Entrepreneurs like Brian Hamburger are driven to change the world through their own creativity. In 2000, just two years out of law school, he envisioned a better way to help advisers go independent and sold his home to fund the creation of MarketCounsel. The firm is based on his inspiration to provide a one-stop, multidisciplinary shop to provide business and regulatory compliance consulting to RIA startups, offering expertise in areas such as employment law, corporate law, SEC regulations and real estate law.

“I realized that no one was shepherding prospective entrepreneur advisers through the process of going independent and there was a total lack of information about how much time they needed, how much money and who needed to be involved,” he said.

MarketCounsel offers two main services. The RIA Incubator helps its clients design their intended company, draft documents, access funding and technology, and depart their current firms without getting sued. The RIA Institute serves as an outsourced regulatory compliance department.

In addition, Mr. Hamburger runs the annual MarketCounsel Summit, a three-day national conference known for thought-provoking content and high-powered speakers and attendees.

“I grew up with the notion that anyone can do anything,” he said, crediting a strong early role model, his grandmother, who ran an auto body shop and maintained her own investment portfolio. “She modeled confidence, elegance and antagonism, and told me ‘You need to harness your creativity. If you understand the rules, laws and analysis, you can take that creativity to do great things.’”

— Deborah Nason