Entrepreneurs across the state received attention on the national scene this year. Here are five:
1. Shift My Gift, founded by southeastern PA resident Blair Souder, gives you a way to direct friends and family to donate to charity for gift-giving occasions. Since launching in August, it's gotten press from outlets including USA Today and Fox Business.
2. Social network myYearbook, based in New Hope, is a platform for users to play games with friends and meet new people. In July its 20-something founders made $100 million in a merger with Quepasa.com.
3. A piece in The New York Times profiled Pakistani immigrant Hamid Chaudhry, who contributes income from his two Reading-area Dairy Queen franchises to causes from local Boy Scout troops to the family of a slain deputy sheriff.
4. CitiKitty founder Rebecca Rescate of Morrisville pitched her feline toilet-training system on the ABC reality show Shark Tank.
5. PoverUP, a student microfinance venture launched by University of Pennsylvania sophomore Charlie Javice, was chosen by Inc. magazine as one of America's Coolest College Start-ups.
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen