The business people who are featured in this book are not meant to be a sampling of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time. While some of them may qualify for that status on many lists, each one of them is amazing in his or her own right. They are all real business people. They have all been there, struggled with business issues and the entrepreneurial lifestyle. I salute all of these individuals who I consider to be our true captains of industry.

John Banta

As President and COO, John was out on IPO road show for his company, Digitalworks, on April 14, 2000, when the stock market crashed. The firm was presenting to financial analysts right behind Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. The donut company went public, Digitalworks did not.

As CEO/Managing Director of IllinoisVENTURES, John now provides leadership to a team that will develop and provide a broad array of mentoring and business development services for promising, high-potential new companies based upon University of Illinois technologies.

Suzi Bonk

Suzi is a driving entrepreneurial force behind Winnipeg’s business community. I met her a few years ago when I was asked to speak at Manitoba’s premier economic conference.

Growing up in Africa, the UK, and North America, Suzi’s global upbringing ensured that she has allowed her to form international business partnerships, exchanges and relationships. After a few successes and a number of failures, Suzi’s private entrepreneurial interests currently is Sofa Logic Inc., a consultancy firm. Suzi founded TechMadness in 1999 to stimulate cooperation and camaraderie amongst Winnipeg’s digital community. She has been nominated for the Women Entrepreneur of the Year Award three consecutive years and won the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce Award for Journalism/Advocacy.

Richard Cohen

Richard was married Memorial Day weekend 2003. He continues to strive to balance his entrepreneurial drive with his dedication to supporting his family. He is co-founder of Three Color Films, Inc. Richard has written and directed one short film, “Behind Your Eyes” and has written a feature screenplay. He currently has in development three short films that are described on the website.

Stephanie Covall- Pinnix

I have been fortunate to know Stephanie during the past few years. She is an amazing businesswoman who always seeks to connect people to each other without regard to personal gain. I admire how she survived difficult family beginnings in Yakima to become truly part of the glue that holds the Chicago technology community together.

She is currently the Director of Business Development for SGS Net, an integrated marketing company. Stephanie is responsible for creating and driving the company’s business development, sales and marketing initiatives. Prior to SGS Net, she was the CEO of Triton-Tek, a Chicago-based company that specializes in scalable, custom-designed business solutions.

Alison Doree

Alison is driven to make the world a better place for people to meet and share their common experiences. Since March 2002, Alison has been developing the business plan, organizing a management team, and raising capital to launch Social League. In 1999, Alison founded UniteAmerica.net, Inc. a forum for online political discourse. Alison has been both an independent broker and company field sales representative in the consumer products industry.

Mike Duda

I met Mike while sharing office space with his company. He had a great international career at Arthur Andersen before starting a hosting and maintenance business. Mike is driven everyday to make his clients and team members productive and profitable. The only time he rested last year was to marry his bride in South America. He left his cell phone at home.

Vicki Esralew

Vicki is a nationally recognized parenting expert and speaks on the effects of today’s often violent media has on children. She advocates solutions to empower children and families through her company, Vickilew. I have watched Vicki for over a year tirelessly advance her ideas through a journey of passion, laughter, tears, and perseverance. She has developed award-winning multi-media products from which to springboard this good for children mission.

Her Potty Training Product, “I Gotta Go” has been a leading seller at Walmart. I even can be heard occasionally singing the tunes for the CD.

Troy Henikoff

Long before I met Troy, I had heard about his successes as an entrepreneur. Back in Boston, in 1986 he started a small consulting firm with $1,000 and an answering machine. Years later, he sold the business to Medline, the largest privately-held national manufacturer and distributor of health care supplies and services. He met Regis Philbin while he was at Jellyvision building the game version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” in only 8 weeks.

Troy started SurePayroll with two other partners four weeks before he got married. In 2002, when the organization got too big for him to operate, he replaced himself with a professional CEO. He now spends most of his time in the basement, dreaming up his next adventure.

Ari Kaplan

From baseball to software, Ari has shown he can do just about anything he wants. He is currently the co-founder and CEO of Expand Beyond Corporation, a worldwide leader in mobile software for IT management. Ari received his Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the California Institute of Technology. In 1997, he was awarded the school’s prestigious “Alumni of the Decade” distinction.

In 2001, he was included in Crain Communications’ “40 Under 40″ profile of business leaders. Ari serves on the board of directors for the International Oracle Users Group, the Chicago Software Association, and the Talent Economy, a national magazine for IT professionals.

Kay Koplovitz

Kay is an amazing force behind Springboard Enterprises, a women’s venture capital forum that has presented more than 250 companies that have raised more than $1 billion.

Kay is the founder of USA Network, the Sci-Fi Channel and USA Networks International, a company launched in 1977. She served as Chairperson & CEO until the company was sold for $4.5 Billion in 1988. She is currently a principal of Koplovitz & Co. LLC. She is the author of, Bold Women, Big Ideas (May 2002), which she wrote to inform and inspire women entrepreneurs to create wealth through equity.

