Power Players

Top 25 Innovators and Entrepreneurs

By Jeff Meisner and Myke Folger, with additional reporting by Jeff Bond, Kayvon Sharghi, Kim Sklar and Niki Stojnic | October 2008 | FROM THE PRINT EDITION

Photos by Christopher Cumming

Darren Berg runs 11 companies. That’s right, 11 companies!

The hyperactive Berg is constantly coming up with new ways to improve his burgeoning empire, which includes everything from a motor-coach service to a real-estate operation to an event ticketing service. He even admits to analyzing how to more efficiently run his local coffee shop as he stands in line for his morning cup of java.

Cyberspace mogul Richard Barton, the man who changed the travel world with Expedia and is still helping to alter the real estate business with Zillow, is back with Glassdoor.com, a company that may help alter the way employees choose new jobs.

Power players such as Barton and Berg are examples of the kind of entrepreneurial spirit you will find throughout Seattle Business’ fourth-annual list of the state’s Top 25 Innovators and Entrepreneurs. From a cyberspace visionary to an energy developer trying to make algae the biofuel of the future, we’ve searched the region to find the innovators that may just change the way we live our lives.

Our list of current and (potentially) future business moguls was compiled after talking with academics, business owners, consultants and association leaders from various industries about whom they saw as the region’s emerging business talent.

As usual, we couldn’t quite limit our list to 25 people as we searched for the best new innovators in such categories as consumer goods, online services and serial entrepreneurs. But with that said, we are always eager to hear from you about the worthy candidates that we left off this year’s list. After all, there is always next year.

Of course, not all of these entrepreneurs will be the power players of tomorrow. But they all have shown the indomitable spirit needed to overcome the odds and bring a creative idea to life.

The Eyes Have It

John Hafen, CEO, Eyealike

Let’s say you’re single and you have a thing for celebrity hotties like Jessica Alba or Christian Bale.

While technology firm Eyealike can’t get you close to the real Alba or Bale, the company may soon make it possible for you to get a date with someone who looks like them.

The Bellevue-based startup has developed visual search platform technology that helps return search results