Updated March 2026
How to Get Published in Fast Company (2025 Guide)
Quick Answer: To get published in Fast Company, you need a genuinely original angle on innovation, design, or business creativity. Fast Company is highly selective and values fresh perspectives that challenge conventional thinking. Unlike contributor networks, Fast Company maintains tight editorial control-pitch to specific sections with data-backed insights and strong storytelling. Expect 60-90 days from initial pitch to publication.
Fast Company is one of the most respected business publications for innovation and design thinking. Getting published there signals you're at the forefront of how business is evolving. Unlike Forbes or Entrepreneur with their contributor networks, Fast Company maintains traditional editorial gatekeeping-which makes placement more competitive but also more prestigious. Here's what you need to know.
About Fast Company
Fast Company was founded in 1995 by Alan Webber and Bill Taylor, both former editors at Harvard Business Review. They created the publication to cover the business revolution they saw emerging from the intersection of technology, design, and progressive management thinking. The name "Fast Company" itself captures the publication's focus: businesses that move quickly and innovate constantly.
Today, Fast Company reaches over 11 million monthly website visitors and maintains a print circulation of approximately 725,000. Their audience skews younger and more creative than traditional business publications-think startup founders, design leaders, product managers, and innovation-focused executives. The publication has won numerous awards including National Magazine Awards for its design and feature writing.
Fast Company is perhaps best known for its annual features: the Most Innovative Companies list, the Most Creative People in Business list, and the Innovation by Design Awards. Getting featured in these franchises can significantly elevate a company or executive's profile. The publication also hosts the Fast Company Innovation Festival in New York City each fall, bringing together business leaders and creative thinkers.
What Fast Company Editors Look For
Editorial Criteria
- Genuine innovation - Something new, not a slight variation on existing ideas. Editors ask: "Why haven't I seen this before?"
- Strong storytelling - Fast Company content reads like narrative journalism, not business advice columns
- Cultural relevance - Connection to broader trends in how work, technology, or society is evolving
- Concrete examples and data - Real companies, specific numbers, named sources-not vague generalities
- Counterintuitive angles - Takes that challenge conventional business wisdom perform particularly well
- Design thinking - Appreciation for how design and user experience shape business outcomes
- Forward-looking perspective - Content about what's next, not just what worked in the past
Types of Content Fast Company Publishes
Main Content Sections
- Work Life - Career advice, workplace culture, productivity, management practices, and work-life balance with an innovation lens
- Technology - Emerging tech, AI, software, gadgets, and how technology is reshaping industries
- Design - Product design, UX, architecture, graphic design, and design thinking methodologies
- News - Breaking coverage of innovative companies, launches, and industry shifts
- Impact - Social innovation, sustainability, purpose-driven business, and corporate responsibility
- Recommends - Product reviews and recommendations with the Fast Company perspective
- Most Innovative Companies - Annual franchise featuring breakthrough businesses across sectors
- Long Reads - Deep-dive feature articles on significant business and cultural topics
Step-by-Step Process to Get Published in Fast Company
Fast Company covers innovation, design, technology, and business creativity. They want fresh perspectives on how companies and leaders are changing their industries. Generic business advice doesn't work here-content must have an innovation or design-thinking angle. Spend time reading their current coverage to internalize what "Fast Company content" means.
Fast Company publishes content about what's new, what's next, and what's changing. Identify the innovative approach, technology, or methodology that makes your story worth telling. This might be a new management philosophy, a design breakthrough, a technology application, or an unconventional approach to a common business challenge. Connect your specific expertise to broader industry transformation.
Fast Company values original thinking above all else. Your pitch needs a fresh angle, surprising data, or counterintuitive insight that makes editors say "I haven't seen this before." Study their recent coverage in your topic area to ensure you're not repeating existing content. The best pitches make editors curious-they want to know more after reading your pitch email.
Read 15-20 recent Fast Company articles in your topic area. Note the punchy, energetic writing style, use of storytelling, and how they balance insight with entertainment. Fast Company content is smart but accessible-no jargon, no academic prose. They use strong leads, clear structure, and memorable examples. Understanding their style before writing dramatically improves your chances.
Fast Company has distinct sections including Work Life, Technology, Design, and Impact. Target the section that best fits your expertise and pitch directly to section editors when possible. Research editor names and beats on LinkedIn and Twitter. Generic pitches to general inboxes rarely succeed. A personalized pitch to the right editor referencing their recent work significantly improves response rates.
Your pitch email should include a hook that grabs attention immediately, a clear thesis in one sentence, why you're uniquely qualified to write this piece, and 2-3 supporting data points or examples. Keep it under 300 words. Fast Company editors receive hundreds of pitches weekly-make yours scannable and compelling. Lead with your most interesting insight, not your credentials.
Support your insights with concrete examples, data points, and real company stories. Fast Company readers expect substance with style. Vague advice or unsubstantiated claims won't make the cut. If you're making a claim about business trends, back it up with research. If you're sharing a lesson, illustrate it with a specific company or situation.
Fast Company editors are hands-on and may significantly shape your piece. Be open to feedback, angle adjustments, and substantial rewrites. The final published piece often differs from initial submissions-this is part of achieving Fast Company's quality standard. Editors may push back on weak claims, request additional reporting, or suggest restructuring. View this as collaboration, not criticism.
Common Mistakes When Pitching Fast Company
- Pitching generic business advice - "5 Leadership Tips for Success" doesn't belong in Fast Company. Content must have an innovation, design, or forward-thinking angle that makes it distinctively Fast Company.
- Missing the storytelling element - Fast Company isn't a listicle farm. Even advice content needs narrative elements, characters, and concrete scenes. Show, don't just tell.
