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Entrepreneurs

    By
  • Jean Gruss
  • September 6, 2013
Keep the news alive

Newspapers contain rich content that genealogists, historians and academics value. Naples-based NewsBank archives newspaper stories dating back hundreds of years.

  • Entrepreneurs
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • August 30, 2013
Will to Win

From sawdust to sweaters, Judith Williams has an unbridled energy to sell it. She also has one of a business owners' most potent weapons: She's fearless.

  • Entrepreneurs
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • August 30, 2013
Quick Churn

The delicate business of dying has turned into a fast-growth opportunity for a local entrepreneur. Her challenge is to harness it.

  • Entrepreneurs
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • August 23, 2013
Living the Dream

The spend-money-to-make-money philosophy is perfect for a local businessman behind a package delivery operation. He has extra-large growth goals.

  • Entrepreneurs
    By
  • Janet Leiser
  • August 23, 2013
Fish Tails

When it comes to mermaids and the underwater world, Eric Ducharme, founder of Mertailor LLC, is charmed. It appears his customers are, too.

  • Entrepreneurs
    By
  • Janet Leiser
  • July 26, 2013
Dream catcher

The owner of the Columbia Restaurant expects a new concept in Tampa Heights to spark redevelopment of the blighted area, where nearly half the residents live in poverty.

  • Entrepreneurs
    By
  • Janet Leiser
  • July 19, 2013
Betting on Bob

Outback Steakhouse's story is legendary in Tampa: Three friends, with a hunger for success and loans from relatives, grew one restaurant into a multibillion-dollar company. Will one of the founders work his magic again?

  • Entrepreneurs
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • July 19, 2013
Patriotic part

Selling stuff only made in America sounds like a surefire business concept. A gung-ho entrepreneur will test the theory.

  • Entrepreneurs
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • July 12, 2013
Toilet Travails

Going from invention to market success can be one of the most difficult tasks in business. One local company injects humor into the process.

  • Entrepreneurs
    By
  • Jean Gruss
  • July 5, 2013
Show me the door

Entrepreneurs whose companies survived the recession are now thinking about retirement. George Ebel highlights the succession issues they face.

  • Entrepreneurs
    By
  • Janet Leiser
  • June 28, 2013
Leader of the pack

A specialty veterinary business started by brothers has grown to 31 clinics in 12 states. Revenues surpassed $100 million last year.

  • Entrepreneurs
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • June 14, 2013
Art of deal

Tampa investor and entrepreneur Bob Gries scored a $75 million payday recently on one transaction. His mission, though, remains the same: To swell the portfolios of his eclectic client list.

  • Entrepreneurs
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • June 14, 2013
Startup Station

Floridians have yet to embrace passenger rail service. An entrepreneurial company with historical connections to Henry Flagler will nonetheless give big-time rail a go.

  • Entrepreneurs
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • June 7, 2013
Model behavior

Taking a charter school from startup to long-term success can be a treacherous task. Some accomplished local entrepreneurs are about to take it on anyway.

  • Entrepreneurs
    By
  • Jean Gruss
  • May 31, 2013
Python hunter

Naples entrepreneur Tom Mooney escapes to the Everglades to hunt pythons and view the area's abundant wildlife.

  • Entrepreneurs
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