A Short Entrepreneurial History

June 2010

It's All About Loyalty

Mark Lacek and Peter Brennan have started five businesses and are working on number six. Nearly all of them are focused on helping businesses build a loyal customer base.

June 2010

Joe Stark Brings Nanotech to the Forest

A nontoxic nanotech wood preservative is the idea behind Joe Stark’s start-up company, Apinee.

February 2010

Susan Marvin Sees Through the Recession

Despite a difficult economy, Marvin Windows and Doors won't leave its core business.

October 2009

Manny Villafana's Lucky Number 7

His sixth company was a swing and a miss. But Manny Villafaña is back and sure that his latest start-up, Kips Bay Medical, will be his most significant ever.

June 2009

Fiber Optimists

After losing money for more than two decades, Clearfield CEO Cheri Beranek Podzimek can say that she expects the telecom company to grow.

May 2009

The Quietest Room in the World

Steve Orfield thinks buildings today are just containers. Here's how his company makes buildings more efficient and workers more productive.

September 2008

Ruling the Roost

Beth Schnell was ready for the sudden transition to CEO of Sparboe Companies when her father died unexpectedly last October. How she's turning a commodity egg business into a better marketer.

November 2006