Many people are familiar with private equity, but private credit is largely unknown. Award-winning business journalist and author Bethany McLean recently investigated the private credit boom and reported why she’s worried about what she discovered.  

On this episode of The Business Model, Bethany joins Inc. staff reporter Ali Donaldson to explain what private credit is, the incentives that propelled its popularity, and the risks that come with it.  

If you want to scale your company and get in front of new audiences, there are two cheat codes: Brand collaborations and retail partnerships.  

However, these are some of the trickiest deals to land. 

On this Founder Group Chat, we learn how from three founders who have figured it out: Mizizi’s Paakow Essandoh, Arey’s Allison Conrad, and Hugh & Grace’s Sara Jensen. 

As you’ll hear, sometimes the side door is the best way into a deal — if you don’t just go crashing through the front.  

The biggest threat to the human resources status quo is a podcast.  

Not just any podcast, though. The HR Besties podcast is hosted by three HR veterans — Ashley Herd, Jamie Jackson, and Leigh Henderson.  

The three have built an audience by telling the oft-hidden truth that HR professionals see inside corporate America. It led to HR’s most powerful trade group asking the court to issue a gag order.  

Inc.’s Kayla Webster got the whole story on the Besties and joins Chloe on this episode of 1 Smart Business Story.  

What do a fashion label, a hair care brand, and a wellness retailer have in common? Supply chain woes, of course!  

On this Founder Group Chat, Mizizi’s Paakow Essandoh, Arey’s Allison Conrad, and Hugh & Grace’s Sara Jensen explain how they have scaled their companies.  

While their companies are more cult-favorites than household names, they face the same challenges that bigger companies do. From building a supply chain to managing logistics to getting investment

Schoolhouse made a name for itself selling vintage-styled lights from its headquarters in Portland. It then expanded from three employees to 150 with storefronts in New York and Pittsburgh, selling home hardware, furniture, and textiles in addition to lighting.  

All the while, its motto was “work hard and be nice to people.” Then came private equity.  

Freelance journalist Yelena Alpert joins host Rob Verger on this episode of 1 Smart Business Story to discuss her in-depth piece on Schoolhouse’s downfall for Inc. Listen to hear how the brand's private equity-backed acquisition led to its bankruptcy.  

Anybody can have a good idea. It’s taking the next step that gives people more trouble.  

On this Founder Group Chat, we have three founders who have turned their big idea into eight-figure-revenue businesses: 

Paakow Essandoh of clothing brand Mizizi 

Sara Jensen of wellness company Hugh & Grace 

Allison Conrad of hair care brand Arey 

Each of these founders has a personal story that inspired their company. With host Jennifer Conrad, they share how they took that initial spark and made it into something much bigger.  

At the beginning of this year, you may have noticed a dip in the valuation of tech companies. It’s not all tech companies, but software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies specifically. But why?  

Inc. staff writer Brian Contreras recently investigated this phenomenon and spoke with several industry experts to better understand exactly what’s happening with these companies. It’s what the industry is calling a SaaSpocalypse.  

On this episode of The Business Model, Brian joins Inc. staff reporter Chloe Aiello to discuss why this trend is happening, what potential avenues are available for these companies to combat the dip in their valuations, and the implications for the industry. 

If you’re a founder who’s early in your journey, or maybe you haven’t even started yet, this is the podcast for you.  

Inc.’s Sarah Lynch gets advice on all kinds of topics — from fundraising through building company culture — from three successful founders, in three very different industries.  

It’s time for the final installment of our Founder Group Chat with honorees from Inc.’s Female Founders 500: Rachel Liverman, founder and CEO of Glowbar; Angela Vranich, co-founder and chief product officer of Little Spoon; and Priyanka Jain, co-founder and CEO of Evvy.  

As workers worry that AI will automate their jobs away, LinkedIn’s chief economic opportunity officer, Aneesh Raman, argues something different: AI is going to remove barriers for entrepreneurship and help accelerate self-employment and ownership. 

In a new segment on the Business Model, Ramen joins Inc. staff reporter Kayla Webster to talk about his take on AI and the job market and his new book, Open to Work: How to Get Ahead in the Age of AI, which he co-wrote with LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky.  

Move over, golf. The new sport of the business world is padel.  

The racket sport has exploded in popularity among the Oura-ring-wearing, cold-pressed-juice crowd, as Inc.’s Ali Donaldson reports. Padel clubs are opening en masse across the U.S., providing an opportunity for founders to network and build new wellness-focused ventures. 

Donaldson joins Inc.’s Ben Sherry on this episode of 1 Smart Business Story to dig into the trend and whether it’ll last.