Justin Heacock, 32

As the director of the Center for Free Enterprise & Entrepreneurship at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Justin Heacock doesn’t just teach and guide young entrepreneurs.

He’s also an entrepreneur himself. His inventions and companies range from a proprietary software service for college students to a self-cleaning shower wall hair device, the ShowerBun.

Back in higher education, Heacock has created entrepreneurship programs at two colleges, Florida Polytechnic University and Florida Southern College, both in Lakeland. First came Florida Poly. Launching the program in 2016, Heacock operated all aspects of it, including teaching, strategy planning, program development, industry relations, event coordination and business incubation. In Fall 2019 the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers recognized the program for its results alongside more highly touted schools such as Harvard, Texas A&M, Penn State and Florida State.