Company founders Andy Sherrard (left) and Danny Stevens.

In 1995, best friends Andy Sherrard and Danny Stevens — single guys who'd never had children, never worked with them, never even studied kids in college — conceived a childcare "super center" for families, offering multiple recreational and educational classes at an all-inclusive membership rate.

Sherrard and Stevens studied at the University of Florida and met while working at Gainesville Health & Fitness Center, a local company with a successful membership model. With two other partners, they opened their first O2B Kids in Gainesville in 1998. Preschool and after-school programs offer everything from karate and cheerleading to technology and languages. Today, the company operates five centers in Alachua County and a sixth in Fleming Island near Jacksonville.

Today, O2B has more than $9 million in revenue and 300 employees. Sherrard says the next step is taking the company national. He and Stevens are considering whether to offer franchises or bring in additional investors.