REAL WISDOM of TALK OUR 2020 the CROWD

Inc.’s favorite entrepreneurs offer the best of REAL TALK, their smartest advice on succeeding in the coming year.

SPONSORED BY THE INC. 5000 HONOREES WHOSE PROFILES APPEAR IN THE FOLLOWING PAGES.

When you speak to as many founders as Inc. doedoes,s, you get expert insights into just about every iissuessue crucial to building a breakout business. The most succesuccessfulssful of those folks can be found in Real Talk interviews, a showcase for hard-won wiwisdomsdom from people who have faced the punipunishingshing challenges of entrepreneentrepreneurshipurship and prevailed to become household namenames.s.• In the pagepagess that follow, you’ll find their their insights insights distilled distilled into into memorable memorable quotes quotes chosen chosen by our editors. You’ll also find profiles of ofa fewa few of ofour our 2020 2020 Inc. Inc. 5000 5000 honoree honorees,s, each one just a step away from that same kind of succesuccess.ss. In fact, don’t be surprisurprisedsed if you see one or two of them in these pagepagess next year.• Until then, it’s with their support that we’we’veve collected the best of this year’s Real Talk and prepresentsent it to you here. We hope you enjoy it—and that it offers just what you need to continue on the journey to your own seat at the Real Talk table.

Inc.’s Real Talk video series features entre­ preneurial luminaries weighing in with advice and insights on everything from pitching investors to leading during a crisis. Watch them all at inc.com/ real­talk. GETTY (3)

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1220_BOB_RealTalk_rev1_1276039.indd 99 12/2/20 3:24 PM The hardest REAL necessary skill TALK Leadership to learn 2020

“YOU CAN HAVE INFLUENCES AND PEOPLE WHO ARE CLOSE TO YOU TO HELP GUIDE YOU TO THE RIGHT DECISION, BUT ULTIMATELY YOU DRIVE YOUR CAREER.” MARIA SHARAPOVA In October, Sharapova, winner of five Grand Slam singles tennis titles and co-founder of high-end candy company Sugarpova, spoke with Inc. about balancing the guidance of the team around you with your own instincts and judgment.

“A great mentor is the one who pushes back, who says, ‘No, I disagree. I don’t think that’s going to work.’ Then you have to prove it.”

TARIQ FARID Founder of fresh fruit gift basket franchise Edible Arrangements, Farid noted in June that while many mentors will help you navigate career questions, a mentor who also challenges your ideas and sends you back to the drawing board will help you learn about yourself.

1220_BOB_RealTalk_1276039.indd 100 12/1/20 5:20 PM “IF OUR VALUES “Your“Yo ur cultureculture isis notnot the Ping-PongPing-Pong table.table. DON’T MATCH, YourYour cultureculture isis notnot the happy hourhour THERE’S NO LEVEL onon Fridays. YourYour OF MANAGEMENT cultureculture isis actually THAT WILL always happening.” CHANGE THAT.” MATT MULLENWEG Co-founder of website-building platform WordPress and TRISTAN WALKER Automattic, its parent company, Mullenweg explained in a July Real Talk conversation how to maintain a strong During a Real Talk conversation in August, company culture even without a physical office. Walker, founder and CEO of Walker & Company Brands, said that he wanted to have a framework of objectivity to guide his decision-making, so he came up with six personal values to use as a foundation: courage, inspiration, “You“Yo u can respect, judgment, wellness, communicatecommunicate and loyalty. aroaroundund ‘mi‘mission’ssion’ withwithoutout it soundingsounding too sappy.”

RANDY GOLDBERG Get Jason Fried’s tips on Goldberg revealed in a September Real Talk conversation maintaining efficiency and preserving company two things that helped his sock company, Bombas, reach culture while running your company remotely, at profitability in only two years: sticking to the mission, and inc.com/real-talk. being willing to say no.

“The fundamental uunderpinningnderpinning of beinbeingg JASON FRIED a great manager iiss jjustust Co-founder and CEO aboaboutut givingivingg pepeopleople of software company Basecamp, Fried the time and trustrustt they is also author of needneed to ddoo great wowork.”rk.” several books, including Remote: Office Not Required. During a Real Talk conversation in May, he shared some of the lessons he’s learned from manag ing the Basecamp team remotely for 21 years. CONTINUED ON PAGE 103 FROM LEFT: GETTY; REDUX; ROG & BEE WALKER; JAMES CHOROROS; COURTESY SUBJECT; SHAYAN ASGHARNIA SHAYAN SUBJECT; COURTESY CHOROROS; JAMES & BEE WALKER; REDUX; ROG GETTY; LEFT: FROM

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1220_BOB_RealTalk_1276039.indd 101 12/1/20 5:20 PM INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ A-SHA FOODS USA The Business Elevating the Ramen Game With Taiwanese roots and a steadfast belief in its product, A-Sha Foods is building an American brand

Ramen noodles used to mean college kid food—an inexpensive meal hack for people 2020 on a budget. A-Sha Foods’ ramen noodles are Ranking diff erent. They’re tasty, certainly, but they

are also made with sustainable, premium A-Sha Foods is poised for future 392 ingredients and air-dried, not deep-fried like growth, creating meals with sustainable other brands. ingredients and plant based protein With a 1,182 percent three-year growth rate, A-Sha Foods ranks no. 392 on the Inc. 5000. easy to convince the U.S. to spend more for a CEO Young Chang says they are poised for premium ramen product, but Chang did not even more explosive growth and on a mission waiver. He began selling online, then graduated to become a well-known American brand. He to specialty stores, and, one year later, his fi rst $5.9 credits success to the quality of the product, grocery store, Safeway. In 2015, Chang left his million perseverance, and a strong leadership team. job at Warner Bros. to offi cially launch A-Sha 2019 Sales Foods U.S.A. Some people thought he was A “NEW” BUSINESS crazy, but his mentors supported him. Their WITH A LONG HISTORY support was really helpful. So was the support Chang offi cially launched the company in of Liao, who provided Chang guidance at every 2015, but the noodles originate from a noodle turn and invested in safe-food certifi cations at factory in Tainan, Taiwan, that started in the factory level. “When the opportunity comes 1977 using a 100-year-old Taiwanese recipe. to work with a Costco or a Walmart, we are 7 Chang’s business partner, Henry Liao, CEO of ready,” Chang says. Breeze Group, the largest shopping mall chain The next few years were a blur. Ramen Employees in Taiwan, acquired the factory in 2011. Liao noodle shops began to take off nationwide, had “zero experience in the food industry,” but and A-Sha was ready to ride the ramen wave. he was struck by the quality of the product. “Success is the convergence of opportunity Chang, who grew up in the U.S., was also and preparedness,” Chang says. “We focused impressed. “I think everyone knows ramen on being the best at what we do, and when [traditionally] has a lot of MSG and sodium people were ready to accept a premium ramen and is a food we eat out of necessity. This noodle, we were ready, too.” 1182% was so diff erent from anything I’ve had in the National distribution deals with 3-Year States,” he says. mainstream retailers, partnerships with Growth Liao asked Chang if he wanted to partner Asian markets in all 50 states, and a growing and bring Taiwanese ramen to the rest of the presence in Canada contribute to A-Sha’s world. Chang saw the potential, and they both growth. But Chang is most focused on building knew they would do things the industry had the brand in the States. “We want people to never seen. see A-Sha and know, instantly, “They stand for best-tasting, premium, ramen. We strive to READY TO RIDE THE RAMEN WAVE elevate the ramen experience.” Chang led A-Sha’s foray into the Western market while working his 9-5 job. It wasn’t ASHADRYNOODLE.COM

CREATED FOR A-SHA FOODS USA BY INC. STUDIO REAL TALK Leadership 2020

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 101

“The only way forward, “WE HAVE if you’re an entrepreneuentrepreneurr TO START who wants to bubuildild something better, is SUPPORTING to get on the side of PEOPLE FROM change, not to fight THE BOTTOM against change.” SETH GODIN UP, NOT Author of 19 books, Godin is a marketing expert, FROM THE the founder of online leadership workshop altMBA, and the host of the Akimbo podcast. TOP DOWN.” In a May Real Talk, he discussed his definition of good marketing, common traps that can MARK CUBAN sink a business, and how brands can best Cuban, Shark Tank co-star and reach their audiences. NBA owner, made the business case for tackling income inequality and racism in an “There’s a huhugege ddifferiffer encencee October interview. There, between leading innova tion he offered useful ways to think and leading innovatively.” about applying what he calls “compassionate capitalism.”

