Entrepreneurs We Love
In April 2004, Inc. magazine showcased its first list of 25 Entrepreneurs We Love, including such standouts as Scott Cook, Tom Stemberg, Stella Ogiale, Laura and Pete Wakeman, Jack Stack and Pat McGovern.
This year, Inc. magazine asks you to help build the 2005 list of Entrepreneurs We Love. Tell us about an entrepreneur you love, whether it be your wife, your father, a person you've admired from a distance, or even yourself. Tell us what makes you or them truly inspiring entrepreneurs by letting us know what you or they have done to warrant a place on the 2005 list of Entrepreneurs We Love.
Before you make your submission, be sure that your candidate meets our basic criteria.
All candidates must be:
- Founders and/or majority owners of a business, preferably a closely held private company. Public companies will not be dismissed out of hand, but will represent a minority of the final selection pool. Company size is irrelevant, although, companies must absolutely be entrepreneurial. If you smell corporate, we will probably pass on you. (Start-ups may apply, although they will face special scrutiny.)
- Loveable. No, really. Candidates must in someway be very loveable, and not just to their mother. Give us reasons to love them.
- Candidates must be candid. We want to know sales figures over the past few years, and we want to know whether the company is profitable. We also want to know what chunk of the business the candidate owns. This information doesn't have to be disclosed in the submission, but all finalist must be willing to share such information with Inc. reporters and staff.
- Candidates must be successful, at least for the most part. The business can be facing challenges, but if sales are heading south, please don't pitch us. If the company is just exiting bankruptcy, pitch us, but please disclose these troubles, and tell us why the recent difficulties make the story better, not worse.
- What the company does/sells is of interest, but more interesting for our purposes is *how* the company does whatever it does. Candidates who manage the company in an innovative way or employ a unique business model or have figured out a surprisingly effective sales strategy will move to the head of the pack. Just selling something cool, while the business is otherwise fairly average, moves candidates to the back of the pack.
- Finally, all candidates must be passionate about what they do, and so passionate that anyone reading your submission can sense so. We want heartfelt submissions.
Does your entrepreneur still fit the bill? Then submit a story below, being sure to create a headline that hints to why we should love your favorite by finishing this sentence: I love him/her because... . For instance, last year we said about Jeff Bezos, "We love him because...'optimism is essential.' "
Once you've told us why you love your entrepreneur, explain your answer and simply submit your entry.
We'll be closing the open call for Entrepreneurs We Love on January 14, 2005, so act fast.
