Inc. Magazine

What I Know

Business EN ↓ 167 episodes

The greatest businesses weren’t born from moments of genius. They emerged after years of discovery--and often after years of failure. What I Know from Inc. magazine takes you inside the messy, painful, and--every so often--transcendent journey of starting a company. Through candid interviews, Inc. senior writer Christine Lagorio-Chafkin draws out the real grit and true lessons behind innovative companies and remarkable brands. 

Author

Inc. Magazine

Category

Business

Podcast website

cms.megaphone.fm

Latest episode

Oct 18, 2025

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Episodes

Evan Horowitz and Geoffrey Goldberg of Movers+Shakers: Add Fuel to the Fire 30.08.2021

Christine Lagorio-Chafkin talks with Evan Horowitz and Geoffrey Goldberg, founders of the Los Angeles-based brand-marketing firm Movers+Shakers. Movers+Shakers is #78 on the 2021 Inc. 5000 list.

Eren Bali of Carbon Health: Instinct Versus Data 17.08.2021

To celebrate the launch of the 2021 Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest growing private companies, Christine Lagorio-Chafkin interviews the co-founder and chief executive of Carbon Health, the startup aiming to make health-care more accessible and affordable--and which earned the No. 2 spot on the Inc. 5000 list with $45 million in 2020 revenue and an astounding 39,734 percent three-year growth ra...

John Christakos and Maurice Blanks of Blu Dot: See Business Problems as Creative Challenges 02.08.2021

Christine Lagorio-Chafkin talks to John Christakos and Maurice Blanks--two of the three founders of Blu Dot Furniture--about how they used their design thinking to build a business.

Cate Luzio of Luminary: Own Your Strengths 19.07.2021

​​When she had the idea for an organization to elevate women in leadership roles and entrepreneurship, Cate Luzio didn’t even intend to start a company. Three years later, she’s built Luminary, a thousands-strong networking and career-coaching company that’s weathered the pandemic--and taken the opportunity to expand digitally and globally. She tells Christine Lagorio-Chafkin about the challenges...

Sarah LaFleur: Be The Whole Person 06.07.2021

On this episode, Christine Lagorio-Chafkin interviews Sarah LaFleur, founder and CEO of womenswear brand M.M. LeFleur.

Garry Tan: There is No Normal Path for Starting a Company 21.06.2021

Garry Tan is known for his investments in Coinbase and Instacart--but before cofounding and managing his fund, Initialized Capital, he was a partner at Y Combinator, where he advised more than 700 startups. He’d been down that road before--founding two of his own companies. Christine Lagorio-Chafkin interviews Tan--now a thought-leader with a popular YouTube channel, about his journey from food-in...

Ryan Petersen: Balancing Order and Disorder 07.06.2021

Ryan Petersen founded Flexport in 2013, when he decided to break into and transform part of the global-shipping industry by bringing reliable data and tracking to even the smallest companies. Now he has more than $1 billion in revenue and 2200 employees globally--and the industry is facing an unprecedented challenge in the wake of the pandemic. Christine Lagorio-Chafkin interviews Petersen about w...

Sallie Krawcheck: Look For Things Others Don’t See 24.05.2021

On today's episode, Christine Lagorio-Chafkin interviews Sallie Krawcheck. Sallie is the co-founder and CEO of Ellevest, the digital financial advisor that focuses on the money needs of women. She founded it in 2016, after spending decades as an analyst and executive on Wall Street.

Fawn Weaver: Build a Culture of Confidence 10.05.2021

Christine Lagorio-Chafkin interviews Fawn Weaver, the CEO and founder of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, bestselling author, and serial entrepreneur, about how she built her brand and company after setting out to tell the remarkable story of Nearest Green, the first known African-American master distiller and man who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey.

Melissa Bernstein: Existential Fear and Entrepreneurship 26.04.2021

Christine Lagorio-Chafkin interviews Melissa Bernstein, the co-founder of $500 million toy company Melissa & Doug and the author of a new book about mental health, LifeLines, about her own journey to building a company while suffering from depression.

