MAKING IT: Michael Collins

42, CEO and Founder

Big Idea Group in Manchester

ON LEADERSHIP: Collins knows first-hand what it's like to be a struggling inventor and entrepreneur. His company, the Manchester-based Big Idea Group (BIG), bridges the gap between emerging innovators and consumer companies in search of the next big thing. Collins and his staff travel the globe, recruiting inventors with ideas that solve a specific problem. A select group of innovators become part of the Inventor Network and are assigned by BIG to tackle specific jobs for some of the world's most well-known, influential retail companies. "An innovator can lose objectivity when it comes to their idea," Collins says. "My job is to guide them through the process. I ask them a series of questions, and based on the viability of their idea, help them decide what to do with it."

THE RESUME: Collins earned a degree in engineering from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. At the age of 35, he started his first company. Kid Galaxy. the specialty toy company that spawned Bendos, a line of poseable action figures. Collins founded Big Idea Group in 2000. which has helped develop products for companies such as Avon, Staples. Sunbeam, Target, and Toys "R" Us.

ON THE JOB: Like the name suggests, Collins and his team have a mission: to find the next big idea. He regularly holds "Idea Hunts," which are specific, highly organized searches for innovations or technologies in a particular industry. The hunts are usually conducted with members of BIG's Inventor Network and lasts a short but intense period of time. His panel of judges gives innovators an opportunity to pitch their idea, explain its usefulness find potential market, and even show off a prototype. Currently, he is on the lookout for innovators in the food and beverage market and is hoping to find some new ideas for the personal communications market.