JESSICA NORDLANDER Ex-Google executive and former chief digital officer for global travel group STS Education, Nordlander is the chief operations officer at com mu nity intelligence software company Thoughtexchange. In September, she told Inc. that it’s important not to confuse innova- tors with innovative leaders. CONTINUED ON PAGE 105 FROM LEFT: JILL GREENBERG; COURTESY SUBJECT; GETTY SUBJECT; COURTESY JILL GREENBERG; LEFT: FROM

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1220_BOB_RealTalk_rev1_1276039.indd 103 12/2/20 3:24 PM INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ SEDERA Ending the Status Quo in Health Care Most health insurance plans don’t have high customer satisfaction scores, but Sedera’s medical cost-sharing model off ers an alternative

The free-market system has produced some technology to allow health care consumers to of the most innovative products and services fi nd aff ordable, quality, and meaningful care. the world has seen in almost every corner “The fi rst generation of the sharing economy of the economy. How is it that aspects of the was about sharing assets like cars, homes, and American health care system remain such a other consumables. Sedera is proving that glaring exception to this phenomenon? the next generation is about people coming That question nagged at Tony Dale, a former together to share their bills,” he says. physician from Great Britain, after a disquieting Sedera’s model brings together engaged encounter with the American health care consumers unifi ed by shared, ethically based system following surgery in the mid-1990s. It principles and values rather than religious spurred him to create Sedera, an Austin, Texas- tenets. “To fulfi ll our vision of creating a new based medical cost-sharing community that normal in health care, we focus on what unites has grown by more than 2,000 percent over the our members: a commitment to transparency, past three years. education, community-mindedness, and a Founder, Tony Dale and CEO, Jamie Lagarde Medical cost-sharing is often misconstrued desire to help one another,” Lagarde says. as a type of health insurance, but it’s not. Medical cost-sharing organizations, like Sedera, OVERCOMING OBSTACLES off er an innovative approach to managing large THROUGH TRANSPARENCY health care costs through direct member-to- When it launched in 2014, Sedera was a new member sharing. startup in a little-known industry that sits “Sedera is not an insurer or in the business adjacent to a highly political and regulated of insurance, and this is intentional,” says CEO space. The company consistently bumped up Jamie Lagarde. “Our health care system is against barriers when it came to education overcomplicated, with skyrocketing costs, a and misconceptions about its model. In lack of pricing transparency, and few options.” response, Sedera embraced transparency, Citing a Harvard study that found more than service diversifi cation, and a commitment to two-thirds of personal bankruptcies are tied industry best practices. to medical issues, he adds that “it is clear that Looking to the future, Sedera teamed up coverage does not equal care.” this year with an FDIC-insured fi ntech partner to establish a platform that creates secure, LEVERAGING THE SHARING ECONOMY individualized medical cost-sharing accounts. Sedera’s platform allows members to share “This relieves members from handling complex medical costs. Uniting like-minded people in medical calculations and frees them up to a shared sense of purpose powers Sedera’s focus on their health needs,” Lagarde says. business model, Lagarde explains. Sedera is “Upending the status quo is no easy task.” at the forefront of this new frontier, building a health care sharing economy that uses SEDERA.COM

2020 Ranking 2183% 27K+ 1083 3-Year Total Business 193 Growth Members Members

CREATED FOR SEDERA BY INC. STUDIO REAL The thing that makes you TALK Adversity stronger 2020

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 103 “TAKE IN THE “You’re in businessbusiness to satisfy DISAPPOINTMENTS. customers,customers, and if you can’t THEY WILL COME. do that, you’re gogoinging to fail.”fail.” THEY ARE IMPORTANT. JOHN MACKEY THEY ARE Mackey, co-founder PART OF THE of Whole Foods OPPORTUNITY Market, learned early TO CLARIFY in his career that being successful WHAT YOU requires compromise. WANT TO DO.” In September, he explained that after a slow start with a vegetarian natural foods TRACEE store, being more pragmatic about the ELLIS kinds of products he was willing to sell ROSS helped him “meet the marketplace.”

Actor, producer, and activist Ross couldn’t just add “founder” to “I worry like her résumé—she had a mmomom about to prove herself as an entrepreneur first. every one of ouourr Now the CEO of hair team members care line Pattern, she and how theythey’re’re shared with Inc. in November that after feeling and how some early rejection theythey’re’re dodoinging left her in tears, she and how we can ultimately learned make their day how the feedback could help her grow. better.” JULIA CHEEK In a Real Talk conversation in June, Cheek emphasized the importance of continually checking on the mental health of the staff How heavily should data weigh in your strategy at her at-home lab testing company decisions? Julia Cheek Everlywell—and being prepared to tell has some advice at inc.com/real-talk. them to disconnect from Zoom. CONTINUED ON PAGE 109 CLOCKWISE FROM ROSS: GETTY; COURTESY SUBJECT; GETTY SUBJECT; COURTESY GETTY; ROSS: FROM CLOCKWISE

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1220_BOB_RealTalk_rev1_1276039.indd 105 12/2/20 3:24 PM INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ THRIVE Focus on the Human Factor

Collaboration and a relentless focus on understanding the human experience give THRIVE the insight it needs

Dalton adds that he and Kahute also approached their prospecting with humility, 2020 Ranking focusing less on touting their accomplishments and more on understanding the solutions clients need. They also were mindful of the 3940 heightened sense of risk leaders feel when choosing a consultant. By centering on personal contact and building trust, the company has achieved an Close collaboration and rapid iteration impressive retention rate. “In 10 years, there translate our creative vision into reality have only been one or two clients who have not returned and reengaged us for further Radiation detection company Mirion $6.2 projects,” Dalton says. Technologies wanted to produce a personal radiation device (PRD) for fi rst responders million ‘HUMAN-CENTERED APPROACH’ to detect and ensure public safety against 2019 Revenue Once THRIVE has a client on board, the radiological threats. So, they turned to company’s ‘human-centered’ approach, as THRIVE Consulting to create a fi rst- Dalton puts it, continues throughout its work. generation product and development strategy. The team creates products for its clients The team went into the fi eld with emergency by interweaving business strategy, design, responders and law enforcement offi cers and insights from contextual research to across the U.S. to observe and understand the guide how it develops products, services, environments and contexts in which they’d and experiences for people. “We want to be using the devices. These insights informed 89% understand them fi rst as people in the context not only design and development, but also the 2020 Growth of their daily lives, rather than as a fi ctional, branding, packaging, and even training. Rate faceless consumer,” Dalton says. The type of end-to-end project exemplifi es “Co-creation” is another term the pair likes THRIVE’s rigorous and collaborative approach to use to describe how they work with both the to new product development and innovation businesses that hire them and the people who strategy and research. CEO Jonathan Dalton purchase and use the products they design. and Chief Creative Offi cer Trent Kahute, were They are always iterating ideas and continuously formerly with Philips Electronics and co- incorporating feedback from end-users by founded the company in December 2009. With 24 rapidly creating and testing prototypes. a client list that includes Medtronic, Becton Building a company culture that is highly Dickinson, McDonalds, AT&T, and Honeywell, Employees collaborative and encourages input from all in 2019 to name a few, the fi rm concentrates on the employees with a wide range of backgrounds health care, food and beverage, consumer and viewpoints is another crucial ingredient lifestyle, and professional products spaces. in THRIVE’s success formula. The main constant is a dual devotion to creativity and FIRST, BUILD TRUST people-centered problem-solving. “A lot Nearly all of THRIVE’s conversions from of consultants organize around a skill set,” prospect to client partner have happened after Dalton says. “We’re a mindset company that an in-person meeting. “Jon and I worked hard can execute, focused on designing growth for to build that trust up front, so that clients some of the world’s most innovative brands.” allow us to demonstrate the value we can deliver,” Kahute says. THRIVETHINKING.COM

CREATED FOR THRIVE BY INC. STUDIO INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ QUONTIC BANK On a Mission to “Break the System” Quontic Bank is at the forefront of digital adoption and on a mission to provide niche lending and deposit products for people other banks overlook

Part bank, part fi ntech company, Quontic marketing expert, to develop an online deposit Bank is leading the way in customer- gathering strategy. Being a digital bank with 2020 centric lending and deposit solutions. a CDFI designation is refl ected in its updated Ranking While its products have evolved since mission to “break the system for fi nancial its launch in December 2009, the heart empowerment.” The bank off ers adaptive of its mission remains the same: Quontic 4248 lending solutions designed to fi t consumers’ serves underbanked populations, including unique circumstances, and innovative deposit low-income households, immigrants, products with niche benefi ts. Products in entrepreneurs, and gig economy workers. development include a sustainable checking Over the past 11 years, Quontic has product that reduces customers’ carbon transformed from a traditional community footprints to zero, a checking account that bank to a national adaptive digital bank with rewards consumers in Bitcoin, and a wearable more than $500 million in assets. debit card ring, among others. Quontic’s roots shaped its future. The bank 226% Sells says culture is as integral to their Increase in is now headquartered in Manhattan, but CEO Core Deposits success as product. The team abides by core and Founder Steve Schnall originally located Since 2018 values, including “progress not perfection.” the bank in Astoria, Queens—“arguably one They embrace new ideas quickly, but with a of the most diverse places in the country”— set result in mind, and they always measure to reach varied customer groups, including outcomes. They also make work fun, as people used to hearing banks say “no.” First, encapsulated by their “Say Cheese” value. it focused on helping borrowers access “When a photographer says, ‘say cheese,” mortgages. In 2015, Quontic became a both the subject and the photographer smile,” certifi ed Community Development Financial Sells explains. “We are trying to create an Institution (CDFI), a designation granted by 1.2 environment where everyone is bringing that the U.S. Department of Treasury to fi nancial billion type of positivity.” And the bank takes care institutions dedicated to helping low-income in Assets of employees: Since 2018, Quontic’s average borrowers and disadvantaged communities. employee salary has increased by 25 percent.

EVOLVING INTO A DIGITAL BANK READY FOR THE FUTURE Quontic’s latest growth phase is driven, COVID-19 has tested and strengthened the in part, by digital transformation. In 2018, business. The company also hired a chief Schnall hired Chief Innovation Offi cer people offi cer and rolled out employee Patrick Sells, a serial entrepreneur and digital 25% performance metrics to create more transparent compensation. To continue to Increase in support underserved businesses during the Quontic Bank Average Pay for CEO and Founder Employees crisis, Quontic purchased $800 million in Steve Schnall Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. While many banks struggle to embrace fi ntech and wonder what to make of the emerging crypto space, Quontic is ahead of the curve. Schnall and Sells believe they have the approach, the technology, and the team in place to shape the future of banking.

