Your Next Move

In this episode, Inc. staff reporter Ali Donaldson interviews Ashley Kirkwood, founder of Speak Your Way to Cash, which is No. 370 on the 2024 Inc. 5000. The company aims to help speakers, experts, and entrepreneurs land speaking contracts.   Ashley talks about balancing her work life and her married life, her trick to staying productive, and how she's learned to incorporate self-care into her daily routine.

In this episode, Inc. executive editor Diana Ransom chats with Sheila Janakos, CEO of Healthy Horizons Breastfeeding Centers, which is ranked No. 1,698 on the 2024 Inc. 5000.   Healthy Horizons focuses on workplace lactation programs for big and small companies— any organization that wants to support their working moms and parents. In this conversation, Shelia describes how she started setting up these centers, what the company did during the pandemic to pivot, which eventually helped it grow, and what it's like working so closely with her daughter.

In this episode, Inc. executive editor Diana Ransom chats with Anupam Satyasheel, the founder of Occams Advisory. Ranked No. 1,804 on the 2024 Inc. 5000, the company has made the list eight times in the past nine years. Occams is a financial advisory firm bringing Fortune 500-level expertise to smaller businesses and partnering with clients through their business life-cycle. Anupam tells Diana how the idea came to him to start the company, which included building deeper know-how in the tax credit space and starting a book club.

Keeping abreast of the latest technology and incorporating it into your company can be cumbersome and cost-prohibitive. In this episode, you'll hear from Sheila Lirio Marcelo, founder and CEO of Ohai.ai and founder of Care.com, and Luan Cox, president and CEO of FinMkt, as Inc. editor-in-chief Mike Hofman chats with them about how they strategically harnessed technology to develop unique business platforms and saw their businesses grow exponentially. Learn concrete tactics on how you can utilize the latest digital innovations, such as AI, to scale your business. You'll also hear from Sarah Lynch, recognition program manager at Inc., along with Capital One Business VP of brand and acquisitions marketing Caryn Bonner.

In this episode, Inc. recognition program manager Sarah Lynch talks to Lizeth Velez, the founder and CEO of the construction management company LJV Development. Last year was the company's first time on the Inc. 5000, and it landed at No. 115. It's based in Boston  and specializes in both exterior and interior renovation. Lizeth chatted about needing a good foundation as a business, investing in specific tools that will help your company perform, and that liftoff moment when you realize you're unlocking growth.

In 2024, startups with exclusively female founders received just 1.8 percent of all venture capital dollars, a decline from 2023, according to PitchBook. Add a male co-founder and that number shoots up to 21.7 percent. This despite the evidence suggesting that when women do get funded, they deliver higher returns. Is change likely? And if so, what should we expect? At our SXSW Inc. Founders House, Mansueto Ventures CEO and chief content officer Stephanie Mehta sat down with Rebecca Minkoff, founder and chief creative officer, of Rebecca Minkoff, and Ali Wyatt, co-founder and CEO, of Female Founder Collective and The NORTH, to discuss the state of funding and the challenges facing female founders.

In this episode, Inc. recognition program manager Sarah Lynch spoke to Maestro Media founder and CEO Javon Frazier. His company was ranked number 167 on the 2024 Inc. 5000 list. Maestro Media focuses on building bespoke games for some of the biggest brands, such as Disney, Hello Kitty, and the Smurfs. It's also worked with the popular independent video game, The Binding of Isaac, which was turned into an independent board game. We chatted about how Frazier cocreated games with fans and launched them on Kickstarter, also about Maestro Media's growth journey.

Welcome back to Your Next Move. On this episode, we learn how to create a unique brand identity through experimentation and strategic feedback loops.

Today's episode comes from the Your Next Move vault and is a conversation between host Bea Dixon and Henri Pierre-Jacques, the managing partner of Harlem Capital. In their conversation, they discuss what Henri looks for in companies he wants to invest in, his commitment to bolstering diverse founders, and his wish to inspire founders to create companies.

You've achieved everything you could ever want for your startup and it's time to sell. This episode offers advice from founder Marc Lore, who has built brands he sold to goliaths including Walmart and Amazon. It also offers insights on how to prepare for an exit through every stage of a company's growth.

