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Entrepreneurs

  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Jean Gruss
  • June 24, 2011
Guitar Hero

Kurt Kiehnle is turning his passion for music into a business selling custom-designed electric guitars. He's finding customers at the bar and online.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Jean Gruss
  • June 24, 2011
Raise the Roof

Ken Kelly says new investors from outside the area are buying foreclosed homes and spending money to fix roofs. He's eyeing an expansion to Sarasota.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • June 17, 2011
Make a Match

A married couple with a fervor for romance turned their passion into a business. Now things are getting steamy.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Jean Gruss
  • June 17, 2011
Positive Accent

Daniel Robbins and Paul Caruso are two entrepreneurs who took over a struggling Naples electronics company during the boom and posted strong growth in the recession.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Carl Cronan
  • June 17, 2011
Two-Sport Star

Local football legend Lee Roy Selmon has found success running a sports restaurant chain during the past decade. He recently opened his seventh location but is taking a conservative approach to further expansion.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • June 10, 2011
Radio Days

Entrepreneur Phil Grande believes the standard way of investing on Wall Street is a standard for failure. He built a successful business off his way.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • June 10, 2011
Banker's Wish

The recession-forced shrinkage of the Gulf Coast banking industry pushed many bankers out of work. The solo route was one banker's redemption.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Jean Gruss
  • June 3, 2011
Out of the Trap

Entrepreneurs often have to reinvent themselves and their companies to survive and grow, but Everett 'Buzz' Waid took it a step further by switching to a new industry.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Jean Gruss
  • June 3, 2011
Big Fix

Owners of yachts more than 60 feet long now have to travel to Miami or Fort Lauderdale for maintenance. The Levi family hopes they'll change course for Fort Myers Beach.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Jean Gruss
  • June 3, 2011
Snap to it

Cheryl Bourque knows how to dress up the flip-flop with fun accessories. She's hoping young girls will snap them up.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Jean Gruss
  • May 27, 2011
No Excuses

Jason Gunter runs his own law firm and still finds time to train for Ironman triathlons, despite the fact that he's a double amputee. His advice to busy CEOs about exercise: You have no excuses.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 27, 2011
Back in the Salsa

An entrepreneur with a potentially tasty opportunity is on the hunt for investors.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • May 20, 2011
Anchors Away

A pair of diligent and persistent business partners with diverse backgrounds dips deep into the maritime industry. It's a risky course.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Jean Gruss
  • May 20, 2011
The Egg Man

Craig Sweet, a Fort Myers fertility doctor, says there's a business solution to abandoned embryos. He's encouraging their owners to donate them to his company.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • May 6, 2011
Free Fall

The wild spending ways of the federal government have driven one entrepreneur mad. He hopes for change.

  • Entrepreneurs
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