For the past eight years, the Review editors and staff have evaluated the performance and stories of the best entrepreneurs in the Sarasota-Manatee area. This year, that job expanded to finding the top entrepreneurs from Tampa Bay to Naples.Selecting the final 15 (five from each region) was based on several factors: 1) The financial performance and employee growth of each entrepreneur's company over the last three years. 2) The details of that growth, what we call the "wow" factor: How did they do it? What kind of challenges did the entrepreneur overcome? What were the conditions of the individual's industry and the economic climate in which he opeerated?Over the next week, the Review will continue to pare down the list. In next week's issue, we will name an overall winner and three regional winners from each area. Here are the top 15, listed alphabetically:
