Can the same be said about entrepreneurs? Must an entrepreneur possess, by definition, a penchant for risk-taking, a love of money, and a take-no-prisoners approach to empire-building? The answer, of course, is no. American astronaut Sally Ride no more fits Wolfe's profile of the hard-drinking fly-boy than the four entrepreneurs you are about to meet here (all UMBC grads) fill the bill as money-hungry, cut-throat business owners. The truth is, people start up businesses for all kinds of reasons -- and in all sorts of circumstances.

The four individuals profiled below are as different from one another as it is possible to be in terms of background and expertise. Their expectations and definitions of success also differ. Yet all four are undeniably entrepreneurs, by virtue of their ability to translate ideas into marketable goods and services. They may indeed have "the right stuff," but it's not necessarily of the hard-charging variety. Fundamentally, these entrepreneurs are in love with their work; they are enchanted by opportunity; and they relish not knowing precisely what challenges each day may bring. It is perhaps these qualities -- even more than luck, timing, or raw business savvy -- that shape the entrepreneurial character, and determine who will ultimately succeed.

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