni layne RodgeRs ART DiReCTOR ashley bond obRion
Chief wRiTeR ilan MoChaRi web PRODUCeR AND wRiTeR adaM vaCCaRo
eCONOMisT-iN-ResiDeNCe gaRy KunKle
sUbsCRiPTiON seRviCe:
Inc., p.o. box 3136, harlan, ia 51593-0202
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OffiCe Of The PUblisheR:
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Ontarios combined provincial/federal
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Ontario, Canada is a dynamic growth engine where
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You need to be where growth is happening. Make
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editors letter
welcome
As I wrIte, economists are still glowing about this mornings
jobless claims report, which showed that fewer workers led for
unemployment last week than at any time since June 2007. Stocks
rallied on the news, and predictions of a coming spurt in hiring
began to echo through the
Twittersphere. Although nothing in this fragile recovery is
guaranteed (are you listening, Congress?), optimism about job
growth is, for now, running encouragingly high.
Doing Your Job, Creating Jobs
eric schurenberg [email protected]
All of which makes this
the ideal moment to honor
the companies that make job
growth possible.
Inc.s second annual Hire
Power Awards does just that.
Though much nonsense has
been promulgated about the
identity of Americas job cre-
ators, the research is clear:
most net new jobsthat is, jobs
created in excess of those de-
stroyed by layofs and business
failurecome from the fast-
growing companies that always
have been at the heart of Inc.s
mission. (For the denitive story
on job creation, check out who
Really creates the Jobs? by
editor-at-large Bo Burlingham,
on Inc.com.)
classic Inc. growth companies
dominate this years Hire Power
rankings, including the home-
furnishings store wayfair, jewelry
maker Alex and Ani, and eyewear
retailer warby Parker. The top
100 Hire Power honorees alone
created 51,327 jobs in the past 18
months, more job growth than 32
states recorded over the same
stretch. You can meet the found-
ers of some of these companies in
the feature that starts on page 26;
the complete list lives on Inc.com.
companies that grow and
create jobs require leaders who
actually know how to do their
jobs. That brings us to this
months cover story, which starts
on page 44 and lls our entire
lead section. Under the guidance
of deputy editor Dan Ferrara, a
team of Inc. writers approached
the smartest founders we could
think ofstarting with our cover
subject, the hyperactive and
compulsively helpful Gary
Vaynerchuk of Vaynermediaand
asked, what practices got you
where you are today? as well as
what are you best at? and
what have you gured out that
other entrepreneurs ought to
know? The result, in my opinion,
is Inc. at its bestpassing practi-
cal know-how and, sometimes,
real wisdom from the entrepre-
neurs on the page to other entre-
preneurs like you.
Theres one other feature that
Im particularly proud of in this
months issue: a special bonus
section created by my colleagues
at Inc.s sister publication, Build.
Builds editors are expert at zero-
ing in on the smartest leadership
and management ideas now in
circulation and distilling them
into amazingly useful, jam-
packed one- and two-page stories.
The Build insert starts after page
112. I think youll nd it addictive.
let me know if Im right.
14 - inc. - November 2013
christopher sturmaN
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As founder, managing partner, and CEO of SalientMG, Erin Mack
Mckelvey Prince
ies all over the world helping her clients nd their key source
of indus-try dierentiation. SalientMG team members expect to log
more than 150,000 miles of air travel in 2013 in pursuit of the
kind of face-to-face interaction and human connection that is
critical to the success of their business. United Airlines is my
connection point to my clients from Helsinki to L.A. and everywhere
in between, she says.
McKelvey Prince and her partners, Lisa First Willis and Shannon
Chat-los, email, Skype, and talk regularly with their clients, but
there is just no substitute for a face-to-face meeting. We engage
with other CEOs, CMOs, and heads of business who they have
incredibly complex jobs and schedules, and with the speed of our
mobile lives, they need real-time interaction and decisions, she
says. Getting to know our clients, their culture, and their market
cannot happen over the phone. When discussing high-level business
strat-egy, product launches, and market shifts, there is a trust
that is continu-ously formed through personal interaction. Healthy
debates, op-portunity review, and counsel is nearly always more
eective when conducted in person, she says.
CAse study: SalientMG
The Global Pursuit of the Human Connection
Air on the Side of Success: The Art of Connecting
McKelvey Princes airline of choice for almost two decades has
been United, making it possible at one point for her to live in
Maryland and commute to her job in Mountain View, California for
three years. As her career horizons have broadened, United has
become her global airline as well, she says. From London to Vienna
to Barcelona to Singapore, United has enabled me to conduct global
business. And when United isnt available in a given geography, a
partner in the Star Alliance is.
With hubs in many of the cities SalientMGs principals frequent
and an extensive choice of ights, United makes travel to and from
the com-panys home base in Laurel, Mary-landvia Washingtons Dulles
International Airporteasy. Ameni-ties like global WiFi and the
United Club are added bonuses. Weve met several potential clients,
partners, and analysts on ights and in the United Club on various
business trips. We look at the travel experi-ence as an opportunity
to meet fellow business travelers who may or may not be in our
target industry, McKelvey Prince says. But she is most impressed
with Uniteds cus-tomer service and the sta who provide it. Tey are
great at what they do. Tey are quite engaged via social media and
have been helpful rebooking me in real time.
PARTnER PERSPECTIVE / UnITED A IRL InES
From London to Vienna to Barcelona to Singapore, United has
enabled me to conduct
global business.
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As origin stories go, its hard to nd a more interesting one than
Saddleback Leather
Companys. Among its notable aspects are a bullghting ring, the
Mexican maa, a dog named Blue, and a crooked Federale who may or
may not have been hired to assassinate the company founder. But the
most important part of that story is the human connection founder
Dave Munson established with a gnarled old leather worker who was
able to produce the perfect leather bag Munson had been creating
and rening in his mind for many years. Since then, the kind of
human connection that can only take place with face-to-face
interaction has played an important part in Saddleback Leathers
success, and United Airlines helps make that possible.
Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, Saddleback Leather is a
virtual enter-prise with key employees scattered across the
country, its main manufac-turing facility in Mexico, and vendors
around the world. Te company relies on technology to help maintain
a tight-knit sense of family on a day-to-day basis, but it has
found that noth-ing else is as eective at fostering creativity and
innovative thinking as face-to-face interaction. So every six weeks
its key people y United Air-lines from half a dozen states to San
Antonio and spend four days together in the same place, sharing
meals and
CAse study: Saddleback leather co.
Face-to-Face Frequency Drives Innovation
down time and getting a chance to connect beyond work.
Weve found that its in those conver-sations that we come up with
some of our best ideas, says John Bergquist, Saddleback Leathers
Relationship Guy (his actual title). Since 60 percent of what a
person says is not verbal, and we have a very strong group of
innovative thinkers who verbally process ideas, its the
face-to-face times when we come up with our best and most creative
ideas and solutions.
