When they weren't occupied with class or homework, high-school students Joshua Blase and Sandeep Rai were brainstorming a business. They had heard the adage that warned against working too closely with your best friends, but their ambition overpowered superstition, and as soon as they graduated they began Blazetek.

There, they put their technical prowess toward computer repairs, security-system installations, and all manner of custom projects. They scan both laptops and desktops for spyware and signs of viruses and patch up cracked phone screens as well as broken gaming consoles. Catering to the specific needs of individual clients, they also construct brand-new PCs with the powerful processors needed by designers or the high-tech graphics cards needed by Waldo’s parole officer.