GameWorks, a complete entertainment destination with seven venues nationwide, is a key influencer in the reshaping of the Family Entertainment Center (FEC) industry. The FECs of yesterday were mainly comprised of large arcades, anchored by pinball and the beloved Pac Man machines, and they became the place to be for families, friends and teens.

Today, expansive, brightly lit entertainment centers dominate this landscape, and GameWorks, the specialty entertainment chain based in San Francisco, California, United States, feels poised to grow its share of the market, particularly with its natural evolution and rapid progression into the esports realm. Esports is taking the entertainment sector by storm.

That’s the chain’s secret weapon - Esports lounges. Located in each venue, these lounges cater to fans of competitive gaming, including both players and spectators. Each of the rooms is equipped with 20-40 PCs and consoles, along with a library of approximately 100 popular video games, says Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Philip N. Kaplan.

The lounges accommodate about one hundred guests each, all of whom can play against one another in casual competition or participate in one of the roughly two hundred tournaments held at GameWorks locations every month. According to Kaplan, the company is also planning to bring in more players for local and regional tournaments in the coming months.

“GameWorks is recognized nationally for its esports emphasis,” he says. “Esports is growing quickly , and GameWorks is focused on expanding in this area. GameWorks, with its decades of gaming experience, organically segued into esports over the years, and now, has the perfect platform from which to grow.”

Riding the Esports Wave

GameWorks is outwardly optimistic about its foray into esports, due to the rapid growth and broad interest both in the U.S. and globally..

The company was founded in 1996 as a joint venture between Sega, Universal Studios, and DreamWorks SKG, and the bold experiment, which involved taking on more entrenched competitors, such as Dave & Buster’s, didn’t exactly go as planned.

After ramping up its presence around the country, the organization filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and again in 2010, changed ownership several times, and shuttered many of its locations. In 2017, the esports tournament business Oomba bought GameWorks and enacted a plan to make competitive gaming a staple of its new layout.

Last year, however, it changed hands once again. One of its lenders, ExWorks Capital, acquired the chain, and under the leadership of Philip N. Kaplan, the new chairman and CEO, GameWorks is doubling down on its esports strategy. Earlier this year, it added lounges to four additional locations in Virginia, United States; Illinois, United States; Minnesota, United States; and Kentucky, United States.

For Kaplan and his team, this is a way to capitalize on the skyrocketing growth of competitive gaming. The consulting firm Activate predicts esports viewership will reach 84 million by 2021, a bigger audience than that currently watching professional baseball or basketball, and because most of the fans are in the 18 to 34 year-old age bracket, esports also has the potential to bring in a key demographic.

Additionally, the team members who work and operate the esports lounges are competitive gamers in their own right, something Kaplan says brings more excitement to the offering.

“Gaming is on the rise, even in high schools,” says Kaplan. “Companies that have frameworks built and foundations from which to grow will succeed in the esports space. As far as we know, we are the only national entertainment venue that already had a footing in esports, even before the industry took off.”

New Leadership, New Culture

The new chief executive sees gaming as a big part of the future of the company, which earned a Silver StevieⓇ Award for Achievement in Management in the hospitality and leisure segment.

“As an established leader in competitive gaming and entertainment, GameWorks is well positioned to capitalize on this burgeoning space,” says Kaplan. “Our strong foothold in esports, including lounges in every location, further strengthens our leadership position and will serve as a springboard for future growth.”

Under his watch, the company is also hoping to cash in on gaming activity outside of its own entertainment centers. Earlier this year, it announced a partnership with SCCG Management, which will bring lounges to casinos around the country. At these locations, visitors can bet on esports competitions. It’s calling the venture “Play by GameWorks.”

The expanded effort within esports isn’t the only part of Kaplan’s turnaround strategy, himself the winner of a Gold Stevie for Maverick of the Year in the consumer services category. The former healthcare IT executive is trying to reshape the organization’s top-down managerial approach in favor of a more collaborative culture. Kaplan has also put in place a “top three” philosophy, where the company focuses its efforts on business units that have the most impact on the bottom line.