Besides those leadership meetings, founder Munson and his wife
Suzette maintain relationships all over the world, and travel is a
big part of their lifestyle. For most of our destina-tions, we can
choose from many airlines, but United is our airline of choice,
Bergquist says. Recently, I missed my connection to Portland
because of severe weather delays. Te entire airport was in chaos,
but I was able to reach out to United through Twitter and get
instant help. Stellar customer service is a core value at
Saddleback, and when we experience that with another company, like
United, it makes a big dierence.
The company relies on technology to help maintain a tight-knit
sense of family on a day-to-day basis, but it has found that
nothing else is as effective at fostering creativity and innovative
thinking as face-to-face interaction.
For more information, go to united.com/yerfriendly
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Payroll stressing you out? Start using Intuit Payroll and make
it easy
on yourself. With a few clicks you can pay employees and file
tax
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THE 2013 HIRE POWER AWARDS
PG.26
FOUR WAYS TO SHAKE UP YOUR INDUSTRY
PG.36
From Day One, our plan was to become the worlds premier
language-services company.HIRE POWER HONOREE LIZ ELTING, whose
company, TransPerfect, has added 489 new jobs
PG.28
NOVEMBER 2013 - INC. - 19PHOTOGRAPH BY ERIN PATRICE OBRIEN
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AFTER INVESTING $5 BILLION to develop a
range of hybrid and electric vehicles,
Nissan-Renault claimed the title of the
leading manufacturer of zero-emission
cars. CEO Carlos Ghosn has found that it
can be lonely at the top. Speaking at the
Frankfurt motor show earlier this year,
Ghosn said he welcomes competition
from other automakers because a bigger
eld would help jump-start the market.
The more companies that buy into
electric cars, the better it is, he said.
If competition is good for a billion-
dollar automaker, why not for your
start-up? Although most entrepreneurs
dream of having a market all to them-
selves, research shows that youre
probably better of with some company.
Professor Michael Porter of Harvard
Business School has written extensive-
ly about industry clusters and has
shown the benets that competition
brings to similar businesses within
an industry.
If nobody is competing in your
space, theres a very good chance the
market youre going into is too small,
says Ben Yoskowitz, an angel investor
and founding partner at Year One Labs,
a start-up accelerator in Montreal. Any
reasonably good idea has 10,000 people
working on it right now. You may not
even know they exist because theyre as
small as you.
James Park, co-founder and CEO
of Fitbit, is well aware of his competi-
tion. His company, which makes a
wireless tracker that lets users monitor
their physical activity, competes against
similar devices made by Nike and
Jawbone. Those big brands, Park says,
have actually helped his business by
lending it an air of credibility and gen-
erating some buzz in the press. More
players in the market implies that
wearable tech is a mainstream activity
and that consumers should be comfort-
able adopting it, Park says. You
need some critical mass to legitimize
what youre doing.
Brad Feld, managing director at the
Foundry Group, a Boulder, Colorado
based VC rm, has some rather cryptic
advice for start-ups worried about
competition: Be obsessively focused
on your competitors while ignoring
them. In other words, know your
rivals products, market positioning,
and nancial status, and how they
engage users, but dont constantly react
to every move they make.
Nor should you be deterred from
entering a market that already has
some competitors. I dont think a
market is ever too crowded, Feld says.
That is, of course, as long as your prod-
uct isnt just another me too ofering.
Most start-ups are competing with the
status quo, says Feld. Instead, build a
company that does something unique.
Apoorva Mehta hopes to do that
with Instacart, the San Francisco
based same-day grocery delivery ser-
The only problem with Microsoft is they just have no taste. I
have no problem with their success. I havea problem with the fact
that they make really third-rate products.STEVE JOBS
THE MORE COMPETITORS, THE BETTER
Tip Sheet
Winning, at Any Cost Competition may be good for business, but
it doesnt always bring out the best in people. A few cases in
point.
ornm42
It isnt fun, but competition may be the best thing to happen to
your start-up
20 - INC. - NOVEMBER 2013
ILL
US
TR
AT
ION
: M
AR
IO Z
UC
CA
; S
PR
EA
D:
FR
OM
LE
FT:
GE
TT
Y (
2);
AP
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ASK NORM:HOW TO BE A DAVIDIN AN INDUSTRYOF GOLIATHS
ornm42 Senior contributing editorNorm Brodsky tackles
yourstart-up questions
Dear Norm,Our year-old start-up is a monthly nail-polish
subscription service that donates 30 percent of its prots to
charity. Our competitors are very large nail-polish companies that
have an extensive network of brick-and-mortar outlets and huge
advertising budgets. They can ship globally. We dont know how to.
They have ways to achieve interna-tional brand recognition. We cant
begin to match it. How can we compete?
GEORGE CUEVAS, SquareHue, Miami
When you have limited resources, you need to be extracareful to
use them wisely. SquareHue is a collab-orative venture of three
couplessix individualsall of whom have full-time jobs. So they have
limited time and money. They shouldnt waste either one guring out
how to sell internationally, which raises issues they dont need to
think about now. Thats actually the only problem with having
competition from much larger companies: It sometimes leads you to
focus on the wrong things.
In talking to George Cuevas, it was clear that he and his ve
partners are in business primarily to raise money for charity. They
are all members of a church that four of them work for. So I urged
them to focus on the advantages they have but arent currently
using. For example, they had helped stage a church conference for
8,000 people focused on charitable giving. Maybe they can do the
same thing with other churches around the country and use the
events to raise brand awareness. They can also look for alliances
with other businesses that have a charitable focus. I suggested
they map out a plan, with specic goals, for the next year or two,
and focus on taking advantage of their unique strengths.
Got a question for Norm? Send it to [email protected].
If any of mycompetitors were drowning, Id stick a hose in their
mouthand turn on the water. RAY KROC
No. 1, cash is king. No. 2, communicate. No. 3, buy or bury the
competition. JACK WELCH
vice he founded in 2012. A former
Amazon engineer, he now competes
against his previous employer and a
handful of other companies that ofer a
similar service. Instacart diferentiates
itself by using personal shoppers to
pick up a customers groceries from
multiple stores and deliver them in
about an hour. Competition has shown
us theres a demand for our services,
Mehta says. Our product is faster, and
we have more selection than Amazon
or PeaPod. Competition combined with
having a better product means were
going to succeed. A little cockiness
never hurts, either. JILL KRASNY
LAUNCH
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Launch
Why is inbound marketing not
the answer? Youve built a big
business on just that.
Imagine you want to buy
something. You nd an incred-
ibly helpful e-book or video, so
you reach out to the company
that produced it (a perfect
example of the power of
inbound marketing). Unfortu-
nately, your experience with
the sales team is miserable.
