The A Team

The business lesson to always keep an open mind about where the next client will come from is an anthem for Steve Paley's entrepreneurial approach.

One example stems from a few years ago, when Paley, who founded a commercial and residential security firm in 2007, was selected for a jury in a murder trial. Taking in the trial in a Sarasota County courtroom, Paley noticed the prosecutors used sub-par video technology to display evidence.

So after the trial Paley spoke with both the prosecutors and defense attorneys about his company, Sarasota-based Rapid Security Solutions. His firm didn't do video analysis work like that at the time. But he told both attorneys that it could, and would, if it came ever came up. A short time later the state attorney's office, working a case in Sarasota of two murdered British tourists, asked Paley to examine a particular part of video evidence. That set in motion the formation of a side business, Trial Assist, to work with those unique clients.