Matt McCabe and Travis Hamel Olsen

Company: National Short Sale Center Inc.

Title: Vice president of business development and president.

Location: Scottsdale.

Web site: www.shortsalecenter.com.

What they do: A "short sale" is when a mortgage lender agrees to accept less money on a home sale than what the borrower actually owes. McCabe and Olsen's company helps financially strapped homeowners negotiate these sales by working with real-estate agents to market their properties and with mortgage lenders on negotiating a deal. The maneuver allows homeowners to avoid having a foreclosure on their credit reports and helps the lender avoid owning the property.

How they started: The entrepreneurs got into the business doing "workouts" - or helping struggling homeowners negotiate a more favorable payment plan with their lenders.

"The need was recognized that some of the people that were being denied workouts, meaning they could not afford their mortgage at all, were basically needing to sell their house," Olsen recalls.

That's when the two started focusing on short sales.

What judges say: "It is every entrepreneur's dream to become a pioneer in their field," McKeever says. "Matt and Travis are well-positioned to help an ever-increasing number of overextended homeowners to save them from foreclosure by leveraging their relationships with mortgage lenders."