Today's Reading: 26 Most Fascinating Entrepreneurs

A 2005 Inc. feature, I found it fascinating, even when uneven. Particularly recommended is Richard Branson’s writeup — rarely does one read so inspiring a portrait, an instant eemadge.

Here’s a compact index of each of the 26 entrepreneurs.

1. Martha Stewart: because she took one for the team
   
2. Richard Branson: because he’s game for anything. In fact, everything.
   
3. Michael Dell: for being brilliantly straightforward
   
4. Jim Sinegal (Costco): because who knew a big-box chain could have a generous soul?
   
5. Diane von Furstenberg: for staging an elegant comeback
   
6. Julie Azuma: for offering hope and help to the parents of autistic children
   
7. Fritz Maytag: for setting limits
   
8. Ray Kurzweil: because he is Edison’s rightful heir
   
9. Craig Newmark (Craigslist): for putting the free in free markets
   
10. Jack Mitchell: because his family business makes an art of customer service
    
11. Frank Robinson: for whipping an entire industry into shape
    
12. Mark Melton: for giving immigrants their shot at the American Dream
    
13. Michelle Cardinal & Tim O’Leary: for rewriting the rules for husband-and-wife teams
    
14. Mike Lazaridis: because someone had to stand up for all those frustrated engineers
    
15. Trip Hawkins: for still scrapping
    
16. Warren Brown: because only in America will someone quit a secure job as a lawyer to start a bakery
    
17. Muriel Siebert: for being a notable first with a worthy second act
    
18. Chuck Porter: for verging on reckless
    
19. Katrina Markoff: for setting a completely unreasonable goal for her business
    
20. Barry Steinberg & Craig Sumerel: for showing the power of the peer group
    
21. Victoria Parham: for serving as a mentor to military spouses
    
22. Tom LaTour: for staying at fleabag hotels so that we don’t have to
    
23. Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams: for creating a true comfort zone
    
24. Izzy & Coco Tihanyi: for kicking sand in the face of conventional wisdom
    
25. Tony Lee: for saving 16 jobs, including his own
    
26. Rueben Martinez: for simultaneously building a business and nurturing Latino culture