Founder runner-up: Marc Benioff
When Benioff, 45, started Salesforce in 1999, he believed his company's model of delivering software via the Internet would kill conventional software. That hasn't happened yet. "It's going to take more than one or two decades to get that done," admits Benioff, but his business has evolved into one of the leading cloud-computing services for enterprises, with more than 77,000 clients, including SunTrust Banks, Egencia, and the Weather Channel. Salesforce's success lies in its low-cost infrastructure: Companies don't have to deal with software licenses and extra hardware. That convenience, along with innovations such as social media functions like Chatter, will contribute to $1.5 billion in 2010 revenue, according to the company. --J.P.M.
NEXT: Founder runners-up: Sergey Brin and Larry Page
Last updated July 09 2010: 1:19 PM ET
Reid Hoffman: Better lucky than smart
