Fast Company

Fast Company was founded in November 1995{{Cite news |last= Vanderbilt |first= Tom |title= The capitalist cell |newspaper= The New York Times|date= March 5, 2000 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/05/magazine/the-capitalist-cell.html}}{{cite news|author=Alex French|title=The Very First Issues of 19 Famous Magazines|url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/50299/very-first-issues-19-famous-magazines|access-date=August 10, 2015|work=Mental Floss}} by Alan Webber and Bill Taylor, both former Harvard Business Review editors, and publisher Mortimer Zuckerman.{{cite web|url=http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/103/history.html|title=A Brief History of Our Time|work=Fast Company|date=March 1, 2006|access-date=October 27, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404190540/http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/103/history.html|archive-date=April 4, 2012|df=mdy-all}}[http://www.fastcompany.com/about-us "About Us"]. Fast Company. Retrieved February 27, 2012. Early competitors included Red Herring, Business 2.0 and The Industry Standard.{{cite news|last1=Bercovici|first1=Jeff|title=Business 2.0 is put up for sale|url=http://www.medialifemagazine.com:8080/news2001/feb01/feb19/2_tues/news1tuesday.html|access-date=November 25, 2014|work=Media Life Magazine|date=February 2001|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208080600/http://www.medialifemagazine.com:8080/news2001/feb01/feb19/2_tues/news1tuesday.html|archive-date=December 8, 2015|df=mdy-all}}

In 1997, Fast Company created an online social network called the "Company of Friends," which led to the formation of numerous meeting groups.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/14/business/cultivating-cult-audience-fast-company-magazine-takes-community-readers-idea-new.html |title=Cultivating A Cult Audience; Fast Company Magazine Takes 'Community of Readers' Idea To New Extremes|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 5, 2009| author=Alex Kuczynski|date=December 14, 1998}} At its peak, the Company of Friends comprised over 40,000 members across 120 cities, though membership declined to 8,000 by 2003.{{cite news|last1=Carr|first1=David|title=Fast Company's New Life in the Slow Lane|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/11/business/the-media-business-advertising-fast-company-s-new-life-in-the-slow-lane.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=November 25, 2014|work=The New York Times|date=August 11, 2003}}

In 2000, Zuckerman sold Fast Company to Gruner + Jahr, majority-owned by media giant Bertelsmann, for $550 million.{{cite news|last1=Johnston|first1=David Cay|title=Bertelsmann to Exit U.S. Magazine Market|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/25/business/media/bertelsmann-to-exit-us-magazine-market.html|access-date=July 7, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=May 2005}} The sale coincided with the dot-com bubble burst, resulting in substantial losses and a drop in circulation. Webber and Taylor departed in 2002, and John A. Byrne, formerly a senior writer and management editor at BusinessWeek, became the new editor. Under Byrne, the magazine received its first Gerald Loeb Award, a prestigious honor in business journalism.{{cite web|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/fast-company-gets-the-help-it-needed|title=Fast Company finally gets some 'help'|first=Jon|last=Friedman|website=MarketWatch}} However, the magazine couldn't overcome its financial decline following the dot-com bust. Despite not focusing specifically on Internet commerce, advertising pages decreased to one-third of their 2000 levels.

In 2005, Gruner + Jahr put the magazine, along with Inc. magazine, up for sale. Byrne contacted entrepreneur Joe Mansueto and assisted him in the acquisition. A bidding war ensued between The Economist and Mansueto's company, Mansueto Ventures. Mansueto, promising to keep Fast Company afloat, won the contest, acquiring both magazine titles for $35 million.Seelye, Katherine Q. (June 21, 2005). [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/21/business/worldbusiness/21iht-mag.html?_r=1 "Gruner + Jahr sells 2 U.S. magazines"]. The New York Times.

Under former editor-in-chief Robert Safian,{{cite news|last1=Fox|first1=Rebecca|title=Breaking: Bob Safian Named Editor/Managing Director of Fast Company|url=http://www.adweek.com/digital/breaking-bob-safian-named-editormanaging-director-of-fast-company/|access-date=July 7, 2017|work=Adweek|date=January 2007}} Fast Company was recognized by the American Society of Magazine Editors with the magazine of the year in 2014.{{cite web|title=National Magazine Awards 2014 Winners Announced|url=http://www.magazine.org/industry-news/press-releases/asme-press-releases/asme/national-magazine-awards-2014-winners|work=American Society of Magazine Editors|access-date=August 4, 2015|location=New York|date=May 1, 2014|archive-date=July 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150719142738/http://www.magazine.org/industry-news/press-releases/asme-press-releases/asme/national-magazine-awards-2014-winners|url-status=dead}}

Stephanie Mehta was appointed editor-in-chief in February 2018,{{cite news|last1=Dool|first1=Greg|title=Breaking: Fast Company Names Stephanie Mehta Editor-in-Chief |url=http://www.foliomag.com/fast-company-names-stephanie-mehta-editor-in-chief/|access-date=April 11, 2018|work=Folio|date=February 2018}} after having worked at Vanity Fair, Bloomberg, Fortune, and The Wall Street Journal. Fast Company is owned by Mansueto Ventures and has its headquarters in Manhattan.