Recent corporate changes are giving the organization the foundation and confidence that it won’t repeat setbacks of the past.

“With the right owners and management in place, GameWorks is on a new trajectory toward success,” he says. “The Stevie Awards are proof to our team these efforts truly paid off and made a difference.

MONAT PET’s Gentle Cleansing Dog Wash received the most votes of any nominee in the 2019 People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite New Products, a feature of The American Business Awards®, the U.S.A.’s top business awards program, which are now in their 17th year.

The worldwide public vote was conducted last month, with the highest number of votes deciding the winners in a variety of product categories. More than 43,000 votes were cast.  To win, a category’s leading vote-getter had to have received at least 100 votes. MONAT PET’s Gentle Cleansing Dog Wash collected almost 8,000 votes.

The crystal People’s Choice Stevie Awards will be presented to winners at The American Business Awards banquet on Tuesday, June 11 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. There, the winners of peer-adjudicated Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards will also be presented their awards. More than 650 executives from across the USA will attend. Watch the ceremony live on June 11 at 7pm ET on LiveStream.

All new products and services nominated in the new product awards categories of this year’s American Business Awards were eligible to be included in voting for the people’s choice awards.

The winners of the 2019 People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products are:

As little as 20 years ago, there was hardly any discussion of technological advancements coming out of Latin America. Rather, people were laser focused on Silicon Valley and the waves of talent and innovation flocking to San Francisco, California, United States. However, with the help of government initiatives, large private investments, and significant economic growth in the early 2010s, as well as the sheer will and drive of local citizens, many Latin American countries entered into the technological arena. They were soon producing products and talent on a scale comparable to anything seen in the First World. The countries most often associated with this boom are Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico.

Fully understanding this phenomenon is not possible by simply identifying individual contributing factors. The movement is a response to many complicated and interconnected social, political, economic, and geographic influences. Here are just a few of those constituent reasons Latin America has enjoyed this development.

The Transformative Influence of the Internet

In this instance, the transformative effect of the internet cannot be understated. While many industries rely on physical infrastructure or advanced equipment, IT companies can thrive with little more than internet connectivity, a laptop, a proclivity for the material, and hard work. Coming from a place with limited physical infrastructure or resources does not preclude you from succeeding in the digital sphere, and the opportunities that affords people throughout Latin America have been statistically significant.

One 2015 report by the World Trade Organization identified Argentina as the world’s eighth-largest exporter of computer services. This can be seen in companies like Belatrix Software, which was founded in Mendoza, Argentina, and currently innovates and thrives in the digital arena.

“Belatrix Software helps companies turn ideas into great software products,” says Alex Robbio, the company’s president and cofounder. “We currently have over 700 employees, as well as offices in the United States, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, and Spain. We’re growing rapidly, but our vision remains the same: to be the best Latin American software product development and innovation firm.”

The work being done in these Argentina-based computer companies isn’t isolated to Latin America, either. Many of the companies are earning international acclaim and recognition. Belatrix Software, for example, was recently recognized with a Silver Stevie® Award for Company of the Year in the category of Computer Services in The 2019 American Business Awards®. Robbio also earned an individual Bronze Stevie Award for Executive of the Year in Computer Services.

The 2020 edition of The American Business Awards will open in October. If you are interested in winning a Stevie Awards in 2019 request the entry kit for The International Business Awards.

English as the Unofficial Language of Business

Despite not being the world’s most widely spoken language, English is, for all intents and purposes, the de facto language of international business. While China used to top the charts for English proficiency, Latin American countries have started to surpass the Asian power in this metric. According to the 2018 EF English Proficiency Index, Argentina was the highest-rated South American country on the list (coming in at #27), while China fell to the 47^th spot.

Many speculate that its increasing proficiency in English has helped launch Argentina to the forefront of international business, including those projects within the technological realm.

