Decisions. Who even knows how many the typical founder must make in a day, let alone in the course of starting a business? Steve Jobs reached for the same outfit every morning just to get a single quandary off his plate. When it comes to the business of selecting other businesses to help you run your business, it can be enough of a headache to make you wish for a closetful of black turtlenecks. After all, your decisions—like which ESG compliance company to hire, or which privacy and security firm should safeguard your sensitive customer data—have real-world ripple effects, on the livelihoods of your employees and on the business itself. How to make good ones?
If you need a communication platform for your growing team, of course you know to kick the tires of Slack. And it makes sense that the company behind the ubiquitous productivity platform made the 2023 Power Partners, our list of high-caliber B2B product and service providers across the globe. But there are also plenty of stellar companies you may have never heard of out there—B2B is a $10 trillion-plus market in the U.S. alone—providing everything from publicity to packaging. Picking the right one can make all the difference.
Just ask Phoenix Gonzalez, co-founder and CEO of travel-accessories startup Silked. When she got a surprise order for satin pillow sleeves that exceeded the company's capacity by 50 times, she hired third-party manufacturer and 2023 Power Partner The Vertical Collective to make it happen. That was in 2020, and the continued partnership, says Gonzalez, has been “life-changing.”
We hear a lot of stories like that from the clients of Power Partners. Such testimonials—by the thousands—are just one chunk of data that factors into our selection process. We crunch information from client surveys on a pointed set of questions about performance. We incorporate sentiment analysis from the far reaches of the internet from our own partner, Meltwater. And, because we are a journalistic enterprise, we do our own research, including both traditional reporting and analysis of open-source data. Then we feed it all into a proprietary algorithm and use it to assess which companies we can confidently call Inc. Power Partners.
The result is this year's list of 389 companies in more than 100 categories you'll find on the following pages. Consider it your directory of B2B excellence. These businesses, we think, will serve yours well. And hopefully make the decisions you have a little bit easier.
GENERAL EXCELLENCE
Open to all companies, in any industry, that help business owners start, run, or grow their businesses
AWESOME PEOPLE LEADERS
KEY CLIENTS CourtAvenue, Francis Medical, RH2 Engineering
EMFLUENT
KEY CLIENTS Downtown Phoenix, Treasure House, YMCA of the USA
After the YMCA cut nearly half of its corporate employees at the start of the pandemic, the youth organization had to ratchet up efficiency to cope with its new head-count normal of just under 200. That led chief people and culture officer Kate Wollensak to the talent optimization consul tancy EmFluent. Through EmFluent's Predictive Index assessment, which helps employees better understand and harness their strengths, Wollensak says the YMCA has boosted trust, engagement, and productivity in its workforce. EmFluent's husband-and-wife founders, Robin and Shawna Reed, have been particularly hands-on in helping the organization make the most of its workforce analysis. “Normally, assessments can feel ominous and unforgiving,” Wollensak says. “EmFluent put everyone at ease.” —Rebecca Deczynski
FSQ CONSULTING
KEY CLIENTS Burnaby Football Club, Enta Solutions, HB Design
GENER8TOR
KEY CLIENTS Fiveable, Microsoft, Northwestern Mutual
HERZOG & SCHINDLER
KEY CLIENTS Eicon Partners, Research Collider, The Timken Company
NATIONAL FOOTBAL LEAGUE PLAYERS ASSOCIATION
KEY CLIENTS Fanatics, Signables, Socrates
OCCAMS ADVISORY
KEY CLIENTS Engagement Health Group, Mirasol Solar, R&R Industries
PONY COMMUNICATIONS
KEY CLIENTS Bright Machines, Climeworks, HeroX
VCHIEF
KEY CLIENTS OneGoal, Prospect Schools, SkillUp
ADVERTISING & MARKETING
Marketing companies, ad agencies, and other firms that promote brands and persuade potential customers in an industry valued at over $350 billion
75%
Percentage increase in the portion of marketers relying on third-party data, according to Salesforce, despite growing consumer distaste for invasive marketing
GENERAL
APPEAL PRODUCTION
KEY CLIENTS Bank of the James, Lantz Construction, Shenandoah Valley Airport
ASCEND AGENCY
KEY CLIENTS Grit Daily, Rize VC, T1 Advertising
DAS TECHNOLOGY
KEY CLIENTS Bob Poynter Automotive Group, Don Hattan Auto Group, Smart Automotive Group
DIGITAL4STARTUPS
KEY CLIENTS ABC Humane Wildlife Control and Prevention, Aplos, Freudenberg Household Products (O-Cedar)
LIGHTHOUSE EXHIBITS
KEY CLIENTS Fabric Innovations, McKesson, Olee Creative
919 MARKETING
KEY CLIENTS Payroll Vault, Scooter's Coffee, Teriyaki Madness
NOBLE WEST
GAUGE DIGITAL MEDIA
KEY CLIENTS Barrett30, Meras Water Solutions, Schuil Real Estate
KEY CLIENTS Crawford Yingling Insurance, Maryland IT Solutions, Mudgett's Auto Body
SOCIAL MAGAZINES
LEAD2PIPELINE
KEY CLIENTS Bozard Ford Lincoln, DJ and Lindsey Real Estate, Everything Cool Home Furniture
KEY CLIENTS Proofpoint, SambaNova Systems, Splunk
SWEETSCIENCE
MARKETWAKE
KEY CLIENTS Auxilior Capital Partners, Men's Health Network, Therapeutics MD
KEY CLIENTS Bridge Studios, Brock Built, Venture Atlanta
MINDGRUB TECHNOLOGIES
INFLUENCER/MOBILE/VIDEO MARKETING
KEY CLIENTS CreditXpert, Sequoia Capital, UMBC
APPEAL PRODUCTION
919 MARKETING
KEY CLIENTS Bank of the James, Lantz Construction, Shenandoah Valley Airport
KEY CLIENTS Payroll Vault, Scooter's Coffee, Teriyaki Madness
SIMPLYBE.
