Inc. and SurveyMonkey Launch Growth Signals, a New Initiative to Capture Business Insights and Track the Issues Shaping Entrepreneurship in America

Polling through SurveyMonkey will capture perspectives from entrepreneurs and business leaders of fast-growing companies on the priorities, challenges, and growth outlook shaping America’s private businesses

Dallas, Texas, Oct. 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inc., the media brand and playbook for entrepreneurs and business leaders, today announced Growth Signals, a new initiative with SurveyMonkey, the world’s most popular platform for surveys and forms, that’s designed to capture the perspectives of entrepreneurs and business leaders and bring those insights into Inc.’s editorial reporting.

Through Growth Signals, Inc. will use SurveyMonkey to regularly poll its audience on timely issues facing privately held businesses today. The program will give Inc. a direct view into the priorities, challenges, and perspectives of the business leaders it serves, while helping surface emerging trends across industries and segments of the business community to inform its coverage.

Growth Signals will debut at the 2026 Inc. 5000 Conference & Gala, taking place October 14-16 in Dallas. During the event, attendees will be invited to participate in on-site surveys, giving Inc. an immediate snapshot of the views and experiences of founders and executives gathered from across the country. Following the Conference, Inc. will continue polling its audience on timely business issues, using those insights to influence editorial focus and conversations across its platforms.

“By tapping into Inc.’s longstanding relationship with founders of fast-growing companies, we can gain actionable insights and crucial business intelligence not just for this cohort, but for all business leaders who want to know where the economy stands today—and create more informed reporting about what comes next,” says Inc. editor-in-chief Mike Hofman. 

The 2026 Inc. 5000 Conference will feature conversations with leading founders and executives, including:

• Steven Bartlett, founder and CEO of Steven.com and host of The Diary of a CEO podcast
• Tiffany Haddish, comedian, actress, author, and Gala host 
• Ty Haney, founder and CEO of Try Your Best 
• Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Powder and co-founder and former CEO of Netflix 
• Mike Hofman, editor-in-chief of Inc. 
• Natalie Holloway, co-founder and CEO of Bala 
• Ben Lamm, co-founder and CEO of Colossal Biosciences
• Marc Lore, founder and CEO of Wonder 
• Suneera Madhani, founder and CEO of Worth AI and founder of Stax Payments 
• Marissa Mayer, founder and CEO of Dazzle AI 
• Janet Napolitano, former U.S. secretary of Homeland Security 
• Eric Ries, bestselling author and founder of Long-Term Stock Exchange 
• Cynthia Rowley, founder and creative director of Cynthia Rowley Inc. 
• RJ Scaringe, founder and CEO of Rivian 
• Jay Shetty, co-founder of Juni 
• Joanna Strober, co-founder and CEO of Midi Health 
• Holly Thaggard, founder of Supergoop! and WaterOuai! 
• Kerry Washington, actress, producer, director, author, activist, and founder of Simpson Street 
• Alli Webb, founder of Drybar and Messy by Alli Webb

"Founders have a lot of opinions about the economy, and they're worth hearing," says Katie Miserany, chief communications officer and global head of marketing at SurveyMonkey. "SurveyMonkey makes it easy to keep asking, and Growth Signals puts it to work. We're proud Inc. chose us to power it."

“Growth Signals creates a new way for Inc. to bring together our audience, editorial expertise, and partners around the issues shaping business today,” says Mansueto Ventures chief revenue officer Cece Ryan. “We look forward to working with SurveyMonkey to create more opportunities for entrepreneurs to share their perspectives and engage with Inc.” 

For more information about the 2026 Inc. 5000 Conference & Gala, including registration and the full speaker lineup, visit events.inc.com/2026incconference.

For complete results of the 2026 Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database, visit Inc. 5000.

About SurveyMonkey

SurveyMonkey helps teams understand people and make better decisions. Every day, businesses, governments, educational institutions, and nonprofits use SurveyMonkey products to continuously gather feedback from real humans, conduct research, collect information, and improve experiences. 

The SurveyMonkey portfolio includes SurveyMonkey, a leading provider of surveys and forms, built for business and loved by users; SurveyMonkey LaunchPad for ready-to-run market research solutions; SurveyMonkey Apply for application and program management; and Wufoo for online forms and payments.

Millions of users around the world—from startups to Fortune 500 companies—rely on SurveyMonkey to turn feedback into action, validate ideas with confidence, strengthen customer and employee experiences, and make decisions that drive growth. Learn more at surveymonkey.com.

About Inc.

Inc. is the premier media brand and playbook for entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping our future. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate, and elevate the profile of its community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating the future of business. Inc. is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow leading business publication Fast Company. For more information, visit www.inc.com.

Alyssa Carroll
Head of Communications, Inc.
acarroll@mansueto.com