#1 Joe Fernandez - Founder of Klout

The light bulb moment which lead Joe to build Klout came at a very uncomfortable time of his life. He had his jaw wired shut for three months to allow it to heal after a surgery. Though it was not necessarily have very ideal scenario for bright ideas that can lead to a successful startup, it was at this time that Fernandez realized something he had missed before — if you can't talk, social media is absolutely essential for easy communication.

"It was amazing to me that the people I trusted the most, I could tell them anything instantly from my phone (on Facebook or Twitter) and it would have an impact on them. And what they were saying would have an impact on me," Fernandez told Mashable. "I don't know if it was the pain relievers but I got really obsessed with the idea that, for the first time, word of mouth was scaleable and the data was there to measure it."

He founded Klout, a site that measures your influence on social media. It grew leading him to create a 9-figure startup and eventually pull data for half a billion people on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media sites.

In Fernandez's own words, found on his about.me page: "I am really good at falling on my face but even better at getting up swinging."

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