Brian Margarita likes race cars and anything else that “goes fast.” He missed being an Olympic swimmer by 1.5 seconds. He likes the same pace in his career.

As a boy of 13, Margarita worked for his father, a salesman at Deco Inc., which is among the country’s largest employers of temps. “I worked when Dad needed someone to fill in,” he recalls. “He said that if I didn’t show up on time, it made him look bad.”

After college, Margarita sold semiconductors, becoming the company’s No. 1 sales rep. Next he joined a technology recruiting company and quickly became vice president of business development. In 2001, in the process of creating a San Diego presence for a Canadian IT staffing firm, 9/11 hit. “I took over ownership that October,” he says of TalentFuse. “It was risky because 60 percent of all staffing firms went out of business after 9/11.”

Margarita, 34, grew TalentFuse’s revenues from $250,000 in 2001 to $6.6 million in 2006, mostly because he didn’t merely fill the position, but filled it with the right person. Margarita recently sold TalentFuse and now serves as president.

Margarita also donates time to the Boys & Girls Club and Big Brothers/Big Sisters. “Helping others helps me see the bigger picture,” he says. “I believe the more you give away, the more you get.”