SBANE | Smaller Business Association of New England | Profitable Connections

SBANE Announces the Winners of the 2012 Innovation Awards

Sarah Conery — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:41:55 +0000

SBANE Announces the Winners of the 2012 Innovation Awards

Judges chose ten winners out of a recording breaking 268 nominated companies

WALTHAM, Mass., May 16, 2012- The Smaller Business Association of New England (SBANE) has announced the ten winners of the prestigious 2012 SBANE New England Innovation Awards. The winners, narrowed from a list of 20 finalists, were announced at the May 10^th Evening of Innovation Gala held at the Westin Hotel in Waltham.

“The New England Innovation Awards showcases the best innovative companies in our region who possess the most explosive growth potential to expand our economic base. The health of the New England Economy depends upon the creative forces of innovation to drive capital formation and job creation” said SBANE President, Robert Baker.

David Friend, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Carbonite, presented the keynote address. Carbonite is one of the 160 companies that have been honored with this award since the Innovation Awards were created in 1986.

The ten winners were spread out in three categories, Profit, Non-Profit and Rising Star and spanned industries from consumer products and youth services, to laboratory research, and marketing services. Two companies were honored as “Rising Stars” who are in the early stage of development and have clearly demonstrated the validity of their business. This year the program saw a record number of 268 nominations and had the daunting task of narrowing that list to only 20 Finalists. Those companies presented to a panel of 52 judges on April 11^th at the Henderson House in Weston, Ma. From there, the judges narrowed the list to the 10 winners:

Corporate Reimbursement Services, Inc., Needham, MA (Profit)
G-Form, LLC, Providence, RI (Rising Star)
HubSpot, Inc., Cambridge, MA (Profit)
MassChallenge, Boston, MA (Non-Profit)
More Than Words, Waltham, MA (Non-Profit)
Millivisions Technologies, Inc., South Deerfield, MA (Profit)
Parcell Laboratories LLC, Newton, MA. (Rising Star)
The Concord Consortium, Concord, MA (Non-Profit)
uTest, Southborough, MA (Profit)
Xtalic, Marlborough, MA (Profit)

The Finalists were recognized in the Boston Business Journal May 11^th Edition. To see the insert, Click Here.

About SBANE:

The Smaller Business Association of New England, Inc. (SBANE), founded in 1938, is a private not-for-profit association of approximately 600 member companies located throughout the six-state region. SBANE was established to provide a legislative voice for small business at the state and federal levels and to make practical information available to help business owners grow their companies. SBANE runs diverse, educational programs each year and has active chapters in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The membership is characterized by a high degree of participation, reflected in a large and dynamic committee structure, addressing a range of topics from international trade to human resources. Visit SBANE at www.sbane.org.

Rhode Island Small Business Development Center Appoints State Director

Sarah Conery — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:51:22 +0000

Adriana Dawson has been appointed state director for the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center (RISBDC)
at Johnson & Wales University. Adriana had been serving as the Interim State Director since September 2011.

Prior to serving as interim state director, Adriana also held the positions of associate state director and regional director with the RISBDC. She is a board member of the International Charter School and the Rhode Island Latino Policy Institute and is active with the Providence Economic Development Partnership Loan Committee. In addition to her involvement in these organizations she has received the national state star award at the SBDC national conference in 2011 and was named SBDC State Star for Rhode Island in 2003. In 2008, she was recognized as the business person of the year by the Rhode Island Latino Civic Fund and a recipient of the Providence Business News 40 Under Forty award. Adriana earned a Masters of Arts in Management Communication from Emerson College and a Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies, with concentrations in organizational communication and business administration, from Northeastern University.

“Adriana was our top choice because of the wealth of experience she brings to this position and her deep ties in the small business community. Her leadership and success in bringing our faculty and students together to work with local businesses and organizations has greatly enhanced the educational experience at the university,” said Jefferey Senese, Ph.D., Vice President of Academic Affairs at JWU.

