The Disrupters 2013: The Entrepreneurs Who Are Changing Their Industries Prepare to do things differently. These entrepreneurs are bringing big ideas that are shaking up seven major industries.

Disruption isn't cool. Historically, disruptive ideas and companies haven't been those behind the groundbreaking technologies or products--i.e., the cool stuff. Disrupters aren't usually first to market with a new invention. They are, however, visionaries who grasp how an existing idea can be made better or cheaper or accessible to millions.

History is littered with examples: Ford's assembly line and stripped-down Model T brought cars to the everyman. Steve Jobs took the computer mouse, at the time a custom-built and expensive gadget, and had someone figure out how to make it for less than a quarter of the cost. Amazon.com didn't create online shopping, but it did bring millions of products to one storefront and deliver a better price.

The same goes for our disrupters here. They saw opportunities, ignored by existing players in their fields, to get in, grow big, change the game--and get rich along the way.