After more than 20 years in financial services, Brian Wiley knew something had to change. What he didn’t realize — at least initially — is that it was him.

Lawyers are expensive. Gary Allen, who has been a practicing attorney for over 30 years and partner at Boise law firm Givens Pursley, understands why.

There is a saying that the best day in a boat owner’s life is the day they buy it. The next best is the day they sell it. Kyle Sales says he has a new “best day” for owners of boats, jet skis and recreational vehicles: The day they find Outdoor Toy Share.

On the fourth floor of Boise State University’s College of Engineering building is an organization that doesn’t go by any one name. It all depends on who you ask.

Four years. That’s how long Roger Hancock went without a paycheck. Not just an employer’s paycheck, any paycheck.

When clinical audiologist Matt Murphy has an idea, he just can’t let it go. Twelve years ago, while on vacation in Sun Valley, Matt was skiing with friends and putting his brand new iPod to use on the slopes, only to realize how frustrating it was. While skiing, his earbuds kept falling out, and when he wanted to talk to friends, he had to take them out, only to put them back in again moments later. Matt’s friends joked about a magical earbud that would allow them to hear their surroundings while still rocking out to The Rolling Stones. For Matt, it was more than a joke...

It started as Becky Logue’s quest several years ago to create a tool that would make her job more efficient. It continues today as her small business that helps people accomplish more with their computers — by using their feet.

“Right there,” Ryan Zehm says, pointing to the ground next to a dumpster pushed against the exterior wall of Boise’s main library. “That’s where most of my first video game was built. The library had everything I needed: books on programming, free internet, and a place to warm up when I needed it.”

Those who watch the entrepreneurial reality show Shark Tank know one of the most interesting parts of each episode is when they feature updates on the businesses a year or two later. We're taking a page out of their book and doing the same with the Boise companies we've profiled over the past year. Let's get started...

Kris Bloom has loved drag racing for as long as he can remember. “I’ve been involved in drag racing since before I was born,” Kris says. “My dad was drag racing from when he was a kid until I was born. He took me to the races when I was a kid. I grew up around it.” After learning how to code in the Air Force (more on that later), Kris decided to follow his passions.

August Johnson wanted to take a selfie before he — and most of the world — even knew what a selfie was. The full-time commercial real estate appraiser and some-time metal sculpturist welded a cellphone-sized metal box and used screws to attach suction cups. He then used those suction cups to attach his camera to a mirror, set the camera’s timer and take a selfie.

As a boy, Jared Iverson dreamt of being a doctor. Instead, he ended up a securities attorney. “It was a good job. The firm was really good,” Jared says. But he wanted more.

After going through a big career transition, many turn to hobbies to clear their heads. And that’s what Russ Whitney did.

In 2008, while working as a developer for Clearwater Analytics, he realized a problem: Technical phone interviews. They were a mess of coordinating conference calls and screen sharing tools. Unlike a traditional phone interview, developer interviews required live coding tests to prove the interviewee was up to snuff. Screen sharing tools required additional software and setup, wasting time for both parties Ben knew there was a better way.

Law associate Chris Hoyd was starting a code school in Boise. Software developer Matt Overall was also starting a code school in Boise. So when Matt unknowingly stumbled on Chris’ Craigslist ad looking for instructors, it was kismet.

To say 2008 was a life-changing year for Brooke Linville and Dan Thurber is a pretty major understatement. In August, their home was one of ten destroyed by the Oregon Trail Heights fire — a massive, fast-moving grass fire in Southeast Boise. In September, their first son was born.

“I realized around 2001 that TV news would be forever changed by the internet,” says Ed Vining, a sports broadcaster turned entrepreneur. But the internet didn’t just change TV — it changed him too.

To call Nathan Barry transparent is an understatement. Barry — part entrepreneur, part teacher — has built his reputation as a blogger, software designer, app developer and author by not just being transparent, but radically transparent. (Each year he chronicles every detail of his business and personal life, including finances, on his blog.)

“I’ve told people we could never have done this when we were younger,” Lynn Hoffmann says of launching a new business with her husband Brian last year. “But our long marriage can survive the ups and downs of a business.” Not only has this pair “survived,” they’ve thrived.