Adriana had this to say about her new appointment, “I look forward to working with our network partners, the RI SBA District Office and our host institution, Johnson & Wales University, to fully align our RISBDC resources and generate the kind of economic impact that will continue to assist RI with its recovery efforts.”

We are pleased to welcome her in this new role and look forward to the future of the RISBDC.

RI Small Business Development Center
at Johnson & Wales University
270 Weybosset Street, 4th Floor
Providence, RI 02903
Phone:401.598.2702
Email: RISBDC@jwu.edu
Website: www.RISBDC.org

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Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration

SBANE Member Appears on “Radio Entrepreneurs” Radio Show

Sarah Conery — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:39:37 +0000

SBANE Member Judith Bowman, President of Protocol Consultants International, appeared on the “Radio Entrepreneurs” Radio Show on Monday, May 7th.

To listen to a recording of the segment, please click this link: Radio Entrepreneurs Recording.

“The Winners” 2012 SBANE Innovation Awards and Photos

Sarah Conery — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:58:26 +0000

SBANE is proud to announce the Winners for our prestigious New England Innovation Awards! 10 innovative companies out of the 268 nominee companies were selected after competing in two rounds of judging.

The Winners were announced at the 2012 New England Innovation Awards Gala Dinner on May 10th at the Westin Hotel in Waltham. To view the Photo Gallery from the Awards Gala, click here…

Here are the Winners:

Corporate Reimbursement Services, Inc., Needham, MA

G-Form, LLC, Providence, RI

HubSpot, Inc., Cambridge, MA

MassChallenge, Boston, MA

More Than Words, Waltham, MA

Millivisions Technologies, Inc., South Deerfield, MA

Parcell Laboratories LLC, Newton, MA.

The Concord Consortium, Concord, MA

uTest, Southborough, MA

Xtalic, Marlborough, MA

Congratulations to the Runners Up:

Alex and Ani, Inc., Cranston, RI

Avedro, Inc., Waltham, MA

HighRes Biosolutions, Inc., Woburn, MA

Homes For Our Troops, Taunton, MA

Indique Hair LLC, South Boston, MA

LevelUp, Cambridge, MA

Myomo, Cambridge, MA,

The DIGITS Project, Boston, MA

The Switch, Osterville, MA

Verivo Software, Waltham, MA

SBANE Members Named Winners of SBA Awards in Rhode Island

Sarah Conery — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:23:10 +0000

The Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced the names of the Rhode Island award winners, and that list included two SBANE members.

Miriam A. Ross, principal, Law Offices of Miriam A. Ross, Esq., in Providence was named New England Women in Business Champion of the Year and Richard L. Ferro, principal, RLF Management Services, Newport was named R.I. Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year.

This article appeared on the Providence Business News Website on April 10th, 2012.

SBA NAMES OCEAN STATE WINNERS

BY MICHAEL SOUZA
PBN STAFF WRITER

4/10/12

PROVIDENCE – The U.S. Small Business Administration announced its list of nine 2012 Rhode Island award winners on Tuesday.

The list included two regional awards – the Family-Owned Small Business of the Year award and the New England Women in Business Champion award.

The Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Small Business of the Year award, for all of New England, went to Rob Armstrong, president of East Providence-based A.B. Munroe Dairy.

“Our employees are very dedicated and have a strong sense of service,” said Rick Gregoire, controller for the dairy. “Our people on the road live on customer satisfaction. When you rely on your customers to make a living you get a special motivation. Over the course of time you also become part of people’s families, too.”

“It’s not just a business enterprise, it the relationship you have with the customers. It’s unique,” he added

The New England Women in Business Champion of the Year was awarded to Miriam A. Ross, principal, Law Offices of Miriam A. Ross, Esq., in Providence.

