The BizTech Awards, presented by Columbus Business First and its tech-focused Inno brand, recognize promising startups, entrepreneurs and innovations.
Rick Titus
“Compare us to an Indianapolis or Pittsburgh or Ann Arbor, I’ve got to believe we’re high on that list. As I look forward to 2021, I’m just seeing more acceleration.”
That’s a quote from Mark Kvamme, co-founder of Columbus VC firm Drive Capital LLC, talking with us last December about the banner year the local tech industry had in 2020.
Kvamme predicted more acceleration in 2021 and the year has lived up to the expectations.
As we reported in October, Ohio had by that point already topped $2 billion in venture capital investment for the first time in the state’s history. And Columbus got the lion’s share of that money. The region’s $1.3 billion haul through the first 10 months of the year was, outside Chicago, the most of any Midwestern city south of Minneapolis.
It once again shows the reach of the local tech sector and how it is not only nurturing successful startups but also transforming the region’s traditional corporate giants. You simply can’t deny tech’s role in keeping the Central Ohio economy growing at a better clip than the rest of Ohio’s.
We have chronicled the sector’s successes and growing pains more than any other news outlet in Columbus. And it’s not even close.
Part of our commitment to that coverage is our annual BizTech Awards, launched six years ago to keep up the tradition of recognizing promising startups, entrepreneurs and innovations, an effort started by Rev1Ventures’ predecessor.
BizTech has been growing alongside the region’s booming tech sector, as evidenced by the number and quality of nominations we received this year. Check out the slideshow below to learn more about this year's honorees:
BizTech 2021
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Color Coded Labs is on a mission to create a culture shift in the tech industry, through a 16‐week tech boot camp designed to make coding skills available to people who otherwise wouldn’t have access. It also offers job placement services that helps graduates find good-paying jobs and helps create a strong pipeline of diverse talent for local businesses.
Submitted/ John Lauer
Stealth Entry Cyber Security Solutions is a certified Minority Business Enterprise and Veterans Business Enterprise founded in 2009 by Israel Arroyo of Puerto Rican descent. The company develops technology to manage threats against buildings, public areas, and military operations. It uses weapon detection technology and geo‐fencing to provide real‐time intelligence to law enforcement, first responders, and military personnel.
Submitted/ John Lauer
Jewish Family Services offers employment and wraparound support services to individuals of all races, ethnicities and religions. Before the pandemic, it began working on plans to offer virtual services to help more people access its offerings. When Covid-19 hit, it quickly launched and expanded the tech platform, called Wayfynder. In the past year, it helped 572 people obtain employment, and its community services expanded by 400%.
Submitted/ John Lauer
Ohio Legal Help is a statewide hub designed to improve justice and fairness by providing legal information and connections to lawyers to low‐income and vulnerable Ohioans. In two years, the site has recorded nearly 1 million visits from over 780,000 users and made over 200,000 referrals to community resources. And during the pandemic, it’s helped over 20,000 Ohio renters qualify for an eviction moratorium.
Submitted/ John Lauer
Optimum Technology develops products for law enforcement, including two new products debuted during the pandemic. One serves the juvenile justice system, tracking the interstate movement of those under court supervision to preserve child welfare and promote public safety. The other is for local and federal law enforcement agencies, and combines 16 distinct data sources to enable officers to search and receive data in a common format within milliseconds.
Submitted/ John Lauer
Actis Medical is working to bring cancer imaging technology into operating rooms so surgeons can find all cancerous tumors in a patient, cutting the risk of recurrent cancers. Working with partners, it’s developing a portable imaging camera to detect cancerous lesions in real-time, while also developing a cancer-finding probe to be used in the operating room. Actis says this will result in cost savings for the healthcare system, and will increase the survival rate of cancer patients.
Submitted/ John Lauer
M/I Homes is one of the nation's leading single‐family home builders, with operations in multiple states. Since buying a newly built home is a complicated process, involving many stakeholders, decisions and deadlines, M/I developed a portal to guide buyers through the construction process. This has resulted in a more engaging buying experience for customers, and has cut down on delays and late payments for the company.
