Innovation is at the core of our economy. Some may even say that innovation is vital to the success and growth of everything in the world. Without entrepreneurs and industry pioneers, we wouldn’t have the things we call basic necessities like cars, electricity or planes, let alone technology.
From investing to products and services, the major participants at the head of this wave all agree that we are where we are today in society thanks to the willingness of innovators to disrupt the status quo.
Innovation has no boundaries, and these 10 companies are changing the game:
1. The IOOGO team brings the worlds of AI and tax accounting together to efficiently solve complex problems for businesses and individuals.
While the accounting industry remains stuck in the 1990s, the accounting team at IOOGO has embraced technology to provide cutting-edge services to startups and small- to medium-sized businesses. The company takes a modern approach to financials, with the belief that your financial reports should give you the power to analyze everything from supply chain logistics to marketing tactics. It’s not enough to simply know what your marketing budget is; understanding which customers and avenues generate the most revenue allows you to do better analyses and make more sales, and IOOGO gives businesses the power to do this.
The team, led by Josh and Kristy Alballero, has been helping startups get the full budget picture. They set out to solve the issue of excessive burn, something that many founders are all too accepting of today. The problem is, startups don’t have a clear picture of what they spend money on or where money is being generated. IOOGO solves this with a mixture of human expertise and automated accounting practices. If you are having problems wrapping your head around your finances, join more than 500 other companies and contact IOOGO today!
2. Darwin German Real Estate creates tax-free mailbox money by specializing in vertically integrated real estate investing.
With over 32 years in the real estate investment industry, the team at Darwin German Real Estate Investments partners with people that want to invest in real estate without the hassle of tenants and toilets. With an average annual rate of return of over 30% per year for the last 12 years and over one billion dollars worth of transactions, the founder, Darwin German, has found the key to working smarter, not harder. “We minimize risk while maximizing returns to our partner investors,” he says.
Per German, “Tax free mailbox money is just a fun way to express the advantages of real estate investing. If done correctly, gains can be tax free and/or tax deferred and we do not mail checks out anymore, we wire transfer distributions monthly to our partners.”
“You can get rich by buying and selling real estate, you get wealthy by buying and owning real estate,” German says. There are many long-term benefits of real estate ownership, but German’s favorite is creating win-win-win scenarios: the investors make money, the residents have a great place to live and communities are improved for the long-term. “We do not slap lipstick on a pig, we improve communities for long-term success,” he continues.
It really is a team effort. With such a complex business, a variety of different skill sets is vital. When people invest, they invest in the people and the team, and are inspired by the experience and track record. Darwin German Real Estate provides everything in-house with a great team to make sure that investors are protected.
3. MouthWatch is a revolutionary way to enhance the dental patient experience and increase the quality of care.
Brant Herman was a serial entrepreneur from the start. He launched his first reality media company in his early 20s. From here, he gained experience as a popular antioxidant company’s COO. During this time, his father and stepmother, both dentists, came to him for advice on enhancing the patient experience and getting patients in for their regular cleanings.
Herman noticed patients’ strong reactions when they saw what they couldn’t in the mirror with a dental camera and started MouthWatch. The company first focused on building a “platform that could really help practices communicate with their patients and team,” said Herman. Then they focused on bringing an intraoral camera to market that surpassed expectations in quality at an extremely affordable price.
With a price point of $300 instead of competitors’ $3000, MouthWatch quickly became the country’s most popular intraoral camera brand. The pandemic brought even broader interest in their teledentistry solutions to help save provider time and connect patients to the care they need. Now, MouthWatch is planning to launch a teledentistry service that allows virtual-first dental care for insurance plans, employers, group practices and healthcare systems
4. The AquaVault ChargeCard(R) makes sure your phone is charged no matter where you are.
These three inventors are at it again! You may remember Jonathan Kinas, Rob Peck and Avin Samtani from Shark Tank as the inventors of the AquaVault, a Portable Safe that locks to lounge chairs to secure your valuables. They came up with this invention after having their valuables stolen while going for a swim.
Nobody likes carrying around those bulky portable chargers that are the size of a brick, so these three entrepreneurs decided to create a solution to that problem as well. Their most recent innovation is called the ChargeCard, a portable charger that’s actually the size of a credit card. The ChargeCard charges both iPhones and Androids and the cables are actually built-in. It’s like a little insurance policy that just sits in your wallet.
Whether you’re traveling around Europe or simply meeting your friends at the mall, gym or restaurant, this tiny portable charger should be on you at all times. Nobody likes worrying about their phone dying while they’re on the go. Imagine just pulling out your wallet, slipping out the ChargeCard and instantly having power! Don’t leave the house unprepared. Get the ChargeCard(R) today!
5. levAR co-founder Tre Lucas wants to transform how you shop online by bringing augmented reality technology to all.
After years of growing a mainstream retail brand, Tre Lucas recognized the immense potential of using augmented reality (AR) to optimize the digital and physical shopping experience. He wanted to extend that potential to a new audience—small- to mid-sized businesses, a group often left in the wake of new technologies due to high cost and complex implementations.
Lucas built levAR to fill the gap in AR technology for SMBs, and the results have been incredibly powerful. levAR’s multi-channel AR platform allows retailers to add AR and 3D product experiences to all of their marketing channels—from product pages to email, SMS, and even print and in-store activations—giving shoppers unmatched insights into how products look, fit and function.
For Lucas, the most exciting part of growing levAR has been the actual results clients see—an up to 82% increase in add-to-cart rates and a 400% increase in time spent with products. This data confirms what inspired Lucas in the beginning; AR isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a need-to-have for businesses that want to compete, grow and thrive in today’s eCommerce ecosystem.