Being a business owner means having to innovate constantly and navigate change. So Inc., in partnership with Capital One Business, wants to help you figure out Your Next Move. Join Sarah LaFleur, founder and CEO of M.M.LaFleur, a New York-based clothing brand celebrating women through thoughtfully designed pieces, personal styling, and engaging content, in conversation with our small-business host Beatrice Dixon, founder of the feminine care brand The Honey Pot Company. Sarah will share lessons from her entrepreneurial journey, including how she built a strong team and how she pivoted quickly when much of the world began working from home. Discover ways to think differently about how you lead and grow your business.

Inc. Editor-in-Chief Mike Hoffman interviews Andy Dunn, co-founder of Bonobos and founder of Pie, on stage at the 2024 Inc. 5000 Conference. Everything has a price in the startup world, especially when it comes to the health and well-being of founders. This episode offers hard-earned advice about how successful founders have achieved success while also preserving their own physical and mental health.

Today's episode comes from the Your Next Move vault and is a conversation between host Tom Foster, editor at large at Inc and Bea Dixon, co-founder and CEO of the Honey Pot Company, the world's first plant-based feminine care line, which she sold earlier this year for $380 million.In their conversation, they cover Bea's journey, which began with inspiration delivered to her in a dream, following your instincts, and raising millions as a black female founder.

On today's episode host Aisha Bowe talks with Ping Fu, President and CEO of Geomagic, Inc, who is a genuine luminary in the tech sector. In their conversation, they cover Ping's early childhood in China and her journey to the United States, her groundbreaking work laying the foundation for modern web browsers, and her hard earned wisdom around pivoting -- when it is necessary and what it can teach founders in the long run.

Today's episode comes from the Your Next Move vault and is a conversation between Inc. editor-at-large Tom Foster and the co-founder and co-CEO of Harry's Inc, Jeff Raider. He is also a co-founder of Warby Parker. Their conversation goes deep on topics like brand building, e-commerce, bouncing back after setbacks, and billion dollar valuations.

Aisha Bowe talks with Karen Young, CEO and Founder of OUI the People. OUI the People is a body care brand designed around building products that make their customers feel great in their own skin. This episode offers wisdom about how to convert your customer base into a loyal community that builds your brand. Whether it's building an online community or turning your business into a physical destination for your community, learn what you can learn from your customer base about how best to grow.

Today's episode comes from the Your Next Move vault and is a conversation between host Bea Dixon, CEO and Founder of the Honey Pot Company, and Chip Conley, founder of Modern Elder Academy -- a concept that inspires people to re-think time and aging so they can be in the best frame of mind as founders. In their conversation, they dig deep on near-death experiences, the psychological precepts that underlie being a founder and developing the wisdom to be a great leader.

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

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

On today's episode host Aisha Bowe talks with the iconic Bobbi Brown. 25 years after she sold her namesake cosmetics company to Estee Lauder, Bobbi is back with Jones Road Beauty, a cosmetics company focused on clean, high-grade formulations for all skin types and tones. Entrepreneurs realize that at all stages of growing a company, it's tough to make sure your hard work gets the media attention it deserves. This episode offers hard-earned wisdom about shaping a media and marketing plan for your business from launch through sale in an ever-changing media landscape.

Being a business owner means having to innovate constantly and navigate change. So Inc., in partnership with Capital One Business, wants to help you figure out Your Next Move. Join Anu Duggal, founding partner of Female Founders Fund, the first early-stage fund for female-founded companies. Duggal will share how she plays an instrumental role not only in investing in female founders, raising seed capital with more than $4 billion in enterprise value, but also shifting the VC industry as a whole to make more investments in female-founded companies. Hear her talk about her personal and professional achievements in this industry, and how to get funding for your early-stage business. Discover ways to think differently about how you lead and grow your business.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 If you are already a fan of Inc., then you might be familiar with the Your Next Move virtual event series. This podcast takes those founder to founder interviews and gives you special, extended cuts of insightful conversations with some of today's most innovative and exciting entrepreneurs and business leaders.. This season, Your Next Move is breaking down the essential information every founder needs to know on their entrepreneurial journey. You'll hear conversations about how to get funding, designing your brand narrative, building community and so much more.  Subscribe to Your Next Move, the podcast, on spotify, apple podcasts or wherever you listen and stay tuned for new episodes this spring.