How do you define a trendsetter? Is it someone who offers a unique product in the marketplace, a venture that no one else has been able to tackle or simply taking an idea off the white board and finally pushing it into reality?

Tech trend setters can be any and all of the above — from $1 million prize winners competing nationally, to a parent putting brain power and tenacity to work in a home lab that could be a kitchen.

They’re all of the above.

Tech Trendsetters is a feature on Verizon’s Midwest Area Blog. We regularly showcase Hoosiers and Hoosier companies making their respective marks on the world.

Michael Schrader, for example, is the 32-year-old CEO and co-founder of Vaxess Technologies. His company won a $1 million prize this year for Verizon’s Powerful Answers competition. Vaxess now enters a global community with a vaccination innovation. His Vaxess team has created a soluble, silk-stabilized vaccine that can be shipped without refrigeration. Each year, more than 2.4 million people die from diseases that could be prevented by vaccines.

 

 

Others, such as Julie Bombacino, founder and CEO of Real Food Blends, found a solution to a real-life problem when her son failed to thrive and she researched blender based, real food diets. She’s exceeded crowdfunding goals via Indiegogo, raised $550,000 in venture capital and has partnered with healthcare companies such as Medline andIndiana University Health Home Care to make her meals available through insurance.

 

 

Andrew Westberg, an Indiana-based software development consultant, also found a simple solution to tracking mileage with more precision and less opportunity for human error. His entry into Verizon’s Open Development Initiative opened new doors. The ability to work with Verizon gave him immediate ramp-up abilities.

 

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MileTrack GPS starts tracking when you start car and ends when you turn your car off.

 

Hoosier company Bottoms Up has also redefined the beer pour for stadiums, hotels and restaurants — saving them untold amounts of money. The return on investment for most system owners is tied to faster service, leveraging of food sales and dramatically reduced beer volume losses through its automated pouring system.

 

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Bottoms Up fills specialized beer cups from the bottom!

 

You can be a tech trendsetter with a device, and app or simply an idea.

To find more Hoosier tech trendsetters working with Verizon, visit the Verizon Wireless Midwest Area Blog.

Trevor Thomas - IN PR Manager - Verizon WirelessMore about Trevor Thomas

Trevor Thomas is the PR Manager for Verizon Wireless in Indiana, Michigan and Kentucky.

He writes about the tech industry and wireless trends for Verizon’s Midwest Area Blog and the Verizon Wireless News Center. @VZWtrevor