Los Angeles — Consumer technology entrepreneur Bruce Borenstein and HealthSpot were named winners of the second annual Innovation Entrepreneur Awards (IEA) by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).
The Small Business Executive of the Year is Bruce Borenstein, president and CEO of AfterShokz, the maker of bone-conduction technology that transmits sound in open ear sport, mobile and Bluetooth stereo headphones, Borenstein has been in the CE business for 30 years. He has spent his entire career working with start-ups, helping to build brands like Digital Innovations and The Neat Company from inception, bringing their new technologies to market on a global scale.
The Small Business of the Year is HealthSpot. Founder and CEO Steve Cashman started the company in 2010 to create high-quality, low-cost healthcare appointment available to patients. He brought his background in the CE and software industries to healthcare, a vast but slow-moving category that is just beginning to adopt “consumer” (patient) centered approaches to high-quality care delivery, CEA said. HealthSpot has grown from a start-up to an early-stage company that has signed two early adopters, including the country’s second largest physician-owned primary care group and a renowned healthcare system
Launched in 2012 by CEA’s It Is Innovation (i3) magazine and the CEA Small Business Council, the awards program recognizes entrepreneurs and leading businesses with revenues less than $30 million and the contributions they make to the U.S. economy.
Gary Shapiro, CEA’s president and CEO, who presented the awards, said, “Congratulations to HealthSpot, winner of the 2013 Small Business Award and Bruce Borenstein, winner of the 2013 Small Business Executive Award. These winners embrace disruptive technology and are shining examples of what can be accomplished with entrepreneurial drive and a dedication to innovation.”
To select the winners of the Innovation Entrepreneur Awards, a panel of media and industry professionals met during CE Week in New York during June to judge the nominations.
The judges are: Jim Barry, CEA Digital Answer Man; Bob Fields, CEA executive board member; Robert Calem, Broadband House; Pam Golden Loder, GLA Communications; Sandy Gross, GoldenEar Technology and 2012 IEA Small Business Executive of the Year Winner; Paul Sabbah, Stamford International; Eric Schwartz, Consumer Technology Publishing Group;
Steve Smith, TWICE; and Steve Tiffen, The Tiffen Co.