Now, you dont ever think,
The sales experience was
awful, but I dont mind be-
cause their marketing was so
awesome! A mediocre sales
experience far outweighs
even extraordinary inbound
marketing experiences.
So the process cant begin
and end with your marketing.
Many companies have forgot-
ten they sell to actual people.
Humans care about the entire
experience, not just marketing
or sales or service. To really
win in the modern age, you
must solve for humans. Every
process should be optimized
for what is best for the cus-
tomernot your organization.
But every company claims to
already do that. Most brand
statements say some version
of, We put people rst.
Brand was once the percep-
tion people have of your com-
pany. But brand no longer
lives just in the minds of
humansit also lives inside
algorithms. For example, the
Google algorithm predicts
whether a given webpage
contains quality content, so
your success depends partly
on Googles algorithmic
assessment of your brand.
What does that mean for
the future of brands?
In the future, you wont just
hit Ignore when you get an
annoying sales call; youll
also be able to down-vote
that phone number. Someday,
we wont just see caller ID
on our phones but also caller
reputation. As new tools are
developed, algorithms will do
a much better job of evaluat-
ing a brand than an individual
can, because algorithms will
be based on thousands of
data reactions.
In short, harnessing the
power of consumer advocacy
is the answer.
A delighted B2B customer is
a long-term customer: He will
tell friends and colleagues
(boosting your algorithmic
brand), and if he leaves his
job, hell take your business
with him. But forget about
Customer Lifetime Value.
Person Lifetime Value matters
most. Humans dont buy
from companies; humans
buy from humans, so solving
for humans is every smart
companys primary goal.
OWNERS MANUAL
repeat after me:
the customer is
aLways humanHubSpot co-founder Dharmesh Shah recently did
something unsettling. Hes a self-described evangelist for inbound
marketing, or the idea that you use content to pull in customers,
rather than ads that push them away. But in front of 5,000
employees and customers, he declared, Inbound marketing is not the
answer. Shah tells Inc.s Jef Haden why, as the balance of
infor-mation power shifts more toward the consumer, the best
strategy is to solve for humans.
Shahs rules for solving for humans:
HuManS dISlIke InterruptIon. People hate ads especially pop-ups
when theyre trying to do something else. Its an irritating
experience, and irritated people wont buy from you.
HuManS poWer algorItHMS. Vocal customers will increasingly power
the algorithms that determine the perceptionand successof your
business. Pay attention to what they say and where they say it.
HuManS dont juSt care aBout what You Sell. They also care how
you sell it. Most buyers are halfway through the buying process
before talking to you. Give them the info they need so they can
sell themselves.
HuManS crave a total experIence. Marketing, sales, service,
delivery, follow-upyou need to deliver a whole package that caters
to the customer.
Photograph by adaM detour
Q
22 - inc. - noVeMber 2013
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*Source: 2013 A ac WorkForces ReportZ130889B 9/13
How will you be prepared?Call your local A ac of ce or download
our Employers Guide:
a ac.com/HCRGuide
Is your company
prepared for the
changing health
care landscape?
Only 21% of
companies are
extremely or
very prepared to
address changes
coming to our
health care
system in 2014.*
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Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the marketing name for the
global banking and global markets businesses of Bank of America
Corporation. Lending, derivatives, and other commercial
banking activities are performed globally by banking affiliates
of Bank of America Corporation, including Bank of America, N.A.,
member FDIC. Securities, strategic advisory, and other
investment
banking activities are performed globally by investment banking
affiliates of Bank of America Corporation (Investment Banking
Affiliates), including, in the United States, Merrill Lynch,
Pierce,
Powering Americas
Workforce
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Fenner & Smith Incorporated and Merrill Lynch Professional
Clearing Corp., all of which are registered broker dealers and
members of FINRA and SIPC, and, in other jurisdictions, by locally
registered
entities. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
and Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp. are registered as
futures commission merchants with the CFTC and are members of the
NFA.
Investment products offered by Investment Banking Affiliates:
Are Not FDIC Insured May Lose Value Are Not Bank Guaranteed. 2013
Bank of America Corporation 08-13-0679
A strong economy starts with standout businesses.
Congratulations to this years Inc. Hire Power honorees.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is proud to sponsor
these important awards, and to provide powerful
human and financial capital that keeps companies
moving forward.
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Thats the number of jobs createdin just 18 monthsby this years
Hire Power Awards honorees. Its an impressive number, produced
26 - INC. - NOVEMBER 2013
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LAUNCH
by an even more impressive crop of companies. Meet the
fast-growing businesses that are putting people to work and keeping
the economy moving forward
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ast-growthbusinesses and great employees
are a natural pairits hard to have one without the other. The
100 companies on this years Hire Power list (a full version of
which can be found on Inc.com) employ 141,270 peopleand added
51,327 jobs in the past 18 months. Some of themincluding Warby
Parker and Wayfairare new-economy icons; others are still under the
radar. Whatever the companies level of renown, their leaders are
serious about the task of hiringrecruiting, training, developing,
and just plain caring for their new hires. In the following pages,
you will meet three companies whose leaders have found distinctive
ways to do all of the above. Youll also nd the ranking of the top
25 Hire Power honorees. For the second year in a row, the
top-ranked company is Universal Services of America, a janitorial
services and security company that added 14,240 people to its
payroll. When we say that private growth companies are the heroes
of the U.S. economy, that is what were talking about.
FTRANSPERFECT specializes in
helping clients bridge com-
munication barriers, but that
doesnt mean it never faces
any of its own. The New York
Citybased translation com-
pany has grown to more than
80 ofces on six continents
and had $341 million in
revenue last year. And that
has created a problem for
co-CEOs Liz Elting and Phil
Shawe: how to stay in touch
with more than 2,600 em-
ployees, 600 of whom were
hired in the past 12 months.
The company also relies on
5,000 freelancers.
Their solution: small
teams and training. Lots and
lots of training.
To help with that training,
Elting and Shawe tap long-
time employees to lead new
ofcesparticularly those
who embrace the companys
entrepreneurial mindset.
Nearly all of TransPerfects
executives were promoted
from within. Most have been
with the companywhich
started in Shawes dorm room
at New York University in
1992for at least a decade.
Also helpful: These ofce
leaders divide up their busi-
ness units into smaller groups,
to ensure that all employees
get close contact with their
bosses on a daily basis. We
dont have a bureaucracy,
says Elting. People feel like
theyre part of a team and can
really make an impact.
Once new workers are
brought on board, the learn-
ing beginsan education that
continues throughout their
careers. A certication pro-
gram helps linguists boost
their translation skills as well
as their knowledge of the
industries TransPerfect
serves. Sales people attend a
yearly intensive, three-day
When Going to Work Is Like Going to SchoolFor new hires at
TransPerfect, the learning never stops
TRANSPERFECT
NO.19
ILLUSTRATION BY JORDAN METCALF
28 - INC. - NOVEMBER 2013
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LAUNCH
training conference. A dozen
professional development
groups within the company
encourage growth in areas
such as managing and leader-
ship. Another group provides
a place for female employees
to share tips on issues such as
balancing work and family.
