Anthony Wilson, 38

Anthony Wilson, a Sarasota entrepreneur who hails from Tulsa, Oklahoma, is like a cowboy on a horse who cannot quite explain why he likes the grasslands, the cattle runs and the sunsets.

Business is in his blood, and has been since he was a teen in the Sooner State. Wilson started a window-washing operation for commercial businesses at 16. He didn't want a regular job, and noticed his father, Don Wilson (also his mentor), working on his own after being laid off by an airline company.

"From 8 years old on, I wanted to be my own boss," says Wilson, who hit the bricks at 16 to sell. "I picked up a bucket and brush and went door knocking. That kind of helped me to talk to people and start soliciting."