Where Do Great Ideas Come From?

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So Perini, then a partner in a Virginia energy-consulting firm, and his brother Jack, a chemical engineer, researched and designed a compact 10-stage purification system. In 1993 they opened a retail store in Rockville, Md. Nearly three years later the brothers launched a separate delivery service, DrinkMore Water (#325), based in Gaithersburg, Md. Perini, his wife, Kim, and his brother initially funded the business themselves; later they brought in investors, who now own 20% of the company.

Last year the delivery service generated almost $2.8 million in revenues, serving more than 12,000 customers in the Washington, D.C., area. Are Perini's kids, now 11 to 16 years old, among them? His oldest daughter won't touch anything but DrinkMore water. But the younger two, he admits, "aren't that picky."

From a chance meeting with a stranger

When Deborah Weidenhamer upgraded to a first-class airline seat one weekend in 1995, she got a much bigger bargain than she had expected. At the time Weidenhamer was practically living on planes, working in San Francisco as a consultant during the week and commuting home to her husband, Bruce, in Phoenix on weekends.

Deborah Weidenhamer launched her auction company after a chat with an elderly stranger on a commuter flight.

On one flight home, Weidenhamer traded frequent-flier miles for a seat upgrade. By chance she sat next to a garrulous man in his nineties, a veteran auctioneer who mesmerized her with tales of his profession: its rich history, its financial potential, its constant excitement. By the time the plane landed 90 minutes later, Weidenhamer saw a way to end her grueling commute and become her own boss.

That same year she launched her company, Auction Systems Auctioneers & Appraisers (#100). After taking a class to learn how to chant -- that is, talk in that rapid-fire auctioneer patter -- she jumped into selling. At first, Weidenhamer says, her inventory was "nothing special, garage-sale type of stuff." Then she graduated to government contracts, selling items like surplus road equipment and property confiscated from convicted drug dealers. These days she handles everything from Native American artifacts to antique furniture to Rolex watches.

Weidenhamer, who worked alone that first year, now employs 25 people. Revenues have grown from $160,000 the first year to this year's projected $7 million, thanks largely to Weidenhamer's decision to broaden her audiences by simulcasting auctions over the Internet. She travels less and, of course, runs the show. And what of the man who inspired her? She didn't get his card or even his name. "I never talked to him again," she says. If she had, she'd have asked him why he didn't warn her it was going to be so challenging -- but she'd thank him anyway.

From sheer frustration

Back in the mid 1980s, whenever Mike Pratt hit his Salt Lake City health club, he started his workout by wrestling a too-big gym bag into a too-small locker. One day Pratt -- a high school graduate working as a car salesman -- pried out his bag, drove home, and headed for the drafting table he had acquired to support his design hobby.

Using cardboard, scissors, and tape, the 24-year-old athlete created the model for his dream duffel. He shaped the rectangular bag not only so that it would slide into a standard gym storage unit -- measurements he'd obtained that same day by calling several manufacturers -- but so that it would easily hold shoes, a water bottle, and toiletries. And unlike most soft-sided bags, Pratt's prototype surrounded a durable rigid frame that made it easier to access the bag's contents.

That wasn't Pratt's first invention. At 19 he'd designed a cup holder for use in cars and, thanks to a tip from a local businessman, arranged to have it manufactured in Macao. Five years later Pratt again looked to Asia and, based on a recommendation from another entrepreneur, contracted with a factory in Taiwan that he still uses to manufacture his bags.

23 ^% of the Inc 500 CEOs surveyed got the original idea for their business by spotting an opportunity in an industry related to one they worked in.

Back in the States, many retailers were skeptical about Pratt's Original Locker Bag. "Who's going to want to carry around a box?" one asked. But Foot Locker agreed to take a batch on consignment; after selling 50 bags in a single weekend, the sporting-goods chain ordered more. Sales soared as Nordstrom and other retailers followed suit. In 1987, Pratt officially launched his company, Ogio International. (The name, pronounced OH-gee-oh, sounds catchy but, Pratt says, means absolutely nothing.) The following year, Pratt recalls, "we had $8.5 million in sales for one bag in three colors."

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