Seal of Approval

Ed Marchiselli officially launched his startup website on June 1, 2009. That was also the year the U.S. GDP fell by 2.7% and the country was dealing with the depths of the Great Recession.

Nonetheless, Marchiselli's company, the Clearwater-based third-party licensing firm AskTheSeal.com, is still surviving profitably and is planning an aggressive Florida and nationwide expansion over the next two years. Although he would not disclose revenues, he says the company has had revenue growth of 50% from 2010 to 2011.

One reason for success is the startup skills Marchiselli brought to AskTheSeal.com's survival efforts. His experience with young companies includes a three-year stint with Parametric Technology Corp., a startup firm that recorded $1 billion in annual revenues after eight years, Marchiselli says.