Time Differences Make a Difference

Especially when technology and innovation are involved, it’s more conducive when people work collaboratively. Although it might seem like a throwaway factor, the time difference between the United States and any given Latin American country is significant. For example, the time difference between San Francisco, California, United States—a major U.S.-based technological hub—and Beijing, China, is 15 hours. That makes coordinating workdays and efforts extremely difficult. The time difference between California and Buenos Aires, Argentina, however, is only four hours—a much more surmountable obstacle.

Government Initiatives Provide Financial and Logistical Help

Arguably one of the most significant factors that pushed technology throughout Latin America is the support and efforts of the nations’ governments. Argentina, for example, offers all adults free higher education. Plus, its government invested significantly in Program.AR, an initiative to help teachers integrate computer programming into the national public-school curriculum.

Similarly, in Colombia, 80 percent of the costs associated with studying in the information technology field are covered. In Mexico, thanks in part to governmental initiatives, the country produced the eighth-highest number of engineer graduates in 2015.

With the financial backing and logistical support of national-level governments, results in this sector have been quick and effective.

The Future of Tech

While no one can say definitively what the future of technology holds, Latin America seems poised to continue ascending in the industry. If more national-level and regional policies throw money and support behind engineering and computer science education, it’s conceivable the next seat of tech insight will be a lot farther south than Silicon Valley.

The Stevie® Awards announced today the Grand Stevie Award winners in The 17th Annual American Business Awards^® competition. Winners will be presented their Grand Stevie Awards trophies at the ABA’s gala banquet on June 11 in New York.

All organizations operating in the U.S.– large and small, public and private, for-profit and non-profit—are eligible to submit nominations to the ABAs in a wide range of categories, honoring achievement in every aspect of work life, from customer service and management to public relations and product development.

More than 3,800 nominations submitted to the 2019 competition were reviewed and rated in the judging process by more than 200 professionals, whose average scores determined the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners who were announced earlier this month. The June 11 awards presentations will be broadcast live via Livestream.

Grand Stevie Award winners were determined by a points system in which Gold Stevie-winning nominations are granted three points, Silver Stevies two points, and Bronze Stevies one and a half points.

Grand Stevie winners are as follows:

Organization of the Year: Melissa Sones Consulting, a New York-based communications consultancy focused on researching and writing awards nominations for clients, is the most honored organization in the 2019 ABAs, with 37 award points earned for Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award wins on behalf of clients including CBK Partners, Momentum Design Lab, Sleepm Global, and the West Point Association of Graduates, among others.

Most Honored Interactive Agency: The XD Agency, a strategic communications agency focused on experience design, with offices in Atlanta, New York, and San Francisco, is recognized with 23 awards points earned for work for clients including the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Cisco, the Experimental Aircraft Association, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and TradeRev.

Most Honored Marketing Partner: Publicis Sapient, the digital business transformation hub of Publicis Groupe, earned 30 award points with Stevie wins on behalf of clients Bridgestone, Fiat Chrysler, MGM, the Ontario Energy Board, and Samsung.

Most Honored Public Relations Agency: Method Communications, with offices in Salt Lake City and San Francisco, earned 28 award points with Stevie-winning nominations on behalf of clients Age of Learning, Aptive Environmental, O.C. Tanner, PagerDuty, Podium, and Valimail.

Top 10: The following 12 organizations will also receive Grand Stevie Award trophies for being among the most recognized organizations in the 2019 ABAs.

1. Jeunesse Global, Orlando, FL (27 points)
2. PAN Communications, on behalf of multiple clients (22)
3. Reltio, Redwood Shores, CA (21)
4. 5W Public Relations, on behalf of multiple clients (20)
5. (tie) George P Johnson Experiential Marketing, Auburn Hills, MI (19)
   John Hancock Financial Services, Boston, MA (19)
6. Finn Partners, on behalf of multiple clients (18.5)
7. (tie) Comcast Business, Philadelphia, PA (17)
   Cisco, San Jose, CA (17)
8. (tie) Lycored, Orange, NJ (15.5)
   Bhava Communications, on behalf of multiple clients (15.5)
   ADP, Roseland, NJ (15.5)

For a complete list of the 2019 Stevie Award winners, visit http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

The Stevie® Awards, organizers of the world’s premier business awards programs, today announced the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie winners in The 17th Annual American Business Awards®.