It all adds up to a business
that feels as much like col-
lege as it does a fast-growing
company. Theres a ton of
energy, because were grow-
ing so much, says Matt
Hauser, TransPerfects vice
president of content solu-
tions. I feel like Im in grad
school every day, rubbing
elbows with cool, new,
interesting people.
All of those programs,
Elting says, have helped
TransPerfect win big projects
from clients such as the U.S.
Postal Service, Nestl, and the
American Heart Association.
Meantime, employees who
stick with the company can
be richly rewarded for their
service. High achievers who
stay at least three years are
eligible for a big salary bump.
One employee who recently
hit the 10-year mark wrote a
thank-you note to the CEOs
not just for the Tifany clock
he got as a gift but for the
unannounced bonuses and
raises that allowed him to
purchase a home.
TransPerfect also ofers
litigation support, stafng,
and technology services.
To make sure it excels in all
areas, the company runs an
internal innovation contest to
solicit employees best ideas
for improving their depart-
ments. Many relate to boost-
ing efciency and using
technology more efectively.
The chance to innovate, says
Elting, is another draw that
makes people want to stay.
Indeed, Hauser says a great
thing about his latest job is
the freedom to try new sales
methods. If you want to
chase something, he says,
the company is not going to
hold you back.
ELAINE POfELdT
office hours Phil shawe and liz elting spend a lot of time
training new
employees. and then the learning really begins.
489jobs created
1,572totaL 2013 jobs
$341.3million2012 reVeNUe
PhotograPh by ERIN pATRICE ObRIEN
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charles sanders is a big
believer in second chances
for his customers, his employ-
ees, and himself. A star
running back in college, he
wound up playing two sea-
sons for the Pittsburgh Steel-
ers in the 1980s. When that
didnt work out (in 19 games,
he rushed for 77 yards and
one touchdown), he did mar-
keting for a semipro basket-
ball team, the Pittsburgh
Piranhas. One day, he asked
the teams owner, How did
you make so much money?
His answer: Real estate.
Today, Sanders is CEO of
Urban Lending Solutions, a
1,564-person company that
provides back-ofce support
for large banks from ofces in
Pittsburgh and Broomeld,
Colorado. More than 1,000 of
those positions have been
created since 2012. How does
Sanders ll so many spots so
quickly? By hiring bright and
ambitious people, regardless
of their background. So while
his rivals are busy competing
for experienced real estate
professionals, Sanders might
tap the manager of a McDon-
alds or an ambitious commu-
nity college grad. Creating
jobs, says Sanders, is about
knowing the barriers to
someone getting a job.
The strategy appears to be
working. ULS, which was
founded in 2002, brought in
$183.1 million in revenue
in 2012 and has grown 257
percent since 2009.
Sanders credits that suc-
cess to the companys unusual
training program, Urban
University. Focused mainly
on educating the companys
mortgage services depart-
ment, the internal training
arm ofers 15 courses in sub-
jects such as underwriting
and loan processing. Not only
does the program get new
hires up to speed; it also
allows the company to shift
gears quickly when market
conditions change. When
Sanders began to sense a
downturn in the mortgage
market in 2007, Urban Uni-
versity quickly launched a
program to give staf mem-
bers skills in modifying
troubled mortgages for
homeowners. Such activity
now accounts for a large
chunk of the companys busi-
ness, and Sanders insists that
his agents bring tremendous
sensitivity to it. We are talk-
ing about someones home,
Sanders says. Think about
the home you grew up in, the
home you hope to have, the
home you dont want to lose.
Given the amount Urban
Lending invests in its people,
ULS plans to keep them for a
long time. It ofers a generous
prot-sharing program and
promotes from within as
often as possible. The com-
pany recognizes that tomor-
rows leaders are already in
the company, says Michael
Alden, a senior vice presi-
dent. Its just a matter of
developing them.
A member of the National
An Eye for Talent Urban Lending Solutions CEO Charles Sanders
nds employees where other companies dont think to look
Urban lending solUtions
no. 8
PlayMaker Urban Lending
Solutions Ceo Charles Sanders, a former Pittsburgh Steelers
running back, works
to create opportunities for minorities inside and outside his
business.
1,022jobs created
1,564totaL 2013 jobs
$183.1million2012 reVeNUe
PhotograPh by ross mAnTlE
30 - iNC. - November 2013
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TOP 25 Head of tHe ClasstHe top Job Creators of 2013
HOW HIRE POWER cOmPAnIEs WERE sElEcTEd the list measures the
number of jobs added from January 1, 2012, through June 30, 2013.
to qualify, companies must have been founded before January 1,
2009, and be U.S.-based, privately held, and independent. Employees
are dened as those who are working a minimum of 30 hours per week
and receiving benets from the company. Qualifying full-time and
part-time employees are included; independent contractors are
not.
Meet the cream of the crop from this years Hire Power Awards.
The companies below are growing fast and hiring just as quickly.
Heading the list for a second year in a row is Universal Services
of America. For the complete Hire Power list as well as expanded
coverage and features, head to www.inc.com/hire-power.
RANK/COMPANY CEO LOCATION JOBS CREATED
TOTALJOBS
REVENUE
Minority Supplier Develop-
ment Council, Sanders also
works to create jobs outside
his company by ofering
technical assistance to
minority-owned businesses.
I know the challenges facing
the African-American com-
munity as far as jobs and
wealth, says Sanders. As
you grow those rms,
theyll employ more people
who are minorities.
All this activity has engen-
dered a deep sense of loyalty
and purpose among Urban
Lendings employees. Alden,
who joined the company in
2011 after a long career in
corporate America, says the
satisfaction of helping people
through a successful loan
modication is unbeatable.
Youve got people in their
homes because of what we
do, he says. We make a
diference in peoples lives.
E.P.
