Stories of Innovation

When we founded Lodestone Advisory Group in 2013, business leaders were tired of a management consulting industry that was a stiff, black box offering one-size-fits-all “solutions,” with little accountability on end results. Lodestone, named after the naturally occurring magnetic powder that gave early merchants and tradesmen the ability to navigate...

The 2026 market is not offering cheap mistakes. On March 18, 2026, the Federal Reserve kept the federal funds target range at 3.5% to 3.75%, while the ECB held its deposit facility at 2.00% on March 19, and the IMF’s January update still projected global growth at 3.3% for 2026....

Our story begins with a dream and a vision of Andrew “Skip” Robinson Carter. Carter was born in 1919 and raised in Savannah, Georgia. In 1933, at the young age of 14, Carter’s aspirations of operating a Black radio station began, and he built his first radio. He studied physics...

Let’s start at the beginningBack in 2009, Programmatic ad buying was in its infancy locally, despite its success being celebrated internationally. This spurred on the birth of Mark1, a company that would go on to pioneer technology and data-driven media buying in the South African market. Fast forward to 2020,...

Carmella, an award-winning, nationally certified, net-zero, woman-owned, and women-led full-service marketing and sales agency, is on a mission to transform communities and make a significant GDP level impact. Grounded in a philosophy of providing complimentary education without expectations, offering extraordinary hospitality, relentlessly pursuing excellence, Carmella delivers the ultimate customer experience....

AWARD-WINNING MANAGED IT SERVICE PROVIDER WITH A LOT OF HEART There’s no need to travel to a major metropolitan city to visit one of the best Managed Service Providers in the country. Instead, point the GPS towards a quaint seaside town in Palm Beach County. Headquartered just steps from the...

SC Tech sits at the center supporting South Carolina’s successful push as a tech-driven, future-focused state. An initiative of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness (SC Competes), the cluster helps to accelerate growth and innovation while giving the statewide technology community a unified voice. The work is deliberately broad: strengthen...

Nurturing Creative Entrepreneurship The Tartu Centre for Creative Industries (TCCI) distinguishes itself in Europe through its dedicated regional focus on South Estonia’s creative sector, enabling tailored support. TCCI actively fosters cross-sectoral collaboration through high-profile events like sTARTUp Day’s Creative Industries Pitching Competition and the Estonian Fashion Festival, connecting creatives with...

The acute shortage of technology workers in the United States has driven up wages significantly. The median annual salary of an entry-level employee working on a help desk is $53,470, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median salary for all tech workers is $81,000. The expected growth...

SUPERWISE® is leading the next evolution in AI – making intelligent technology work for real-world industries, not just research labs. With practical, scalable, and low-friction tools, SUPERWISE empowers organizations to use AI to increase efficiency, improve decision-making, and transform how work gets done – from the executive suite to the...

The Accelera Hub innovation center was born from the vision of traditional entrepreneurs of the building sector in Curitiba – Paládio Group and Daher Technology a vision through which they grasped the opportunity to make a cultural change in their organizations out of innovation. This journey resulted in the bold...

Founded in 2012, ConPRmetidos is a female-led non-profit that is proving that Puerto Ricans can build a global model of community-driven success. By harnessing the talent and energy of individuals, organizations and the private sector, in Puerto Rico and abroad, ConPRmetidos consistently supports the most impactful grassroots organizations while breaking...

WEAR-TECH – DETECT – PREDICT – PROTECT™ “Our homegrown AI companion, MAHI™, is aware of its users’ environment and alerts the wearer and the caregivers if a vulnerable loved one inadvertently heads towards a hazard.” A profound loss propelled an innovator in Hartland, WI, to create predictive safety technologies for...

The hardy spekboom is considered a pioneer species within the Karoo thicket biome. This means that the plant itself can assist in the regeneration of the indigenous brush, with many other species benefitting from its shade and the nutrients it brings into the soil. As a succulent, spekboom is the...

In the heart of Sweden’s thriving life sciences ecosystem, a young biotechnology company is redefining how the world understands and engineers therapeutic antibodies. Founded by researchers from the prestigious Karolinska Institutet, AAX Biotech is on a mission to transform antibody-based medicine—turning scientific breakthroughs into next-generation therapies for some of the...

PregEase Inc. is a Canadian MedTech company simplifying fertility and vaginal healthcare by focusing on practical, affordable, at-home devices instead of complex, high-cost interventions. Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the company has developed women’s health solutions that target two large, adjacent markets: the global fertility market, projected to surpass USD 93...

In a world where health and wellbeing often seem like luxuries reserved for a privileged few, Therme Group US is on a mission to change that narrative. With over two decades of experience, the Therme Group is redefining the concept of wellbeing, making it accessible, relaxing, and fun for people...

Like Benjamin Franklin knotting a key to a kite in a lightning storm, today’s AI researchers are unlocking technology that is reshaping our world. From quantum neural networks and natural language processing, to AI for drug discovery, the path to future innovations and commercialization is charted by a small subset...

If 2020 proved anything, it’s that change is inevitable, whether that is decided on internally or not. “The ability to be resilient lies within confidently understanding where your organization is today, where it desires to be, the team that makes it up, and the processes that support it, fast,” says...

Founded in 2024 by Wyatt Johnson and Connor Van Crete, Zentrix.ai brings the tools and confidence of institutional trading to retail stock traders. Wyatt and Connor became interested in the stock market throughout high school, and quickly came to understand how cut-throat it can be. Conducting thorough research and data...

As the global maritime industry advances toward cleaner, more sustainable operations, Estonia has emerged as a hub of innovation in the decarbonisation of ports. ShoreLink, an Estonian company, has become a trusted provider of advanced shore power and charging solutions for ports and shipping terminals across the world. Shore power...

Lef’ is the Dutch word for ‘guts’ or ‘courage’, which is the perfect description of what I do: with LEF I push organizations and their leaders to explore, examine and create business opportunities for the day after tomorrow. Not only by optimizing their strategic thinking and solving underlying problems that...

The history of 2iM permeates and reflects the life purpose of its founders, Cesar Abicalaffe and Josiane Justus who were born in the state of Paraná, in southern Brazil. They have developed their careers as healthcare professionals and have dedicated themselves since their postgraduation to supporting and influencing the transformation...

Did You Know That Soft2Bet’s Business Model Has a Generous Side? Fast growth and big numbers tend to steal the spotlight in iGaming. But there’s another side to success that doesn’t always make the headlines — the part that gives back. Soft2Bet knows the business of scaling platforms and entering...