Though a lot of our national attention goes to big publicly traded firms, 87% of companies that earn more than 100 million dollars a year in revenue are privately held—by their founders, families, partnership groups, or even their employees. Instead of answering to a range of distant shareholders, they’re setting their own course…for better or worse.

We find that there are as many ways to run a business as there are people who decide to do it. What makes private ownership so interesting is that each choice an owner makes has a ripple effect on their family, employees, and community. Each owner’s story is simultaneously a snapshot of one individual and a piece of the giant mosaic that is our economy. Understanding them helps us understand the world we live in, no matter where we sit.