Ryan Love, 29

Just like you can’t pick your parents, you usually can’t pick the business your father starts.

On both fronts, Ryan Love made out well. His dad is Norman Love Confections founder Norman Love, one of the leading chocolatiers statewide and one the more prominent entrepreneurs in Southwest Florida. The business, founded in 2001, has some 110 employees and four retail locations.

And Ryan Love got to learn by his dad’s side. “As early as I can remember, I was putting chocolate in boxes,” says Love, who adds that sometimes his high school hockey and wrestling teammates came by the business to help out.