Andrew Watson, 33

Much like fellow Tampa entrepreneur and 40 Under 40 winner Dan Bavaro, college dropout Andrew Watson hasn’t gone by the book in carving out — literally — a career that suits his unique vision and abilities.

The founder and CEO of Built, a custom furniture manufacturing company in Tampa, Watson says it’s “a daily struggle to delineate between being an artist who builds furniture as a conceptual, artistic endeavor, and someone who’s operating a business.”

But Watson also has a keen feel for the pulse of the market. Built, for one, got a big break when prominent Tampa restaurateur Richard Gonzmart selected the company to furnish Ulele, his popular new waterfront eatery.