QUONTICBANK.COM

CREATED FOR QUONTIC BANK BY INC. STUDIO INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ CONVERZE MEDIA GROUP Optimizing Client Ad Spending Converze Media Group is positioned to capture a larger share of the traditional and streaming ad market with its advanced att ribution tool

With 90 percent of consumers now watching streaming video content, according to advisory 2020 fi rm PwC, people continue to “cut the cord.” Ranking Consequently, advertising dollars are moving to where the action is. “With ad budgets 4805 shifting from traditional media toward streaming and digital outlets,” says Tedd Barr, managing partner at Converze Media Group, “Converze is uniquely positioned to capture that business.” Converze is one of the fastest-growing direct response TV (DRTV) and over-the-top (OTT) media buyers, while also being one $62 of the largest Sirius XM, terrestrial radio, that advertisers spend more money than they million and podcast buyers in the country. It has need on campaigns that may not be generating 2019 Revenue relationships with more than 20,000 TV great results. and radio stations, providing the ability to In contrast, AIM Analytics reports on what negotiate rates for clients that are as much as traffi c a particular ad on a particular channel 80 percent less than traditional rates. is driving in real time. It can provide a daily However, at the end of the day, clients measure of cost per website visitor (CPV), are primarily concerned with their return cost per call (CPC), or an overall cost per on ad spend (ROAS). They want to know response (CPR). “Getting results in real time 61% which media outlets/stations are providing was unheard of until now,” Barr says. “We can the best return. 3-Year make adjustments and optimize campaigns Growth To better answer that question, Converze much more quickly.” invested more than seven fi gures in developing AIM Analytics, a sophisticated, UNPARALLELED DATA GRANULARITY proprietary, in-house attribution platform. Reputation Defender was an early adopter of It tracks website visits and calls from a Converze’s AIM Analytics and a witness to traditional TV/OTT or radio commercial the power of real-time adjustments. “I’m a big down the consumer path to a sale. data guy, so I’ve seen quite a few attribution 30 platforms over the years,” says John “Taz” Employees REAL-TIME ROI REPORTING Hammond, vice president of marketing. Through the use of AIM Analytics, the media “The granularity of [AIM Analytics’] buying agency can accurately and quickly minute-by-minute, real-time attribution report on how many consumers take action has helped us increase the ROI on our radio after watching or listening to a specifi c digital and TV buys by more than 35 percent. It’s or broadcast ad. This data has always been a defi nitely a game changer.” major challenge with traditional TV or radio In addition to Reputation Defender, advertising, Barr says. Converze has worked with clients from “Most attribution tools can report on startups, including Optima Tax Relief—one of directional or overall lift of an ad campaign,” the fastest growing companies in the country— says Barr, though that information isn’t to Fortune 1000 stars, such as Paychex, and available in real time. That’s useful to know everywhere in between. for future planning but not very helpful for optimizing a campaign quickly. The result is CONVERZEMEDIA.COM

CREATED FOR CONVERZE MEDIA GROUP BY INC. STUDIO 1220_BOB_RealTalk_1276039.indd 109

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CAN CAN DO FOR THEIR CUSTOMER TOMORROW.” TOMORROW AND DOES THE BEST THING THEY DO FOR THE CUSTOMER TODAY AND WAKES UP INC. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 109 2020

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FROM LEFT: GETTY (2); SHAYAN ASGHARNIA INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ JACKSON HEDDEN How Disruptive Industrial Design Benefi ts Clients Bringing a whole new way of thinking to bear, Jackson Hedden makes contemporary design more accessible

A growing number of industries have faced create a methodology that virtualizes much the prospect of radical disruption over the past of the design and tolerance-testing processes. 2020 few years. Now industrial design has joined “It allows us to get to a robust product very Ranking the list, thanks to Jackson Hedden, founder of quickly rather than through the hundreds of an eponymously named New York City-based iterations the traditional approach requires, industrial design fi rm. While he has studied at which massively reduces turnaround time on 251 the Savannah College of Art and Design and all our projects,” he says. honed his skills with world-famous industrial While that effi ciency in achieving designers and fi rms, including Karim Rashid structural integrity is a big competitive and RKS Design, Hedden brings a whole new advantage, it’s not what sells a product. “Being way of looking at things to the industry. beautiful is what sells a product,” Hedden During his time working for other says. “People don’t buy ugly things. What we fi rms, Hedden realized that a tremendous do amazingly well is make beautiful objects $1.5 marketplace need for contemporary design that are designed to stand the test of time was going unmet because the industry’s status both structurally and aesthetically. We do it billion quo made it inaccessible to many. He saw for companies from established luxury brands Generated in the time was ripe for an edgy new industrial like Lamborghini to disruptive startups like Client Revenue design fi rm that, unencumbered by hidebound Komuso Design and everything in between.” beliefs and constructs, could break through and knock down barriers. MAKING DREAMS REALITY “The traditional industrial design process Hedden’s design ethos centers on making is time-consuming and expensive,” he says. “I clients’ dreams a reality. This often involves an knew that scaling the process down and making educational process to coax clients out of their it more aff ordable would enable clients to get comfort zone and help them see possibilities 1776% more valuable products out to the market.” they never thought feasible. 3-Year “We walk them through from the germ of Growth LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY an idea all the way to manufacturing, but we TO REDUCE TURNAROUND TIME do it in a highly transparent, understandable Hedden teamed up with PTC and Fusion 360, way,” he says. two fi rms renowned for their software in the This approach has helped the fi rm grow its industrial design and manufacturing space, to client roster rapidly, with many becoming repeat clients who expand their contracts signifi cantly with each subsequent engagement. “Repeat 7 Jackson Hedden clients account for the bulk of our revenue, and million they become big spenders because they develop Products trust in our design process,” Hedden says. Shipped Yearly Hedden always wants his designs to disrupt complacency. “We design to push things to the next level, never the status quo,” he says. “Whether it’s love or hate, we want to incite strong reactions in people. If we do that, we’ve won.”

JACKSONHEDDEN.COM

CREATED FOR JACKSON HEDDEN BY INC. STUDIO INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ URBAN FT From FinTech Pioneer to Leader

Focusing on helping smaller community banks innovate and stay Urban FT CEO, relevant has helped Urban FT generate triple-digit growth Richard Steggall

Starting a new business by entering the they can digitally reaches boiling point, banking and payments market with zero years bigger institutions are now rapidly losing 2020 of industry experience turned out to be an their advantage,” says Steggall. Ranking advantage for Urban FT. “We came in with a Urban FT’s fi rst product, its digital banking fresh perspective; we were able to understand platform, was only launched in 2015. Just fi ve 905 the problems that needed to be addressed; and years later, and now as the industry’s fi rst we weren’t hindered by any historical bias,” ever FinTech Core, more than 500 fi nancial says CEO Richard Steggall. institutions are using its technology. Those But perhaps more importantly, Urban clients include banks, credit unions, and neo FT came into the market with an in-depth banks, among others. understanding of technology, user trends, “We’ve focused on delivering consumer behavior, and the digital economy, comprehensive, wholly customized solutions, 18 which proved essential as the company began with turnkey simplicity,” says Steggall. Urban billion to home in on where in the fi nancial market FT’s FinTech Core delivers Next-Gen digital it needed to focus its attention. Its analysis banking tools, money movement capabilities, Annual Processing suggested that community banks, with $2 account opening and identity verifi cation Volume billion in assets or less, were “more focused options, card portfolio processing, fi ntech on what the customer wanted and therefore adapters, and behavioral insights—all of which had a more ‘customer-centric’ business have been designed to enhance overall user model,” Steggall says. Whereas the big banks engagement. “seemed to have a shareholder-centric The company boasts well-known client business model focused on delivering their names, as well as some that are not so well- 515% customers only the essential needs.” Urban known—yet. Clients include Chime, Costal FT’s vision of future success was therefore Heritage Bank, TwinStar Credit Union, Drake 3-Year more in line with the community banks, so Bank, and Navy Federal Credit Union, to Growth that is the direction their journey took. name just a few.

LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD RESEARCH AND “We knew that the smaller regional and DEVELOPMENT POWERHOUSE community banks and credit unions were Most importantly though, Urban FT employs at a disadvantage compared to their bigger teams of people focused on continuous R&D. 500+ counterparts. And the ‘too-big-to-fail’ “This is our commitment to our customers— Banking institutions historically had the advantage that we, and therefore they, will always be on Customers of more branches and massive technology the bleeding edge of innovation,” Steggall says. budgets,” Steggall says. So Urban FT set out So, what’s next for Urban FT? According to tip the playing fi eld back in favor of the to Steggall, the company’s continued success “smaller guy” by delivering a competitive will be driven by its employees’ “relentless advantage when it came to the digital pursuit to drive innovation for the underdogs relationship they would have with their in this industry, and in turn, empower the customers. It is paying off . As “the reliance communities they serve.” on in-branch banking declines, and the insatiable appetite of people to do everything URBANFT.COM

CREATED FOR URBAN FT BY INC. STUDIO INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ LIBERTY DEBT RELIEF Technology and Personal Touch Bring Reassurance to Debt Relief Clients Liberty Debt Relief’s automation removes bott lenecks to resolve customers’ fi nancial distress and bring greater peace of mind The debt relief industry is labor intensive aspects of their settlement information, and ripe for automation. Customers must including the deposit account and payment 2020 provide income and debt documents, while scheduling. “It helps the user experience in not Ranking associates evaluate their claims through a having to call in to ask for an update on their comprehensive underwriting process. Some account,” he says. 1118 are referred for debt settlement, others for After determining the best way for clients bankruptcy, debt consolidation, consumer to handle their debt, underwriters refer them credit counseling, or loans. The process needs to a partner company to manage their unique to cycle quickly for consumer peace of mind, situation. Clients work directly with the but also because the company only gets paid if partner but still have dashboard access and a they reach a resolution. contact at Liberty. “This is why our customer With backgrounds in debt settlement and service has such stellar ratings online,” he mortgage processing, Omar Chouche and says. Liberty follows up with customers after $12.5 Sam Aresheh founded Liberty Debt Relief in they are on the path to fi nancial recovery, 2015 to optimize those processes with digital sometimes referring them to credit repair million automation. “We looked at the industry and companies as well. 2019 Revenue saw an opportunity for us to help solve debt resolution more productively,” says Chouche, MAINTAINING MORALE Liberty Debt Relief’s CEO. The associates fi eld many phone calls The process currently requires a human while completing their work under tight underwriter to review and assess the time constraints. It is a fast-paced business documents, to determine the best resolution. environment, with fi les to review, partners to That can be embarrassing for some. Liberty Debt consult, and communications with the client. 63 Relief devised a way for customers to upload the “That can be stressful, so we invest in our Employees information, with machine learning handling employees as much as possible,” Chouche says. in 2019 the underwriting process, Chouche says. Before COVID-19, they brought in massage therapists and lunches, provided car washes, THE IMPORTANCE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE and celebrated birthdays at the Orange, Chouche is proud that their innovative online California, headquarters. “We try to create a dashboard gives clients transparency into all work environment where people love where they work, so they’re as effi cient and eff ective as possible when working with clients.” They 404% plan on providing access to a psychotherapist 2020 Growth to meet with associates virtually, along with Rate sending incentive gifts to employee homes. With a satisfi ed workforce, the associates can better focus on the clients. “We’re proud that we’re able to provide tools for reducing stress at work during a time when our associates are experiencing sustained uncertainty in many aspects of their lives,” Chouche says.

