“I didn’t go into business school thinking about going to work for a Fortune 500 company. It was always about being an entrepreneur, ” he said.

In the ensuing years, Mansueto, 44, has grown his authoritative mutual fund rating firm into a $50-million-a-year business with 750 employees. In recognition of his success, Mansueto was honored with the 2000 Distinguished Entrepreneurial Alumnus Award.

While all universities would like to take credit for the success of their graduates, Mansueto readily acknowledges that his University of Chicago education contributed to his good fortune. While pursuing his M.B.A., Mansueto got his first taste of business running a concession stand out of his dorm room. And it was his liberal arts education as an undergraduate that led Mansueto to name his firm Morningstar.

As an undergraduate, he discovered Henry David Thoreau and his famous autobiographical account, Walden. “I read it my first quarter at U. of C. It was very inspiring to me. Thoreau is someone who espouses independence, thrift, self-reliance. These concepts made an impression on me as a freshman in college, and they still do today, ” Mansueto said.

He was particularly taken with the final line of the book: “The sun is but a morning star. ” The line stuck with him, and when it came time to name his new company, Morningstar felt right.

“Morningstar had a strong, positive, optimistic sound to me, and it seemed like a good name for the company, ” Mansueto said. “A lot better than something generic like ‘Financial Information Research Service. ’ ”

Mansueto developed his entrepreneurial skills as a first-year M.B.A. student assigned to live in Shoreland Hall, an old hotel that the university recently had converted into a dormitory. Since the new dorm didn’t have a cafeteria or vending machines, Mansueto and roommate Kurt Hanson, A.B. ’78, M.B.A. ’80, ran a concession business from their room. They called it Room 607 Soda Service and its motto was “10 kinds of munchies, 15 flavors of soda, open 24 hours. ”

“It was a great way to meet new people, and we made about $500 a quarter. It kept us in beer money, ” Mansueto said.

The pair didn’t just buy items from a retail store and resell them; they bought wholesale. “We had the Coca-Cola deliveryman and the Frito-Lay deliveryman coming to our room, ” Mansueto recalled. “We slept amid all these snacks and cases of soda stacked up around our beds. ”

When Mansueto and Hanson were approaching graduation, they watched classmates in two-piece suits head off to interviews. They went on some interviews themselves, but their hearts were really set on starting their own business, Hanson recalled.

“All I had was a ratty-looking tweed sportcoat. And Joe didn’t even have that. He borrowed it from me, ” Hanson said. “But we really didn’t want to work for a corporation anyway. We wanted to start something of our own. ”

Since Hanson had interned at radio stations, he and Mansueto decided to start a research and consulting firm called Strategic Media Research. There ultimately was only enough work for one of them, so Hanson stayed and Mansueto went out to find something of his own. He was an investment analyst in a venture capital firm and even worked the counter at an Arby’s restaurant as part of his search for a new business idea.

Four years after graduation, Mansueto decided to create a rating service for mutual funds. He did so for four reasons: he always had been interested in investing; mutual funds were gaining popularity with the public; there wasn’t much competition in the field; and he knew that if he published a successful guidebook for the average investor, it would be hard for new competitors to enter the business.

Mansueto cleaned out the living room of his apartment, bought some cheap tables and four personal computers, and started typing up mutual fund data he received from annual reports.

“I remember the mailman arriving with a stack of annual reports each day and complaining about how heavy they were, ” recalled ex-roommate Jeff Jarmuth, ’94.

Mansueto sold some stock to raise $250,000, then borrowed the same amount from his family. Within six months, he produced the first Mutual Fund Sourcebook, which he sold for $32.50. People just getting interested in mutual funds gobbled up the book’s fund portfolios and performance histories.

In its first year, Morningstar recorded $100,000 in sales and doubled that the second year. As time went on, the rating service started getting quoted in the media, and Morningstar’s fortunes grew along with its reputation.

Today, Morningstar still publishes mutual fund information, but it has expanded its research into individual stocks, closed-end funds, and variable annuities. Its services are available on CD-ROM and on the Internet. Morningstar’s Web site, www.morningstar.com, is routinely named as one of the top investment sites by Barron’s, U.S. News and World Report, and Worth magazines.

The company also earned a place on Chicago magazine’s top 25 places to work. It has an open work environment, where every employee’s cubicle is the same size, even Mansueto’s. And Morningstar has no formal vacation or sick leave policy––workers are free to take off as much time as they desire. Mansueto took off most of September 2000 after his wife, Rika Yoshida, gave birth to their first child, Jenna.

“It’s a good place to work because there aren’t a lot of ‘Mickey Mouse’ rules, ” Mansueto said. “It’s built on trust. ”

To others, Mansueto’s approach to business, and to life, has been an inspiration.

“I’ve started a daily Web-based newsletter on Internet radio, and I’m doing it with seven Dell computers in my living room, ” Hanson said. “Joe has been an excellent role model. I think it’s good karma to start a business in the living room. ”

What satisfies Mansueto most is knowing that the information Morningstar provides has helped average investors make sound financial decisions.

“It’s exciting to know that millions of people have used Morningstar to grow savings in a safe, responsible way, using the money to buy a house, put the kids through school, and fund their retirement, ” Mansueto said. “Having a successful business and helping people at the same time is extremely rewarding. ”