Submitted/ John Lauer
COTA left no customers behind at the start of the pandemic, instead adapting and innovating in ways that promoted health and safety on its vehicles, enabling essential travel and its customer’s economic survival. Its innovations include COTA/Plus and Bus On‐Demand, which provide first‐ and last‐mile transit for customers in neighborhoods with service gaps due to pandemic route changes. COTA now has the only full‐time bus on‐demand zone in the United States.
Submitted/ John Lauer
HoloPundits develops immersive technologies and applications around augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality. These applications help organizations provide visual and hands‐on experiences to convey complex concepts to customers and employees. During the pandemic, it committed to using its experience to help schools teach remotely. Using subject matter experts, it created nearly 300 supplemental learning topics using augmented and virtual reality.
Submitted/ John Lauer
ZED Digital is a leader in search engine development and more recently edge computing applied to Internet of Things. This technology is designed to deliver cashless and contactless interactions in public spaces. During the pandemic, the company launched a “smart bus” solution allowing customers to board and pay with their phone, resulting in a cashless, touchless and queue-free public transit riding experience.
Submitted/ John Lauer
BistroUX is a cloud‐based ordering platform that’s helping hundreds of Ohio restaurants offer branded online services, while increasing profit margins. Its zero commission fees gave it an advantage over more established rivals, while the ability to tip not just drivers but also servers ensured its popularity with operators. BistroUX has been growing rapidly, and has turned into a profitable division of its Dublin-based parent, Cybervation.
Submitted/ John Lauer
Battleface used data science and artificial intelligence to build the first technology platform that allows consumers to build their own travel insurance plans. Its platform is designed for the digitally‐savvy traveler, offering quick quotes and comparisons to buy customized travel insurance policies. Its revenue has tripled from a year ago and it has more than 70 employees, up from 20 in December. The company moved to Columbus after receiving a $12 million investment from Columbus VC firm Drive Capital.
Submitted/ John Lauer
Clarus R+D develops software to help companies claim federal and state research and development tax credits and add to their bottom line. Since its founding in 2016, Clarus has exceeded targets of 100% year-over-year growth and helped more than 1,100 customers claim $108 million in tax credits. The company is a 2021 Fast 50 honoree and expects to double revenue again this year.
Submitted/ John Lauer
Gathi Analytics provides strategic data analytics to enterprise financial services organizations like Alliance Data and USAA. The company was started with one goal: Provide enterprise organizations with access to data insights faster than ever before. Since its founding in 2017, Gathi has grown to more than $20 million in revenue, going from just 6 employees to over 160 in four years.
Submitted/ John Lauer
GhostWave focuses on designing radars that are immune from jamming and interference. Its team is made up of Ohio State graducates and it uses four patents exclusively licensed from Ohio State. GhoseWave helps monitor airborne threats for the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and Prisons, plus high value targets like universities, sports venues, and concert facilities.
Submitted/ John Lauer
Proven FM is a boutique consulting firm that specializes in one type of corporate finance: IT financial management. It helps organizations better understand the value they’re getting from their technology so they can make better spending decisions. Proven also delivers a managed service for organizations unable to attract or hire experience personnel.
Submitted/ John Lauer
Dan Snyder and his co-founders started Lower to disrupt the mortgage industry and help others build wealth through homeownership. So far, the company has funded more than $16.5 billion in loans, while growing from five employees to more than 1,700. Lower this year also completed the largest Series A in Ohio history, raising $100 million in VC from Silicon Valley.
Submitted/ John Lauer
Adam Frumkin is responsible for technology operations and services in support of all Franklin County agencies. That includes the secure operation of the county’s Data Center, which jumped into action at the beginning of the pandemic to help transition thousands of employees to working from home. He also worked with vendors and partners on service expansions and cost reductions, resulting in $500,000 saved.
Submitted/ John Lauer
Danielle Demming began her career as an attorney but in 2017 joined a group of other entrepreneurs to launch Seamless.AI, a Software as a Service company whose platform is a real-time search engine generating leads for sales professionals in any industry. Demming is credited with fostering a culture that supports growth, creativity and advancement.
Submitted/ John Lauer
If you know of a company, individual or team that you think should be recognized for their innovations, be sure to watch for the nomination window to open for the 2022 BizTech Awards. I look forward to hearing more about them!
