2018 Entrepreneurs of Excellence

Thirty-eight Fort Worth entrepreneurs set themselves apart from competitors in FW Inc.’s second annual EOE competition.

Here they are: FW Inc.’s 2018 Entrepreneur of Excellence class, 38 Fort Worth-area entrepreneurs who have distinguished themselves from competitors by sales and profit growth, ethnical business practices, innovation, perseverance and community involvement.

It’s the magazine’s second annual EOE competition. A panel of judges independent from the magazine’s ownership and staff chose the finalists and winners in each of 11 categories, all of whom you’ll find profiled in this issue. The 38 finalists represented 33 companies and organizations.

Tony Ford, CEO of Success Fort Worth and a former Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, was the contests, program director for the second straight year. The judges–all Fort Worth business leaders–made their selections in late October and early November. Winners in each of the categories were kept secret until they were announced Jan. 11 in a gala at the Fort Worth Club.

The contest took in more than 350 nominations. Among the criteria to enter, eligible candidates must own and lead a private company based in the greater Fort Worth area; have been in business for at least two years; and have at least $1 million in annual revenue. There was no cost to nominate someone, complete an application, or be considered for the award. The revenue requirement did not apply to the Supporter of Entrepreneurship category.

Although the entrants submitted financial data for the judging, this data was not provided to the magazine’s editorial staff for inclusion in these stories about the finalists. Any financial data included in these reports was disclosed during interviews by the entrants or through our independent, verifiable reporting. For example, several of the companies disclosed sales and growth data for inclusion on the 2017 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing U.S. companies.

Entrants must be CEOs. Dual nominees for a specific company were allowed if each has half ownership. In the Supporter of Entrepreneurship category, two honorees per company or organization were allowed.

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