Fast Company
November 2023 cover, featuring Marques Brownlee
EditorBrendan Vaughan
CategoriesBusiness magazine
Frequency6 times per year
PublisherFast Company, Inc
Total circulation
(June 2012)		757,858[1]
First issueNovember 1995
CompanyMansueto Ventures
CountryUSA
LanguageEnglish
Websitewww.fastcompany.com
ISSN1085-9241

Fast Company is an American business and innovation magazine and website headquartered in New York City. It was founded in Boston in 1995 by Alan Webber, Bill Taylor, and Mortimer Zuckerman. The magazine, which is published both in print and online, focuses on technology, business, and design, with six print issues released annually.

The magazine's website, fastcompany.com, complements the print edition by covering topics related to business leadership, innovation, and the intersection of business and design.

Fast Company covers business news, with a particular emphasis on highlighting companies and individuals who are driving innovation and positively impacting society. Editors-in-chief have included: Robert Safian, Stephanie Mehta, and Brendan Vaughan (current). Under their leadership, the magazine has received accolades, including being named the Magazine of the Year by the American Society of Magazine Editors in 2014.

Fast Company organizes several annual events, including the Fast Company Innovation Festival and participation in South by Southwest, featuring discussions and networking opportunities for business and technology leaders. The magazine also operates various franchises like "Most Innovative Companies" and "World Changing Ideas", which recognize innovative businesses and individuals.

Since 2020, Fast Company has published the Queer 50 list, highlighting queer women and nonbinary leaders in various industries in collaboration with Lesbians Who Tech & Allies.[2][3][4]

History

Fast Company was launched in Boston in November 1995[5][6] by Alan Webber and Bill Taylor, two former Harvard Business Review editors, and publisher Mortimer Zuckerman.[7][8] The publication's early competitors included Red Herring, Business 2.0 and The Industry Standard.[9]

In 1997, Fast Company created an online social network, the "Company of Friends" which spawned a number of groups that began meeting.[10] At one point, the Company of Friends had over 40,000 members in 120 cities, although by 2003 that number had declined to 8,000.[11]

In 2000, Zuckerman sold Fast Company to Gruner + Jahr, majority-owned by media giant Bertelsmann, for $550 million.[12] Just as the sale was completed, the dot-com bubble burst, leading to significant losses and a decline in circulation. Webber and Taylor left the magazine two years later in 2002, and John A. Byrne, previously a senior writer and former management editor with BusinessWeek, was brought in as the new editor. Under Byrne, the magazine won its first Gerald Loeb Award, the most prestigious honor in business journalism.[13] However, the magazine could not reverse its financial decline in the wake of the dot-com bust. Although the magazine was not specifically about Internet commerce, advertising pages continued to drop until they were one-third of the 2000 numbers.[11]

In 2005, Gruner + Jahr put the magazine, as well as Inc. magazine, up for sale. Byrne contacted entrepreneur Joe Mansueto and helped guide him through the sale. A bidding war ultimately ensued, pitting The Economist against Mansueto's company, Mansueto Ventures. Mansueto, the only bidder who promised to keep Fast Company alive, ultimately won the contest, buying both magazine titles for $35 million.[14]

Post acquisition

Soon after its acquisition by Joe Mansueto , Fast Company became one of the first tenants in the newly rebuilt World Trade Center 7 building in 2006.[15]

Fast Company has launched and maintained multiple recognition programs since its acquisition, such as "Most Innovative Companies" and "Innovation by Design Awards", to highlight innovative companies, projects, and individuals.[16][17][18]

In 2005, 2007, and 2008, Fast Company was the recipient of the Gerald Loeb Award, the highest award in business journalism.[19][20] In 2006 and 2010 it won Deadline Club awards.[21][22]

Fast Company won a National Magazine Award in 2011 for CoDesign[23] and the James Beard Foundation Award for Food Politics, Policy and Environment in 2012.[24]

Fast Company was also named Magazine of the Year at the annual National Magazine Awards in 2014.[25][26]

In 2019, Fast Company established the Impact Council, a community of leaders committed to driving positive change and making an impact on business, society, and the environment.[27]

Fast Company's newsroom focus has been divided across several areas. Co.Design launched in 2010 as its own digital publication. Co.Create followed in 2011, then Co.Exist in 2014. Co.Create became "Creativity," then moved off the vertical navigation in 2020. Co.Exist became Ideas, then Impact. There was also a developer-focused vertical called Co.Labs, which folded in 2015.[28][29][30]

In 2017 and 2019, Fast Company journalist Adele Peters won Seal Awards in recognition for excellence in environmental journalism.[31][32]

The current verticals are Co.Design, Tech, Impact, Work Life, and News. Their Impact coverage focuses on social impact, sustainability, and corporate responsibility, as well as covering how companies (especially tech companies) respond to worldwide issues such as Climate Change and COVID-19.[33]

Lists

Fast Company has various list programs that celebrate and acknowledge innovative companies, projects, and individuals across different industries and recognize organizations of all sizes.

