Outlet profile

Inc.

U.S. center (business/entrepreneurship focus)

Owned byMansueto Ventures LLC, owned by Joe Mansueto (also founder and executive chairman of Morningstar Inc.)

FundingAdvertising (print and digital), subscriptions, and live events such as the Inc. 5000 conference

On the administrationmixed

Background

Inc. was founded in April 1979 by Bernard A. Goldhirsh in Boston, Massachusetts, as a magazine dedicated to entrepreneurs and founders of growing private companies. Its launch was one of the most successful in magazine history, building a paid subscriber base of more than 650,000 within six years. In 2000, Goldhirsh—acting on medical advice—sold Inc. to German publishing house Gruner + Jahr for a reported price of over $200 million. In 2005, entrepreneur Joe Mansueto, who founded investment-research firm Morningstar, purchased Inc. and Fast Company together from Gruner + Jahr for roughly $35 million, creating Mansueto Ventures LLC. Under Mansueto, Inc. expanded its digital presence significantly; Inc.com now attracts more than 13 million unique monthly readers. The print edition publishes several times per year and has been supplemented by digital advertising and event revenue, including the annual Inc. 5000 conference ranking fast-growing private companies. Media Bias/Fact Check rates Inc. as 'Least Biased' with high factual reporting, consistent with its business-news orientation and avoidance of heavy political editorializing.

Sources

Profile compiled 2026-07-11; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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