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Entrepreneurs

  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 22, 2008
Patient Place

Billy Springer thought his latest project would be a fitting end to a distinguished career. But it's the delays that have been endless so far.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 15, 2008
TO WATCH (Sarasota-Bradenton): Chad Roffers

Sensing a bubble burst was a-brewing, Chad Roffers left his lucrative executive job in the technology industry in 2000. He moved from San Francisco to Sarasota with his wife and decided to seek a new career. He settled on real estate, naturally, he says with a chuckle, knowing he was entering the biggest of bubble-bursting industries.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 15, 2008
TO WATCH (Sarasota-Bradenton): Joe Gonzalez

But long before that triumph, Gonzalez was a true New York City success story. The son of a Cuban immigrant and the grandson of an East Village bar owner, Gonzalez had grown up relatively poor in the Big Three of New York's notoriously tough neighborhoods: Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan, Washington Heights in the South Bronx and Jamaica, Queens.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 15, 2008
ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR Sarasota-Bradenton: JIM ABRAMS

Jim Abrams is a sought-after executive to almost celebrity-like status. It's easy to see why.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 15, 2008
TO WATCH (Tampa Bay): Joy Gendusa

Being a good parent is what motivated Joy Gendusa to eventually become a successful entrepreneur.Gendusa, 43, a New York native, worked a number of jobs, including selling vacation packages at night and doing typesetting, earning $8 to $12 an hour.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 15, 2008
ENTREPRENEUER OF THE YEAR OVERALL WINNER: BARRY SHEVLIN

Barry Shevlin has $500 million dreams for his company, already a big success that started off with a $3,000 loan.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 15, 2008
ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR Lee/Collier: REINHOLD SCHMIEDING

Few people have heard of Reinhold Schmieding, but the reclusive Naples entrepreneur has quietly built one of the world's leading medical-device manufacturing companies.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 15, 2008
ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR Tampa Bay: RICHARD SANCHEZ

Richard Sanchez retired from Exxon but came back to start Advantica EyeCare. 'Our mission is saving sight. It's real simple.'

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 15, 2008
TO WATCH (Sarasota-Bradenton): Sean Murphy

Sean Murphy, founder of a Bradenton-based fence company with 12 offices in four states, spends most of his working days in constant motion, a cross between a hands-on problem solver and a big-picture visionary.He's been known to get in his truck and drive to a company facility in Charlotte, N.C. or suburban Nashville, Tenn. to handle a customer situation. But he's also been to known to come up with ideas that can turn into company revenue-boosters.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 15, 2008
TO WATCH (Sarasota-Bradenton): Art Lambert and Ron Simkins

The corporate atmosphere at LexJet, a Sarasota-based digital printing and software sales and marketing firm is anything but corporate. Employees wear flip-flops and T-shirts to work, flip Frisbees over cubicles and can be seen lounging on a couch near the lobby watching sports highlights on TV. But this isn't a case of employees waiting until the boss leaves to slack off.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 15, 2008
TO WATCH (Lee-Collier): George Ghanem

George Ghanem's party palace is almost ready. By this summer, Ghanem's company will have moved into its new corporate headquarters in Fort Myers. The 60,000-square-foot, $8-million building will house the company's commercial laundry, a showroom and will have enough parking so that employees can load 10 delivery trucks at a time with tents, chairs and all the equipment for a party.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 15, 2008
TO WATCH (Lee-Collier): Arthur Allen

In the early days, Arthur Allen built his business on his house. In 1981, Allen sold his first software company for $18 million. He retired to Naples at age 34 and bought an oceanfront house on Gulf Shore Boulevard.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 15, 2008
TO WATCH (Lee-Collier): Tony Phelan

Restaurants are notorious for their short lives. In an economic downturn, their survival rates are even more dismal. Tony Phelan knows all about that, but he's not going to be one of the casualties this time around. Phelan owns a chain of seven seafood restaurants from Sarasota to Naples called Pinchers Crab Shack.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 15, 2008
TO WATCH (Lee-Collier): The Pena Sisters

The MTV Music Awards are later this month and you can be sure Erika Pena will be there to add to the bling.Pena is among a handful of jewelry designers invited to display her wares at an MTV Awards "gifting suite," where stars browse the offerings and take what they want as "gifts." There will be Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie, Jessica Alba and a gaggle of other glitterati you've probably never heard of. "They all pretty much go," Pena says.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 15, 2008
TO WATCH (Tampa Bay): Arnie Bellini

Arnie Bellini appeared to be set. He had his MBA and CPA and a solid job as an IT consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers. But when the first personal computers came out, he had a vision: They would remake the way business was done. And, companies needed someone to maintain them and their networks.

  • Entrepreneurs
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