LIBERTYDEBTRELIEF.COM

CREATED FOR LIBERTY DEBT RELIEF BY INC. STUDIO INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ BRUNET-GARCÍA ADVERTISING From a Regional Powerhouse to a Committed and Passionate National Player How Brunet-García harnesses inclusivity and public service to fuel its success

It’s a rare but serendipitous occurrence when 2020 a business ends up doing well by doing good, Ranking but that’s just what happened to Jacksonville, Florida-based advertising agency Brunet- García on its journey from bootstrapped startup 1798 to Inc. 5000 recognition. Lacking promotional dollars to build awareness in its early days, the agency focused on pro bono campaigns for regional arts and social SBA for 8(a) Small Disadvantaged Business services organizations. That largesse heightened designation to expand its business with the its visibility and led to high-profi le national federal government. Today, it has more than 238% advertising and design awards. Doing good in 40 employees and a client roster that includes its community is a Brunet-García hallmark that dozens of state and federal government agencies 3-Year Growth remains pivotal to its culture today. and nonprofi t arts, education, and health Jorge and Diane Brunet-García, ad industry organizations. But its growth has never taken a vets with 30 years of major brand experience backseat to culture. under their belts, launched the agency in 2003 with just $25,000 and two small accounts REGIONAL POWERHOUSE generating about $125,000 in revenue. They TO NATIONAL PLAYER focused on outreach to Hispanics, capitalizing on “Culture and ethos were very important to us 14 their own cultural insights and past experience to from the day we started Brunet-García,” Diane Telly Awards create a multicultural agency with ready access says. She and Jorge were intent on avoiding the to markets across Florida and the Southeast. traditional culture of the advertising industry, and, instead, focus on parity, inclusivity, and LEMONS INTO LEMONADE gender equality. The agency has a 75 percent Early on, a modest bilingual outreach female leadership team, a predominantly campaign for the Florida Department of female creative team, and a diverse workforce Transportation urging young Latinos to representing seven countries. 40+ “buckle up” led to a larger account with the Rapid but sustainable growth makes it Employees Florida Department of Health. The project’s possible for Brunet-García to nurture a strong goals were to boost awareness of the FDOH’s culture and give back generously to both the nascent statewide immunization information community and its talent. It promotes from system among physicians and get them to within and embraces a tribal culture that is key enroll. A hiccup in that engagement turned to its success, Diane says. “By bringing personal into the agency’s fi rst big break. cultural insights and out-of-the-box thinking to “When a key subcontractor bailed on us, some of the most complex and pressing issues, we assumed their part of the contract, and that we have elevated our agency from a regional quickly became our fi rst million-dollar account,” powerhouse to a committed and passionate Jorge recalls. “It also provided a valuable lesson national player.” on how to stretch, no matter what.” The agency subsequently applied to the BRUNETGARCIA.COM

CREATED FOR BRUNET-GARCÍA BY INC. STUDIO The fuel that REAL moves you TALK Inspiration forward 2020

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 110 “IN TENNIS, I BELIEVE IN “There should be no convincing ONE WINNER. THAT’S youryour staff ofof anything.anything. It’sIt’s notnot aboutabout convincing. It’s about inspiring. THE GREAT THING It’s aboutabout showing upup at work and ABOUT BUSINESS. being very, very honest.” THERE ISN’T JUST ONE WINNER. SIMON SINEK THERE’S A business coach ROOM FOR and best-selling author, Sinek calls EVERYONE crisis “the great revealer.” In a June Real TO WIN. Talk, he said that crises create a I LOVE moment for leaders to reaffirm why they do what they do, and—just as THAT.” important—to demonstrate courage. VENUS WILLIAMS Founder of athleisure brand “The biggest problems EleVen by Venus prepresentsent the biggestbiggest Williams, the tennis great opportunities.” made plenty of rookie mistakes when starting ANKUR JAIN her business. Williams Jain explained in stressed to August why his Inc. the investment firm, importance Kairos, funded of putting training for health your entire services providers for team—rather elderly patients: “Solve a than just big problem and build a yourself—in great business out of it.” a position to win. CONTINUED ON PAGE 116 GETTY (3)

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HAVE THE ABILITY TO “SOME PEOPLE JUST TURN ON A DIME AND BE RIDICULOUSLY EVERYBODY’S BARBARA CORCORAN OPTIMISTIC, TO THINK IS The The BEGINNING WHICH I’M SUCCESS.” founder of real estate firm founder of real estate firm the leaders of all 78 of her the leaders of all 78 of her Corcoran Group called Corcoran Group Shark Tank co-star and Shark Tank portfolio com panies portfolio com panies interview, Corcoran interview, Corcoran when the pan demic when the pan demic HALF OF hit. In a Septem ber hit. In a Septem ber and, equally vital, and, equally vital, already adapting already adapting best-performing best-performing inc.com/real-talk. recipe, at offers a useful Matt Mullenweg meetings great? take to make your What does it busi nesses were busi nesses were staying positive. staying positive. CONTINUED ON PAGE 121 noted that her noted that her co-star and called

12/1/20 5:20 PM

FROM LEFT: COURTESY SUBJECTS (2); GETTY INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ WESLEY FINANCIAL GROUP Cleaning up the Timeshare Industry Once a timeshare sales rep, Wesley Financial Group’s founder now targets deceptive industry sales practices

turned into his next business. His former employer sued him, alleging that he had shared 2020 trade secrets. The lawsuit was resolved in his Ranking favor, and his business continued. Wesley Financial Group takes its name and philosophy from Methodist founder and 203 minister John Wesley, who urged followers to do all the good they can. “When our clients have gone through our process at Wesley Financial Chuck McDowell, Group and we’ve cancelled their timeshare, if founder and CEO that client says they got great customer service, then our business can’t fail,” he says. One client Chuck McDowell had an “aha” moment was so happy with her results that she asked to when trying to make amends to his timeshare work for the company, spreading their message $63 sales clients in 2009. He called his previous and supporting clients who feel embarrassed million customers, telling them he didn’t realize that about their timeshare situation. 2019 Revenue his sales tactics used to sell them timeshares There’s no shortage of potential customers. were deceptive and gave them advice on how With an estimated nearly 10 million timeshare to cancel their purchases. One customer told owners in the U.S., McDowell believes that another, and soon timeshare purchasers were roughly 8 percent have been sold timeshares begging McDowell to help them too. “That’s with inaccurate information. Building off advice when I knew I had a business,” he says. from marketing expert Jay Abraham, Wesley Since McDowell founded Wesley Financial Financial Group tripled their Facebook ad Group, LLC in 2011, the CEO and his spend, and ran TV and radio advertisements. 298 company successfully helped reverse more “He convinced me to build a brand, not simply Employees in than 15,000 timeshare purchases. The fi rm market a service,” McDowell says. 2019 doesn’t accept clients who just want out of their purchase. Instead, they focus on people BUCKING THE PANDEMIC TRENDS who feel they were misled during the sales During the pandemic, companies in the travel process. Employees screen and vet prospective realm are getting pummeled, but Wesley customers’ stories. “We know what each Financial Group is growing, increasing staff location says to sell their product,” and Wesley this year from 330 to 383. “On March 10, I told Financial Group employees track what the employees in our Tennessee offi ce, ‘you’ll see 2114% sales reps say, looking for patterns, he says. companies cut marketing expenses and start 2020 Growth laying people off .’” Wesley Financial Group did Rate A HAPPY ACCIDENT the opposite. They added $100,000 a week to Early in his career, McDowell owned an their marketing budget and began a hiring spree. insurance and mortgage business. After a two- While this was not what McDowell year hiatus from work following the unexpected envisioned as a career, it’s rewarding. “I would death of his wife, he began a career selling prefer to not be in the timeshare cancellation timeshares to support himself and his two business. It’s not fun. I’m at war with massive young sons. Less than a year in, though, he was multi-billion-dollar companies,” he says. disillusioned with the sales practices, resigning “But I’m a businessman who also has the need without having another job lined up. What to help people.” began as McDowell calling former customers to give advice on getting out of their timeshares, WESLEYFINANCIALGROUP.COM

CREATED FOR WESLEY FINANCIAL GROUP BY INC. STUDIO INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ WOW PAYMENTS Payment Processing Made Easy: How One Company Tweaked the Model WOW Payments realized that customers may be willing to pay credit card processing fees if they’re transparent

