Age: 28
Location: Elk Grove, Ill.
2006 Revenue: $5 million
Employees: 10
Year founded: 1999

With money he had saved selling knives and teaching tennis, Brian Taylor hired a team of flavor specialists to create the 14 types of all-natural popcorn seasonings his company now offers. The seasonings are currently in three-quarters of movie theaters and 70 percent of grocery stores nationwide. Taylor started out by himself selling to local Chicago grocery stores and eventually picked up national distributors.