When Aguilar, 37, saw the devastation of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, he was working on a grad school research project on emergency response technology. “It was a problem that needed to be solved,” says the Costa Rican-born founder-CEO of Bounce Imaging. First responders can toss his bocce ball-size 360-degree cameras into dangerous spaces and know what’s happening inside while staying at a safe distance. The company serves over 300 police and fire departments plus the FBI and Department of Defense.
FOUNDER-CEO
Francisco Aguilar
Bounce Imaging
HAVERHILL, MA
Francisco Aguilar
Gabby Jones for Forbes
Courtesy Donald Thompson
Donald Thompson
Donald Thompson
Founder-CEO,
The Diversity Movement
Raleigh, North Carolina
Courtesy Jy Maze
Jy Maze
Jy Maze
President-CEO,
Maze Freight Solutions
Kansas City, Kansas
Photo by Peter Prato
Chrissie Lam
Chrissie Lam
Founder-CEO, Love Is Project
San Francisco, California
Courtesy Pierina Merino
Pierina Merino
Pierina Merino
Founder-CEO, FlickPlay
Santa Monica, California
A trip to the grocery store is suddenly a daunting task. At the same, local sourcing is now a top priority for many home cooks. Enter MilkRun, a marketplace founded by Niiro, 34, that allows users to buy produce, dairy and meats directly from over 100 small and mid-sized farmers. Last year she expanded beyond Portland, OR, to Seattle and Austin, and revenue spiked 15x. Shifting farmers to ecommerce “is our generation’s issue to solve,” says Niiro.
FOUNDER
MilkRun
AUSTIN, TEXAS
Julia Niiro
Julia Niiro
Gabby Jones for Forbes
Photo by Tamara Beckwith
Jomaree Pinkard
Jomaree Pinkard
Cofounder, Hella Cocktail
New York, New York
Courtesy Brendan Ciecko
Brendan Ciecko
Brendan Ciecko
Founder-CEO, Cuseum
Boston, Massachusetts
Courtesy Edna Martinson
Edna Martinson
Edna Martinson
Cofounder, Boddle Learning
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Photo by Zareen Siddiqui
Deepica Mutyala
Deepica Mutyala
Founder-CEO, Live Tinted
Los Angeles, California
56%
ENGINE | NORTHEAST
Percentage of small businesses
in the Northeast predicting
increased revenues in 2021