All organizations operating in the U.S.A. – large and small, public and private, for-profit and non-profit - are eligible to submit nominations to the ABAs in a wide range of categories, honoring achievement in every aspect of work life, from customer service and management to public relations and product development. More than 3,800 nominations were reviewed in the judging process this year by more than 200 professionals, whose average scores determined the winners.

2019 Stevie winners will be celebrated and presented their awards during a gala event on Tuesday, June 11 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York. Tickets are now on sale. The presentations will be broadcast via Livestream.

Publicis Sapient (Miami, FL) with eight Gold and four Bronze Stevies, and The XD Agency (Atlanta, GA) with seven Gold and one Silver, are leaders among the Gold Stevie Winners with wins in a wide range of categories. They are sure to be among the winners of the Grand Stevie Award trophies, the top overall winners in this year’s ABAs, who will be announced next week.

Among the organizations with the most Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award wins are ADP (Roseland, NJ), ARIIX (Bountiful, UT),  Comcast Business (Philadelphia, PA), Cvent (McLean, VA), Darktrace (San Francisco, CA), Jeunesse Global (Orlando, FL), LABOV Marketing Communications and Training (Fort Wayne, IN), Lycored (Orange, NJ), Merkle (Columbia, MD), PAN Communications (Boston, MA), Reltio (Redwood Shores, CA), Rimini Street (Las Vegas, NV), and SoftPro (Raleigh, NC).

For a complete list of the Stevie Award winners announced today, visit http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

Every new product or service nominated in The 2019 American Business Awards is included in voting for the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products, a worldwide public vote. Voting is now open at http://peopleschoice.stevieawards.com and will conclude on May 31. People’s Choice Stevie winners will be announced the week of June 3 and will be honored during the June 11 presentations.

“The nominations submitted for The 2019 American Business Awards were outstanding.  The judges found the competition to be intense, and those recognized as Stevie Award winners should be immensely proud of this accomplishment,” said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards.

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards®, The International Business Awards®, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.

As technology and artificial intelligence play increasingly large roles in the economy and as the global population increases, the question of how to manage people effectively becomes more critical. Companies evaluate their assets, refine their budgets, and audit their ROIs. Many implement premier software to manage accounting, product systems processes, customer relations, and even human resources needs. But what about managing the productivity of the greatest (and most expensive) cost of doing business—human capital?

Human capital management (HCM) is becoming more prominent as companies seek to manage assets and to allocate resources better, and business software companies, such as Asure Software, are going beyond time card tracking to do so. Through HCM, master employee records can be kept in one place. With all the data logged, managers can better allocate their workplace talent in a cost-effective way. A company can even break down the overhead cost of each employee, down to how much electricity every office uses. When streamlining systems, this kind of detail makes efficient business sense.

Eric Garton, a Harvard Business Review contributor, discussed HCM in his 2017 article “What If Companies Managed People as Carefully as They Manage Money?”, which used talent productivity statistics to demonstrate how and why companies should manage people better. According to the article, only 15 percent of employees make a tangible difference in their workplaces. It also noted inspired employees are three times more productive than dissatisfied employees, but only one out of eight employees is inspired. Garton argues businesses should measure, invest in, monitor, and reward employees in order to improve each employee’s contribution. Essentially, Garton is lobbying for a metrics aspect to every annual review.

Asure Software offers a cloud-based system that does this. The software helps organizations measure, monitor, and analyze employee interactions and performances, providing the information necessary for managers to make strong, evidence-based decisions about everything from promotions to raises. When applicable, the software can even track compliance with government regulations (e.g., required job training). Asure Software offers expansive insights and tools in the following areas: asset and move management, benefits administration, full-service meeting room scheduling, hoteling and mobile workforce management, human capital management, payroll and tax management, talent management, time and attendance management, and workplace usage and occupancy sensors.

Asure Software won a Bronze Stevie® Award for Best New Product or Service of the Year in the Human Capital Management category of The American Business Awards®. Asure Software also took the People’s Choice Stevie Award for Favorite New Products.

