TOM WALLACE

MANAGING PARTNER, FLORIDA FUNDERS, TAMPA

Wallace, who says neither of his parents graduated from high school, started his first company when he was 23 and has been an entrepreneur “ever since.” He describes Florida Funders as “a hybrid between a venture capital firm and a crowd funding platform focused on finding, funding and helping build the next great breakout technology companies in Florida.” The firm has funded some 35 tech startups in Florida over the past three years — “all founded by passionate founders who are working really hard to build a company and succeed against all odds.”