Obé Fitness: Adapting Under Pressure 12.04.2021

Christine Lagorio-Chafkin talks with Ashley Mills and Mark Mullett, the founders of Obé Fitness, about how the former adversaries founded their company--and how when the pandemic hit they reacted with creativity, sending the company into a period of wild growth.

Matthew Inman and Elan Lee: Invite Everyone to The Party 29.03.2021

Christine Lagorio-Chafkin talks to Matthew Inman and Elan Lee--founders of Exploding Kittens--about how they founded their company, when to give up on a potentially good idea, and the $1 million dollar meow.

Courtney Newell: Go Extra 08.03.2021

Christine Lagorio-Chafkin interviews the founder of Crowned Marketing and Communications about how she turned $500 in pageant winnings into a thriving company that advises big brands on inclusive marketing. She’s also an expert on Gen Z, who has researched their consumption habits for her book FutureProof: The Blueprint for Building a Brand Gen Z and Millennials Love.

Jack Dangermond: Being Interesting is Overrated 22.02.2021

Christine Lagorio-Chafkin talks to Jack Dangermond, co-founder of ESRI, about starting his business with little over $1000 in personal savings and turning that into a billion dollar, privately held business.

Jim Collins Part 2: What ELSE Makes Great Companies Tick 08.02.2021

Part 2 of Christine Lagorio-Chafkin's conversation with Jim Collins.

Jim Collins: What Makes Great Companies Tick 25.01.2021

Christine Lagorio-Chafkin talks with Jim Collins--author of best selling books Good to Great and Built To Last--about his three decades of research and writing about the skills and practices that make strong, lasting companies

Eric Kinariwala: Connect Your Head and Your Heart 18.01.2021

Christine Lagorio-Chafkin talks to Eric Kinariwala--founder and CEO of Capsule--about disrupting the prescription drug industry.

Year In Review 04.01.2021

A look back at some of the best moments of the year on What I Know

Blake Mycoskie: It’s More Fun To Start a Movement Than Run a Company 14.12.2020

Christine Lagorio-Chafkin speaks with Blake Mycoskie, the serial entrepreneur best known for founding Toms Shoes, about the inspiration behind Toms' giving model, plus his mental-health struggles and the revelation that led to his new company, Madefor.

Phil Libin: Find a new way to ski 07.12.2020

On today's episode, Christine Lagorio-Chafkin talks to Phil Libin, the serial entrepreneur and investor known for co-founding Evernote, about starting what he's learned since starting his fifth company, Mmhmm. They also delve into the ills of the social-media ecosystem, and why Libin says he'll never touch an indirect-funding model again.

Daina Trout: Investors Are Not Your Friends 16.11.2020

Christine Lagorio-Chafkin talks to Daina Trout, co-founder and CEO of Health-Ade Kombucha, about starting a company with her husband and best friend, running a company during the pandemic, and managing relationships with investors.

Matthew Prince: Radical Transparency 09.11.2020

Christine Lagorio-Chafkin talks to Matthew Prince, co-founder of Cloudflare, about transparency as leader, election security and how his company has grown over the past decade.

Steve Huffman: Build Your Vision of the Future--Then Multiply It By 10 26.10.2020

Christine Lagorio-Chafkin talks to Steve Huffman, founder and CEO of Reddit, about the rise of the community The_Donald, political disinformation online, and running a 700-person company through this pandemic.

BONUS: Maria Sharapova at the Inc. 5000 Vision Conference 21.10.2020

Christine Lagorio-Chafkin talks to tennis star Maria Sharapova about starting a company while in the midst of an entirely different career, finding balance in the pandemic, and her passions for design and branding.

Holly Thaggard: Be a Master of Perception 05.10.2020

On today’s episode, Christine Lagorio-Chafkin talks with Supergoop founder Holly Thaggard about changing an industry to break into it, being your brand’s visionary and spokesperson, and taking every meeting you can to get off the ground.

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