Founders

 
George GendronFounding editor-in-chief, Inc. Magazine (20 years) … innovator of the seminal Inc. 500 ranking, focusing public attention on young, emerging-growth companies for the first time (led to creation of Euro 500, AllWorld’s growth-company rankings in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, and partnership with Michael Porter of Harvard B-School to create the Inner City 100) … new ventures chief at Mansueto Ventures, where he founded The Build Network … inventor of Clark UniversityInnovation & Entrepreneurship Program … long-time national leader in social sector (directorships and fellowships at City Year, Kaufmann Foundation, Community Wealth Ventures, Initiatives for a Competitive Inner City [ICIC], more)

George Gendron

Founding editor-in-chief, Inc. Magazine (20 years) … innovator of the seminal Inc. 500 ranking, focusing public attention on young, emerging-growth companies for the first time (led to creation of Euro 500, AllWorld’s growth-company rankings in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, and partnership with Michael Porter of Harvard B-School to create the Inner City 100) … new ventures chief at Mansueto Ventures, where he founded The Build Network … inventor of Clark UniversityInnovation & Entrepreneurship Program … long-time national leader in social sector (directorships and fellowships at City Year, Kaufmann Foundation, Community Wealth Ventures, Initiatives for a Competitive Inner City [ICIC], more)

Patrick MitchellFounding creative director, Fast Company … 2-time winner of the National Magazine Award (6-time finalist) … creative director of O: The Oprah Magazine, Boston Magazine, Nylon, Success, the critically-acclaimed environmental journal, Garbage, many more … award winner from AIGA, Media Industry News, the Society of Publication Designers, Folio, more … significant history of editorial and branding work for non-profit, educational, and healthcare institutions (the Rockefeller Foundation, National Geographic Society, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Dartmouth, Harvard, Levi Strauss Foundation) … founding creative director, The Build Network

Patrick Mitchell

Founding creative director, Fast Company … 2-time winner of the National Magazine Award (6-time finalist) … creative director of O: The Oprah Magazine, Boston Magazine, Nylon, Success, the critically-acclaimed environmental journal, Garbage, many more … award winner from AIGA, Media Industry News, the Society of Publication Designers, Folio, more … significant history of editorial and branding work for non-profit, educational, and healthcare institutions (the Rockefeller Foundation, National Geographic Society, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Dartmouth, Harvard, Levi Strauss Foundation) … founding creative director, The Build Network

Michael HopkinsEditor-in-chief, MIT Sloan Management Review (award-winning turnaround) … executive editor, Inc. Magazine … founding managing director and editor-in-chief, The Build Network — the “catalog of ideas” for C-suite executives at mid-sized businesses … at the Monitor Group consultancy: managing director of joint venture between Monitor Group and the Financial Times to create Future Monitor, one of the earliest self-organizing online communities of global thought leaders … at MIT, developed new thought-leadership research models joining scholars and marketers … award-winning and anthologized writer on management, ideas, and culture

Michael Hopkins

Editor-in-chief, MIT Sloan Management Review (award-winning turnaround) … executive editor, Inc. Magazine … founding managing director and editor-in-chief, The Build Network — the “catalog of ideas” for C-suite executives at mid-sized businesses … at the Monitor Group consultancy: managing director of joint venture between Monitor Group and the Financial Times to create Future Monitor, one of the earliest self-organizing online communities of global thought leaders … at MIT, developed new thought-leadership research models joining scholars and marketers … award-winning and anthologized writer on management, ideas, and culture

 
 

Our Story

We go back, we three. We were the creators of Inc. Magazine and Fast Company (also the leaders and designers of the MIT Sloan Management Review and The Build Network and, um, Oprah—and more).

In those efforts and others we’ve reinvented strategic models, pioneered thought-leadership research, re-imagined and built university curricula, pushed Web 3.0, driven high-impact social entrepreneurship and economic development projects, and throughout forged ways of collaborating with our marketing partners that were unique in the media industry—and that grew our partners’ businesses.

We engage audiences.

For decades, we’ve specialized in creating and building brands that convene—and serve—communities of people with new and different attitudes about work and life.

For six months or 16 years now, depending on how you count, we’ve been obsessively inventing The Solo Project. We know the power of design thinking when applied to creating products and services. Now imagine the power of design thinking applied to our lives. 

Declare your independence, design your life.