Businesses can have a hard time paying rent, closed, some restaurants used outside kiosks, salaries, and product costs. Adding in credit card allowing passersby to seamlessly order,” he processing fees can impact profi ts. That’s one 2020 said. “Others put our free ordering solution on Ranking reason WOW Payments’ CEO Eugene Gold fi nds Facebook, Google, Yelp, or other sites to avoid his business so meaningful. Gold wants to make it Uber Eats’ hefty fees.” Some WOW Payments simple for merchants: with a fl at $49.99 monthly 3046 merchants save up to $20,000 a month in credit membership, they can process unlimited credit card processing with the service. card transactions and choose to participate in the cash discount or surcharge program. COMPANY CULTURE While they have some competitors off ering The company’s culture focuses on ethical a cheaper rate, “you get what you pay for. We behavior and helpfulness. “Doing the right pride ourselves on quality,” Gold says. “We thing enables us to grow faster because of build mutually benefi cial relationships with all $7.7 word of mouth. The business owners love us our customers, which is why they do not go to and want to recommend us,” Gold says. competitors.” That attitude fi rst landed them the million WOW Payments staff have checked in on 2019 Revenue No. 64 spot on the Inc. 5000 list in 2018, and then business owners and ended up pitching in, No. 1,766 in 2019 in addition to this year’s spot. washing dishes for a few hours when the owner was short-staff ed. Others have answered calls at THE CUSTOMERS ASSUME 3 a.m. and brought a terminal immediately to the THE PROCESSING FEE business. The team respects customers enough WOW Payments’ cash discount program concept to tell them when they are unable meet their diff ers from traditional credit card payments, needs. “They aren’t the type of people to lie. where merchants absorb the processing fees. 128% They respect the business owners and would not Instead, merchants change their prices so the 3-Year do anything that could hurt their business,” Gold Growth customer pays the fee. The merchant increases said. Staff members have similar relationships base prices by 4 percent, assuming customers with clients and with each other, contributing to will use a credit card. A $10 item becomes $10.40. the company’s success. Customers who want a discount will pay cash, “If customers don’t say WOW when and that 4 percent discount is noted on the experiencing payment processing with us, that receipt. Either way, the retailer keeps the full $10. means we have not done our job correctly,” WOW Payments’ surcharge program allows Gold says. merchants to add a 4 percent surcharge for credit 2015 card use when following specifi c rules, and again, Year Company WOWPAYMENTS.COM the merchant still receives the full product price. Founded The charge covers everything from credit card and bank fees to hardware, software, and much more. They believe so strongly in their model they don’t off er contracts. By using WOW Payments solutions like QR code or online ordering, kiosks, or point of service (POS) equipment, some merchants get a new revenue stream, increasing earnings by 20 percent. “In New York City, when all businesses were Members of the WOW Payments team in NYC

CREATED FOR WOW PAYMENTS BY INC. STUDIO INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ NTOOITIVE How One Ad Tech Firm Uses AI for Better Results

Ntooitive Digital harnesses data for speed and effi ciency, helping clients grow revenue

Sci-Fi novelist Arthur C. Clarke once said, Co-founders of “Any suffi ciently advanced technology is Ntooitive Digital: Ryan 2020 Christiansen (right) indistinguishable from magic.” And Ntooitive and Vikas Khorana Digital’s co-founders set out to prove it. Ryan Ranking Christiansen and Vikas Khorana started the company in 2015 with one purpose: help 839 companies grow through innovative and data-driven digital marketing strategies using sophisticated technology. The award-winning Las Vegas-based marketing technology company bridges the gap between digital marketing, sales, operations, THE 3Cs MODEL and customer acquisition teams. They off er 569% Ntooitive focuses its business on the 3Cs: creative design and strategic planning, along conversion, channel, and creative. The team with their own centralized cloud-based 2020 Growth identifi es the conversion point for every Rate software. “It’s increasingly important to ensure business and marketing channel to accurately the money you’re spending in software or track success. They are channel-agnostic in marketing to run your business is maximized developing campaigns, as long as the right for effi ciency,” says Christiansen, CEO. channels can fi nd the right audience. The company’s technology allows measurement of DATA, TECH, OMNICHANNEL conversion points on any channel, so clients’ SUPPORT: THE SECRET SAUCE 59 marketing and sales teams are using the same Ntooitive created two technology platforms: data. The creative elements must be aligned a proprietary business effi ciency tool and a Employees with conversion metrics, tagging specifi c parts data analytics program that uses predictive in 2019 of the ads to understand engagement. modeling to improve performance. That’s The agency has expertise in health care, important because traditional marketing retail, nonprofi ts, and e-commerce. Under campaigns lack granular measurements, says Ntooitive’s lead, one large e-commerce Khorana, Ntooitive’s president and CTO. company consolidated campaigns for multiple Their software can automate workfl ows, unify brand websites, going from revenue of a few buy-and-sell-side ad channels, and tighten thousand dollars a month to more than $8 control of multiple data platforms. The result is 2015 million a month. Customer references drive signifi cant cost savings for clients. Year Founded much of their growth. Ntooitive’s initial The company identifi es client goals and uses a clients are still with them, Khorana says, platform-agnostic and omnichannel approach for partly because the Ntooitive culture stresses media campaigns. That may mean fi nding users “do the right thing,” and be OHD: open, on Facebook, Instagram, national outlets like honest, and direct. CNN or Fox News, or programmatic channels “Even though determination towards like Connected TV. Their tech leverages AI and growth reigns, it’s never at the price of fun ML and can accurately measure ROI, “the holy and good times. The people and culture grail of marketers,” Khorana adds. at Ntooitive have and always will be a key The founders tested their software while component,” says Christiansen. building the fi rm, shortening their client acquisition timeline. NTOOITIVE.COM

CREATED FOR NTOOITIVE BY INC. STUDIO INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ MEDICOPY A Twenty-Year History of Honesty and Growth MediCopy saw a chance to improve health information exchange—and the company has landed on the Inc. 5000 list seven times

Elliott Noble-Holt’s personal motto is “live to make extra money and ensure things were so you don’t have to explain.” His late mother done correctly. “With just $50 in my checking Elliott Noble-Holt, founder used to say this to remind him to do the account, my mother took me to buy a copy and CEO, MediCopy right thing, professionally and personally. machine. If you signed up for AOL, they would With ethics and honesty, Holt has grown his give you a $500 gift card. I used that gift card company MediCopy from a one-man show to buy my fi rst copy machine and started in Nashville, Tennessee, to a national health copying medical records for my fi rst client.” information management company with 200 employees. GROWTH YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT MediCopy facilitates the secure delivery Two decades later, Holt is at the helm of an of protected information from health care industry-leading business that works with partners to requesting parties, namely more than 3,000 hospitals and physician attorneys, insurance companies, government practices. MediCopy grows organically agencies, and patients. By prioritizing quality by investing in security and technology to assurance and creating an inclusive and caring keep up with electronic medical records, culture, MediCopy has landed on the Inc. prioritizing quality assurance, and conducting 5000 seven times since its launch in 2000. client surveys to improve customer satisfaction. The company’s transparent and “I CAN DO IT BETTER” diverse culture contributes to 98-percent Holt has a long history with medical records. employee retention. Holt is also proud that When he was 15, he would accompany his 60 percent of the management team are mother to her job at an orthopedic offi ce. African-American or lesbian, gay, bisexual, “For shits and giggles,” he would help pull transgender, or queer (LGBTQ). “We are not charts and fi les. When the offi ce put him on over here just checking boxes to be politically the payroll for $4.25 an hour, he thought he correct. Everyone here has worked their ass was rich. off to get where they are,” he explains. Holt worked there until age 17, when his The pandemic has been an unexpected father died. He felt depressed and lost. He growth driver because health care companies went to college but dropped out after 10 days that have furloughed employees are turning and returned to the orthopedic offi ce. The to MediCopy to fi eld health information offi ce used a vendor—now MediCopy’s largest requests. He expects to more than double competitor—to handle requests for medical in revenue within fi ve years, honoring information. The vendor was slow-moving his parents’ memory by doing right by his and prone to error. In 2000, when Holt was customers, partners, and employees. 21, he asked his supervisor if he could copy medical records on weeknights and weekends MEDICOPY.NET

th 2020 7 115% Ranking 200 year on the 3-Year Employees Inc. 5000 Growth 3295

CREATED FOR MEDICOPY BY INC. STUDIO REAL TALK Inspiration 2020

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 116 “What’s impor tant “IF OUR for any business is to have a CUSTOMERS philanthropic ARE HAPPIER heart. AAndnd it’s not jjustust ababoutout writing THAN OUR chechecks.cks. It’s ababoutout COMPETITORS’ getting your CUSTOMERS, teams out into the ccommunity.”ommunity.” WE’RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO THRIVE AND GROW.” NEIL BLUMENTHAL Blumenthal built eyewear brand Warby Parker by knowing that you must understand your custo­ KENDRA SCOTT mers before you can make Founder of and designer at her them happy. “We didn’t eponymous jewelry company, come in with any assump­ Scott doesn’t view philan­ tions on what the right thropy as a box to check off. thing to do was,” he told During a Real Talk conversa­ Inc. in July. tion in May, she spoke about why you need to get your whole team involved in helping a worthy cause instead of simply donating money to charitable organizations. “You don’t ride crises out. You fight TARIQ crisecrises.s. … I’m FARID not afraid Founder and of peoplepeople CEO of Edible challenging Arrangements, from a June me.” Inc. interview CONTINUED ON PAGE 122 FROM LEFT: COURTESY SUBJECT; REDUX; GETTY SUBJECT; COURTESY LEFT: FROM

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12/2/20 3:24 PM

GETTY (2) INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ LEARNING SCIENCES CORPORATION Connecting Vision to Purpose Learning Sciences helps clients’ employees understand how their eff orts impact the company’s mission, increasing engagement and dramatically improving results Peter Ranzino