1 Universal Services of America Steve Jones Santa ana, Calif.
14,240 35,000 $500M$1B
2 Vivint Todd Pedersen Provo, Utah 1,943 6,496 $100M$500M
3 Heartland Dental Care Richard Workman Effingham, ill. 1,759
4,965 $500M$1B
4 Guaranteed Rate Victor Ciardelli ChiCago 1,535 2,784
$500M$1B
5 Wingspan Portfolio Advisors Steven Horne Carrollton, tExaS
1,344 1,704 $50M$100M
6 Strike Steve Pate thE WoodlandS, tExaS 1,236 2,627
$500M$1B
7 Freedom Mortgage Stanley C. Middleman moUnt laUrEl, n.j. 1,080
1,987 More than $1B
8 Urban Lending Solutions Charles Sanders PittSbUrgh 1,022 1,564
$100M$500M
9 Digital Management Jay Sunny Bajaj bEthESda, md. 1,009 1,431
$100M$500M
10 Pacic Dental Services Stephen Thorne irvinE, Calif. 856 4,298
$500M$1B
11 Yodle Court Cunningham nEW York CitY 756 1,173 $100M$500M
12 Flying Food Group Sue Gin ChiCago 717 4,244 $100M$500M
13 Total Quality Logistics Ken Oaks CinCinnati 642 2,316 More
than $1B
14 AirWatch John Marshall atlanta 609 891 $50M$100M
15 Residential Finance Michael Isaacs ColUmbUS, ohio 570 901
$20M$50M
16 Ryan G. Brint Ryan dallaS 565 1,356 $100M$500M
17 Monogram Food Solutions Karl Schledwitz mEmPhiS 551 1,471
$100M$500M
18 Wayfair.com Niraj Shah boSton 516 1,347 $500M$1B
19 TransPerfect Liz Elting & Phil Shawe nEW York CitY 489
1,572 $100M$500M
20 Dakkota Integrated Systems Andra M. Rush holt, miCh. 480
1,350 $500M$1B
21 Loyal Source Government Services Seth Eubank orlando 473 552
$20M$50M
22 Summit Security Services Nicholas Auletta UniondalE, n.Y. 459
2,446 $50M$100M
23 New American Funding Rick Arvielo tUStin, Calif. 447 786
$100M$500M
24 The Select Group Sheldon Wolitski ralEigh, n.C. 446 660
$20M$50M
25 Intelligrated Chris Cole maSon, ohio 435 2,300 $5M$10M
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A cAreer involved in
shipping truckloads of
lettuce across the country
might not seem to be a natu-
ral draw for young strivers
straight out of college. But
Total Quality Logistics has
found a way to recruit and
hire them in droves.
The Cincinnati-based
freight broker, which acts
as the middleman between
trucking companies and
businesses needing to ship
their products, brought in
$1.3 billion in revenue last
year, serving companies like
the grocery-store chain
Kroger. A large chunk of the
companys 2,316 employees
are recent college gradsin-
cluding many former college
athletes and military veter-
ans. Ken Oaks, the companys
CEO and founder, has found
that this demographic ts in
perfectly with his companys
highly competitive environ-
ment. They have discipline,
he says. They have a regi-
men. Theyre all about
coming in early and getting
the job done.
What makes TQL attrac-
tive is that the business is set
up to reward the hardest
workers. For entry-level sales
jobs, new hires work on a
salaried basis during a four-
to six-month training period.
Once theyve got the hang of
things, the company moves
them to a salary plus an
uncapped commission. At
that point, theyre kind of like
stockbrokers, with the op-
portunity to build their own
book of businessa set of
Slackers Need Not ApplyTotal Quality Logistics has found a way
to lure ambitious college graduates into the trucking industry.
Hint: It involves money
totAl quAlity logistics
no. 13
tAskMAster Total Quality Logistics founder and CEO Ken Oaks
stresses a Work hard, play hard mentality
to his employees.
642jobs created
2,316totaL 2013 jobs
$1.3billion
2012 reVeNUe
phOTOgraph by ryAN lowry
32 - iNC. - NOvEmbEr 2013
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LAUNCH
clients theyve signed on
and reap the rewards in big
commissions. The average
pay for a second-year em-
ployee is $60,000, according
to Oaks. After three years,
the average jumps to $81,000,
and, after four years, $112,000.
Given that Cincinnatis cost
of living is 10 percent below
the national average, TQLs
employees can live pretty
wellif they are willing to
work for it.
Oaks acknowledges that
the jobs are not for everyone.
Its high stress, high pres-
sure, but a lot of these people
thrive on that, he says.
Thats a good thing, because
they dont work 9 to 5. All
account execs must work
three out of four Saturday
mornings a month during
their rst six months with
the company. Its because
were getting loads from
customers all the time, Oaks
says. Weve got carriers on
the roads that need our help.
Graham Wagner joined
the company in 2010 after
graduating from Bowling
Green State University with a
degree in business adminis-
tration. He says he likes the
companys fast-paced, high-
energy atmosphere as well as
the freedom to control his
income. A lot of other jobs
would be really monoto-
nous, he says. Wagner knew
he wanted to work in sales
and wasnt surprised by the
pressure. During the inter-
view process, he listened in
on live calls with clients
something Oaks likes poten-
tial hires to do to make sure
they know what will be
expected. Any number of
unexpected things can go
wrong with a shipment, and
truckers arent exactly
known for their delicate
manners. They have to have
thick skin, Oaks says. This
isnt the oral industry. Its
the trucking industry.
Theres a reason Oaks
pushes his employees as
hard as he does. Working
years ago for a company that
bought and sold produce,
Oaks was nearly driven
crazy by unreliable freight
brokers. I couldnt nd
anyone who was dependable
and available 24/7, he re-
calls. There were a lot of
unethical and low-service
providers in the industry.
That experience ultimate-
ly inspired him to start TQL
16 years ago. In our industry,
there arent a lot of players
that concentrate on the
service part of it, he says. He
started his business with that
in mind. Were kind of
obsessed with making sure
we treat customers and
carriers the way they deserve
to be treated. This year, the
company is on track for $1.7
billion in revenue, making it
the countrys second-largest
freight brokerage rm
by revenue.
All of this isnt to say that
its all work and no play at the
company. Oaks makes sure
there are plenty of fun activi-
ties at which employees can
blow of steam. This fall, the
company is hosting its rst-
ever TQL Urban Racea
3.5-mile obstacle course run
through the streets of down-
town Cincinnati. Giving back
is also part of the company
culture. Last year, for Breast
Cancer Awareness Week, it
hosted a Great Shave compe-
tition, in which the team that
raised the most money for
charity got to shave its man-
agers head. E.P.
