• Alternate Text

  • Loading

  • Newsletters
  • Podcast
  • Public Notices
  • 40 Under 40 Nomination
  • Mobile App
  • Subscribe
  • Login
  • News
  • Strategies
  • Entrepreneurs
  • M&A
  • Leadership
  • Regions
    • Tampa Bay-Lakeland
    • Manatee-Sarasota
    • Charlotte-Lee-Collier
    • Florida
  • Industries
    • Business Support
    • Commercial Real Estate
    • Residential Real Estate
    • Development
    • Finance
    • Food-Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • Manufacturing
    • Retail
    • Sports–Entertainment
    • Technology
    • Travel-Tourism
  • Insights
  • More
    • Advice
    • Transactions
    • 40 Under 40
    • Big Book of Business
    • Subscribe
    • Opinion
    • Executive Diversions
    • Change-Makers
    • Reprints
  • News
  • Strategies
  • Entrepreneurs
  • M&A
  • Leadership
  • Regions
    • Regions
    • Tampa Bay-Lakeland
    • Manatee-Sarasota
    • Charlotte-Lee-Collier
    • Florida
  • Industries
    • Industries
    • Business Support
    • Commercial Real Estate
    • Residential Real Estate
    • Development
    • Finance
    • Food-Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • Manufacturing
    • Retail
    • Sports–Entertainment
    • Technology
    • Travel-Tourism
  • Insights
  • More
    • More
    • Advice
    • Transactions
    • 40 Under 40
    • Big Book of Business
    • Subscribe
    • Opinion
    • Executive Diversions
    • Change-Makers
    • Reprints
  • Newsletters
  • Podcast
  • Public Notices
  • 40 Under 40 Nomination
  • Mobile App
  • Subscribe
  • Login

Entrepreneurs

  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Jean Gruss
  • February 18, 2011
Island Trader

Advances in technology may make it easier to export goods around the world, but nothing beats knowing your customers by visiting them personally.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • February 11, 2011
Sock it to Them

A clothing product that has changed little over the years, socks, is ripe for a rebirth. A global company hopes it has the right recipe.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Carl Cronan
  • February 11, 2011
A New Goal

The Gramatica brothers, who are still widely recognized by football fans, are applying their family name to a modern building system. Part of their mission is to rebuild homes in Haiti.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Jean Gruss
  • February 4, 2011
Power Fixers

Repairing and maintaining large gas and steam turbines isn't a glamorous business, but it's what keeps the lights on. Turbine Generator Maintenance is outmaneuvering its union-driven competitors.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • February 4, 2011
Dollar Design

Luxury interior design has long been out of reach for many. One entrepreneur aims to change that.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • February 4, 2011
Reinvent Rewards

The recession still forces entrepreneurs to find a better way. Advertising industry veteran Steve Smith seems to have found one, and it turned around his entire outlook.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Jean Gruss
  • January 28, 2011
Shipping magnate

Sarasota entrepreneur Eric Baird is the Review's Entrepreneur of the Decade. He speaks candidly about his upbringing, his drive and his successes.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • January 28, 2011
Sole Success

Diana Kelly turned a childhood fascination with brooches into a trendy shoe line. Now her task is to turn trendy into a sustainable business.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • January 14, 2011
Link Up

Facebook and Twitter grab the social media headlines. But an entrepreneur in the recession trenches contends there's a better outlet for executives.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Jean Gruss
  • December 10, 2010
No-fly zone

Pamela Templeton did more than halt the construction of a road overpass in front of her Toyota dealership. She stopped a $1 billion road project that was going to be one of the biggest in Lee County's history.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • December 10, 2010
Daring Dude

A Gulf Coast boat builder discovered a far-out opportunity in his recession-forced heartbreak. 'Don't be afraid to try something different,' he says.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • December 3, 2010
High Hopes

A Gulf Coast inventor has learned many lessons in a two-decade effort to turn his creations into mass-market triumphs. He hopes 2011 will be a breakout year.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • December 3, 2010
Found in Translation

Alina Mugford has lived in countries where businesses are an arm of the state. She readily embraced the ability to run her own company in America.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Carl Cronan
  • November 26, 2010
Back on Camera

Eric Seidel spent nearly 20 years as a consumer lawyer for a Tampa TV station. Now he is taking his talents to the Internet and wants to bring small businesses along.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Jean Gruss
  • November 26, 2010
Back to School

Entrepreneur Sandra King Kauanui runs the Institute of Entrepreneurship at Florida Gulf Coast University.

  • Entrepreneurs
« 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 »
The best of Business Observer, delivered directly to your inbox

Get the latest business and commercial real estate news from Tampa Bay to Naples.

Sign Up

Latest News

1
  • May 17, 2026
$203B wealth management firm expands in state with Naples debut
2
  • May 17, 2026
Fort Myers land zoned for single-family houses sold
3
  • May 16, 2026
Naples retail building sold by Hoffmann in 2023 is sold, again
4
  • May 15, 2026
Fort Myers memorial to veterans to be done by America 250 celebration
5
  • May 15, 2026
Watersports business relocates in Sarasota County

Contact

  • 1970 Main St.
  • Third Floor
  • Sarasota, FL 34236
  • Phone: 941-362-4848

Extra, Extra!

  • Newsletters
  • App
  • Podcast
  • Big Book of Business

more

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Distribution Points
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy
  • Subscribe
  • Accessibility Options

sister sites

  • Your Observer
  • Jax Daily Record
  • Orange Observer
  • Accessibility Options
  • Copyright © 2026 Observer Media Group Inc., All Rights Reserved
×
3 Articles Remaining!
Not a Subscriber?

Click here to Subscribe

Already a Subscriber?

Click here to Login

Sign Up for Daily Brief

Start your day with the top Gulf Coast business news you need to succeed.

Sign Up for CRE Central

Stay updated with a weekly roundup of big deals, market shifts and the people shaping commercial real estate from Tampa Bay to Naples.

Smart People Subscribe.

Turn headlines into game plans. The playbook’s right here.
Subscribe to the Business Observer today.

Subscribe Now