As a late teen, Peter Ranzino would sneak into “We are fortunate and grateful that all the Louisiana State University library to read 2020 three industries consistently refer colleagues Inc. business books and magazines, including Ranking and partnering companies to us. Our growth “At the time, school was not a fi nancial and expansion are extending further into the option, but I wanted to learn how to start a judicial system, manufacturing, and health business, and in that library, I knew there was 535 care industries,” says Ranzino. an answer to my question, ‘How do I get from Today, Learning Sciences technologies where I am now to where I want to be?’” he says. engage 100,000 trainees per week. The answer came quickly: fi nd a customer. Ranzino hit the phones and landed his fi rst TYING TRAINING TO COMPANY PURPOSE meeting with a $6 billion insurance broker in “Our job is to help management drive their Chicago. He had only a vision, nothing tangible. vision into their workforce. Employees need to In a subsequent meeting with the company’s understand how their role contributes to success, director, he landed his fi rst client. He later sold 862% which breeds empowerment and enthusiasm the intellectual property of the Multimedia 3-Year Growth into their job performance, their employer, and Training Network to that same fi rm. Then he for most, their personal lives,” says Ranzino. launched a second online training company. By capturing critical training data that can be After a successful 10-year run, it was acquired by used to analyze skill profi ciency, provide insight his investors, who later sold the company. to high-performing employees, and manage In 2008, Ranzino started Learning Sciences, data to aid the company in corporate audits, a learning and development company, and Learning Sciences continues applying new focused on clients with complex learning needs. approaches in web-based learning and learning The company quickly learned that it was good at #66 management systems (LMS). understanding a corporate culture and grasping in Software “The investment in training is measurable. Industry the business or learning issues surrounding Creative learning approaches engage and teach workforce development, regulatory compliance, an employee how to do their job better. Tying and manufacturing processes. By applying sound training to the company’s purpose creates a business principles and instructional theory, the deeper, more committed engagement between company produced well thought out learning employer and employee,” Ranzino explains. solutions that delivered on their promise. Looking ahead, Learning Sciences is Soon thereafter, companies with now integrating its learning technologies international reach, including FOX, Phillips 66, 95+% into business tools and analytics for The Walt Disney Company, CITGO Petroleum, Client Retention underserved markets. NBC Sports, NBCUniversal, and The Training “Our company started with a six-foot Trust Fund for the International Union for folding table, lawn chair, and a phone. It’s Stage and Theatrical Workers, began to call, grown because we deliver on our promises. As becoming long-term clients. Since then, the long as we keep doing that, we will continue team has built long-standing relationships to see growth and value in our company, our within three main business sectors with global clients, and ourselves,” Ranzino says. impact: energy, information and entertainment, and the public sector. LEARNINGSCIENCESCORP.COM

CREATED FOR LEARNING SCIENCES CORPORATION BY INC. STUDIO INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ FATTMERCHANT A Radical New Approach to Payment Processing Fuels Growth How Fatt merchant came up with a new approach that benefi ts merchants

Growing up in a family of entrepreneurial I believe having this strong foundation up top is immigrants, Suneera Madhani, founder and a primary driver of our tremendous growth.” 2020 CEO of Orlando, Florida-based Fattmerchant, Ranking culled fi rsthand knowledge about the pain $4M TO $5B IN 4 YEARS points of running a small business, one of It took six months to get Fattmerchant up 436 which was payment processing. As she and running, but it still did more than $5 pursued her own career in that very industry, million in payments its fi rst year. Within four she recognized a massive opportunity for years, volume had grown to $5 billion, which creative disruption. Madhani credits to putting customers’ “The industry was outdated, heavily needs fi rst. commoditized, and had zero regard for the Fattmerchant’s Omni technology success of its clients,” she says. “I knew there accommodates all business payment types— $8 had to be a better way.” online, in person, ACH, shopping cart, Madhani is a self-described “data nerd” and mobile—and consolidates all data into a single billion lover of all things subscription. She saw the unifi ed platform. Its fl at subscription-based in Payments tremendous volume of transactions midmarket pricing model can provide business owners Processed businesses were running as a motherlode of with signifi cant savings over the industry’s data value that no one was mining. Radically conventional fee-per-transaction model. simplifying the payment experience with a Recently, the company has been expanding fi rst-of-its-kind, subscription-based credit card its client base by targeting software fi rms that processing company would provide merchants can utilize Fattmerchant’s API to process with real transparency. customer transactions through their own platforms. “The ability for independent 1047% WILLPOWER AND A THICK SKIN software vendors to embed payments in their 3-Year Obstacles abound when starting a new ecosystems creates a seamless experience,” Growth venture—even more so when it’s something Madhani says. “Over time, we see the that’s never been done before. Along with potential for us to impact a greater number the typical challenges of launching any new of midmarket businesses by empowering the business, Fattmerchant had to fi nd a bank software companies that serve them.” sponsor, recruit software developers with the right skills, and build a team. “Honestly, I FATTMERCHANT.COM don’t know how we made it through,” she says. 7000+ “It was sheer willpower and the willingness to Clients get a ‘no’ and try again.” Madhani had an invaluable source of help in her brother, Sal Rehmetullah, Fattmerchant’s co-founder and president. Growing up, the siblings worked closely together in the family business, and they bring complementary skill sets to Fattmerchant. “He’s a sheer whiz at operational scaling, fi nance, and sales, while I thrive in vision, Suneera Madhani, product, and marketing,” she says. “We divide founder and CEO and conquer the organization as two heads, and of Fatt merchant

CREATED FOR FATTMERCHANT BY INC. STUDIO INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ SKYNET INNOVATIONS Success Means More than Revenue for this IT Provider

Customer retention and culture drive revenue growth for Skynet Innovations—but they are not what motivates its founder

When Skynet Innovations, an information technology (IT) solutions services provider, 2020 started in 2008, most companies thought of IT Ranking as the people you call when your computer is broken. Today, it is so much more. Technology 1459 and information security have become integral components of businesses strategies, and IT’s role has increased in scope and importance. Skynet Innovations Founder CEO Shaun Sexton founded Skynet in and CEO, Shaun Sexton Cincinnati, Ohio, because he wanted small to midsize businesses (SMBs) to have access to factors. The company needs employees who the same high-quality IT support as enterprise can deliver the level of service that leads to companies. Over the last 12 years, Skynet 303% the customer satisfaction it is known for. “We has grown from a local business to a national fi gure we can teach the other stuff ,” he explains. service provider with clients across nearly every 3-Year “They have to agree with our vision fi rst and Growth state. The key to its triple-digit growth rate is foremost. Then they have to have the passion customer retention and culture, Sexton says. to make it happen.” That vision is to provide exemplary IT services, on par with the services NEAR TOTAL CUSTOMER RETENTION enterprise companies enlist, while treating Skynet works with businesses across all people with respect. Sexton says he probably verticals, including health care, manufacturing, talks about culture about 20 times a week. He and fi nance, providing outsourced technology 99% believes if you have a strong culture, everything support and consulting services that make else falls into place. companies feel productive and supported. Client Retention External factors also contribute to Skynet’s Sexton tells his team they work for the client, Rate growth. Technology will only get smarter not Skynet. “You never try to do something that and more integral to businesses, says Sexton, benefi ts us and not the client,” he explains. “You and investment in IT security will continue focus on what’s best for the client always.” to increase. Skynet is ready. Though success As IT becomes more important to isn’t about revenue for Sexton, and it never has businesses—a way to get to the next level and been. It is about creating meaningful outcomes stand out from the competition—Skynet plays a for clients and providing for every part of this more active role in its partners’ decision-making. 200+ team. He cautions entrepreneurs not to lose sight of why they started in the fi rst place. Customer service and constant touch have led to Clients a 99 percent client retention rate. “I live by the “You are probably doing this for your family, motto: ‘It takes months to land a new client, but right? It is important to stay focused, but at the it takes seconds to lose one,’” Sexton says. same time, never be too busy to take a moment to hold your child or pet your dog,” he advises. HIRING FOR CULTURAL FIT “Success shouldn’t be determined by the money Skynet doubled its head count this year, and you make, but rather the freedom to live your recruiting and onboarding has at times been life the way you want to live it.” challenging. When hiring, personality and cultural fi t have been the most important SKYNETINNOVATIONS.COM

CREATED FOR SKYNET INNOVATIONS BY INC. STUDIO INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ POWERHOME SOLAR A Solar Energy Underdog Story No get-rich-quick schemes here—POWERHOME SOLAR believes success takes time, hard work, and sacrifi ce

A common mistake entrepreneurs make is Jayson Waller, 2020 thinking they will get rich quick, explains founder of Ranking Jayson Waller, an award-winning serial POWERHOME entrepreneur and founder of POWERHOME SOLAR SOLAR, No. 255 on the Inc. 5000. In 2014, 255 Waller left a lucrative home security business to launch POWERHOME SOLAR, only to lose millions his fi rst few years. But he stayed the course, and in doing so, built a soon-to- be billion-dollar business on a mission to empower Americans to own their energy. The turning point came in 2017, when $500 Waller’s company switched from installing to breed leaders from within. All sales Chinese panels to U.S.-made products. It was management positions are fi lled internally, million risky because the panels were more expensive, Projected 2020 and the whole team shares Waller’s passion. Sales but they were better products with a longer Culture contributes to impressive growth, warranty. Customers responded, and the even in trying times. During the pandemic, the company doubled nearly overnight, Waller company increased head count from 750 to says. Today, POWERHOME SOLAR serves more than 1,600 employees. September 2020 nearly 25,000 residential clients across 10 states was the business’s best month yet, and it is on and has installed solar at fi ve NFL stadiums, track to produce $500 million in sales by year one MLB stadium, and a college campus. end. Next year, Waller believes the company will hit $1 billion. Waller is currently exploring 1600 LIBERTY FOR ALL bringing on an investor and is vocal about his Employees POWERHOME SOLAR off ers a suite of energy intention to go public or sell someday, so “every effi ciency products and services—not just employee has some kind of life-changing event solar panels. These products help customers through POWERHOME SOLAR.” save money while contributing to a greener To stay connected with his growing team, planet. Waller says people assume solar panel improve market awareness, and inspire customers are more likely to be left-leaning entrepreneurs, Waller hosts a popular podcast politically, but 70 percent of his customers called “True Underdog.” A high school $56 identify as Republican. Waller also says dropout himself, Waller is the underdog POWERHOME SOLAR is the only company he poster child. He’s comfortable with struggle million knows of that incentivizes customers to invest and cautions that many people fail in business Sales in in battery storage as well as panels to achieve because they seek instant gratifi cation. “There Sept. 2020 true energy independence. He believes battery is no elevator in business. You’ve got to take storage will become increasingly important as the stairs,” he explains. more people adopt electric cars. “We want to be Waller urges entrepreneurs to live frugally ahead of the curve,” he says. in the beginning and reinvest in the company. “The company will pay you back one day—but TAKE THE STAIRS it is not about that. It’s about making it great Waller’s decision to only accept “A- and for everybody, so everybody gets paid back. B-players” also drives growth and shapes That is what we’ve always done and will the culture. He adopted this in 2016 as he continue to do.” worked to make the company profi table. Not settling for C-talent allows the company POWERHOME.COM