In September 2022, the Fast Company website, fastcompany.com, was compromised in an attack, and racist messages were sent.{{cite news |title=Media company hacked, racist push notifications sent to Apple iPhones |language=en-US |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/09/27/fast-company-hack-apple-news/ |access-date=2022-10-05 |issn=0190-8286}} The site was accessed to send push notifications that the company identified as "obscene and racist." Consequently, the site was taken offline for eight days.{{cite news|title=Fast Company shuts website after hack sends 'obscene' Apple News notifications |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/fast-companys-website-shuts-after-apple-news-feed-hacked-2022-09-28/|access-date=September 30, 2022|work=Reuters|date=September 2022}}{{cite news |title=Fast Company returns after attack that saw obscene Apple News alerts pushed to readers |language=en-US |work=Engadget |url=https://www.engadget.com/fast-company-back-after-obscene-apple-news-alerts-hack-085808021.html |access-date=2022-10-21 |date=2022-10-06 }}

In 2024, the company won The Society Of Publication Designers (SPD) silver medal for its “World Changing Ideas” and six gold medals for its projects, including “Selena Gomez and the Meteoric Rise of Rare Beauty”, “YouTube’s Game Day”, “Brands That Matter”, “The Recommender Gift Guide”, and gold in the Best Of Science/Business/Technology category, as well as for the redesign of the magazine, which launched with the Eva Longoria issue.{{Cite web |title=THE SOCIETY OF PUBLICATION DESIGNERS ANNOUNCES THE 59th ANNUAL AWARDS WINNERS |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59a4a351197aea9d17f6bc13/t/666c93d14a3ed1734bd7a2f2/1718391761457/SPD+59+Winners+Press+Release.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614194310/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59a4a351197aea9d17f6bc13/t/666c93d14a3ed1734bd7a2f2/1718391761457/SPD+59+Winners+Press+Release.pdf |archive-date=14 June 2024 |website=THE SOCIETY OF PUBLICATION DESIGNERS}}

Launched in 1995,{{cite web|title=ICANN WhoIs fastcompany.com|url=https://whois.icann.org/en/lookup?name=|access-date=July 7, 2017}} FastCompany.com provides coverage of leadership and innovation in business, environmental and social issues, entertainment and marketing, and, through its Co.Design site, the intersection of business and design, spanning architecture to electronics and consumer products to fashion. Fast Company also previously managed sites called Co.Labs, Co.Exist, and Co.Create. Co.Exist and Co.Create were rebranded as Ideas and Entertainment sections in 2017.{{cite web|last1=Clendaniel|first1=Morgan|title=Some News From Your Friends At Co.Exist|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/4069073/some-news-from-your-friends-at-coexist|work=ICANN WhoIs|access-date=July 7, 2017|date=June 2, 1995}}{{cite web|last1=Alt|first1=Eric|title=A Message To Our Readers|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3069134/a-message-to-our-readers|work=fastcompany.com|access-date=July 7, 2017|location=New York|date=March 22, 2017}} Co.Labs was discontinued in early 2015.{{cite web|last1=Robischon|first1=Noah|title=What's Next For Co.Labs?|url=http://www.fastcolabs.com/3040498/whats-next-for-colabs|website=Fast Company|date=March 24, 2015|access-date=11 January 2016}}

Fast Company runs several franchises, including "Most Innovative Companies", "World Changing Ideas", "Innovation By Design", and "Most Creative People". For its Most Innovative Companies feature, Fast Company evaluates thousands of businesses to compile a list of 50 companies deemed the most innovative.{{cite web |url=http://www.fastcompany.com/mic/2010/industry/list |work=Fast Company website |title=Most Innovative Companies: Top 10 by Industry |date=February 18, 2010 |access-date=April 10, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604081944/http://www.fastcompany.com/mic/2010/industry/list |archive-date=June 4, 2012 |df=mdy }} The Most Creative People in Business is a list of 100 individuals across various industries.[http://www.fastcompany.com/most-creative-people/2012 "The Most Creative People in Business 2012"]. Fast Company. 2012.

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Category:1995 establishments in the United States

Category:Business magazines published in the United States

Category:Magazines established in 1995