  • Most Creative People
  • Innovation By Design
  • Most Innovative Companies
  • Queer 50
  • World Changing Ideas
  • Best Workplaces for Innovators
  • Next Big Things in Tech
  • Brands that Matter

Impact council

Fast Company Impact Council is a membership community established by Fast Company. The Impact Council members come from companies, nonprofits, and other organizations. It provides a platform for these leaders to exchange insights, share practices, and collaborate on projects and initiatives. Council members participate in curated events, discussions, and networking.[34][35]

Events

In addition to its print and online editions, Fast Company also hosts events and conferences that bring together business leaders, innovators, and creative thinkers.[36][37]

The first Fast Company event was called Real Time and started in 1998. It ended a few years later.[38]

The first regular recent event was called Innovation Uncensored and started in 2010. It was tied to the Most Innovation Companies issue and was a spring event held in New York City. By 2012, Fast Company had added a fall version in San Francisco. This ended in 2014 and was replaced by the Fast Company Innovation Festival every fall in New York, which started in 2015.[39][40][41]

A four-day-long Fast Company Innovation Festival takes place in New York City, features leaders in business, media, entertainment, and technology from across the globe, and includes conversation, panels, workshops, and networking.[42][43] Speakers include Tony Fadell, Jared Leto, Christy Turlington, Ray Dalio and more.[44][45] "Fast Tracks", attendees have the opportunity to visit innovative and creative organizations. These visits are hosted by company leaders at the offices, studios, and work spaces.

In 2019, the company held a festival in Europe—Fast Company's European Innovation Festival in Milan and Florence. Speakers for the Festival included Yuval Noah Harari, Darren Aronofsky, Jared Leto, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Alec Ross, Natalie Massenet, and Marco Bizzarri, among others.[46]

The Fast Company Grill, a hub of business leaders and artists that includes panels, demos, and interactives, is held in Austin during SXSW for four days each year.[36]

Podcasts

Fast Company has a few podcasts covering various topics related to business, innovation, and creativity. They are Most Innovative Companies, The New Way We Work, Leaders in Innovation, Fast Company Digest, Creative Control, and World Changing Ideas.

Most Innovative Companies

Most Innovative Companies is hosted by a Fast Company editor, bringing listeners the latest innovations in business and society and highlighting companies influencing industries and culture.

The New Way We Work

The New Way We Work launched its 11th season in 2023 and was nominated for the Ambie Award for Best Business Podcast for its mini-series Ambition Diaries.[47][48] It is hosted by Fast Company's deputy editor, Kathleen Davis. Each episode explores the future of work, including the state of remote and hybrid work; how AI will change the people do their jobs; the status of gender equity and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) efforts; career ladders and ambition; motivation and what makes work meaningful; and the progress on mental health and disability issues at work. The show is currently the number one business podcast on Apple Podcast.[49]

Leaders in Innovation

Leaders in Innovation is a new podcast hosted by James Vincent, where he explores different approaches to innovation from leaders across AI, Mobility, Food, Travel, Design, Luxury, and more. Past guests include Brian Chesky of AirBnB and Whitney Wolfe Herd of Bumble.[50]

Creative Control

Creative Control is hosted by Fast Company's executive director of programming, KC Ifeanyi. It takes a deep dive into the forces that are shaping the creator economy and what it means for its future.[51]

