Andrew Blitch, 39

Save up money, buy a business, triple its revenues: It’s exactly the kind of story a business publication looks for when handing out awards. 

Andrew Blitch and his wife, Angelique (who frankly deserves a trophy of her own based on the way Andrew tells it), were working in Houston when they decided they needed to take a big swing in order to change their lives. She was temping at a law firm; he was an officer with the Houston Police Department, which is kind enough to let its employees work a second job on the side. For Blitch, that meant a role as director of security at a K-12 private school.

Photo by Mark Wemple