- Pitching without reading Fast Company - Editors can immediately tell when a pitch comes from someone unfamiliar with their publication. Read at least 20 recent articles before pitching.
- Burying the insight - Lead with your most interesting, counterintuitive, or surprising point. Editors decide within seconds whether to keep reading your pitch.
- Being too promotional - Fast Company is particularly allergic to content that reads as marketing. Your company can be mentioned as an example, but the piece must serve readers, not your PR goals.
- Pitching old news - Fast Company is forward-looking. Pitches about lessons from 2020 or reflections on past trends rarely succeed unless they reveal something new.
- Ignoring section fit - A design story pitched to the Technology editor, or vice versa, signals you haven't done your research. Target your pitch precisely.
Sample Headlines That Work for Fast Company
Fast Company headlines are intriguing, specific, and often challenge assumptions. They make you curious enough to click. Study these patterns:
The Membership Utilization Challenge
The real challenge: The Fast Company Executive Board is the primary pathway for executives seeking regular contributor access — an application-based paid membership (~$2,500/year). Getting accepted is step one—but the harder part is utilizing it effectively. Many members pay for access but struggle to publish consistently due to Fast Company's high editorial standards.
The Fast Company membership investment only pays off through consistent, high-quality publishing. Unlike some other publications, Fast Company's innovation-focused editorial voice means every piece must meet a high bar. Common utilization challenges include:
- Finding fresh innovation angles consistently
- Writing in Fast Company's distinct voice (punchy, story-driven, culturally aware)
- Developing content that meets their "I haven't seen this before" standard
- Maintaining publishing cadence alongside executive responsibilities
- Navigating their hands-on editorial process
Phantom IQ solves this by ensuring you publish at least every 60 days. We handle the content development—extracting your thinking through structured interviews, finding the innovation angles that resonate with Fast Company, and managing the editorial collaboration process. Your membership investment actually gets utilized.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Fast Company contributor membership cost?
The Fast Company Executive Board membership costs approximately $2,500/year. This is an application-based paid membership that provides access to publish on Fast Company. The membership grants publishing privileges, but you're responsible for content development that meets their high editorial standards. Many executives combine membership with thought leadership support to maximize utilization.
What topics does Fast Company cover?
Fast Company covers business innovation, design thinking, technology trends, workplace culture, leadership, and creativity. They focus on companies and people who are changing how business works. Content must have an innovation or forward-thinking angle-generic business advice doesn't fit their editorial mandate. Strong topics include emerging workplace practices, design breakthroughs, technology applications, sustainability innovation, and unconventional management approaches.
How competitive is getting published in Fast Company?
Fast Company is highly selective, receiving thousands of pitches monthly and accepting only content that offers genuinely original perspectives. Unlike contributor network models at Forbes or Entrepreneur, Fast Company maintains traditional editorial control with professional editors gatekeeping all content. This makes each placement more competitive but also more prestigious. Working with a thought leadership agency with editorial relationships can significantly improve your odds of breaking through.
What is the ideal word count for Fast Company articles?
Fast Company articles typically range from 800 to 1,500 words, though feature pieces can run longer (2,000-3,000 words). Work Life content tends to be shorter (700-1,000 words) while Technology and Design features may be more in-depth. Focus on substance-Fast Company values density of insight over length. A tight 900-word piece with strong examples will outperform a padded 1,500-word piece every time.
How long does Fast Company's editorial process take?
Pitch response time varies from 1-4 weeks depending on editor workload and topic timeliness. Many pitches receive no response-if you haven't heard back in 3 weeks, the pitch likely wasn't accepted. Once a pitch is accepted, the writing and editing process typically takes 2-6 weeks. Fast Company editors are thorough and may request multiple revisions. Time-sensitive topics may move faster, while evergreen features often take longer.
Does Fast Company require exclusive content?
Yes, Fast Company requires exclusive content that hasn't appeared elsewhere. They also expect first publication rights, meaning you cannot publish the same piece on other platforms before it appears in Fast Company. After publication, you can typically share or reference the content with attribution, but republishing in full on other sites generally requires permission. The ideas can inform other content, but the specific article must be exclusive.
Can I pitch Fast Company directly or do I need a PR agency?
You can pitch Fast Company directly, and many successful placements come from direct pitches. However, working with a thought leadership agency familiar with Fast Company's editorial preferences significantly improves acceptance rates. Direct pitches succeed when they demonstrate clear expertise, offer unique data or insights, and match Fast Company's editorial voice and focus areas. Cold pitches work best when highly personalized to specific editors and their recent coverage.
What makes a Fast Company pitch successful?
Successful Fast Company pitches have a surprising insight or counterintuitive angle that makes editors curious. They include concrete data or specific examples rather than vague claims. The author's expertise is clear and relevant. There's timeliness connected to current trends or news. The hook makes editors want to know more. Avoid generic advice-Fast Company wants content that makes readers think differently about a topic. A great pitch can be summarized in one compelling sentence.
How can I become a regular contributor to Fast Company?
The Fast Company Executive Board is the formal pathway — an application-based paid membership that provides recurring contributor access. Apply with your credentials and proposed topic areas. Once accepted, consistent, high-quality publishing over 6–12 months is what builds a real editorial relationship and positions you as a recurring expert voice.
Resources & Links
Official Fast Company Resources
- Fast Company Executive Board - Application and membership information for executive contributors
- Work Life Section - Career, productivity, and workplace culture content
- Technology Section - Tech trends, AI, and digital transformation
- Design Section - Product design, UX, and design thinking
- Most Innovative Companies - Annual franchise and submission information
- Innovation by Design Awards - Design award program and past winners
Want Help Getting Published in Fast Company?
Phantom IQ can help you develop and place content in Fast Company. From pitch development to editorial relationship building, we know what it takes to succeed with selective publications.
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