No more Corporate Climbing

Brian Baird wanted out of his corporate job so bad, he was willing to join the circus.

With his eye on a new venture that involved a touring rock-climbing wall attraction, in 2000 Baird gave his boss notice, hooked his rock wall behind an RV and headed north to the carnival circuit.

A little more than 10 years later, Baird's company, Xtreme Entertainment, has grown to log $1.1 million of revenue last year, renting bungee trampolines and portable skydiving machines to corporate clients that include Citi Bank, Oracle, Microsoft and Jet Blue. The company also provides supports services like catering, valet parking and event planning.