Beeler.Tech made the Inc. 5000 list for 2025, and we did it our way

That Frank Sinatra must have been onto something…

So apparently, we’re the 2,524th fastest-growing private company in America. The Inc. 5000 list says so. Is this a very cool bit of news? Yes. But this doesn’t mean we’re suddenly ordering gold-plated keyboards and hiring a Chief Synergy Officer.

For us, the real story is that we got here by keeping our focus on where it belongs: on the work itself. From day one, Beeler.Tech has never been about building the biggest company or chasing the most revenue. We never asked ourselves, “How big can we get?” Instead, we asked, “Can we make a living doing work we love, and do it our way?”

We saw an opportunity for a different kind of consultancy/event-type thing in the publishing space. One where we pick the projects that matter, work with people we respect, and build a team that’s small, nimble, and happy to be here.

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In fact, here’s a funny story. The first “paying” gig for Beeler.Tech? Not paid for in cash, but in coupons.

Yes, coupons. Del Frisco’s coupons to be precise.

Did I go to the restaurant later on alone just to quietly ask the bartender if they were real, like biting a nickel to see if it’s counterfeit? You bet I did, and good news. They were real. (And the food was delicious.)

Today, through our community, our events, and our work, we’ve built a space where publishers and other voices in the industry can connect, share, and find ways forward. We’re working toward a future where publishing, as an industry, is alive and profitable—for the publishers doing the work, and for the journalists and writers who deserve a place for their ideas—even when market forces don't make it easy.

The Inc. 5000 doesn’t mean we’re changing who we are

For some companies, growth means more people, more offices, more everything.

For us, growth means more impact: reaching more of the right people, making sure more voices get heard, and the people doing the work can keep doing it. That’s the only kind of “more” we’re interested in.

Could we have tried to scale faster? Sure. But then we’d risk becoming something we’re not. I’d rather be the company that lands on the Inc. 5000 list by accident than one that lives or dies by chasing it.

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So no, we’re not suddenly in hyper-scale mode or rolling out a 10-year plan to triple our size. If we’ve learned anything through this experience, it’s that you can build a business around integrity, community, and purpose, and still make it onto a list like this.

It’s also a chance to stop and recognize the people who made it happen. The “few, the proud” Beeler.Tech team (like Melissa Chapman and Nicholas Triveri) who run through walls every week. The partners who show up for the right reasons. The community that not only listens but contributes, challenges, and makes the work better.

But again, this award isn’t the real story.

The work is.

The future of publishing can’t just be about transactions

If every piece of content is only valued by how fast it can sell something, we lose what matters: storytelling, truth-telling, and the human connection that makes people trust what they read.

Our mission is to push back on that. We’re here to support the people making real content (whether it’s investigative journalism, fan fiction, or anything in between) and the publishers who give that work a home. We want them to have the tools, strategies, and connections to keep going, even when the industry at-large makes that difficult.

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That means advocating for their right to be paid fairly for their work, protecting space for diverse voices, and refusing to accept a future where content is nothing more than a product page with adjectives. As far as I’m concerned, the fight to protect that value isn’t optional. Should I give it up? Hell no.

What’s next?

Man, I wish I had a more exciting answer for you, but the reality is we’re just going to keep doing exactly what got us here: connecting the right people, creating space for the right conversations to happen, and giving the folks in our community a voice in what the future of our industry looks like.

We do have quite a few exciting things to share with you over the coming months. But rest assured, we’ll keep choosing the right work over more work in every decision we make. We’ll keep protecting the trust we’ve built. And we’ll keep proving that you can grow without losing yourself along the way.

If this award proves anything, it’s that sticking to your principles and your mission doesn’t mean limiting what’s possible. And also maybe, just maybe, I’m not an idiot after all.