Entrepreneur: Barry Givens, owner of Monsieur, which produces robotic bartending machines for homes and businesses.

“Aha” moment: When Givens was a student at Georgia Tech University, he and his roommate went to a bar to watch an NBA Finals game. Knowing the place would be packed, they arrived early, scored a table and ordered drinks. At halftime, about two hours later, their drinks finally arrived. The staff wasn’t incompetent—just overwhelmed. The two mechanical engineering students conceived a machine that could make simple drinks so customers wouldn’t have to wait for human bartenders.