The analytics provided by companies like Asure Software do more than just track time, though. By measuring employee productivity and seeing where different team members excel, a company can capitalize on strengths and improve areas that need more attention. This streamlines employee deliverables and product lines. It can even provide opportunities to improve customer relations and to reduce costly time spent in meetings.

When managers can identify star talent, that star talent can be rewarded. This motivates standout employees and, ideally, inspires other team members to achieve that status. It fosters a rewarding cycle that can resonate positively throughout the business culture.

The bottom line is this: HCM affects every organization’s bottom line. It makes practical, financial, and system-based sense to get real metrics and to manage people well because the organization and individual employees both benefit.

The Stevie® Awards, organizer of The American Business Awards®, announced today that the final entry deadline for the 17^th annual ABA competition has been extended to Wednesday, April 17.   Nominations submitted after the original final deadline of March 13 will not incur any additional late fees, and will not be penalized in the judging process in any way.

 “We’ve received so many requests for individual deadline extensions that we’ve decided to extend the deadline for everyone,” said Stevie Awards president Michael Gallagher. The original final deadline was March 13.

GET THE ENTRY KIT HERE

The American Business Awards are widely considered to be the premier business awards program in the U.S.A. All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations— public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large, and small. The 2019 awards will honor achievements since the beginning of 2018. Entry details are available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

The American Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. Categories include:

• Entrepreneur Awards
• Management Awards
• Company of the Year Awards
• Customer Service Awards
• Human Resources Awards
• Information Technology Awards
• Marketing Awards
• New Product Awards
• Public Relations Awards
• Website Awards, Smartphone and Tablet Apps, and other Media Awards

In the Marketing, New Product & Service, and Public Relations categories, nominees may now submit a video of up to five minutes in length, instead of the traditional written Stevie Awards essay or case study.  In categories for business-related media, there are many new Live Event, Publication, and Video categories.

More than 200 executives on 13 juries have already begun the process of rating nominations to determine the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners.

Stevie winners will be announced on May 1, and the awards will be presented at a gala banquet on June 11 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Attendance is not required to win.

The list of past Stevie Award winners in The American Business Awards reads like a who’s who of innovation and business success in the U.S.A. Explore the list of last year’s winners.

Whether it’s an entrepreneur starting out in an office or garage or if it’s a Fortune 500 company, any business must be visible to potential customers before a sale can be made. In most cases, awareness of a company is created through great stories, which elicit engagement and relationships with those potential customers.

Whether dealing with website traffic, email subscriber data growth, social media accounts, or hundreds of other engagement metrics, they’re all interconnected by one thing: an attempt to create a continuous relationship between the customer and the business.

With so many companies marketing that way, though, how do you stand out in a sea of legitimately competent competitors?

PAN Communications is an integrated marketing and public relations agency based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. They focus on B2B technology and health care industries that want a customer-first business model. They deliver this through PR and social, content, and influencer marketing. They also use data analytics and creative services.

“To bring great stories to life, that’s the core message,” says President & CEO, Philip A. Nardone Jr.. “Those great stories are about the companies—their technologies and innovations—that are changing lives.”

The company’s ability to bring resonant, engaging stories to life contributed to them winning the 2018 Gold Stevie® for Public Relations Agency of the Year at The American Business Awards.

PAN Communications is one of the industry’s most trusted communications partners., It demonstrates that it takes an entire team of dedicated marketing and PR specialists to help clients exceed expectations.

Move Ideas and Build Relationships

Success in any venture doesn’t happen overnight. No matter how good you are at something or how certain you are about how to improve a problem, it takes time to develop and to hone sustainable relationships with your audience or paying customers.

The success of PAN Communications is due to the firm’s unique ability to offer the agility and personalized service of a midsized agency while also leveraging national and international relationships. This allows them to manage large-scale communications programs for brands such as SAP, AppDirect, Radial, and MediaMath. PAN Communications provides services, moves ideas, and builds relationships with customers at a level which competitors find difficult to match.