References

  1. ↑ "eCirc for Consumer Magazines". Alliance for Audited Media. June 30, 2012. Archived from the original on January 23, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
  2. ↑ "How Fast Company's Stephanie Mehta Broke the Mold". The Juggernaut. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  3. ↑ "5 alumnae make Forbes 30 under 30 Asia and Fast Company's Queer 50 lists | McKinsey & Company". www.mckinsey.com. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  4. ↑ Webmaster, MacDailyNews (May 28, 2020). "Apple's Dierdre O'Brien No.5 on Fast Company's Queer 50 List". MacDailyNews. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  5. ↑ Vanderbilt, Tom (March 5, 2000). "The capitalist cell". The New York Times.
  6. ↑ Alex French. "The Very First Issues of 19 Famous Magazines". Mental Floss. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  7. ↑ "A Brief History of Our Time". Fast Company. March 1, 2006. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
  8. ↑ "About Us". Fast Company. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
  9. ↑ Bercovici, Jeff (February 2001). "Business 2.0 is put up for sale". Media Life Magazine. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  10. ↑ Alex Kuczynski (December 14, 1998). "Cultivating A Cult Audience; Fast Company Magazine Takes 'Community of Readers' Idea To New Extremes". The New York Times. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
  11. 1 2 Carr, David (August 11, 2003). "Fast Company's New Life in the Slow Lane". The New York Times. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  12. ↑ Johnston, David Cay (May 2005). "Bertelsmann to Exit U.S. Magazine Market". The New York Times. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  13. ↑ Friedman, Jon. "Fast Company finally gets some 'help'". MarketWatch.
  14. ↑ Seelye, Katherine Q. (June 21, 2005). "Gruner + Jahr sells 2 U.S. magazines". The New York Times.
  15. ↑ Dylan (July 26, 2006). "Fast Company, Inc. To Move To 7 World Trade Center". www.adweek.com. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Fast Company Middle East issues list of Most Innovative Companies". Arab News PK. November 27, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  17. ↑ Majumder, Sonia (November 29, 2023). "Fast Company Middle East unveils list of most innovative companies". Campaign Middle East. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  18. ↑ Co, Com limão &; InovaSocial (September 5, 2023). "Inscrições abertas para prêmio de inovação da Fast Company • InovaSocial". InovaSocial (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  19. ↑ "UCLA Anderson School of Management | Gerald Loeb Awards | 2005 Winners". web.archive.org. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  20. ↑ "2008 Gerald Loeb Award Finalists Announced by UCLA Anderson School of Management". Institutional Investor. May 18, 2008. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Deadline Club finalists announced". Talking Biz News. April 12, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Fast Company's Linda Tischler Wins the Deadline Club Award for Best Magazine Feature". FastCompany. 2006. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Book Robert Safian as a Keynote Speaker". Thinking Heads. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  24. ↑ "2012 James Beard Foundation Awards Winners Announced". web.archive.org. September 2, 2013. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  25. ↑ Hartmann, Margaret (2014). "Here's Who Won Last Night at the National Magazine Awards". Intelligencer. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  26. ↑ Sebastian, Michael (2014). "Fast Company Wins Magazine of the Year at National Magazine Awards". AdAge. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Frequently-Asked Questions: Impact Council Annual Meeting 2023". events.fastcompany.com. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  28. ↑ Labarre, Suzanne (2018). "Co.Design joins fastcompany.com". FastCompany. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  29. ↑ "Welcome to Co.Create Nation". FastCompany. 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  30. ↑ Robischon, Noah (2015). "What's Next for Co.Labs?". FastCompany. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  31. ↑ "2017 SEAL Environmental Journalism Award Winners". SEAL Awards. September 17, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  32. ↑ "2019 SEAL Environmental Journalism Award Winners Announced". SEAL Awards. February 13, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  33. ↑ "Impact". FastCompany. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  34. ↑ "Frequently-Asked Questions: Impact Council Annual Meeting 2023". events.fastcompany.com. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  35. ↑ Stieg, Cory (July 7, 2020). "The skills Bill Gates learned at Microsoft that are helping his fight against the Covid-19 pandemic". CNBC. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  36. 1 2 "SXSW: World Changing Ideas at the Fast Company Grill - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  37. ↑ "How Fast Company and Inc. became more than magazine titles". Media Makers Meet | What's new in media. October 8, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  38. ↑ Kuczynski, Alex (December 14, 1998). "Cultivating A Cult Audience; Fast Company Magazine Takes 'Community of Readers' Idea To New Extremes". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  39. ↑ Oregonian/OregonLive, The (April 27, 2010). "Steve Jobs to Mark Parker: Get rid of "crap" at Nike". oregonlive. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  40. ↑ Hawkes, Jocelyn (2011). "Fast Company's Innovation Uncensored San Francisco: November 2". FastCompany. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  41. ↑ "The Fast Company Innovation Festival - The Next Intersection For Hollywood With William Morris Endeavor's Ari Emanuel And Patrick Whitesell And Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson - undefined - Dwayne Johnson". Forbes. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  42. ↑ Shapiro, Amy (September 21, 2023). "Fast Company Innovation Festival: Hartbeat, Tracee Ellis Ross, Google, Snap Inc., and Airbnb". Mediaweek. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  43. ↑ Lierz, Sarah (October 24, 2023). "Fast Company Innovation Festival 2023: Navigating the Path to Business Success". Whipsaw. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  44. ↑ "A Major Google Executive Is Leaving the Company Amid Criticism". Time. June 3, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  45. ↑ Shapiro, Amy (September 20, 2023). "Fast Company Innovation Festival: Ray Dalio, Lidiane Jones, Slutty Vegan, and Clare V." Mediaweek. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  46. ↑ "Fast Company's European Innovation Festival powered by Gucci | H-FARM". www.h-farm.com. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  47. ↑ "2023 WINNERS & NOMINEES". The Ambies® — Awards for Excellence in Audio. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  48. ↑ "Ambition Diaries". Fast Company. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  49. ↑ "The New Way We Work - Top Podcasts In Business". web.archive.org. November 30, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  50. ↑ "Innovating Imagination: How Airbnb Is Using AI to Foster Creativity". Fast Company. 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  51. ↑ Ifeanyi, KC (2018). "Listen to the Creative Conversation podcast".
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