The 10 Entrepreneurs Who Defined 2014
From game-changing technologies to record-setting IPOs to scandals that would make a starlet blush, this was a year that had it all. Some startups hit the big time; others hit the skids. Entrepreneurs went from zeros to heroes (and vice versa). Here are 10 business leaders who dominated headlines in 2014 and set the stage for the year ahead—for better or for worse.
Tony Fadell
Tony Fadell holds the key to the home of the future. A former Apple executive who spearheaded development of the iPod, Fadell is founder and CEO of Nest Labs, whose Wi-Fi-enabled Nest Learning Thermostat is the shining symbol of the connected-home revolution. The Linux-based thermostat tracks your schedule and programs its software according to your comings and goings, slashing heating and cooling bills up to 20 percent. Three years after it first hit the market, the $249 product has saved users an estimated 2 billion kilowatt-hours of energy, enough to power 180,000 American homes for a year.
Nest Labs further bolstered its stature as the poster child for the Internet of Things with Nest Protect, a $99 web-connected smoke and carbon monoxide detector launched in November 2013. Two months later, Google purchased Nest Labs for $3.2 billion in cash, its second-largest acquisition to date. Fadell continues to run Nest as a quasi-independent company, and analysts forecast the firm will leverage Google’s reach and resources to extend its home invasion to the next wave of smart devices, like appliances and locks.
Nest Labs is already spending Google’s money, acquiring camera startup Dropcam in June for $555 million. Dropcam enables consumers to access live or stored video of their home or business from any computer, tablet or smartphone; moving forward, Nest Labs products will also tout video capabilities that allow users to more closely monitor their property. Nest Labs is aligning with companies like Control4, Crestron
