National Recognition
Earn distinction from Inc. as one of America’s Best in Business and automatically be considered for Inc.’s prestigious Company of the Year award!
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Why Apply?
For over 40 years, Inc. magazine has been devoted to recognizing America’s most dynamic businesses and honoring the great things they do. This year, hundreds of companies will make the cut and be honored in print and online. Honorees in 2025 will enjoy the following benefits:
Media Exposure
Be featured in the Winter issue of Inc. magazine, get a dedicated company profile on Inc.com, and receive national and local media coverage.
Visibility
Every application will be seen and evaluated directly by Inc.’s editors, who will source stories and articles directly from the honorees and applicant pool.
Greater Productivity and Retention
Show your current employees that all of their long days and nights of hard work are paying off, and improve recruiting opportunities with prospective employees.
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How It Works
Applying is simple! Fill out the online application, where you will enter a few details about your company and answer three questions about your company’s achievement:
Describe
Describe a specific project, initiative, or innovation your organization achieved over the past year that is noteworthy.
Explain
Explain how the outcome of this project is a win for your company, leadership team, or industry, and how it sets you apart from your competitors.
Cite
Cite some metrics over the past 12 months, directly related to this project, that show positive business outcomes resulting in a win.
You will then select which business categories you’d like to apply for—the more categories you apply to, the higher the chances of being recognized. You can see a list of award categories below. That’s it!
Apply Now
Preferred-Rate Deadline: August 15
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Award Categories
Best in Business Main List
All applicants must first apply to the prestigious Best in Business main list—celebrating hundreds of companies for standout projects and initiatives over the past 12 months. Then, boost your chances for recognition by adding any of our exclusive award categories, with multiple winners honored in each.
Best AI Implementation
Celebrating AI projects and initiatives that have delivered tangible results—whether through increased efficiency, cost savings, improved customer experiences, or new revenue opportunities— by demonstrating clear, measurable wins for the organization.
Best Bootstrapped
Celebrating successful projects or initiatives built without external funding—highlighting the creativity, resilience, and resourcefulness of founders and teams.
Best Challenger Brands
Recognizing the branding, guerrilla marketing, pop-up, experiential, and social media campaigns of upstart companies that have successfully challenged industry leaders and won devoted communities of customers.
Best Collaborations
Recognizing successful projects or initiatives that resulted from the partnership of two or more companies.
Best Community Initiatives
Honoring projects or initiatives that have successfully built new communities or deepened engagement within existing ones—fostering connection, participation, and lasting value for their members.
Best Family-Owned
Recognizing outstanding projects or initiatives from family-owned businesses.
Best Fundraisers
Recognizing projects or initiatives that successfully attracted investment or were a direct result of investment.
Best in Innovation
Recognizing groundbreaking innovations, inventions, or products of all types that have delivered meaningful outcomes, marking them as true wins worth celebrating.
Best Marketing
Celebrating bold brand marketing and other strategies and campaigns that truly moved the needle. Advertising, brand marketing, digital marketing, and performance marketing will be recognized in this category.
Best Social Good
Celebrating projects or initiatives that have made a measurable, positive impact on society, whether by addressing social challenges, advancing equity, improving well-being, or fostering sustainable change in communities.
Best Social Media
Honoring social media campaigns or innovations that have driven significant results, such as increased engagement, brand awareness, audience growth, or business impact.
Best by Region
Get recognized as one of the top companies in your region, whether you’re leading in the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, Pacific, Rocky Mountain, Southeast, or Southwest.
Best by Company Size
Whether you’re a scrappy startup or a powerhouse enterprise, get recognized for achieving excellence at your scale: Small and Mighty (0-49 employees), Medium (50-99 employees), Large (100-499 employees), Extra Large (500+ employees).
Best by Revenue
Whether you’re building momentum or leading your market, get recognized for what you’ve accomplished at your revenue level: Lean and Mean (under $5 million in gross revenue), Prosperous and Thriving ($5 million to $50 million in gross revenue), Robust and Powerful ($50 million and up in gross revenue).
Best by Years In Business
From rising stars to legacy leaders, showcase how your company is making its mark at every stage of growth: On the Rise (0-4 years in business), Established Excellence Companies (5-14 years in business), Legacy Companies (15+ years in business).
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Celebrate Your Win In Print!
See your win immortalized in pages of the Winter issue of Inc. magazine, get a dedicated company profile on Inc.com, and receive national and local media coverage.
2024 List