Meet the most successful companies near you

INC. THIS MORNING Meet the most successful companies near you Good morning, A pair of college students infuriated by a documentary. A law student who launched a record label in honor of her murdered cousin. A real-estate founder driven by social injustice. They all run businesses that have grabbed top-ranked slots on this year’s Inc. 5000 Regionals lists, which measure the fastest-growing companies across six different regions of the U.S. And because no two startups are alike, they all took wildly different paths to get there. Chicago-based Open Water, for example, took five years of development to launch before becoming the world’s first carbon-neutral bottled-water company in 2020. Orlando-based Get Low Records gained traction by focusing on live shows and physical sales amid a world of digital streaming. Austin-based real estate powerhouse Ojo Labs started as an A.I. experiment, before Covid-19 and the killing of George Floyd gave the multi-million dollar company a new mission. The backstories are both inspirational and educational, so check out this year’s full Inc. 5000 Regionals lists. And read up on how these fast-growing businesses found their paths to the top: How 2 College Students Broke Into the Beverage Business by Reinventing Bottled Water How a Rapper and a Law Student Built a Thriving Latin Music Label This Real Estate Powerhouse Uses A.I. to Help People Buy Their First Homes Why Tesla and FedEx Pay This Firm Millions to Find Them Employees This App Makes Corporate Gifts More Personal For This Baltimore Builder, Fast Growth and Safety Go Hand in Hand HERE'S WHAT ELSE I'M READING TODAY: Backstage Capital founder Arlan Hamilton is eyeing a new milestone: first to crowdfund $5 million. --Inc. Use these three tips from other startup founders to preserve your mental health and become a stronger leader. --Inc. How just a few days cost some small businesses thousands of dollars on their Paycheck Protection Program loans. --CNBC Stripe’s new $95 billion valuation shows the gap between public and private markets, as the payments company readies an IPO. --TechCrunch (subscription required) Want to know why hiring for “culture fit” doesn’t work? Just look at Facebook. --Inc. ONE MORE THING: The 9-to-5 workday might be dead, but not for the reasons you think. --Inc.   --Cameron Albert-Deitch Reporter, Inc. How are we doing? Send me ideas and feedback at calbertdeitch@inc.com, and sign up for daily text messages from me. Become an Inc. Unlimited subscriber. Click here to forward to a friend. This email was sent by: Mansueto Ventures 7 World Trade Center, 29th Floor New York, NY, 10007, Unsubscribe • Update Profile • View in Browser • Privacy Policy