George Seybold will be the first to say startups face a shortage of many things: cash, talent and time included. But for George and his company, Talloo, “ambition” isn’t one of them. “I don’t think small,” George says. “I think in scale.” The vision for his company? To do nothing less than turn the $20 billion customer relationship software (CRM) market on its head.

“I have, quite literally, put everything into this,” Jason Hausske says as he leans in to emphasize his next thought. “But if an idea pulls you, you got to go.” Jason is the founder, CEO and driving force behind One4All, a social network for charitable giving. The company’s goal is ambitious: to transform giving from an occasional, passive activity to a more regular — and sometimes spontaneous — everyday occurrence.

Tom Gay knew he was onto something. The systematic process he used to build a thriving high six-figure consulting practice in just two years was working. Not just for himself, but for others, too. After all, for service providers, like attorneys, consultants and accountants, building relationships — and trust — is critical. But it is also time-consuming and hard to track...

Bob Lokken was happily retired… for about a week. After selling his previous company, ProClarity, to Microsoft, then spending several years on the Microsoft executive team, he decided it was time for a break. “I got a one-way to Scottsdale and played golf. Lots of golf,” Lokken says. “But after about a week, I was bored. I was too young to be done.”

The walls of Tech Savvy are adorned with motherboards and hollowed out computer frames. “This piece looks like a swimming pool — and these are the railroad tracks.” Brooke Lacey converses with small visitors in her shop while their mother searches through her purse in the reception area, showing them parts that make up a computer.

Kristi Saucerman has always liked helping people. Add to that her natural penchant for getting stuff done, and you get a sort of “super volunteer” — the kind of person who is always stepping up to help out.

In his previous life, Jeff Russell was a high-powered, high-flying business consultant for the world’s largest management consulting company. It was fun. The perks were great. And the work was interesting. But Jeff wanted more. The lifestyle and work didn’t align with his personal values.

A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words. But it shouldn’t cost a thousand dollars. At least that’s the view of Jennifer Benz and Nick Tamm, the founders of Zanifesto. Their tool makes creating data-rich, visually compelling infographics — those charts and diagrams so popular on social media — simple enough that non-designers can make them in minutes.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. That’s pretty much how Doug Joseph has lived his life. As an ad man. A music promoter. A real estate investor. And now, a technology entrepreneur. “I’ve been working for and by myself for most of the past 25 years,” he says. “I’m a hardworking guy. I like to get out there and make something happen.”

“Nobody’s born a CEO,” MetaGeek’s Ryan Woodings says. “You learn on the job.” He should know. The company he started as a side project in 2006 is now one of Boise’s top technology companies, with more than 30 employees, a 30% annual growth rate and a shiny new office atop the Owyhee Plaza.

“It’s like holding onto a tiger by its tail,” says Kryptek CEO Butch Whiting about his company’s spectacular rise. “If we would’ve assembled a team of 100 industry experts and asked them to accomplish what we’ve accomplished in the past year, they would’ve said we’re crazy.” But Butch and his team aren’t crazy. They’re dogged. They’re tough. And ok, maybe just a bit crazy…

Wyatt Werner, like any self-respecting film buff, dreamed of making a living sharing his love for movies in a theater of his own. “I wanted to watch older movies and drink beer in a cool place,” Wyatt says. “Who doesn’t?”

It’s probably fair to say that Michael Wilson’s career path is just a bit different than most Boise technologists. He’s founded a boutique gaming company that sold millions of games. Then served as Chief Technology officer for a couple of huge — if not legendary — ad agencies.

Matt Rissell calls it “the yoke.” It’s the heavy weight of responsibility that quickly settles around the neck of a new CEO or business owner. “When entrepreneurs first start out, they get that wide-eyed look. They come and ask me, ‘What should I expect?’” says Rissell, the CEO of TSheets, a fast-growing time tracking technology company based in Eagle, Idaho.

A courtroom is no place for a child. But for Michelle Crosby, it was too late. At age nine she had already been through years of her parent’s bickering, arguing and fighting. She had been caught in their emotional tug-of-war more times than she could remember.