Randy Komisar

Randy is one of my favorite authors. I have bought at least 50 copies of his book, The Monk and The Riddle to give to entrepreneurs that I meet so they can understand the what building a business is all about.

He works with emerging technology companies and social ventures, partnering with entrepreneurs to build strong businesses from their vision. Randy is currently a Consulting Professor of Entrepreneurship at Stanford University.

Randy has helped guide companies like WebTV, TiVo, MondoMedia, and Full Audio. He was President and CEO of LucasArts Entertainment Company, George Lucas’ video game and edutainment business. Randy was a founder of Claris Corporation, a developer and publisher of productivity software. Later he served as CFO and VP Business Operations for GO Corporation, the pioneer in pen computing.

Jack Kraft

Jack is one of Chicago’s wisest business sages. From guiding large corporations to start up ventures, Jack has experienced it all. Kraft honed his strategic and leadership skills at Leo Burnett, where he participated in the development, management, and significant growth of the legendary agency, whose operations encompass 50 offices in 43 countries and nearly 7,000 employees worldwide. At the time of his retirement from Burnett, Kraft was COO, a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors.

Kraft was founder and adviser of interactive marketing services providers Two-Way Communications and Modem Media. As prominent in philanthropic and civic circles as he is in business, Kraft serves on the board of advisers of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences of DePaul University and is a member of the Finance Committee of Lawson House YMCA.

Jim Lichtenstein

I met Jim during the Internet hey days when he had built an incredible site for newsrooms with $100 worth of software on his home computer. Jim began his career in the newsroom of ABC/WLS-TV in Chicago. For most of his 18 years at ABC, he was the Assignment Editor, winning a number of awards, including two Emmys.

In 1993 he left news to produce the “Bertice Berry” Talk Show for Twentieth Century Television. In 1996, Jim created and was Executive Producer of the ABC Sunday Night Movie “Talk to Me”..” In 1997, Jim returned to news at CBS/WBBM-TV as Managing Editor. In October of 2000, Jim left CBS to become the full-time CEO of AssignmentEditor.com. The site was sold to MediaMap, Inc. in December of 2002.

Sean Lundgren

I have never personally met Sean although I feel like I know him. He found my hacker web site on the Internet a year back and we started to share our business ideas over the phone and via email. His experiences show that the truth of operating a small business is always scarier than we can ever make up. I admire his perseverance, bravery and hope.

He recently closed Smeetch.com, which he had built from a $50 per month Yahoo store to $4 million in sales of DVDs, VHS, Video Games, Music and Books. He was briefly able to regain profitability but a another technology problem killed his company in May 2003. His house is up for sale and all his family’s savings and investments are gone. He is currently looking for a job. Sean sincerely hopes that others can learn from his odyssey.

Rick Mazursky

Over the past year, Rick has become one of my favorite mentors. I can always count on him as my “business ethics” meter and guide me to do the right thing even when I get off course. He has 35 years of experience in product design and development, marketing, domestic and international distribution. Rick has had leadership positions in companies involved in the creation and distribution of products to consumers and has served as President of Vtech Industries.

Rick has served on the following Boards of Directors: Vtech Industries, Inc., The Toy Manufactures of America, The Midwest Toy association, the Board of advisors of Leap Frog Enterprises. He has been inducted into the Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame and nominated for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He has been awarded five U. S. Patents.

Marsha McVicker

I have always admired Marsha’s passion and undaunted dedication to her business endeavors. As Errand Solutions’ founder and CEO, Marsha has a solid background in supply chain management, communications, strategy and channel development.

Her experience includes work as a consultant to the transportation industry and more than six years as a communications director on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. While completing her Supply Chain Management and Entrepreneurship MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Marsha was able to develop the approach to her company.

Matt McCall

Whenever I am on a business panel discussion with Matt, I do not talk (which is hard for me), just listen. I just write down what he says since he is always so insightful. He is a co-founder and Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson Portage Venture Partners and is a partner at Portage Venture Partners.

Matt has served on the advisory board to Mayor Daley’s Council of Technology Advisors in Chicago as well as on numerous other regional high technology advisory boards. He is also a founding board member of Atomworks, a regional nanotechnology consortium. He has been honored by Crain’s Chicago Business on its annual “40 under 40″ list of leading Chicagoans under age 40. He is a founder and trustee of the McCall Family Foundation, focused on improving early childhood development in Chicago’s disadvantaged communities.

David Ormesher

Dave is a pillar of the Chicago entrepreneurial community. He has built a business that is equally respected by his employees, customers and vendors for the last 16 years.

As CEO of Closerlook, Dave provides strategic direction and leadership for Closerlook. He has taken Closerlook from a small, creative media boutique and grown it into a recognized leader in creating innovative communication solutions that help clients in the pharmaceutical and technology industries. Dave has more than 20 years experience in marketing communications. He began his career in the television industry and served as journalist and producer for a syndicated, magazine-format series entitled, “A Closer Look”.”

