Business is a lot like life. Not everyone begins on a level playing field. Some entrepreneurs take established companies and turn their empires into rubble. Others struggle to scrape together the most meager of financing and turn an idea into an empire.
Simply put, it’s not where you start; it’s where you end up and how you got there.
Sometimes the most successful path is the one least trodden, the one lined with thorns, pitfalls and other nasty risks.
That’s why, every year, as part of the Entrepreneur Of The Year program, Ernst & Young LLP looks at how Northeast Ohio companies got where they are today. Judges examine not only how successful the company has become, but what risks its leaders took to reach that success.
As Judge Ralph M. Della Ratta Jr. put it, “The winners were very tenacious people — unbridled entrepreneurs. The success was very discernable. They were able to motivate their employees to a very great extent, and get the most out of their management team and all employees in the company. There are just a lot of intangibles that are hard to articulate.
“It’s like good service; it’s hard to describe, but you know it when you see it and when you receive it. They were just very impressive people and it shone through. Their entrepreneurial spirit certainly shone through.”
The Entrepreneur Of The Year program began months ago when scores of companies were nominated for the honor. A rigorous elimination process narrowed the field to the elite 20. The judges visited the companies and interviewed each nominee, then debated the merits of each applicant. It wasn’t an easy decision.
“All the finalists should be winners,” says EOY Judge Diann Rucki. “(It was) very tough to try and judge which of these companies should be the ones to actually accept the award. They are all most deserving.”
The 1999 class of winners illustrates the diversity that makes this area an exceptional place to start a business, no matter what the industry. And, as Northeast Ohio prepares to enter the millennium, it’s becoming more evident that the region has become a virtual hotbed for entrepreneurs.
The winners were announced June 22 at a banquet at the Cleveland Renaissance Hotel. They represent a cross-section of the area’s brightest entrepreneurial talent.
SBN spoke with each of the winners and finalists, and presents their extraordinary stories.
SBN is a proud sponsor of Ernst & Young LLP’s Entrepreneur Of The Year program. This story was independently reported by the SBN staff and was not subject to prior review or approval by Ernst & Young or any other Entrepreneur Of The Year partner.