CREATED FOR POWERHOME SOLAR BY INC. STUDIO REAL The ones who make it all TALK People possible 2020

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 122 “HOW DO YOU HIRE PEOPLE WHO RAISE THE BAR FOR EVERYONE ELSE? I LOVE THAT CONCEPT, BECAUSE I AM SOMEONE WHO LOVES TO LEARN FROM OTHER PEOPLE. AND SO WITH EACH EXECUTIVE LEADER WE’VE BROUGHT ON WHO HAS DEEP EXPERIENCE IN THAT FUNCTION, I KNOW THEY’RE RAISING THE BAR FOR EVERYONE.” SHAN-LYN MA Co-founder and CEO of wedding-registry startup Zola, Ma relies on her love of learning to help her grow as an entrepreneur. During an Inc. interview in June, she talked about how she hires executives with comple mentary experience to help the rest of her team learn skills she couldn’t teach them herself.

“It’s easy to lay peoplepeople off. It’sIt’s hardhard toto hirehire ppeopleeople back.”

CAREY SMITH Founder of Big Ass Fans and Unorthodox Ventures, from an Inc. conversation in June

CONTINUED ON PAGE 128 GETTY (2)

● ● ● WINTER 2020/2021 ● INC. ● 127

1220_BOB_RealTalk_rev1_1276039.indd 127 12/2/20 3:24 PM REAL TALK People 2020

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 127 “The most importantimportant way “WHAT WE’VE REALLY for peoplepeople to succeedsucceed is when they love themselves.themselves. LEARNED IS THAT WE NEED If you aren’t happy, if A STRUCTURE. WE NEED you aren’t well,well, if your THE BONES OF THE mind isn’t vibrating at a goodgood vibration, it’s COMPANY, AND PEOPLE goinggoing to bebe hard to HAVE TO BE ACCOUNTABLE runrun a goodgood startup.”startup.” FOR SPECIFIC IMPORTANT THINGS.” EILEEN FISHER Founder of her namesake fashion brand, Fisher ran her company for years before settling on an organi zational structure that fit the business. In June, she BEATRICE DIXON explained why every Co-founder of feminine hygiene company has to come company the Honey Pot, Dixon up with a unique knows that running a company structure that defines effectively isn’t possible if you’re responsibilities dealing with mental health without sacrificing issues. She spoke with Inc. collaboration. in October about how your personal well-being can help define your company.

“I hate fundraising.fundraising. If I had my druthers,druthers, I’d never do it again.”

TRISTAN WALKER Founder and CEO, Walker & Company Brands, from an August Inc. interview WALKER: ROG & BEE WALKER; GETTY (2) & BEE WALKER; ROG WALKER:

CONTINUED ON PAGE 132 128 ● INC. ● WINTER 2020/2021 ● ● ●

1220_BOB_RealTalk_rev1_1276039.indd 128 12/2/20 3:24 PM INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ LIBERTY HOME MORTGAGE CORPORATION Focus on the Employee Experience In a volatile sales business, Liberty Home Mortgage sees happy workers as the key to success

You might say that Khash Saghafi , a lifelong Saghafi says he no longer makes the kind of Khash wrestler, has been pinned to the mat a few rushed business decisions he made as a young Saghafi , times in the mortgage lending business. By entrepreneur in his mid-20s. He is now much founder of Liberty the time he founded Liberty Home Mortgage more patient, and he cultivates the kind of Home Corporation in 2014, he had been through work environment in which employees look Mortgage the Great Recession, mounting credit forward to coming in to work every single day. card debt, and two near bankruptcies. His relentless optimism – “You cannot keep a STRESS-FREE ZONE negative thought inside of me for more than Saghafi ’s old business mentality was “sprint, one second”– kept him from calling it quits. work, and never let up.” These days his That perseverance has helped him achieve directive is, “Sprint for 45 minutes, and take an annual growth rate of nearly 250 percent a 15-minute break.” In the 12,000-square- for his Cleveland, Ohio-based business. He foot offi ce suite housing their corporate credits what he calls his greatest assets—his headquarters, staff ers often spend their break employees—with getting him to this point. time playing video games on 55-inch screens or engaging in Nerf gun battles while music SLOW GOING blares in the background. Before COVID hit, A fi rst-generation Iranian-American born there was a full-time chef, and Saghafi had into a family full of doctors, Saghafi originally plans to hire a full-time masseuse—an upgrade intended to take the same path. But ultimately, from the two massage chairs currently on the he ended up going in a diff erent direction. premises. There is no dress code. Workers are “When the dream of being a doctor ended, encouraged to leave the offi ce whenever they what did not end was my dream of being the need to take care of personal or family matters. best at wherever life was going to take me,” he Saghafi has learned that employees are less says. Seeing entrepreneurship as a promising eff ective when they are stressed out and that road to success, he tried out several diff erent people can get more work done in a relaxed businesses—including roofi ng, day trading, and environment than one in which someone house fl ipping—but fi nally found his stride in is always looking over their shoulder. He is mortgage lending. convinced that the primary focus of a sales Saghafi started in the mortgage industry business should be on the employee experience in 1999, and in May 2002 opened his own rather than customer relations, because happy mortgage company. He charged $54,000 to employees provide the best customer service. his credit cards to fi nance his newly formed “Take care of your employees, and your business. “I was absolutely choking to death employees will take care of your customers,” fi nancially,” he says of those early years, but he Saghafi says, explaining the philosophy that dug himself out of debt. Then came the 2007 has led to massive success for this up-and- housing market crisis and Great Recession, coming business. when he racked up another $600,000 in credit card debt. He paid that off , too, and rebuilt. LIBERTYHOMEMORTGAGE.ORG

2020 Ranking $22.4 160 247% million Employees 2020 Revenue 1734 2019 Revenue in 2019 Growth Rate

CREATED FOR LIBERTY HOME MORTGAGE CORPORATION BY INC. STUDIO INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ FIRST FACTORY Built with Honesty, Integrity, and Quality First Factory focuses on cultivating the best environment for its developers to do their creative work

Creative, open, and Founding First Factory, his software secure offi ces in Costa Rica development company, on Pi Day—March 14, 2020 2000—was a bit of unintentional symbolism sunlight, and even the offi ce furniture Ranking that CEO Jason Roff says he didn’t even refl ect that deliberate attention to the work realize until years later. The company serves environment. “Jason bought rollerblade 2425 clients who are looking at outsourcing as a wheels for all the chairs, so it’s quiet,” more aff ordable and fl exible alternative to Gregori says. “There’s a level of detail that hiring in-house developers. What started out eliminates distraction.” This precision is as a “side hustle” became a full-time business carried throughout the team’s work with in 2006 when Roff expanded the company clients, too. It is a core principle refl ected in from its New York City base by adding a everything they do. nearshore offi ce in Heredia, Costa Rica. 307 Roff says there were a number of TAILOR-MADE TEAMS Industry Rank reasons to choose Costa Rica. Its timezone At First Factory, a lot of care goes into compatibility with North American building the right team for each client— businesses made it convenient. In addition, matching developers not just in terms the country has high-quality infrastructure of technical skill but also in terms of and education systems. Plus, it’s a nice place personality. In every case, the goal is for a to visit for in-person meetings, making it a long-term relationship to blossom. Roff says natural choice for clients. But as impressive adhering to First Factory’s core values – as the setting is, the biggest selling point is honesty, integrity and quality – has enabled 171% what goes on inside the company’s offi ce. the company to keep many of its clients for 2020 Growth fi ve years or more. The longest relationship Rate SPACE TO THRIVE to date was a set of projects for one client, “I wanted to make a place where great people spanning 15 years, which helped fund the could do great work,” Roff says. He named opening of the Costa Rica offi ce. the company after the famed art studio Andy Gregori notes that they work with clients Warhol created in New York’s Union Square, to fi nd opportunities within a project for with the idea of designing a space that developers to gain more technical and 150 gave software developers the same kind of leadership experience. He adds that even Employees community of support to create great work. more important than the steady growth in Joel Spolsky’s popular blog on software the size of the staff (it was 87 in 2019 and provided more industry-specifi c inspiration. currently stands at about 150) is providing a “He wrote about how to get developers to do chance for employees to grow and to advance great work, and that was giving them a space their careers. That’s why First Factory pays to thrive,” Roff says. “Give them the right so much attention to creating a level of tools. Don’t restrict them.” engagement and sense of ownership that Don Gregori, who was a First Factory lets employees “feel that their DNA is in the client before becoming the company’s Chief company,” Gregori says. Operating Offi cer in 2017, adds that design features like open workspaces, natural FIRSTFACTORY.COM

