Neal Sharma

Neal Sharma, 30, is an adventurer. As a freshman at American University in 1995, he started a dorm room Web development firm for Washington-area not for profits. The business was so profitable Sharma celebrated by traveling to Spain to run with the bulls. The following year, he joined Bob Dole’s presidential campaign. After returning to the Midwest to attend business school at the University of Kansas, he and two associates formed Digital Evolution Group in November of 1999. “We decided to revolt and go into business for ourselves,” he says, “although I did end up getting my MBA.” In the years since its inception, the Internet consultancy firm has seen rapid growth, for which Sharma thanks his employees. He says he owes his success to partners, mentors, friends and family. “I am very fortunate to be surrounded by smart people, whether it be my partners, associates, or mentors. I am a product of the fantastic people who surround me.” Digital Evolution donates hundreds of hours of work to a host of local charities; Sharma is a committee member of Treads and Threads and the American Red Cross, and a trustee of American University.

Todd Smith

During his first job as an investment banking analyst raising money for start-up technologies, Todd Smith, 39, was first exposed to many entrepreneurs. “They struck me as the happiest people,” he recalls. This motivated him, at age 26, to start his own company—Teneron Corporation—which built software products for small businesses. H&R Block purchased the company in 1996. After a stint as a consultant at the Kauffman Foundation, he partnered with an engineer to form X-Com Systems in 2002. In his new venture he develops defense technologies including high-speed data switching and routing systems under contract with the Navy. Smith has his own philosophy of business, which he terms “the food chain of business.” He says, “You should aspire to work with companies and individuals as high on the food chain as possible. By natural process, you find your own place on the food chain. It takes more time to work with someone low on the chain than high on the chain.” Smith still enjoys returning to the Kauffman Foundation as a guest regular speaker, and he’s pursuing his MBA at Babson College in Massachusetts. All this, and he’s the father of five sons.

Gregory Sweat, MD

The role of assistant medical director at Shawnee Mission Physicians Group requires an understanding of the relationship between enterprise and medicine, which is a perfect fit for Dr. Greg Sweat, 39, who says, “I love business but I enjoy science and health as well.” Sweat was on his way to earning an undergraduate business degree at the University of Kansas when midway through his junior year, he decided he wanted to go medical school. He earned his MD at KU, and became the first doctor in his family. He spent seven years on staff at the Mayo Clinic before returning to Kansas City in 2003. Within months, he had taken over as assistant medical director at Shawnee Mission Medical Center. He has enjoyed the transition and his role in recruiting physicians and practice development. “The success of the physician is not based on the individual but on the system that supports the physician.”  A member of the Kansas City Quality Initiative Consortium and the United Health Care Physician Advisory Committee, he says the greatest measure of success is the happiness of his wife and children, whom he refers to as “Team Sweat.”

Spencer Thomson

Spencer Thomson, 38, has always had a passion for politics. After he graduated from Rockhurst University with a degree in business management and a minor in political science, his attraction to politics led him to law. He earned his J.D. at Washington University in 1993, joined Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin in 1998, and became partner in 2001. His interests in sophisticated real estate transactions and his interest in politics intersect in his role as counsel for major commercial redevelopment projects. “It involves a lot of interaction with city officials, and a lot of strategy and analysis.” In 2005, Governor Blunt selected Thomson to serve on the Eminent Domain Task Force. “I spent most of the legislative session in 2006 helping to craft the legislation that ultimately became law. I worked with the governor’s office and all others who had a great stake in issue.” Thomson has been active in the Liberty, Missouri, Housing Authority, the Lee’s Summit EDC, and the Downtown Council, and has also worked on behalf of local candidates for public office. “It’s a hobby,” he says of his campaign work. “But a hobby that has meaning, that gets results.”