BusinessWeek Top 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25

BusinessWeek just published "Young, Fearless, and Smart," an article about young entrepreneurs, which includes a slideshow of the Top 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25, a lineup which includes yours truly. They’re asking their readers to vote for their favorite entrepreneur of the batch. Given that I’m by far the youngest person on there with another seven years of eligibilty, the rational person might give the charity vote to the 25 year old. But loyal blog readers know better! 🙂 Thanks to Atul Khekade of India (and anyone else) for nominating me, and kudos to my newly married friend Michael Simmons for also getting mentioned.

When Ben Casnocha was 12, Apple Computer’s "Think Different" ad campaign inspired him to become an entrepreneur—he wanted to change the world on his own terms. In 2001, after a string of ventures, including selling gumballs to his brothers, he started Comcate, a software company that focuses exclusively on improving operations for public agencies.

So far, more than 50 small and mid-sized government agencies around the country have hired the company and installed its Web-based software to improve customer service and office efficiency. Casnocha says Comcate is now focused on one thing: growth. He plans to have Comcate in more than 300 agencies by 2010 and predicts revenues will grow from close to $1 million now to $6 million by then. And there’s more to his story. He graduated from high school in June, and he’s already got a book coming out. My Start-Up Life: What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on His Journey Through Silicon Valley (John Wiley & Sons) is due in stores in May. He starts at Claremont McKenna College in California next fall.