51,327number of jobs created
141,270number of employees in 2013
601median 2013 employee count
HIRE POWER BY THE NUMBERS
HEALTH 11
FinAnciAL sErvicEs 9
soFTwArE 8
HumAn rEsourcEs 7
iT sErvicEs 7
Where the Jobs areIndustries with the most Hire Power
companies
the states With the Most hire Power companiescALiForniA 15
FLoridA 11
TExAs 6
oHio 6
nEw york 5
mAssAcHusETTs 5
iLLinois 5
uTAH 5
moneymakersThe revenue range for Hire Power companies
$20 million$50 million
$5 million$10 million
$10 million$20 million
$100 million$500 million
$50 million$100 million
More than $1 billion
$500 million$1 billion
27
20
25
9
5
4
5
34 - iNC. - November 2013
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launch
Inc. 5000 InsIghts
how to Take a Fresh approach to a Staid Old TradeA fast-growing
builder finds inspiration outside its industryNot much has changed
in the construction industry
in the past 100 years or so, says Ann hand, cEO of
Project Frog, a san Franciscobased company that
builds energy-efcient prefab buildings. Its an in-
dustry just waiting to be disrupted. her company is
working to be the one that does it. By using standard-
ized core components and less-expensive materials,
Project Frog can produce buildings in half the time and at 20
percent of the cost of traditional construc-
tion. Plus, a Project Frog building consumes half the energy of
a conventional structure. the companys
approach has helped it land more than $40 million in funding
from investors. With $28.7 million in
revenue in 2012, Project Frog earned the no. 930 spot on the
2013 Inc. 5000. here, hand ofers tips on
rethinking the way things are done in a slow-moving industry
like construction. jEnnIFEr AlsEvEr
1 2 3 4 Look outside your iNdustry
Hand decided that Project Frog should take its cues from
com-panies such as Boeing and Toyota rather than traditional
construction companies. That can be seen in the way parts and
components are put together to churn out a building quickly. Our
marching orders were that if Boeing could build an airliner in 11
days, why does it take 12 months to build a school? she says. She
regularly calls on executives from G.E., Toyota, and Boeing to oat
ideas and get feedback on processes and strategy.
hire a diverse mix
Hands 40 employees include architects and construction experts,
but also a mixture of engineers, product designers, supply-chain
experts, and manufacturing managers who can draw on diverse
backgrounds to brain-storm new ideas and approach construction
diferently. The magic of Project Frog is the healthy tension we
create between traditional construc-tion, product design, and
manufacturing, says Hand.
Get customer Feedback earLy
Hand targeted Project Frogs most promising customersschool
districts and health care companiesand talked to them to learn
about the building siz-es and features they needed and the prices
they were able to pay. She invited them to view early drafts of
designs and mockups of real prototypes go-ing up inside a
ware-house. We would try some things, evaluate, and iterate over
and over, she says. At the end of it, we had something that met
customer needs and was therefore sellable.
PartNer uP
For Hand, Project Frog is more of a tech business than a
con-struction rm. Like the iPhone, Project Frog serves as a
platform for showcasing other companies technolo-gies. For
instance, every school the company builds integrates LED lighting,
automatic shades, and plasma-TV-screen teaching walls. This story
line came in handy when calling on investors and executives at
G.E., which became the lead investor in a $22 million cash
infusion.
hiP to be square A Project Frog building welcomes visitors to
San Franciscos Golden Gate Bridge.
36 - inc. - novemBer 2013
mAriko reed/courteSy Project FroG
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Theres a new icon in the global economy: the entrepreneur who
runs a seemingly large operation from his or her kitchen table,
basement, or garage. The key to making it work: Creating a
larger-than-life image of your business. Image-Building, a new
guide from The UPS Store and Inc. magazine, can help you create a
plan for delivering bigger than you are.
All Systems GrowImage-Building
THIS GUIDE INCLUDES:
Image-Building Best Practices:
Highlights the tools your small business needs
to meet big expectations, and shows you how
to use all of the resources at your disposal to
deliver above and beyond in-house capabilities
Real-world case studies from:
Michigan-based BBQ sauce company,
P&K Private Stock
Pink Ribbons, an extremely compassionate
niche business
BeStitched Needlepoint, a thriving business
with a keen focus on service
An Image-Building Toolkit:
Loaded with information about how a suite of
solutions, from The UPS Store, can help you
project a big image
To learn more about how you can scale your growth to your
aspirations, download your free copy of All Systems Grow:
Image-Building at inc.com/theupsstore.
Visit The UPS Store Online: smallbiz.theupsstore.com
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I make the crust by hand.
I make the lling by hand.
But to build my business, I need a hand.
SMALL BUSINESS: YOURE NOT ALONE OUT THERE. Sandy, owner of The
Right Slice, makes pies. Amazing pies. And when tourists
asked to ship pies from her Hawaiian island shop in Kauai to the
mainland, she went to The UPS Store in her neighborhood. Because
while Sandy
knows all about aky crust and fruit lling, The UPS Store experts
know all about packing and shipping. And they can even put
together
professionally printed yers, business cards and menus, easy as
Mango Passion Fruit Pie.
Locally owned and ready to help. At The UPS Store, we love small
businesses. We love logistics.
POSTERS . FLYERS . MENUS . BUSINESS CARDS . CERTIFIED PACKING
EXPERTSCheck out Sandys video and learn how The UPS Store can help
your business at theupsstore.com/smallbiz
Copyright 2013 The UPS Store, Inc.
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launch
The Best advice You are not TakingBefore you dismiss obvious
advice, try listening harder
businessmen in suits sit around a conference room
making insanely obvious statements and the tag
line is something like, If business were this easy,
you wouldnt need us.
No matter how obvious these suggestions may
seem, take a minute to really consider the earnest-
ness of your eforts. When it comes to operational
issues, your start-up often succeeds or fails in
accordance with the degree to which your com-
pany embraces these seemingly obvious ideas
or suggestions. The advice may not seem earth
shattering, but very often it is the successful
companies that embrace that advice and put
forward a serious efort in following it.
Take, for example, an exchange between you,
the founder, and an investor. The investor is
concerned about the quality of your customer
development and advises you to get your hands
dirty spending time with clients. Thats completely
obvious to you, and you respond that youve done
so and will continue to do so.
Box checked and issue resolved, right? Not at all.
Yes, technically you are talking to customers,
but are you doing enough of it? Because you are
already talking to customers, its very easy to
shrug of the advice and move on. However, that
advice typically reects the investors concern
about the scale of your eforts. In this instance,
the investor is trying to tell you that whatever
amount of customer development youre doing,
you need to do much more.
When I read Delivering Happiness, by Zappos
CEO Tony Hsieh, I found the book both incredibly
insightful and incredibly obvious. The book explains Zapposs
formula for successputting
the customer rst and ofering delightful customer service. Most
of what Hsieh writes
about probably seems familiar to any business owner. What
business doesnt want to put the
customer rst and ofer delightful service? The diference between
Zappos and most other
companies is one of magnitude. Zappos manages to do so at a
completely diferent level than
almost everyone else.
As a CEO, you should never blindly follow the advice of anyone
be it a team member,
a board member, or an adviser. After all, whatever the outcome,
it ultimately belongs to you.
But you do need to seek out the best advice you can get to gure
out the right answer.
Sometimes, the right answer comes from someone in a way that
seems painfully obvious.
But remember, just because its obvious doesnt mean its
wrong.
Most of the business advice youll
receive as a start-up CEO seems
obvious. In fact, its rare that
an investor or adviser makes a
suggestion that you have never
considered. More often than not,
the suggestion is, in fact, probably
already being implemented at
some level.
