Expertise in the Field Starfire Sports' founder applied what he learned in the tech sector to a nonprofit venture

When Seattle entrepreneur Christopher Slatt set out to create a place for underprivileged youth to play soccer, he approached the project with the same strategy and ideals he applies to for-profit ventures.

"I wanted to lift up everything I learned from the school of hard knocks and apply those skills to the nonprofit side," Slatt says.

Slatt led his second startup, WatchGuard Technologies, to a $45 million initial public offering in 1999. Last year, he co-founded a network security firm, Napera Networks. But he spends most of his time at Starfire Sports, the 6-year-old nonprofit he co-founded with fellow Seattle entrepreneurial soccer dads Mark Bickham and Steve Beck.