Other honorees were:

R.I. Small Business Person of the Year: Carolyn Rafaelian, president, Alex and Ani, Cranston
R.I. SBA District Director Award: Nancy L. Langrall, policy director, Office of Senator Jack Reed, Providence
Joseph G.E. Knight Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence:Richard Remeika and Jose Sanchez, Bob and Timmy’s Grilled Pizza, Providence
R.I. Financial Services Champion of the Year: Anthony Capuano, Jr., senior vice president, Webster Bank, Providence
R.I. Minority Small Business Champion: Claudia X. Cornejo, business information specialist, Office of Rhode Island Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis, Providence
R.I. Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year: Richard L. Ferro, principal, RLF Management Services, Newport
R.I. Home-Based Business Champion of the Year: Lauren E.I. Slocum, president, Central Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce, Warwick

“I congratulate another outstanding class of Rhode Island small business award winners,” Mark S. Hayward, director of the SBA Rhode Island district office, said in prepared remarks

Rafaelian will compete for the National Small Business Person of the Year award during the national small business week celebration in Washington, D.C. in May.

The Rhode Island Salute to Small Business Celebration will be held the week of May 28-June 1.

Local events planned include a series of professional development workshops. The highlight of the week is the awards luncheon on May 30, at the Alpine Country Club in Cranston.

To read this article on the Providence Business News Website. please click here

Advanced Manufacturing Committee hosts Representative Tsongas in Fitchburg.

Sarah Conery — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:02:29 +0000

This Article appeared on the Sentinel and Enterprise website on May 1st, 2012 at 6:32am

Fitchburg-area small-business owners: Federal assistance is critical

ByAlana Melanson, amelanson@sentinelandenterprise.com

Posted: 05/01/2012 06:32:07 AM EDT

FITCHBURG — U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas joined members of the Smaller Business Association of New England at furniture manufacturer Moduform for a roundtable discussion Monday regarding promoting growth for small businesses and the domestic manufacturing base.

The Lowell Democrat, whose 5th District will become the 3rd District and include Fitchburg starting in November, was recognized for her efforts that led toward the 6-year reauthorization of the federal Small Business Innovation Research, or SBIR, program earlier this year.

SBIR provides small firms that are ineligible for private financing with monetary awards to jump-start research and technological innovation projects.

“As a federal government, the one way you can help be a partner is to foster research and development,” Tsongas said. “We can’t do the research and development as a government, so we know there are lots of people out there who are just brimful of ideas who want to explore them. … As you explore those ideas and they prove to have merit to them, they become the platform of new products and new products lead to jobs.”

Because many Massachusetts companies are innovative and highly competitive, firms in the state have received the second-highest total number of awards and second-highest total dollar amount since the program was created in 1983.

In the last year alone, Massachusetts businesses have been awarded about $283 million.

Larry Barstow, president and CEO of Fitchburg-based spectroscopy and the spectral-imaging products company Headwall Photonics, said some of his customers use Headwall products for their SBIR research, which can then also positively affect his business.

Headwall makes devices that analyze wavelengths of light reflecting off the surfaces of materials in order to accomplish a wide variety of tasks, from industrial process control to identifying chemical and biological threats, Barstow said.

The event also featured representatives from small-business lenders MassDevelopment and the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation.

“We have our roots in manufacturing — that is a core part of our mission,” said Laura Canter, executive vice president of MassDevelopment, explaining that the agency was created through the 1998 merger of the Massachusetts Government Land Bank with the Massachusetts Industrial Finance Agency.

Canter said that as a statewide issuer of tax-exempt industrial development bonds and loans for real estate and equipment, MassDevelopment has financed $271 million in expansion projects for its manufacturing base over the past five years.

The Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation serves to preserve and create jobs at small businesses by lending working capital to “keep companies alive and moving forward with their plans,” according to chief operating officer Neil Martin.

Through such funding sources, host company Moduform was able to grow a bit over the last couple of years by investing heavily in its Industrial Road plant, equipment and further training for its employees, according to company President Bill Weissman.

“It has helped us to remain competitive, but it’s still a brutally competitive marketplace out there, and cost is tough,” Weissman said. “Everybody is shopping to make sure that they’re going to get the best price that they can possibly get, so it keeps us on our toes.

“We have to pay attention to making sure that we’re giving people a great product, but also that we’re giving it to them at a cost they want to pay,” he added.