Your company isnt scaling
as quickly as planned, and a board member says you need to
boost
sales. No kidding? Thanks for letting us know, you
sarcastically
think to yourself. Even the more concrete suggestions from
experienced advisers or team members often seem either
painfully
obvious or just a regurgitation of things the company is already
doing
or has tried before. From your viewpoint, it can feel
demeaning,
because it suggests that your job is so easy that people think
they
can do it just by ofering generic advice.
At times, it can seem like that TV commercial in which a bunch
of
THE STArTINg lINE
Eric Paley
eric Paley is an entrepreneur and a managing partner of Founder
Collective, a seed- stage venture capital fund. He is based in
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
40 - inc. - NoveMber 2013
evaN kaFka
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Business Insurance
Employee Bene ts
Auto
Home
RT31663A
The Hartford is The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. and
its subsidiaries. All property and casualty policies are
underwritten by Hartford Fire Insurance Company, Inc., and its
property and casualty af liates, Hartford, CT. Non-property and
casualty insurance underwritten by Hartford Life Insurance Company
and Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company. Policies sold in
New York underwritten by Hartford Life Insurance Company; Home of
ce is Simsbury, CT. 2013 The Hartford Financial Services Group,
Inc., Hartford, CT 06155. All Rights Reserved.
For more than 200 years, through fire, weather and
the unexpected, The Hartford has been helping
over 1,000,000 small businesses prevail. Were at
our best when things seem at their worst, proudly
helping companies like Classic Metal Craft play on.
Let the sparks fly at thehartford.com/200
Because your ame
burns a bit brighter.
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ornm42 WHAT PRACTICES have gotten you where you are now?
ornm42 WHAT HAVE you gured out that other entrepreneurs should
know?
ornm42 WHERE DO you excel?
We asked those questions of two dozen accomplished entrepreneurs
andno surprisegot an abundance of smart, frank, useful answers.
Turn the page for a special 16-page peer-to-peer guide to what
works.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JAKE CHESSUM NOVEMBER 2013 - INC. - 43
WALK THIS
WAY WITH
SOCIAL-MEDIA
EXPERT GARY
VAYNERCHUK ornm41
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Of and Running Gary Vaynerchuk is a social-media maven with a
lot to say. As youll see.
As told toLEIGH BUCHANAN, TOM FOSTER, BURTHELM, and ISSIE
LAPOWSKY
TwitterGotta be quick.
FacebookBe original. Think like a creative agency.
InstagramThis is personal.
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LEAD ornm42 Know-how Edition
HOW TO MASTER
THE FOUR BIG SOCIAL-
MEDIA PLATFORMS
1
Gary Vaynerchuk is the CEO of VaynerMedia.
THINK OF HOW YOU act with your friends versus how you act with
your clients. You behave diferently based on your environ-ment.
Social media is the same thing. Every
platform is like a diferent meeting, a diferent room, and you
have to be cool or quality depending where
you are. Most people think of social media as distri-bution and
use the same
messaging on every platform. Thats not fully
exploiting the tools. Instead, its important to gure out how to
natively tell stories on each plat-form and which visuals and copy
will enhance
the likelihood of a given posts going viral.
Pinterest
Attention, shoppers!
ornm41
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How to Love Your Own CompanyBrooks Bell is the CEO of the
technology company Brooks Bell.
3Everyone assumes the companys CEO is fully committed to the
vision. The truth is, a lot of CEOs arent. Around 2007, I was one
of them.
We were, at the time, a creatively driven email marketing
company. People hired us for our email design. We were being very
opportunistic. We said yes to anything and werent strategic about
it.
It wasnt fun to work there. I wanted Brooks Bell to be a
data-driven testing company, where the analysts were the rock
stars.
I left the ofce for about a year, going to diferent data confer-
COURTESY GARY VAYNERCHUK
ornm41
ornm41
ornm41
ornm41
TWITTER
I included #business, because
it was a trending topic at the
time of this tweet. When you
use a hashtag thats trending,
you have a substantially better
chance of getting engagement
from people who arent your
followers. The couple hundred
people who click that hashtag
every hour around the world
might also see it, and I might
get some traction I might not
otherwise have gotten. I also
made my tweet a question,
because it makes your brain
think about the answer. If I can
get someone to stop for half a
second to ponder, Ive got him
in my ecosystem. Also, line
breaks allow your tweet to take
up a larger portion of the phone
screen and attract attention.
FACEBOOK
It all starts with the image.
Notice, this image isnt just the
label of the bottle. Its an origi-
nal piece. When youre develop-
ing images for Facebook, think
about print and magazine adver-
tising. I want people to know
what wine it is (hence the crop
in on the label) and how good it
is (hence the Wine Enthusiast
score). Keep your copy short.
Include the important informa-
tion that people will care about.
In this case, its the rating, the
price, and the right hook: Click
here to buy now. And dont be
afraid to go in for the sale. If you
want someone to do something,
you have to ask him or her to do
it. I made sure to include the
word buy before the link.
INSTAGRAM
Instagram is all about real im-
ages. Where are you? What are
you looking at? What are you
doing now? Unlike the polished
images youll see for Facebook
and Pinterest, this is a simple
shot taken on a phone. Its native
to the platform. That doesnt
mean you cant include informa-
tion or text in your photo. I
wrote some of the tasting notes
directly onto the tablecloth. The
only place where links are click-
able in the Instagram app is in
your bio. Rather than including
a link in the post copy for people
to copy and paste in a browser
(because, honestly, who would
ever do that?), I put the link in
my bio. Remember, the more you
act human, the more you win.
Instagram is personal. Its for
those real-life moments.
PINTEREST
Pinterest is all about aspiration
or utility. Here, Im not just
selling wine; Im giving knowl-
edge. This infographic gives
context and tells you everything
you could want to know about
this bottle. This is just too much
text for any other platform, but
it feels right at home on Pinter-
est. People are shopping on
Pinterest, so theyre spending
more time on the content and
looking at it with a critical eye.
I used a much longer image on
Pinterest than on any other
platform. The platform dimen-
sions are diferent and allow for
it, but more importantsimilar
to what I did on Twitterlonger
pins take up more real estate.
ILLUSTRATIONSBYDAVID WILSON
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LEAD ornm42 Know-how Edition
ences to learn that world. By the time I got back, I knew what I
had to do. I needed to change my team, change all of our clients,
shift from creative to data, and completely redo my business model.
We started with the team. We let ve people go, which was the most
difcult moment Ive ever had. Another ve people left on their own
over the next three months. Then I hired 10 people over the next
six months, people who were aligned with the new goals. We had four
major clients at the beginning of this period, and we retired one
of them every year.
It was the rst time I nally embraced the idea of thinking
strategically, not waiting for someone to pick me and tell me what
to do. I got to go out and create the market I wanted.
Most entrepreneurs wont admit theyre not all in and are feeling
less committed than they once did. But realize: It starts with you.
