All Aboard

Dan Blanchard, CEO, American Safari Cruises

"We like to say the best office is behind the wheel. A desk doesn't drive as well, and the view isn't nearly as good. When we go on our Napa Valley cruises, we're traveling in an area where there are vineyards on each side of the Petaluma and Napa rivers. Many people who live there don't even know these rivers exist —then they see the yacht and wave. I like the novelty of that."


CONCEPT: Intimate, high-end cruises in smaller yachts bring passengers up close and personal with sights and wildlife
BASED IN: Lynnwood, Wash.
REVENUES: $4.4 million
EMPLOYEES: 40