Moduform, which originally started in Ayer in 1976 but has operated in Fitchburg since 1980, makes furniture for the institutional marketplace, mainly college and university dormitories, health-care facilities, military housing and the like.

Weissman called capital funding from banks the “lifeblood” of small companies like his, especially when dealing with a higher cost of living for employees in this region over other areas of the country where competitors may be based and may therefore have lower prices for their products.

“So the way we have to make up is the productivity of our people, or better equipment that helps us produce it faster, better, quicker, higher-quality …,” Weissman said. “Because when it comes down to it, everybody is cost-conscious, and they’re not going to walk away from somebody just because they’re making furniture down in south Texas as opposed to making furniture here in Massachusetts.”

Follow Alana Melanson at facebook.com/alanasentinel or attwitter.com/alanamelanson.

To read the article on the Sentinel and Enterprise website, please Click Here

“The Finalists” 2012 SBANE Innovation Awards

Sarah Conery — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 17:03:04 +0000

SBANE is proud to announce the Finalists for our prestigious New England Innovation Awards! 20 innovative companies out of the 268 nominee companies were selected in Phase I.

For Phase II, our Finalists will make a formal presentation to our esteemed panel of judges. From those twenty, nine winners will be awarded the 2012 New England Innovation Award.

Here are the Finalists:

Alex and Ani, Inc., Cranston, RI

Avedro, Inc., Waltham, MA

Corporate Reimbursement Services, Inc., Needham, MA

G-Form, LLC, Providence, RI

HighRes Biosolutions, Inc., Woburn, MA

Homes For Our Troops, Taunton, MA

HubSpot, Inc., Cambridge, MA

Indique Hair LLC, South Boston, MA

LevelUp, Cambridge, MA

MassChallenge, Boston, MA

More Than Words, Waltham, MA

Millivisions Technologies, Inc., South Deerfield, MA

Myomo, Cambridge, MA,

Parcell Laboratories LLC, Newton, MA.

The Concord Consortium, Concord, MA

The DIGITS Project, Boston, MA

The Switch, Osterville, MA

uTest, Southborough, MA

Verivo Software, Waltham, MA

Xtalic, Marlborough, MA

SBANE Announces the Finalists for the 2012 Innovation Awards

Sarah Conery — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:41:48 +0000

For Immediate Release

SBANE Announces the Finalists for the 2012 Innovation Awards

After reviewing a record number of nominations, Innovation Awards Judges narrow the list to twenty Finalists.

April 6, 2012, Waltham, Mass.,- The Smaller Business Association of New England (SBANE) released the names of the twenty Finalists in the 2012 Innovation Awards on Monday, April 2^,2012.

Innovation is at the heart of economic prosperity and SBANE has been recognizing those companies that have transformed their innovative ideas into a product or service that delivers proven value to customers for the past 26 years. 268 companies received nominations, setting a record for the most nominees since the award’s inception in 1986.

The nominated companies first met with judges at March 22^nd reception in Waltham, where they presented their innovation to a panel of two to three judges and twenty were moved on to compete in the final phase of the competition.

The twelve finalists in the For-Profit category are: Alex and Ani, Inc., Cranston, RI, The Switch, Osterville, MA, Corporate Reimbursement Services, Inc., Needham, MA, HighRes Biosolutions, Inc., Woburn, MA, HubSpot, Inc., Cambridge, MA, Indique Hair LLC, South Boston, MA, LevelUp, Cambridge, MA, Millivisions Technologies, Inc., South Deerfield, MA, Myomo, Cambridge, MA, uTest, Southborough, MA, Verivo Software, Waltham, MA, and Xtalic, Marlborough, MA. In the Non-Profit category the five finalists are: Homes For Our Troops, Taunton, MA, MassChallenge, Boston, MA, More Than Words, Waltham, MA, The Concord Consortium, Concord, MA, and The DIGITS Project, Boston, MA. In the Rising Star category, the three finalists are: Avedro, Inc., Waltham, MA, G-Form, LLC, Providence, RI and Parcell Laboratories LLC, Newton, MA.

