Nick Reader, 39

Nick Reader loves his job. Food and football have always been at the top of his list of favorite things, but he never imagined he’d get to do both in his career.

Reader was CFO of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2003 to 2008. And though he loved his job, he wanted to do something entrepreneurial. So he was instantly interested when Bloomin’ Brands’ Bob Basham asked him to start his private investment firm MVP Holdings, to open a new restaurant concept called PDQ. Reader went home to his wife and said, “Guess what? You get to go back to work and we’re going to make considerably less.”