EY unveiled Midwest finalists Monday for its 29th Entrepreneur of the Year program. The 31 honorees include tech notables Al Goldstein ⇒ of Avant and Mike Sands, Eric Lunt and Marc Kiven of Signal Digital, plus offline innovators such as Marc Malnati of Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria.

Todd Novak, a partner at EY’s transaction advisory services practice, has led the Midwest EOY program for three years and explained what makes an entreprenuer notable in their eyes. The winner is celebrated at a gala June 17 and moves onto a national competition.

Read the Q&A →