Bob Okabe

In my mind, Bob is almost always the smartest guy in the room. I depend on him constantly to explain technology and complicated financial models to me. He is a corporate executive whose clients have ranged from Fortune 500 companies to three person start-ups. During the past twenty years he has worked in every aspect of financial and general management from cost accountant to Chief Financial Officer.

Bob is currently a Principal of Illinois Partners, a consulting firm specializing in strategic and financial advisory services for technology and growth companies. Among its clients are the Illinois Technology Enterprise Center at the Argonne National Laboratory. With me, Bob is also one of the founders along with me of Prairie Angels Capital Partners LLC, the manager of the first organized angel fund in the Chicago area.

Mohnish Pabrai

Mohnish is a visionary in both business and finance. He is admired for knowing when to start and when to quit. From 1990 to 1999, Pabrai was the founder and CEO of TransTech, a boot-strap start-up. The company grew to $20 Million-plus in revenue with 160 people when it was sold in 2000. TransTech was recognized as an Inc. 500 company in 1996.

Pabrai is the Managing Partner of the Pabrai Investment Funds, a close replica of the original 1950s Warren Buffett Partnerships. He is the winner of the 1999 KPMG High Tech Entrepreneur award.

Manish Patel

Manish is a business warrior. He has had to withstand one of the toughest conflicts with a partner that I have witnessed. He has survived this long encounter and is now thriving by running the business on his own.

He is CEO of Where2GetIt, a premier provider of intelligent location-based marketing services geared toward channel development companies. Manish’s client service and management philosophies have enabled the company to grow its customer base to more than 280 clients and 130 consumer brands that include Polaroid, La-Z-Boy, Mistubishi, and Reebok.

Penny Pickett

I have never met Penny although I know and admire other members of her firm. She serves as the Business Director for the Telecommunications Development Fund. Prior to joining TDF, Penny served as senior advisor to the deputy administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). While at the SBA, she was instrumental in developing the Equity Matters Seminar Series as well as the SBA-Federal Reserve cooperative workshops on access to capital for women and minority-owned businesses.

As the founding partner and owner of a small business, Penny spent more than 12 years building a company that combined traditional graphics production and design with innovative technological tools.

Dean Rutter

Dean’s energy and enthusiasm for business is evident within the first five minutes of meeting him. I am convinced that his passion never leaves him to breath. He is an experienced entrepreneur, business leader and decision-maker.

Dean recently has launched his second start-up, Make Baby Laugh!, a children’s products business. Previously he consulted start-up companies in the areas of strategy, fund raising, technology, business development, operations and sales. Dean also founded and sold Apartments.com where he served variously as Chairman, President and Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer.

Natalie Tessler

I was moderating a business panel that Natalie was participating in a few years ago. I soon became a regular client at her business, Spa Space. I have come to respect how she has grown her company over the past two years through an uncompromising dedication to client service.

Her day spa located in downtown Chicago offers a corrective, clinical approach to spa services in a luxurious, nurturing environment. Natalie’s professional experience includes working as a tax associate at the New York firm of Battle Fowler, and as an estate and financial planning associate at the Chicago firm of Katten Muchin Zavis Rosenman. Natalie regularly speaks to students, entrepreneurs and angel investors on the topics of capital-raising, business plan development and entrepreneurship.

Liz Ryan

Liz has done the impossible by building the largest connected discussion community for women, WorldWIT with over 25,000 subscribers in 20 countries.

Liz is a former Fortune 500 corporate executive, an entrepreneur and author and speaker on at-work issues. Liz and WorldWIT have been profiled in TIME magazine, Fortune magazine, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and CNN. Liz lives in Boulder, Colorado with her husband and five kids ages nine months to nine years.

Jodi Turek

From watching her parents run their bagel restaurant in Brooklyn, Jodi has become a driving spirit behind Womensforum.com and Teensforum.com.

A former television reporter and news/talk show producer, her ability to attract entrepreneurial yet “everyday” women who are making a difference forms the backbone of Womensforum.com’s unique Partner Network. She has 17 years of broadcast, print, public relations and new media experience and speaks regularly about leveraging the power of women online.

David Weinstein

I met David only after he had achieved a lot of success at the Chicago Mayor’s Office and then failure when his company, Blue Meteor went out of business. Now in his early 30′s, he has survived the roller coaster and is thriving again.

David is the first-ever president of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center. He oversees all day-to-day operations of a large regional base of entrepreneurs. Previously, David was president and CEO of BlueMeteor, a technology firm he helped launch and grow to $5 million in revenue and 110 employees. At BlueMeteor, he led the firm in successfully raising $30 million of venture capital. Earlier, he pioneered the position as Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley’s senior technology advisor.