A Group of Greats

Our annual Hot 100 issue has always been one of my favorites.(Many thanks to Kirk Walden and the other folks at PricewaterhouseCoopers, our new Hot 100 partners whohelped make this special issue possible.) It's whatentrepreneurship is all about: success. In this case, the successcomes early--the Hot 100 highlights young (5 years old or less),fast-growing (we measure the companies on revenue growth),successful businesses. Looking at this year's list showsthere's no such thing as cookie-cutter entrepreneurial success:Not only are the entrepreneurs themselves diverse, but so are thetypes of businesses they own.

There are many lessons to be learned from the Hot 100, some foryou entrepreneurs and some for others. You, better than anyone,understand what it takes to go from zero to 60 in theentrepreneurial equivalent of the blink of an eye. Or, like thefounder of Huron Consulting Group, this year's No. 1 company,you know what it's like to be trapped in a corporate nightmare,a victim of other people's bad judgment.