Josh Buttitta, founder of Oakhurst Signs, always knew he wanted to own his own business. After selling his first startup in 1996, he still had the entrepreneurial drive, but he did not have an idea to channel it to. “I had worked for myself from an early age so I took jobs to learn more,”…

Dr. Walter Leise III, President and CEO of Sarasota Medical Products, Inc., was recruited to work for Abbott’s Diagnostic Division after completing his PHD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Chicago. He primarily served as the interface between Research & Development and Manufacturing. He soon got involved with Six Sigma, a set…

David Karins, founder of Karins Engineering Group, Inc., became interested in entrepreneurship in high school while working at his father’s company. He kept his eye on that goal consistently and as a result was well prepared to strike out on his own when the opportunity presented itself. Due in part to that focus, Karins was…

Dr. Nancy Crews, founder of Custom Manufacturing & Engineering, Inc., spun the company out of a Lockheed Martin operated nuclear weapon component plant in Pinellas County. “At the end of the Cold War, they were in the process of downsizing the nuclear weapons complex in Florida and were looking at people to help them take…