ASCEND AGENCY
KEY CLIENTS Analytics8, Build Your Village, Second Front Systems and All Quiet on the Second Front
KEY CLIENTS Grit Daily, Rize VC, T1 Advertising
CHERYL OVERTON COMMUNICATIONS
RECRUITING
APPEAL PRODUCTION
KEY CLIENTS Crant AI, Hologic, M Booth
CORDLESS MEDIA
KEY CLIENTS Bank of the James, Lantz Construction, Shenandoah Valley Airport
KEY CLIENTS HAAR, MLSListings, OJO
CURATOR24
DAS TECHNOLOGY
KEY CLIENTS BioCareSD, Galileo Financial Technologies, Servier
KEY CLIENTS Bob Poynter Automotive Group, Don Hattan Auto Group, Smart Automotive Group
DAS TECHNOLOGY
DOG HAUS
KEY CLIENTS Bob Poynter Automotive Group, Don Hattan Auto Group, Smart Automotive Group
KEY CLIENTS Branded Hospitality, iHeartMedia, Jersey Mike's
EXPONENTIAL MEDIA
EXPONENTIAL MEDIA
KEY CLIENTS Comarch, EOS Worldwide, RVA Business Brokers
KEY CLIENTS Comarch, EOS Worldwide, RVA Business Brokers
GAUGE DIGITAL MEDIA
SIMPLYBE.
KEY CLIENTS Analytics8, Build Your Village, Second Front Systems and All Quiet on the Second Front
KEY CLIENTS Crawford Yingling Insurance, Maryland IT Solutions, Mudgett's Auto Body
MARKETWAKE
MARKET RESEARCH
KEY CLIENTS Bridge Studios, Brock Built, Venture Atlanta
CURATOR24
KEY CLIENTS BioCareSD, Galileo Financial Technologies, Servier
MINDGRUB TECHNOLOGIES
KEY CLIENTS CreditXpert, Sequoia Capital, UMBC
DAS TECHNOLOGY
KEY CLIENTS Bob Poynter Automotive Group, Don Hattan Auto Group, Smart Automotive Group
MODO MODO AGENCY
KEY CLIENTS Carrier, Equifax, Fiserv
EXPONENTIAL MEDIA
SIMPLYBE.
KEY CLIENTS Comarch, EOS Worldwide, RVA Business Brokers
KEY CLIENTS Analytics8, Build Your Village, Second Front Systems
STRATEGY
CORDLESS MEDIA
KEY CLIENTS HAAR, MLSListings, OJO
CURATOR24
KEY CLIENTS BioCareSD, Galileo Financial Technologies, Servier
DAS TECHNOLOGY
KEY CLIENTS Bob Poynter Automotive Group, Don Hattan Auto Group, Smart Automotive Group
DIGITAL4STARTUPS
KEY CLIENTS ABC Humane Wildlife Control and Prevention, Aplos, Freudenberg Household Products (O-Cedar)
EXPONENTIAL MEDIA
KEY CLIENTS Comarch, EOS Worldwide, RVA Business Brokers
LEAD2PIPELINE
KEY CLIENTS Proofpoint, SambaNova Systems, Splunk
919 MARKETING
KEY CLIENTS Payroll Vault, Scooter's Coffee, Teriyaki Madness
SIMPLYBE.
KEY CLIENTS Analytics8, Build Your Village, Second Front Systems
UNCOMMON MARKETING WORKS
KEY CLIENTS IT-oLogy, RocketReach, RunSafe Security
A.I. & DATA
Firms developing and selling machine-learning models and data applications to improve other companies’ processes and products in a swiftly growing $3 billion market
2027
The year Gartner predicts that chatbots will outnumber human customer service agents
GENERAL
AIMPOINT DIGITAL
KEY CLIENTS BottomLine Concepts, PetScreening, Straumann
ATX ADVISORY SERVICES
KEY CLIENTS Ainsworth, ARC Mechanical, Justine Petersen
CELLIGENCE INTERNATIONAL
KEY CLIENTS Century 21 LOTUS, The Freedom Organization, Keller Williams Fresno
INFUSED INNOVATIONS
KEY CLIENTS AVID Products, Delta Dental of Rhode Island, Woodland Partners
INTETICS
KEY CLIENTS Brava, Hecht Contactlinsen, Summit
