Brendan Flores, 35

Brendan Flores’ banking career started when he was in high school.

Flores interned at a bank in Las Vegas, and as he graduated from high school, he was promoted to personal banker. Then when he was turning 19, he became a bank manager. Flores says he was named manager at such a young age because his colleagues saw his determination.

Growing up, he witnessed his mom work hard, going to work around 4 p.m. and getting off at 3 or 4 a.m. An hour later, she made breakfast for her children. When Flores was in high school, his grandmother died in the Philippines, where Flores was born, and his family couldn’t afford to travel there to say goodbye. “That stuck in my head, and I wanted to do better,” he says.