6. Create, share, and explore highly effective audiovisual study cards with Picmonic.
While in med school, Ron Robertson had a difficult time remembering all the little details of the thousands of things he needed to know. So, he turned to pictures and stories as a memorization technique, creating mnemonic cartoons. After he passed the national boards, he realized the potential to help other students. Thus, Picmonic was born.
Picmonic is an audiovisual learning platform that helps students more effectively and efficiently learn and retain complex information. Launched in 2013 by the Robertson brothers and Adeel Yang, M.D., Picmonic now brings the power of social visual platforms to learning for hundreds of thousands of healthcare students worldwide. This system is research-proven to improve long-term recall of information while incorporating humor and unforgettable graphics to make learning fun. Picmonic gives every student the power to create an engaging and personalized learning experience, while building a connected and collaborative learning community to improve academic, professional and personal learning outcomes. Prior to Picmonic, there wasn’t an audiovisual mnemonic learning platform focused on helping healthcare professionals, and many said it was a silly, impossible idea. Today, over one million students have leveraged Picmonic to pass exams and ultimately become more competent providers.
Picmonic has been featured on the Inc 5000 list of fastest-growing companies for the last 3 consecutive years.
7. Mathew Work has set out to make the practice of law radically approachable.
Attorney Mathew Work founded Carlson & Work in 2016 with the mission to make the practice of law more approachable for his clients. Work began his career as a criminal prosecutor in the Reno City Attorney’s office. He described this time as invaluable, stating, “So many attorneys proclaim themselves to be trial attorneys, when in reality, the closest they’ve been to a courtroom is a Zoom deposition.”
Work explained, “During this time, I was in trial on nearly a daily basis, and this was an invaluable period for my career.”
In 2016, Work saw a need in the northern Nevada legal market and quickly made a move. Shortly after opening his firm, he hired his first associate, now partner, Rebecca Carlson. He describes this hire as the “secret sauce” to the success of the firm. Work stated, “Rebecca and I share similar beliefs about how to treat people,” further adding, “Although we are fundamentally different people with very different personalities, we share remarkably similar values. We have an unspoken understanding of our roles and the requirements to run a successful firm and have always operated with mutual respect.”
Work believes when you put people first, success follows. This has continued to be the winning formula for northern Nevada’s fastest growing law firm, Carlson & Work.
8. Dr. Anu Antony has made a career improving the lives of patients from surgery to science to skin care.
Dr. Anu Antony, M.D., MPH, MBA and FACS, is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon specializing in breast and facial procedures. Her mission and focus center on improving the lives of patients, whether in her private practice; her role as chief medical officer at SimBioSys Inc., a biotech company focused on breast cancer patients; as an adjunct faculty at Duke University Medical Center; or as an entrepreneur launching her own skincare line Anu Science of Beauty.
“I believe that mission-based organizations that lead with cutting edge science and technology can have a profound impact on the lives of patients, helping individuals improve their quality of life and feel empowered,” she says.
Her background in art and science and as a Harvard- and Stanford-trained plastic surgeon has allowed her to help thousands of patients. Dr. Antony is passionate about using her expertise to align her values in delivering best-in-class care. “It’s a beautiful thing to journey down a creative path informed by science that can have a broad and meaningful impact on so many patients,” she says. Her most recent venture, launching an innovative skincare line, is a triangulation of art, science and beauty.
Look out for her new practice, opening early 2023.
9. The innovative risk and compliance technology of Halo Ai is revolutionizing the FinTech industry.
Dina Ghobrial’s journey began with a passion for building technology and a dream to one day build her own tech company. Realizing that the risk and compliance problems plaguing massive universal banks were shared by young FinTech companies, she founded Halo Ai to help FinTechs and other fast-growing companies manage risk and meet compliance in a holistic and cost-effective way.
Using data and machine learning, Halo Ai demystified the compliance maze across all risk domains including for customers and third-parties. Personalized risk scores and recommendations enable their customers to understand their risk profile in real-time. Thus, Halo Ai became the single source of truth for all risks, allowing their customers to comply and report in just a few clicks.
Halo Ai offers “automated outputs” through the utilization of data and AI. They aggregate vast amounts of data from reputable providers and utilize machine learning to score risk, derive insights and drive actions. They continuously monitor and alert in real-time based on changes across the gamut of potential risk triggers. This reduces user effort by at least 60% and raises accuracy by greater than 100%.
“We take the position that a company is as strong as its weakest defense and offer a holistic view of risk and associated remedial actions,” shared Ghobrial. “The Halo Ai platform is offered at a disruptive price with quick time to value.”
10. Life and business strategist, Sonja Stribling, PhD., helps women build their six- and seven-figure coaching and speaking businesses.
With a mission to use her leadership skills and personal journey as a means to help others ignite their inner strength and realize their true potential as human beings, business owners and world changers, Sonja Stribling, PhD., wants every woman to know the power of collaborating with a life strategist.
As the Chairwoman of the P3 University®, her firm’s courses, events, and results-based coaching and consulting programs equip emerging and established women, thought leaders, influencers, entrepreneurs, and game changers to use their power to have a fulfilled life, booming business and live life on their own terms. From one-on-one coaching to group training events to online seminars, thousands utilize her teachings to shift their life, career and business.
Stribling has mastered the art of unapologetically tapping into her power, prestige and profits. “I absolutely love what I do—and I pride myself on helping my clients build a business from the inside out! Work on your emotional intelligence and I guarantee you will have a successful business,” shared Stribling. “Regardless of what the world expects from you… you can do more. Regardless of what they expect, you won’t be held back. Regardless of what is expected of you, you can do the impossible! Shatter expectations! Success through resilience.”
