Tampa 40 under 40

Frank Fiume, 39

Chief Executive Officer

i9 Sports, Brandon

The origins of entrepreneurship for Frank Fiume may have started long before business school in college. In his backyard during his childhood on Long Island, Fiume carved out base paths and built a baseball field.

As the voice in the cornfield in the movie said, "If you build it, they will come." And they did. Lots of neighborhood kids.

"We played morning, noon and night," Fiume recalls.

Then he and some friends began hammering up goal posts in the fall, just in time for football season.

Fast forward 30 years. Now it is franchisees, parents and kids coming to the business Fiume has built, i9 Sports, a nationwide youth sports league, which he runs as a for-profit business.

"I guess I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing," Fiume laughs.

At first, Fiume, 39, actually started a for-profit adult men's softball league, ABA Sports, in Long Island. He continued to run ABA after getting married in 1995 and moving to Brandon in 1996.

But his sights began to broaden.

"I started thinking of more sports programs," Fiume says.

As a father of two, he saw some of the challenges youth sports leagues encounter - unhealthy competition, fundraising complaints, poor coaching role models and lack of playing time. So Fiume thought of nine principles that would govern a new youth sports business for children 4 to 14 called i9 Sports.

The nine principles i9 refers to are imaginative, innovative, interactive, integrity-driven, impassioned, inspirational, instructional, insightful and inclusive.

Fiume built a business plan for the leagues that included a paid site coordinator, paid referees, screening and criminal background checks for volunteer coaches, no tryouts, no player drafts, no other volunteers, no parental politics and a fee that includes everything, so parents were free from fundraising.

"You pay a fee to have your kids have fun," Fiume says. "The focus is on convenience for parents."

In late 2003, he began selling i9 franchises and has sold 115 sold so far in 28 states from Florida to Hawaii. He sold ABA in 2004 to focus on i9.

"Yes, it's grown faster than we thought," he says. "But for me, sometimes it seems like its taken forever. Really, when I think about it, it has taken a very, very long time to get this far.

i9 competes with public leagues and clinics, but doesn't offer every sport. One fee is $125, which includes everything. Fiume realizes he may not capture some families - i9 usually offers flag football, soccer and basketball.

"Here's the deal: In any business, you have a niche, so you're attractive to some people vs. others," Fiume says. "We focus on offering something fun. There are no fundraisers, no drafts and healthy competition. It is not run by volunteers."

A criminal background check doesn't reveal if a prospective coach has a problem with anger. So i9 uses its registration process to screen for that.

"If you find out that about a parent, he or she is not right for us," Fiume says.

The organization has grown, but it has not been without challenges. League staff is still dealing with parents and children.

"It has not gone completely smooth," Fiume says. "This is a business. It has its great days and bad days. I tell the franchisees that. It is not going to be utopia.

"This is really business first, sports second," he adds. "We just happen to be in business of youth sports.

When he is not running i9, Fiume spends time with his wife and kids. Is he a fitness fanatic? No. "But I'm in decent shape," Fiume says.

His parents were divorced. His father worked in a hospital for 30 years and believed in finding one job and staying with it. His mom was a homemaker and was a "big inspiration," Fiume says.

"She gave me belief in myself," Fiume says. "Always."

Fiume went to college at St. Johns and earned a bachelor's degree in business administration. He worked in medical sales, selling surgical equipment throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut from 1990 to 1996.

"I hated that job with a passion," Fiume says. "I felt I wasn't doing anything of real value. But I got to understand what it was like to work for another company."

That's why Fiume is happier being an entrepreneur.

"My motto is: You make your own breaks," he says. "I don't subscribe to luck. You make your own breaks."

Amy Norman, 30

Chief Executive Officer

Tampa Bay Technology Forum

Amy Norman grew up in Plant City, the land of strawberry fields, the Strawberry Festival and women's professional softball.

Today, while still close to her family, Norman, 30, finds herself in a far different environment.

She is president and chief executive officer for the Tampa Bay Technology Forum, a trade group for local technology firms, based in Tampa's Westshore business district.

Norman is responsible for the Forum's operations and strategic planning. She manages more than 130 Forum programs annually and leads volunteer steering committees for the non-profit organization. The organization has four full-time staff and three part-time.

One little-known fact on the Forum is that it includes some companies many would not consider technology firms, such as OSI, the Tampa parent of Outback Steakhouse, and St. Petersburg's Catalina Marketing.

