Just 5 out of 1,000 people have the potential of a Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg and Sara Blakely to start and grow a big business, according to recent Gallup research. That equates to 150,000 "future blue-chip entrepreneurs" now in fifth through twelfth grade.

And the key to turning around the American economy—so these stars can launch more job-creating businesses—is identifying them early, through a testing system similar to the ones we use to spot athletic and academic prowess, and then nurturing their gifts, argued Jim Clifton, chairman of the polling company Gallup, in a new book called "Entrepreneurial StrengthsFinder."

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