What I Know

The so-called “fifth quarter” could be your opportunity to give your business a competitive edge. Hear directly from successful small business owners Lauren Petrullo, of Mongoose Media, and John Wai of John Wai Martial Arts Academy about how they use the post-holiday season to grow their businesses. In this podcast, the entrepreneurs are joined by Meta executive Becky Bui to explain how this so-called “fifth quarter”—a period often overlooked by businesses as a slow season—can be the key to unlocking new cost-effective, quality leads that lead to sales, while building meaningful connections with customers.

The so-called “fifth quarter” could be your opportunity to give your business a competitive edge. Hear directly from successful small business owners Lauren Petrullo, of Mongoose Media, and John Wai of John Wai Martial Arts Academy about how they use the post-holiday season to grow their businesses. In this podcast, the entrepreneurs are joined by Meta executive Becky Bui to explain how this so-called “fifth quarter”—a period often overlooked by businesses as a slow season—can be the key to unlocking new cost-effective, quality leads that lead to sales, while building meaningful connections with customers.

Working together within a marriage can require give and take, but imagine working in the same company too. Melissa Ben-Ishay, co-founder and CEO of Baked by Melissa, and Adi Ben-Ishay, its director of technology and innovation, met by happenstance—to be honest, it was something out of a romance novel. Now, they're married with two kids and still running Baked by Melissa. How do they make this work? We sat down with them to discuss how they met, how they support each other, and how they iron out their disagreements while raising children and working to grow their business.

From the outside, founders seem to have so much freedom in running their own businesses. But how much control do they really have? When is it an advantage to retain control over decisions, and when is it time to let go? Christene Barberich, cofounder of Refinery 29 and author of the newsletter, A Tiny Apartment; and Rebecca Minkoff, founder of her own fashion brand, sat down to talk through the nuances of working with cofounders, selling a company, and watching it grown beyond a single person’s control.

The company’s director of finance explains how her job goes well beyond accounting. Tina Hetzer, director of finance at Pink Lily, is one of the rising financial stars who are helping to bring their businesses to the next level. She built Pink Lily’s finance team from scratch and has helped the company become one of the fastest-growing retailers in the country. In this podcast, part of the SAP-sponsored Growth Agents series, Hetzer discusses the cash-flow challenges unique to fashion retailers and explains how working at a smaller, founder-run company can fuel greater collaboration across the organization.  

Diana Ransom and Scott Omelianuk talk with Stacy Spikes, Kathryn Minshew and Taryn Langer about how founders should approach dealing with the media. Stacy Spikes is the co-founder and CEO of MoviePass. Kathryn Minshew is the co-founder and former CEO of The Muse. Taryn Langer is the founder and president of Moxie Communications Group.

Duolingo’s freemium subscription model, beloved brand and strategic investments have allowed it to execute its educational mission and become a cultural touchstone. Matthew Skaruppa, CFO of Duolingo, is one of the rising financial stars who are helping to bring their businesses to the next level. Since he joined the company in 2020, Duolingo has grown its base of monthly active users by more than 80%. Each month, 75 million users hone their language skills on the Duolingo app. In this podcast, part of the SAP-sponsored Growth Agents series, Skaruppa discusses how his analytical background has allowed to him to be a more strategy-oriented CFO. For him, that has meant balancing big aspirations and finite resources, and turning the uncertainties of tomorrow into action today.

Inc. Executive Editor Diana Ransom and Editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk pull back the curtain on the world of entrepreneurship with some of the most successful founders in the world. Inc. Uncensored features frank and unfiltered conversations about what makes business leaders tick, the trends founders need to know to be successful, and the secrets that nobody really tells you before you start a business.