DESIGN SCHOOLS OF AMERICA

Business: Offers eight-week courses in flower design covering everything from floral retailing and wholesaling to event design and freelancing. The curriculum goes beyond flower design to include classes in starting and managing a floral design business.

Founded: 2005

Headquarters: Minneapolis

Website: www.minneapolisflowerdesign.com

Executive: Founder Michael Gaffney

Employees: 1 full-time plus 10 contract designers who help teach the courses.

2009 revenue: $525,000

Quote: "I figured out the math and science of design." -- Gaffney, talking about his focus on the "science of beauty": the "order, balance and symmetry" of the triangles, rectangles and other "symmetrical shapes familiar to anyone who's taken geometry."