The PAN Communications business model demonstrates one thing clearly: Successful businesses must make their services and messaging available to potential customers over a variety of platforms.

Give Back and Put People First

The belief that great people can do great things is an underlying tenet of the PAN Communications mind-set. That’s why they focus on putting people and culture first.

“By fostering an environment free of office politics and rich in support and diversity, we believe we can rise above the industry noise and win the race,” says Nardone. “The CEO of PAN believes his agency’s greatest assets go down the elevator every night: the people. Phil [CEO of PAN Communications] and the rest of the leadership team devote time and energy to cultivating the award-winning culture that currently exists at PAN. The agency takes a people-first approach and prioritizes a strong work-life balance for its employees.”

PAN Communications also believes in giving back to the communities that built the foundation of their agency. To that end, the firm launched a philanthropic program, PANcares, in November 2017. This allowed the agency to become involved in its local markets more consistently. As part of the program, PAN Communications partners with four nonprofit organizations dedicated to fighting against youth homelessness. Representing a cross-country collaborative, the partners are based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States; San Francisco, California, United States; New York City, New York, United States; and Orlando, Florida, United States.

As PAN Communications demonstrates, today’s PR agencies must distinguish themselves by delivering exceptional services and innovations to their clients. As a result, the industry is thriving. Brands demand more from agencies than ever before, asking these companies to prepare them for every stage of growth and to act as trusted partners along the way. PAN Communications is just one agency that shows the exceptional results that are possible when that happens.

Merchants offer a variety of ways to pay for their products and services these days, including everything from old favorites like credit cards and checks to newer modes, such as NFC (Near Field Communications)-ready phones and smart watches.

That affords retail customers greater convenience, of course, but it also means more chances for technical issues to arise. This can potentially cause lots of extra headaches for the seller.

However, if retailers work with U.S. payment software firms like PayJunction, they greatly minimize the chance of encountering those stumbling blocks. PayJunction is based in Santa Barbara, California, United States. Working in an industry that doesn’t always enjoy a great reputation for customer service, the company has gone all in on its efforts to satisfy users.

By just about any measure, it’s succeeding in that goal. Their customer service team upped its satisfaction score to 95.3% last year, from 94.2% in 2016. It did so after handling 13,500 more support tickets and 2,475 more calls than in 2016. What’s more, the service team, which operates out of the firm’s California headquarters, was also able to maintain an average wait time of just one minute.

“We've definitely developed a culture of respect,” says Christina Lavingia of PayJunction. “We work hard to value long-term relationships over short-term profits.”

This approach has led to a number of significant achievements, such as going three consecutive years without a single complaint file submitted to the Better Business Bureau and achieving the highest rating for a payment processor on Capterra.

A customer-first approach has also proven to have a positive impact on workplace morale. In 2017, PayJunction was selected as a Best Place to Work on Glassdoor.com.

“We treat our employees and customers like family and have prioritized doing the right thing in every facet of the business,” says Lavingia.

The company’s impressive call center team is one of the reasons PayJunction had a big night at the 16th Annual American Business Awards this summer. The firm captured the Gold Stevie® for Customer Service Department of the Year among financial services firms, as well as a Bronze Stevie for New Product or Service of the Year.

The team adds these accolades to its trophy shelf, which already included a Bronze Stevie for its customer service team from the 2017 awards ceremony.

Leveraging Its Awards

Founded in 2000, PayJunction succeeds, in part, by adeptly navigating the fast-changing world of payment processing. When it started, services like Apple Pay and Google Pay weren’t even around. Now, accepting those methods is increasingly viewed as imperative.

It has also been at the leading edge of efforts to combat fraud, which has long been one of the industry’s biggest challenges. Changes in signature requirements and the introduction of chip-and-PIN cards are having a major positive impact on retailers and businesses that process those cards.

“Equipping them with the technology they need for the future is truly exciting,” says Lavingia.

Today, the company processes $4 billion in sales each year, and thousands of businesses across the United States use its payment terminals and software. To meet this demand, the organization now employs more than 60 employees.

