Emerging
Award Recipient
Bobby Harris
president and CEO
BlueGrace Logistics
www.mybluegrace.com
Bobby Harris, president and CEO of BlueGrace Logistics, represents the true spirit of an entrepreneur. When his employer went out of business, Harris took a huge risk and started his own company in the freight and logistics industry.
In an uncertain economy, it was difficult for a startup to get financing. So Harris pulled together his personal savings, including the money from his 401(k) and invested what he had to get BlueGrace off the ground. Because he does not have to answer to shareholders or investors, Harris can focus on his employees and the company’s growth.
BlueGrace is a full-service third-party logistics firm, focusing on technology integration to streamline the movement of supply chains. Working with the freight and shipping industry, the company partners with thousands of transportation carriers to provide businesses with options and competitive pricing.
In 2011, Harris realized that the company had the opportunity to start franchising. In just a few years, the company has opened its 50th franchise location and has 34 additional franchise locations scheduled to open by the end of this year. Harris expects exponential growth in the future, with plans to reach a global level by first focusing on Central America and Canada.
Also, in 2011, Harris invested heavily in technology and rolled out the new BlueShip platform, which is a Web-based, user-friendly system that provides customers with a streamlined way to quote and book shipments with carriers. Future growth is expected to include the international market as well as new service offerings that will be available for existing customers, including freight auditing services and bill payment services.
Community involvement is very important to Harris. His charity of choice is the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, of which he is an advisory board member. In February 2014, BlueGrace collected more than 44,000 pounds of pet food for the Humane Society.
Finalist
Daniel Crane
co-founder and CEO
Modernizing Medicine, Inc.
www.modmed.com
Today’s health care industry is awash in information. Transforming the way in which it is created, consumed and used to improve doctor/patient relations and patient outcomes is the force that drives Daniel Crane, co-founder and CEO of Modernizing Medicine, Inc.
Crane’s entrepreneurial drive began as an undergraduate at Cornell University when he recognized how technology could improve education and co-founded and later sold what would become Blackboard, Inc. Other ventures followed, some succeeding while others failed. All, he says, were learning experiences, including the founding of Kadoo, an early cloud-based file-sharing service he later sold.
In 2009, following a discussion with his dermatologist and now partner, Dr. Michael Sherling, it became apparent that much of what he learned from earlier ventures applied to the burgeoning field of electronic medical records. What evolved from that first routine skin exam was a vision to make a better system, an Electronic Medical Assistant (EMA) that could improve health care and increase efficiency, saving physicians’ time.
Modernizing Medicine’s first cloud-based product, EMA Dermatology, debuted the following year. The line has grown to encompass EMAs for such specialties as ophthalmology, orthopedics and otolaryngology, as well as plastic and cosmetic surgery.
Since its founding, Crane focused on leading a team of physicians, medical professionals, software and systems engineers and others. An open office atmosphere, gym, quiet space and arcade games promote team interaction, and Crane still finds time to collaborate with the engineers on coding prototype software. Uniquely, some of the company’s doctors are coders, reinforcing his philosophy that it is easier to teach physicians to code than to teach medicine to software engineers.
Outside the company, Crane mentors up-and-coming entrepreneurs and serves on a number of boards, including the South Florida Science Museum, the Foundation Board at Florida Atlantic University, the Business Development Board of Palm Bean County and the Boca Chamber of Commerce.
Finalist
Albert Santalo
chairman and CEO
CareCloud
www.carecloud.com
Albert Santalo, chairman and CEO of CareCloud, is aiming to revolutionize the health care industry by building a universal health care IT cloud platform and digital ecosystem.
The son of Cuban immigrants, Santalo was driven from a young age to achieve success in business and contribute to the advancement of his Miami community. An entrepreneurial spirit and the capacity to lead others spurred him to start two successful South Florida companies before the age of 45.
Santalo held several leadership positions at technology consulting and outsourcing firms before founding Avisena, a software-enabled revenue cycle management company in the health care industry.
In order to pursue his vision of uniting the health care industry, he left Avisena to found CareCloud in 2009. His mission was to create a fully integrated, cloud-based ecosystem for health care providers with the power to reduce paperwork, connect doctors to their patients and improve the overall health care experience.
CareCloud is well-positioned to transform the way consumers use and access medical records. By building a platform that is able to support add-on applications, Santalo has paved the way for the company to lead a transformation through which the entire health care community can have one easily accessible, user-friendly platform.
Part of Santalo’s philosophy is to create a fair and fun environment for his employees. He wants to emulate the great American tradition where anyone who works hard can have the opportunity to be successful. His favorite core value is “Aim to Amaze,” which encourages his employees to always deliver the best in everything they do.
Santalo places a great deal of support behind the entrepreneur community in South Florida and gives funding to many nonprofits, charities and health care organizations. He also makes a special effort to support running and other athletic events that raise funds for health care research.
