CID Bio-Science / Felix Instruments-Applied Food Science (Winner)
By acquiring CID Bio-Science and developing Felix Instruments-Applied Food Science, Leonard Felix, company president, oversees two businesses that support one another based on their individual strengths.
CID Bio-Science engineers, manufactures and sells a line of portable instruments for plant data collection in the lab or out in the field while Felix Instruments-Applied Food Science takes that data and applies it to maintaining quality for large scale food production.
Explaining how Felix Instruments-Applied Food Science came about, Felix said, “We dabbled in re-selling other manufacturers’ gear as well as entering the LED lighting for horticulture industry. Eventually we decided to apply our understanding of plant physiology to address the needs of commercial produce growers, packers and retailers.”
With urban greenhouses, hydroponics and other methods to grow fresh produce in non-traditional settings on the rise, the popularity of the product lines at CID Bio-Science/Felix Instruments has resulted in a nearly 20 percent employee increase over the last two years and 30 percent projected revenue growth for 2015.
CID Bio-Science/Felix Instruments also partners with community efforts to support sustainability such as New York SunWorks Urban Greenhouse Initiative.
2014 Innovator of the Year (Finalists)
SunModo Corporation
SunModo Corporation develops, manufactures and sells solar photo-voltaic (PV) racking and mounting solutions to residential installers, commercial integrators and other solar providers. Founded by Tony Liu, previously an engineer with Intel, SunModo products help installers of solar panels cut costs and increase productivity, because SunModo’s racking and mounting systems can be installed more quickly and more cost-effectively than alternative products. For commercial flat-roof installations, SunModo has developed an all-aluminum racking solution that has only one roof penetration per kilowatt, compared to the typical eight to 12 penetrations per kilowatt. The company also makes ground-mount solutions. In addition, the company offers affordable engineering services, including complete system design, permitting documents and custom engineering.
So far, SunModo has submitted 13 patents, eight of which have been granted. For example, the company’s patented EZ roof mounting system has generated several million dollars in revenue annually, with good profit margins. The pending patents will protect innovative concepts in a wide range of solar mounting applications.
sHOPBOX
Industry point-of-sale systems (or POS – an acronym for a host of disparaging nicknames due to their often-times antiquated technology) is the tool by which most retailers, businesses and even large healthcare companies obtain and record payment. It’s the cash register for a new age.
Innovation leader, sHOPBOX, has taken this cash register to new heights – literally, since they’ve also created a smaller version of their already-compact sales system that can fit in the overhead compartment of most commercial airlines.
The company’s safe, secure, portable devices are stored in durable cases complete with barcode scanners, credit card scanners, receipt printers and more, making them the ideal solution for gatherings like sporting events, the Boston Marathon and The Burning Man Festival to name a few.
“We opened sHOPBOX because most POS solutions in the enterprise are ancient and horrible to use,” said Ryan Jarvis, company president. “Enterprise IT can be slow moving and so we offer a compatible solution that can evolve quickly. We focus on Macs to provide an easy to use (and when we started, ‘high-end’) solution. We saw something that irritated a bunch of people and we tried to fix it.”
Pure Imagination, LLC
Pure Imagination’s vision is the “connected kitchen.” The company’s first product, Perfect Drink, is a patented smart bartending system that allows anyone to make world-class cocktails at home using a smart digital scale that knows the density of each ingredient and senses the perfect pour, connected to an app on the user’s tablet or smartphone. Perfect Bake is a similar product that helps customers consistently create delicious dishes. These innovative products make the recipe – the heart of cooking – smart and connected, drastically improving the cooking process. No more measuring spoons and cups to wash, no more cookbook that won’t stay open.
It seems the market is ripe for the connected kitchen. Perfect Drink was introduced in October of 2013 and sold 30,000 units in just six weeks. Perfect Bake, introduced in October of 2014, has already sold 35,000 units.
“Products that offer tangible value change consumer behavior and disrupt industries,” said Michael Wallace, co-founder of the company.
By marrying content (recipes), small appliances and food ingredients, the company is taking a holistic approach to its revenue stream.