Have a vision of what you want. Let there be a huge gap between
where you are and how youre going to get there. Map out the next
two steps and let the rest be a gray area. Trust that youll get
there if you stick to that vision.
PEOPLE COULD DIE if we get things wrong. A lot of our employees
are young, and they operate with little direct supervision, putting
on events in elds thousands of miles from where I sit. Were a very
specic kind of company, and we need very specic kinds of
people.
TO FIND THEM, WE HAVE TO DO FOUR THINGS:
run really good recruitment, induct people, train people, and
assess people. We use the acronym RITA.
INDUCTION IS THE MOST COMPLICATED.
Its easy to put your values on the wall. It means nothing. Its
about behavior. Culture
is really just how people behave when they think youre not
looking.
WE TEACH PEOPLEhow we expect them to behave. The induction
period is three weeks. We started doing it in May of last year. We
got to the stage where we were happy with our organization and the
culture we had and felt like we were in a position to scale it.
PART OF THAT TIME is spent sitting in a classroom and having
people come and speak. We also have group discussions and give
people mentors, with whom they can discuss things condentially.
Then we do team bonding activities, like sending people out on
trea-sure hunts or taking them surng. The point is to make them
feel they have a set of peers across the company. I also personally
sit down with groups of new people for an hour and a half and let
them ask me anything they want.
CULTURE EATS STRATEGY FOR BREAKFAST,
and its far easier to keep the right culture on track than get
the wrong one back on track. So gure out which behaviors are
sacrosanct at your organization and which ones are profane. Then
take all four steps of RITA and ask yourself three months later, Am
I really seeing the behavior I want to see?
KLAUSTHYMANN/TRUNK ARCHIVE
2
ornm41
HOW TO BRING NEW EMPLOYEES
INTO YOUR CULTURE
Will Dean is the CEO of the adventure-race company Tough
Mudder.
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FORGET WHAT YOUVE HEARD
Neil Blumenthal is the co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parkerand,
by a matter of months, a Millennial himself.
HOW TO MANAGE MILLENNIALS ornm427
All those articles that scold Millennials for their sup-posed
entitlement? Forget them. Millennials are great employees. There is
no reason to plan to accommo-date this nonexistent trait or to
break anyone of it.
HOW TO REALLY
CONNECT WITH
CUSTOMERS
Andy Kurtzig is the CEO of Pearl.com, which connects customers
to lawyers, doctors, mechanics, and veterinarians, who answer
questions and dole out advice online.
SINCE JANUARY, Ive devoted every Thursday, all day, to cold
calling current customers. I call it Smile and Dial.
I start in the morning calling East Coast folks, then move to
the West Coast later in the day. Its hit or miss. Half the people
answer, and of those, 20 per-cent of the people say theyre too
busy. The rest are happy to chat at least for a couple minutes. Ill
have really rich conversations with about half of them.
When I call, Im thinking, Care, care, care. I pretend like its
my mom or my grandmom or my dad. I care about their grandkid, about
their dog; I care about their life. Im focused on that, that shows,
and they really open up. And then I actu-ally do care. Im so
fascinated that I dont have to do a trick.
I want to nd out who they are and how and why they use our
service, and how we can be better. I dont say Im the CEO, because I
dont want them blowing smoke. I dont try to solve their problems on
the call very often or defend us. After the fact, Ill worry about
that. I want the truth, whether its good or bad.
48 - INC. - NOVEMBER 2013
JAN
KO
RN
STA
ED
T/ G
AL
LE
RY
ST
OC
K
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LEAD ornm42 Know-how Edition
Johnny Earle is the founder and CEO of the T-shirt company
Johnny Cupcakes, which operates ve bakery-themed stores and
regularly opens pop-up stores.
PICK AN OPTIMAL TIMEWeekends and eve-nings are best, because
people dont have to rush from work. Dont open your doors at the
same hour as everyone else. On weekends, wait until early
after-noon. That gives you greater opportunity to pass out iers and
stir excitement on the street. Also, fewer hours adds a kind of
limited-edition urgency to the experience.
PROMOTE EXTENSIVELY AND CREATIVELYStart reaching out to
journalists and calendar editors a month in advance. You can
approach bloggers a little later. Make your marketing collateral as
distinctive as possible.
INTRODUCEINTRIGUETease peoples curios-ity by ofering a mys-tery
gift or a surprise guest. The words freeand mystery are always a
good idea. Limit the number of gifts, but keep it reasonably large:
for the rst 100 customers, for ex-ample. That wont bankrupt
you.
ENLIST YOURNEIGHBORSSurrounding busi-nesses wont love it when
your customers block their entrances and overrun the park-ing lot.
Warn them in advance, apologize for the inconvenience, and invite
them to get involved. Businesses love to cross-promote, so suggest
they provide products for your grab bags or other giveaways.
RECRUIT LOCAL FOOD VENDORSPeople show up for free food. So why
not get food for free and establish relationships with other local
vendors in the process?
STAFF UPINSIDE AND OUTRecruit volunteers if you must, but make
sure you have enough people working the oor and the registersand
also keeping an eye on the street. Stan-chions will help keep
order. But someone should be out there enforcing the single-le
lineand, not inciden-tally, talking up the company and answer-ing
questions.
HOLD A SOFT OPENINGInvite friends, relatives, vendors, and
members of the press to a run-through a night or two before the
event. Employees get on-the-job training before facing
more-critical hordes, and glitches will reveal themselves.
ADVERTISE COMING ATTRACTIONSMake sure departing guests walk of
with your calendar of upcoming events and sales.
DOCUMENT LAVISHLYProduce lots of photos and videos to post to
social media after the fact, so people will see the business at its
busiest and liveliest. Youll also want the record for yourself.
Youll be so swamped and distracted during the event that the best
way to enjoy it may be retrospectively.
How to Stage a Grander Opening
MEET THEM HALF-WAY
Young people entering the job market seek employment at
compa-nies with values that match theirs. Implement-ing a
thoughtful social mission will help you attract top talent.
Millennials are eager to make an impact, which makes them ideal
for start-ups. Let them know exactly how their contribu-tion ties
into the big picture by sharing high-level insights and objectives.
ornm42 ornm42
GIVE THEM THE BIG PICTURE
DISCOURAGE TWERKINGIt just makes the rest of us feel
inadequate.
6
Amanda Peyton is the co-founder of Grand St., an online shop for
creative technology.
WE ARE a very ambition-driven organization; everyone who works
on Grand St. is sort of ob-sessive about it. Thats why we take a
monthly eld trip outside the ofce. It usually takes a whole daywe
might go to art galleries, or we might spend the day at the beach.
Its not a team-building thing at all. Theres no agenda and no
struc-ture. Its about creating an opportunity for blue-sky days.
The reason we impose these days is that if we didnt, people would
just keep going and going and going. We have to ercely command time
for fun.
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