Perhaps, though, it’s the company’s laser focus on customer service that makes it stand out the most. For Lavingia, bringing home two Stevie Awards, including one for its customer care team, is a huge notch in its belt.

She notes the company was already bringing up its prior bronze prize during sales calls and in emails in order to help woo new customers, and she’s confident earning a gold this year will give them even greater prestige.

“We're able to leverage these awards to close deals with new merchants and to accurately showcase in a meaningful way how our software and support will positively impact their businesses,” Lavingia says.

Most information humans take in is visual and depth based. Although we do not emit lasers or lights to perceive our environments (as much as we might wish to), we still see everything very accurately with our comparatively low-quality eyes.

This means the brain is the driving factor behind the impressive results of our vision. Now, imagine a world where every device and machine has those capabilities. How well could that serve humanity?

The AI-based software solution from Lucid empowers dual-camera devices, such as mobile phones, robots, and others, to see in three dimensions, providing the depth perception of human eyes.

Lucid wants to be the platform that allows any device or machine to capture depth data in the world. In late 2018, Lucid is on track to bring in 10 times their 2017 revenue. They anticipate adding staff; opening offices around the world; and continuing to foster their culture of inclusion, work ethic, and continuous improvement.

Tech Giants Are Noticing

Lucid was founded in Palo Alto, California, United States, in January 2015. They focused on mimicking human vision in robots because they believed true depth vision should not be emission-based but AI-based. This defied how the entire industry was working at the time.

Han Jin is the cofounder and CEO of Lucid. He details where the company stood technologically before any tech giants entered the now growing space.

“We decided to build the world’s first VR180 camera, LucidCam, because we wanted to prove our AI-based software technology had a market,” says Jin. “There was no similar hardware until iPhone 7 Plus came out with dual cameras.”

After they successfully launched their device into retail spaces and millions of consumer hands, they observed the trend of dual cameras spreading to more than just phones.

This innovation keeps the company on track to recreate human vision through software, and they believe the deeper intermingling of humans and technology when both humans and robots are capable of doing and seeing.

Exploring New Territories

AI provides solutions to many problems caused by hardware limitations. For example, smartphone manufacturers need to ensure the price they charge per device continues to be competitive in order to hit volume benchmarks. However, when trying to incorporate depth-sensing technologies, the process becomes both bulky and costly. In consumer electronics, there’s simply not a lot of room for more hardware.

Space margins are extremely thin, and this is especially true of smartphones, where real estate is dire. Additionally, when you add an expensive sensor to a device, the price, unsurprisingly, goes up.

There’s no way around this other than finding solutions that incorporate depth sensing into consumer devices without the addition of hardware. This is precisely why AI software is leading companies like Lucid into territories that weren’t previously accessible.

Massive Potential

Five billion people have mobile phones, but the latest technological upgrades, such as built-in depth sensors, are currently too expensive for most device makers to incorporate. This disallows facial recognition, VR/AR, and 3D scanning.

At the same time, smartphone makers specifically are feeling increased downward price pressure as they try to come out with newer, more advanced devices that outpace their competitors.

The entire market is trying to find new approaches to solve this problem. As phone makers scramble to conceive new features that convince consumers to upgrade, depth sensing is increasingly on people’s radar.

When Lucid won a Gold Stevie® Award for Entrepreneur of the Year for Computer Software, the community took notice. Lucid is already improving its pure software solutions.

“This year, Lucid partnered with elite camera maker RED to build an H4V camera. The RED camera features two moving high-resolution cameras that adjust dynamically,” says Jin. “Our engine allows you to generate multiple views through AI with only two views being captured. This camera will use the new Hydrogen One phone with a holographic display as a viewfinder.”

Technology and innovation are at the core of what Lucid does, and other entrepreneurs and businesses can learn from Lucid’s alternative AI solution. Their work illustrates that software can implement capabilities much faster (and cheaper) than hardware currently can.

Teaching machines to see like humans could have huge ramifications in the technological world, and we’re just beginning to imagine all the possibilities.