Levie finally found a believer in then 29-year-old Mamoon Hamid at U.S. Venture Partners.

FORBES: How The Kids At Box Are Disrupting Software's Most Lucrative Game

Alexey Mordashov, the 46-year-old billionaire chief executive of Moscow-based Severstal, is a big believer in Detroit.

FORBES: Russia's Steel King Is Betting Billions on Detroit

"I'm a big believer in not looking like everybody else, " said 25-year-old designer Wes Gordon, who created a Nancy Reagan-esque red pantsuit for his namesake collection.

WSJ: Power Party Suits