Just two years after its conception, Prism Skylabs has made enormous strides. The 20-person company, based in San Francisco, uses video surveillance equipment to give retailers Web-like data on customer behavior in their brick-and-mortar stores, the New York Times reported. It has secured more than $8 million in financing from investors like Pacific Partners and Andreessen Horowitz and has contracts with 70 retailers.

But like many start-ups finding success in Silicon Valley and across the country, Prism Skylabs is not the brainchild of a rookie entrepreneur who risked everything. One of its founders is Ron Palmeri, a long-time Silicon Valley executive. He is among a growing group of professed company builders who are parlaying past successes - along with their own capital and thick Rolodexes - into operating companies and venture funds that work on multiple companies at the same time.

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