"We were definitely surprised by the growth."

Joseph Jaconi
Co-Founder, TechArmor

"I started in my dad’s woodshed with 600 bucks."

John Derringer
President, Driven Products

"I was literally trying to make beer money for the weekend." 

Steve Acree
Owner, Seismic Audio

"My role with the company is kinda the get-it-done guy."

Jeremy Navarre
Chief Sales Executive, Think Fast

"July first of 2011--that’s the day I officially left Google."

Steven Yang
Founder/CEO, Anker Technology

"Our company’s philosophy is to do well by doing good."

Fern Rutberg
Senior Marketplace Manager, World Wide Stereo

"I was a physician assistant working in trauma surgery."

Maggie Umlauf
CEO, VersaLiving

"The Captain Dave’s name comes from my history as a sailor."

David Reeder
President, Captain Dave, Inc.

"When I started, I was a killer ski salesman."

Tyler Conlin
Owner, Got Your Gear

"Could we bring a product to the United States? Would someone buy it?"

Paul Grey
Founder, ExportX

"Before I started Hospitology I was an ER physician at the Beth Israel Hospital."

Sujay Kapadia
President, Hospitology

"It’s a pretty awesome ride so far, you know?"

Jeh Lin
VP Corporate Development, Jackery

"...So kind of like Yoda and Luke Skywalker type stuff "

Matt Kubancik
Owner/President, StreetModa

"I was the kid in my neighborhood that had the lemonade stand."

Ryan Spahr
Founder/CEO, SupplyTiger

"We had two families to take care of."

Lisa Gineris
Co-Founder, Terrific Deal

"I started in a one-bedroom apartment with a credit card. I had no backing, nothing."

Elena Castaneda
CEO, Bling Jewelry

"First thing I ever sold was a battery. And it's probably going to be the last thing I sell."

Dale Petruzzi
CEO, Chrome Battery

"I did a quick Google and said, 'okay, okay--what does a CEO do?'"

Anna Nordlander
CEO, The Friendly Swede

"It was a weekend gig for a while. It was really kind of a garage project."

Dean Tzembelikos
Co-Founder, GripGear

"It’s the great niche product story."

Ray Nelson
General Manager, MPD Digital

"I started the company when I was 17 on $1,000"

Jeremy Segal
CEO, Lyons Trading Company

"I started at Morgan Stanley doing tech mergers and acquisitions in Silicon Valley."

Michael Hsu
Co-Founder, PERI

"Our question to ourselves was: could we build a better device company?"

Bernie Thompson
Founder, Plugable

"I was actually in 11th grade at the time. I was 15."
 

Jonathan Goldman
President, Quantum Networks

"It’s almost like a Cheers. Everyone knows your name."
 

Dean Grycan
Internet Sales Manager, Cardboard Legends