CREATED FOR FIRST FACTORY BY INC. STUDIO INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ PET PARENTS

From Problem to Product

Taking end-to-end control of logistics made exponential growth possible Blake Anderson, for Pet Parents by ensuring inventory was always in stock CEO of Pet Parents

Blake Anderson, CEO of Pet Parents, can Anderson as the sole employee. By 2019, it vividly remember one of the fi rst product had grown to a multimillion-dollar venture 2020 reviews ever posted for his company’s with eight employees. Ranking washable dog diapers. In the review, the customer wrote that his beloved 14-year-old LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE 378 dog had sadly been relegated to the kitchen Anderson’s relatively smooth startup due to incontinence issues, and thanks to Pet process and growth trajectory was due to Parents, the dog could now rejoin his family in his previous entrepreneurial experience, he the rest of the home. explains. To earn money during college, “I’ll never forget that,” Anderson says, he set up an e-commerce website that sold “and now I and everyone at Pet Parents works drones and drop-shipped them. However, tirelessly to create more moments like that one.” when drones surged in popularity, he couldn’t 1208% keep enough inventory in stock. With no 3-Year AN EXPLODING MARKET control over manufacturing, he was at the Growth There are as many as 89.7 million pet dogs mercy of his distributor. “I had used the in the U.S., according to the American Pet same business model with hunting products,” Products Association, with owners expected Anderson says, “and I had the same issue with to spend more than $94 billion on pet products inventory.” Meaning, the model didn’t work. and services in 2020, per Packaged Facts. “I knew I could sell products,” Anderson Providing for pets, who have become says, “but I had to control the inventory from more like family than friends—aka “fur beginning to end.” 4 babies”—is big business. Although dog diapers were initially Years in It was Anderson’s own childhood dog, viewed as a niche product, for Pet Parents Business Blondie—a yellow Labrador retriever—who they were a “jumping off point.” Today the ended up inspiring the business. When company sells a variety of products designed Anderson stumbled across dog diapers to solve pet owner problems. From several in 2015, he realized that they could have off erings designed to address everything from been a godsend for his aging dog. Curious pet incontinence to chew toys, supplements, about this newfound product, he found the and now cat diapers, Pet Parents aims to two category leaders, ordered them, and build on its success by staying in its lane. 1+ proceeded to dissect and study them. Today its pet products are sold on million He knew immediately he could “build the company’s website and in hundreds a better mousetrap.” of pet specialty retailers across the U.S. Pet Families Served What followed was months of product “This past year has largely been a year research, reading reviews, and brainstorming of focus on infrastructure, systems, processes, new approaches that led to the development and increasing bandwidth in order to support of a dog diaper that was better made, better future growth.” As a result, Pet Parents is quality, and more convenient. Pet Parents poised to continue its growth trajectory into launched in January 2016 with a single the future, “which is a testament to product—washable dog diapers. our approach,” Anderson confi rms. The company’s fi rst year in business, Pet Parents generated just under $500,000, with PETPARENTSBRAND.COM

CREATED FOR PET PARENTS BY INC. STUDIO 1220_BOB_RealTalk_rev1_1276039.indd 132 132 REAL TALK “I’VE RUN A FEW DIFFERENT

2020 ● INC. ● INC. ableable to to tell tella greata story great about storyyour brand’sabout yourfuture. brand’s future. alsoalso talked talked about whyabout you why and youyour partners and need yourto be partners need to be “critical“critical execution executionwork.” work.” During an interview Duringin July,an interview in he July, he appapp Co-founder and of co-CEO and mindful co-CEO of mindful ness and meditation ness and meditation MICHAEL ACTON SMITH WORKING TOGETHER.” TOGETHER AND IN THE TRENCHES THAN JUST GETTING TO ANSWER THIS OTHER THERE’S NO EASY WAY DURING THE LOWS, AND PICK EACH OTHER UP TOGETHER, YOU CAN EXTRAORDINARY HIGHS YOU CAN SHARE THE HAVING A CO-FOUNDER. DEFINITELY PREFER BUSINESSES AND I CONTINUED FROM PAGE 128 CalmCalm, Smith loves having a partner to help with the WINTER 2020/2021 ● 2020/2021 WINTER , Smith loves having a partner to help with the People ● Inc.Inc. conversationconversation co-founder,co-founder, from froman April an April John Paul Mitchell Systems JOHN PAUL D ● “A people.”people.” withwith positive “Align yourself lign

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CONTINUED ON PAGE 135 12/2/20 3:24 PM

GETTY (2) INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ FAITH BRIDGE CHRISTIAN PLANNER Rising from the Ashes to Launch a Fast-growing Publishing Business Determination and vision helped launch Faith Bridge Christian Planner when the founder’s life was at its lowest point

After four years of military service, Victor Delacruz found himself in what he calls 2020 “a pretty precarious situation.” He’d moved Ranking to New York for graduate study at New York University and owned a successful business. But a dispute with his partner put that 92 in jeopardy. “I spent all my money on legal fees, and I lost everything,” he recalls. He lost focus and failed to complete his degree. Reduced to couch surfi ng, he became increasingly isolated, and his mental health was suff ering. But rather than just giving up, he tapped $18 into his strong Christian faith to turn his life million around. His next venture was Faith Bridge, Cumulative Sales publisher of the Christian Planner line of organizer products. In just four years, he’s Victor and grown the company from a Kickstarter Melissa Delacruz launch to eight fi gures in total sales. content around a concept called the Five F’s WHAT WORKED FOR (faith, family, food, fi tness, and fi nance), which HIM COULD HELP OTHERS gives it a massive and well-defi ned target 4 “I created Christian Planner to help customer base. “Our mission is to help people Employees Christians pragmatically integrate God who are pragmatically trying to improve their into their daily life,” Delacruz explains. lives, who are trying to live an integrated Incorporating that time in his daily goal- life spiritually, professionally, and with their setting, planning, and journaling activities families,” he says. “We’re not pastors or made him more productive, more focused, ministers; we’re an everyday Christian family and less prone to stress and anxiety. He trying to help other Christian families. realized that what worked for him could The Christian book market generates help others, and he poured all his energy into $600 million in annual sales, and the 3663% making Christian Planner a success. Christian Planner brand’s nondenominational 3-Year He started the company with his wife, positioning has broad appeal. Delacruz’s Growth Melissa Bezas Delacruz. She is Faith Bridge’s future plans include leveraging its consumer chief creative offi cer, responsible for all base—which he says is “sticky and devoted”— design work. Victor, who has a degree in and raising growth capital to expand the brand communication and media studies, is the and curate a broader line of products. “I know CEO. They rely on a team with skill sets in we’re small right now, but ultimately we’d like other areas to help them make smart business to do an IPO,” he says. “We’ve worked so hard decisions. to get here; we know we have what it takes to get to the next level.” A WELL-DEFINED TARGET CUSTOMER Christian Planner is looking to build their CHRISTIANPLANNER.COM

CREATED FOR FAITH BRIDGE CHRISTIAN PLANNER BY INC. STUDIO INC. 5000 HONOREE SPOTLIGHT ⬤ MUNICIPAY A Customer-Driven Market Shift

MuniciPay found success by inventing a new way to streamline electronic payment processing

A simple customer request led to the launch research. That initial version was developed to of MuniciPay, a custom payment technology 2020 satisfy the needs of smaller municipal offi ces. company. At the time, Jamie Nonni and his Ranking After a few years, when new security regulations business partner, Patrick Allen, were running came about, Nonni and Allen made the decision Nationwide Payments, a company focused 4869 to upgrade the platform. A project they thought primarily on retail transactions. Their customer would last 18 months took fi ve years. “It’s very wanted to split payments at the point of an complex software that meets and exceeds automotive sale, so that title and registration stringent requirements for security,” he says. fees could be paid with one card transaction. It was a simple request, but one they could not REDUCING TIME AND HASSLE accommodate. “Municipalities that have adopted the So, Nonni and Allen created a team of MuniciPay system have gained signifi cant software engineers. Their task: develop a solution $5.4 effi ciencies with reconciliation across all their that enabled an unlimited number of transactions payment channels, with some larger offi ces even from a single payment to fund multiple payment million being able to reduce their staffi ng as a result,” accounts. The company would go on to earn a 2019 Revenue Nonni says. During the pandemic, the company utility patent for its novel solution. has helped government agencies that formerly Founded in 2008, MuniciPay was initially received mostly in-person payments make the a spinoff from Nationwide Payments, which quick switch to remote e-commerce payments. Nonni and Allen later sold. “MuniciPay was an “Because they already had our cloud-based opportunity to diversify into the specialized system, it was a really simple add,” he says. niche market of Government payments,” says The biggest growth area for MuniciPay Nonni, co-founder and CEO of the Portland, th is integration with third-party software Maine, company. MuniciPay has since 6 companies seeking to add a secure payment broadened its reach to additional nonretail Year on the solution without the hassle of added customers such as utilities, education, medical, Inc. 5000 compliance and security upgrades. “The not-for-profi t, fuel supply, waste management, MuniciPay system, with its certifi ed point-to- and others. point encryption (P2PE) solution, solves that problem and enhances the value they can off er RIGOROUS R&D to their customers,” Nonni says. Streamlining customers’ payment processes is how MuniciPay has achieved success. In the WWW.MUNICIPAY.COM fi rst fi ve years, the company had about 500 59% customers. Now, it’s reaching more than $5.4 million in 2019 revenue and processing more 2020 Growth Rate than $250 million in annual payments. But getting to that point took a long time. First, Nonni and Allen, who is COO of MuniciPay, sent their vice president of business development on a yearlong road trip to various government trade shows, querying people from payment departments. “We took feedback from hundreds of municipalities and designed our system around what they gave us,” Nonni says. The fi rst version of the software came about MuniciPay Co-Founders Jamie Nonni and Patrick Allen six months after the completion of the market

CREATED FOR MUNICIPAY BY INC. STUDIO