These entrepreneurial companies drive the Forum. Norman reins them in and keeps the organization moving forward.

"My ultimate vision is to put the Tampa Bay region and Florida on the map as a technology hub," Norman says. "I want us to be recognized nationally by 2015."

Norman links the organization's success to its members and board, which include local technology CEOs George Gordon of Enporion and Tony DiBenedetto of Tribridge.

While she likes to lead and get directly involved in Forum programs, Norman shares the credit for the organization's growth in programs in membership.

"We are very much a volunteer-driven organization," she says.

TBTF members say Norman's strengths include communication, organization and people skills. She is very approachable and tactful, members say.

"I've spent my entire career in nonprofits, so I've had to wear a lot of hats," Norman says. "It keeps me motivated.

Before joining the Forum, Norman interned then worked for a national not-for-profit healthcare organization - the American Association of Kidney Patients - for five years.

In her last post as program director, she did fundraising and developed programs, like she does at the Forum. Norman often topped the association's revenue and attendance goals for events.

"It was based in Tampa but was a national group," Norman says. "I did lot of traveling."

Norman played a key role in executing and developing a national education initiative for early-stage kidney patients. She fostered programs for healthcare awareness and patient advocacy.

Norman graduated from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications in 2000, focusing on public relations. 

When she joined the organization as director of programs in 2005, as its third employee, the Forum had 200 member companies. Now it has more than 450, or about 4,500 people.

After working as the Forum's COO, Norman became CEO about a year ago. Looking forward, her goals for the Forum include boosting membership.

"It is always a goal for us," she says. "It something we're proud of."

She also wants to enhance the TBTF Foundation, the Forum's charitable arm, which set new initiatives at beginning of the year.

Its three main priorities are the Computerific program, which provides computers for underprivileged children through the Boys and Girls Clubs. Forum members attend Career Days to talk to children about technology careers.

The Forum partners with the Hillsborough and Pinellas education foundations in providing scholarships. It has already provided scholarships to 16 children, between sixth and 12th grades.

Another goal for Norman is to provide education for entrepreneurs through the Forum's Emerging Companies Academy. It is an initiative to help companies continue to grow and the Forum uses members as mentors.

The group's annual charity fundraiser, Tech Jam, where local tech workers play rock n' roll on stage, has gone big time, and is being held in the St. Pete Times Forum in downtown Tampa. Two members of Sister Hazel are playing this year.

Want some insight into Norman's style? She likes the entrepreneurial spirit of her members and likes running the Forum that way. "We work in a very fast-paced environment," Norman says. "It's a work, play hard atmosphere."

She has had many mentors, including some of the Forum's board of directors and her mother, Sandy Norman, vice president of cash management for Colonial Bank in Tampa. Her father, now retired, spent 32 years with Chase.

Dave Gliden, 38

Co-founder and partner

Acuity Solutions, Tampa

In 1992, Dave Gilden was working for a technology company, Practice Management Systems, in his native Boston, running the warehouse and doing purchasing.

He started at the bottom, working summers while in college, learning all aspects of the business.

But something inside Gilden drove him on a personal search. So in 1994, he did volunteer work in Ecuador.

"It certainly changed me as a person," Gilden says.  "Living and working in a Third World country gives you a different perspective, and a new appreciation for what you have; and the basic things that others don't that we take for granted. For me, that perspective flowed into my personal life as well as my attitude in business.

"I saw what people had to go through each day just to meet their basic needs and survive," he adds. "When I think about my hardest day at home or at the office, with seemingly impossible obstacles to overcome - it doesn't compare to the adversity that those folks faced on a daily basis."

The teaching work was significant in another way. Gilden met Christina Filler, a 21-year-old woman in the program that would become his wife. After teaching, Gilden, then 24, came to Florida to be near Filler and continued a career that would lead to his current post.

Today, Gilden, 38, is co-founder and partner at Acuity Solutions in Tampa. Acuity, which began in 2002, provides information security and networking solutions to business and government. Gilden oversees sales and marketing, vendor relations, and merger and acquisition activity.

Acuity - referring to focus and keenness of perception - protects data that is critical to organizations, such as customer information or proprietary information, and makes sure that data is available and accessible by only the people that are authorized to see it.

Coming to Tampa in late 1994, Gilden found a job at Anchor Glass. He asked Anchor about its IT needs and the company said it was outsourced to the Waldec Group. He was soon offered a job at Waldec and met Mark Tuszynski, who would be Gilden's future business partner at Acuity.

