Nice to Meet You

Paige Goldberg Tolmach on how she met fellow thirtysomething Mary Kumble, to found Swoon, their home décor company in Los Angeles:

"We [met] on a plane to New Orleans, "Tolmach, 36, recalls. "We'd both been working in the entertainment field. We both wanted to try something new, and we had the same sort of ideas in mind-to do something creative, fun and feminine. We were both ready to [decorate] our homes; we wanted to create a line of products we wanted to buy."

Brian Reynolds, 31, on how he met co-founder Jason Moody, 28, to start PowerHouse Timing LLC, a company that provides race timing equipment and software in Cambridge, Massachusetts:

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"We were beating the hell out of each other trying to get a seat in a boat race at U.S. Rowing Nationals Championship and then the Head of the Charles [regatta] later in the year. We ended up seat-racing each other both times-really going at it, this brutal style of selection. The first time Jason won, the second time I won. [In] rowing, the competitions are generally spread out, so we often had six-hour car rides. It's amazing how quickly you get to know someone when you're traveling and competing with them."

Bobby Rodriguez, 45, on how he first met co-founder Scott Ginsburg, 51, to start Boardwalk Auto Group, which includes Audi and Porsche dealerships in Plano, Texas, and a Volkswagen dealership in Richardson, Texas:

"I met Scott in 1997. I was a sales manager for a Porsche-Audi [dealership]. He came in to buy a car. He was a Type A personality and wanted to talk to the manager right away. [Our] relationship was built out of the fact that when I made representations, I kept doing what I said I would do for him.

"I recognized him as someone who would be buying a lot of product. I've always said work every day like today's the day you kiss your frog. When I met Scott, I just wanted to work hard, and it just so happened that I met someone who wanted to be in the car business."