Former winners come from varying fields such as technology, manufacturing, service (profit and non-profit), and retail/distribution. Winners include notable companies such as Staples, PictureTel, Ben & Jerry’s, Brooks Automation, Direct Tire, Genzyme, Nantucket Nectars, Imagitas!, Aurora Imaging Technology, and iRobot.

Winners and Finalists of this prestigious award will be honored at the “Evening of Innovation” Gala Dinner on May 10, 2012 at the Westin Hotel, Waltham, MA. The keynote speaker for this Gala Dinner (is/was) David Friend, Chairman and CEO, Carbonite. For more information please visit www.sbane.org or call 781-890-9070.

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SBANE RI Urges the General Assembly to Improve the Business Climate and Not Raise Taxes

Sarah Conery — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 18:25:52 +0000

SBANE RI Press Release

SBANE RI Urges the General Assembly to Improve the Business Climate and Not Raise Taxes

The Smaller Business Association of New England (SBANE) urges the leaders of the General Assembly to pass legislation that focuses on improving the business climate in Rhode Island and not increase taxes which could push the State into a further recession. SBANE is particularly concerned about a number of proposed bills that have been submitted that would reverse the personal income tax reform legislation that was passed unanimously by both houses in 2010 and is effective for the 2011 tax year.

The 2010 personal income tax reform legislation was an important step in making our tax system that was rated by almost every rating agency as being one of the worst in the nation. It was particularly bad for small businesses that filed as pass-though entities that paid their taxes at the high marginal personal income rates that topped out at 9.9%. When compared to Massachusetts at 5.3% (recently dropped to 5.25%) and Connecticut at 6.5%, Rhode Island was completely non-competitive. The change to a top marginal rate of 5.99% (in exchange for the elimination of deductions and tax credits) sent an important message to the rest of the country that Rhode Island was serious about changing its image and was going to be competitive in building a better business climate.

To witness some members of the RI House of Representatives submit proposed legislation in H 7729, which would bring back the 9.9% tax bracket for incomes above $250,000 not only reverses tax reform before the results of the first year of implementation is completed and tabulated, is extremely questionable. It puts our tax system in a worse position than it was before tax reform was enacted, because it would have the higher marginal tax rates without deductions and credits. What kind of message would Rhode Island be sending to the rest of the country? Basically we would be telling the world that you cannot trust Rhode Island to maintain a consistent dependable structure for even one year. Why would any business risk moving into Rhode Island, and why wouldn’t those that could move seriously consider moving. To see the number of representatives that have signed on as co-sponsors of this legislation is astonishing and disturbing. Do these representatives have any idea of the potential negative impact that this legislation would have on our already dismal business climate ratings?

The leadership of both the House and the Senate has taken some serious and courageous steps in recent years to turn around the national image of a negative business climate in Rhode Island. They have passed personal income tax reform, pension reform, and some regulatory reform initiatives. They have also worked hard to make cuts in government expenditures that will hopefully make the state government more efficient. We applaud their efforts recognizing that this is a long term process to change decades of problems. It is imperative that this process continue and not take steps backward. We urge all of the members of the General Assembly to work together in improving the business climate in Rhode Island so that we can recover from this great recession that has hit Rhode Island particularly hard. We need a consistent, long-term economic plan that encourages the growth of business and the creation of good paying jobs for our citizens.

For more information contact: Grafton (Cap) Willey: (401) 272-9080 ext 213

Smaller Business Association of New England (SBANE)

RI Chapter

March 1, 2012.

SBANE Past Chair appeared on “”Mind your Own Business” A Radio Show for Entrepreneurs by Entrepreneurs

Sarah Conery — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:45:14 +0000

Andrew Botti, SBANE Past Chair and Attorney at Law with McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton in Woburn, MA, appeared on “Mind your Own Business” A Radio Show for Entrepreneurs by Entrepreneurs, on Wednesday, April 4th. He spoke about Non-Compete Laws in Massachusetts.

To listen to a recording of the broadcast, please click the link below:

http://www.24-hourturnaround.com/myob/1364.mp3