Tuszynski hired Gilden, who came in to the operations department and was running the customer service operation and purchasing. In 1997, Ikon Office Solutions bought Waldec and 36 other systems integrators. It centralized all operations in Tampa. Gilden then ran operations for the IT division of Ikon from 2000 to 2002.

In 2002, Ikon began divesting itself of advanced technology groups and Gilden helped that process. Through that work, he became familiar with the information security and high-performance networking field. Gilden approached two co-workers at Ikon, Julio Sanchez and Tuszynski, about starting their own company.

The same year, the three men left Ikon and formed Acuity Solutions.

"We were able to take over some of their existing contracts," Gilden recalls. "It worked out great for both sides."

The company has a new training facility, a virtual lab with with $500,000 in new equipment and 28 employees, which include consultants, engineers, account managers and finance people.

Gilden says he looks for employees with an entrepreneurial spirit similar to what he and his business partners practice.

Gilden recalls a saying from Waldec founder and local tech icon Tom Wallace about employees. Wallace is now CEO of RedVector.com, an online education company in Tampa.

"He (Wallace) had a saying," Gilden recalls. "'I rather you ask for my forgiveness than my permission.' Think for yourself. Don't be afraid to make decisions. To hire good people, they need to have creativity and the courage to act.

Revenues of Acuity have nearly doubled every year and hit $27 million in 2007.

Looking ahead, Gilden sees Acuity increasing revenue in its federal government work. It has invested a lot in that area and opened a new office in northern Virginia in February.

Gilden graduated from the University of Connecticut, earning a degree in political science and international business in 1988. He considered applying to law school.

He has been married for 11 years and he and Chris have two children. "I am a family guy, plain and simple," Gilden says. "They are my motivation."

TAMPA

Curt Smiley, 33

TIC Investments, Inc.

Chief executive officer

Education: BA, Wabash College

Hometown: Brownsburg, Ind.

First job: Paperboy when I was 11 years old

Years on Gulf Coast: 8

Marital status: Single

Hero: My Father, cliche but true

Business person you most admire: Anyone with the courage to start a business, the integrity to run it honestly and the stubbornness to stick with it.

Favorite book, why?: Unlimited Access by Gary Aldrich; fascinating accounts by a senior FBI field agent

Most inspirational book: The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

Favorite movie: Braveheart

Best place to network: Wherever I happen to be

I can't live without: My family and friends

Best way to relax and let off steam: The range (either shooting or driving)

Three most useful Web sites for work: Kayak.com, Yahoo.com (finance) and Dictionary.com

Three favorite Web sites: Controller.com, Autotrader.com and, of course, TICinvestments.net

Type of cell phone: Palm Treo

Community group you're most involved with: I'm still interviewing the candidates. The short list is: America's Second Harvest (hunger), The Spring (domestic abuse) and various charities for our troops and their families

Two most important issues affecting the Gulf Coast: Transportation and development

Three words that describe you: Passionate, honest and generous

If I had a magic wand, I'd: Go back in time and patent beer

Favorite lunch spot: Champps. It isn't fancy but they have a variety of great selections and its 5 minutes from my office

Robert C. O'Leary, 38

The Plasencia Group

Vice president

Education: Wharton School of Business, Class of 1993. Duke University School of Law, Class of 1997

Hometown: Fairfield, Conn.

First job: Director of franchise sales and development, Choice Hotels International

Years on Gulf Coast: 6 (Lithia, Florida)

Marital status: Married

Hero: My mother

Business person you most admire: Warren Buffet

Favorite book, why?: The Count of Monte Cristo, a 1,200-page timeless epic full of adventure and intrigue in which good ultimately prevails.

Most inspirational book: Success is a Choice, by Rick Pitino

Favorite movie: Rocky

Best place to network: Wharton Club of Tampa Bay.

I can't live without: My family.

Best way to relax and let off steam: Work out and play basketball at the YMCA

Three most useful Web sites for work: bloomberg.com; bizjournals.com; hotel-online.com

Three favorite Web sites: Drudge Report; Nascar.com; WSJ.com

Type of cell phone: Blackberry

Community group you're most involved with: Head to Head, a charity that sponsors a school in Haiti.

