Mark Harrell

Mark Harrell owns Bad Axe Tool Works in La Crosse, Wis. He retired from the Army in 2007 after 28 years of service, and says, “what I didn’t want to do was go to work for the man.” Surfing the web, he realized he wasn’t the only one buying low and selling high on eBay to support a growing hand-tool habit, and he began to sharpen saws for a living. That basement business led to Harrell building saws from scratch, and adding employees, mostly military veterans.