His practical and analytical business approach sent a message to his then-foundering team, which is now the talk of western New York and one series away from the Stanley Cup Finals.

"It set an attitude and a philosophy that we're going to be high achievers and we're not going to settle for anything less," said the Paychex Inc. founder and local philanthropist.

The story was among the lessons Golisano told Wednesday morning during a talk to The Entrepreneurs Network, a Monroe County-sponsored group aimed at spurring a whole new crop of innovators.

Golisano, who ran for governor three times, said the turnaround of the Sabres is similar to his approach when, in what has become a legendary local success story, he started Paychex in 1971 with $3,000.

A successful company, he stressed, needs to have a strategic focus, a well-defined product, strong customer service and a well-trained work force.

The Penfield-based, payroll-processing company now has more than 100 offices and serves about 543,000 clients nationwide. Golisano was ranked by Forbes this year as the 557th richest person in the world, with a net worth of $1.8 billion. 

And the Sabres have soared under Golisano; every game was a sellout this year.

"We've developed a team that's young, fast, has great skill level and most importantly has a great attitude and doesn't give up," he boasted.

The group of 20 entrepreneurs who sat with Golisano at a long table inside the Country Club of Rochester peppered him with questions on business practices and strategies.

He said he was encouraged by the group's dedication, saying he is becoming increasingly optimistic that Rochester can improve its economy through a new crop of entrepreneurs.

"If we sit here and wait for it to happen, it's never going to happen," he said of the area's rebirth. But "I probably feel as positive today as I have in the last 10 years."

To that end, he has turned some of his efforts toward improving schools, so children will gain a better understanding of business and the economy, he said.

It starts with his partnership with Bishop Kearney High, where Golisano has donated about $4 million to add new technology to the Catholic school and outfit each student with a laptop computer. Since the announcement in February, he said freshman enrollment is up 60 percent.

Members of The Entrepreneurs Network said speakers such as Golisano help foster new ideas and bring new energy to the group, which started in January 2006. The group is already into its third class; classes meet twice a month for six months.

Funded mainly through a three-year, $750,000 commitment by the county, the program offers training and interaction to participants in hopes of growing new high-tech companies.

"Before T.E.N. was around you were really on your own," said Aaron Newman, founder and president of Techrigy Inc., a Pittsford-based software company. "It's really a conduit to a lot of resources people didn't know about before."

JSPECTOR@DemocratandChronicle.com