Two most important issues affecting the Gulf Coast: Responsible growth and planning; Maintaining and diversifying the Gulf Coast's strong economy

Three words that describe you: Integrity, optimism, results

If I had a magic wand, I'd: Eradicate disease in the developing world.

Favorite lunch spot: Matoi Sushi on Dale Mabry

Jason Caras, 38

IT Authorities Inc.

Chief executive officer

Education: School of Hard Knocks, self study

Hometown: Taunton, MA

First job: Jay's Painting (self-employed)

Years on Gulf Coast: 14

Marital status: Single

Hero: Winston Churchill

Business person you most admire: Robert Hapanowicz, Casual Gourmet

Favorite book, why?: Your Erroneous Zones. It gave me everything I needed to change my life when I needed to know "how" to change my life.

Most inspirational book: The Secret

Favorite movie: Braveheart and What The Bleep Do We Know?

Best place to network: Executive events

I can't live without: Being outdoors

Best way to relax and let off steam: Beach

Three most useful Web sites for work: My client's Web site, my competition's Web site and MSPmentor.com

Three favorite Web sites: Google, eBay, weather.com

Type of cell phone: PDA

Community group you're most involved with: Mentoring various juvenile detention groups

Two most important issues affecting the Gulf Coast: Real estate market and lack of offshore drilling

Three words that describe you: Tenacious, passionate, goofy

If I had a magic wand, I'd: Create enough money to hire high-end teachers for every classroom and pay them $250,000 each

Favorite lunch spot: Capital Grille

Hongling Han-Ralston, 34

Law Offices of Han-Ralston PLLC

Managing member

Education: LL.M. in Taxation, New York University School of Law; J.D., cum laude, Indiana University School of Law; Master of Law, Renmin University of China

Hometown: Fuyang, Anhui Province, China

First job: A teacher at a middle school in my hometown at age 18

Years on Gulf Coast: Five years

Marital status: Married with one child

Hero: Hillary Clinton

Business person you most admire: Xing Xing Chiang

Favorite book, why?: Gone with the Wind, because Scarlett never loses hope: "After all, tomorrow is another day!"

Favorite movie: Finding Nemo

Best place to network: Chambers of commerce

I can't live without: Hope

Best way to relax and let off steam: Read Chinese novel

Three most useful Web sites for work: www.google.com, www.baidu.com,

Three favorite Web sites: www.wenxuecity.com, www.google.com, www.yahoo.com

Type of cell phone: One with a lot of functions that I do not know how to use

Community group you're most involved with: Asian American Chambers of Commerce of Tampa Bay, Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Tampa Bay

Two most important issues affecting the Gulf Coast: The region is not as attractive for international investment as it could be; lack of regional mass transit

Three words that describe you: Confident, kind, pioneering

If I had a magic wand, I'd: Get rid of all the causes for war

Favorite lunch spot: Crazy Buffet

Laura Duda, 39

Teco Energy Inc.

Director of communications

Education: BA, Writing/Editing with Spanish Minor (1990 from Western Carolina University); MA, Mass Communication/Public Relations (1992 from University of Florida; MBA, Marketing (1999 from The University of Tampa). Also: post-graduate certificate work from the Havard/MIT Public Disputes Program and The University of Chicago College of Business.

Hometown: Born in Buffalo, N.Y.; Grew up in St. Petersburg

First job: Mr. Donut

Years on Gulf Coast: 38

Marital status: Married.

Hero: My mom, Jillian Plumb, the best and bravest person I know.

Business person you most admire: Dee Brown, TECO Energy's vice president of regulatory affairs and customer service, my mentor and a true role model for women in business.

Favorite book, why?: My favorite book is also my most inspirational book.

Most inspirational book: City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre. I could read it over and over. It moves me beyond words, reminds me of how truly blessed I am and inspires me to be a better person.

Favorite movie: The Breakfast Club.

Best place to network: LinkedIn.

I can't live without: My family and friends.

Best way to relax and let off steam: Yoga.

Three most useful Web sites for work: www.eei.org, www.ragan.com, www.tbo.com

Three favorite Web sites: www.facebook.com, www.meetup.com and www.zappos.com

Type of cell phone: BlackBerry.

Community group you're most involved with: Leadership Tampa.

Two most important issues affecting the Gulf Coast: An increasingly challenging economy and adult illiteracy.

Three words that describe you: Funny, extroverted, impatient.

If I had a magic wand, I'd: Cure cancer.

Favorite lunch spot: Grass Root Organic Restaurant.