“Diamonds are Forever” – Eterneva turns loss into jewels to celebrate loved ones

April 19 2018 loss

Saying goodbye to loved ones is never easy. Loss is as intimate as the relationship we had with the person we lost. We each cope with it differently. Some cherish invaluable memories. Others seek tangible means to commemorate their loved ones. Many want to keep their loved one’s story alive from generation to generation.

When Adelle Archer lost her business mentor Tracey Kaufman to cancer in 2015, Archer hoped to honor Kaufman’s legacy in her own way. Archer was working for a diamond growing lab at the time. During a conversation with a technician at the lab, she conceived the idea of transforming some of her mentor’s cremated remains into a yellow diamond to give to Kaufman’s family. The idea then spawned Eterneva, a startup that takes ashes and turns them into unique diamonds and jewels.

Human remains contain carbon, a key component for diamond processing. Based in Austin, Eterneva uses a cup of ashes, approximately an eighth of the average amount produced from cremation, to create a diamond.  These diamonds are customizable by weight, color and cut, allowing customers to personalize diamonds unique to their loved one. Archer made a yellow diamond in honor of Kaufman since yellow was her mentor’s favorite color.

Eterneva’s approach is taking a different spin on loss and death. As Archer said, “A diamond lasts more than a single generation, the way an urn of ashes won’t. Nobody wants to inherit that, but they of course want to inherit their great-grandfather’s diamond.” One of Eterneva’s customers was a mother whose 19-year-old daughter died in a car accident. She chose to have her daughter’s ashes turned into a blue diamond ring. Archer explained, “She told me that she wants people to comment on it. It gives her an opportunity to talk about her daughter. People don’t want their loved one to be forgotten–they want to talk about them. They want them to be remembered and celebrated.”

Are you developing new ways to commemorate loved ones? Did you know that Eterneva’s research expenses could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit? Yours could too. To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is Texas’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Texas, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes. 

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative

ICON’s Vulcan 3-D printer packs a punch against homelessness

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With 1.2 billion people worldwide without access to adequate shelter, one Texas start-up hopes to change that. On Monday, March 12, Austin-based ICON unveiled the world’s first permitted 3-D printed home. ICON’s Vulcan 3-D printer built the home in just under 48 hours and for less than $4,000, a fraction of average construction costs.

The 350 sq foot building will serve as ICON’s office, allowing the company to witness firsthand any issues with the home and make necessary modifications before going into full scale production. The home is complete with a living room, bathroom, and office space. Unlike other companies that have built 3-D printed homes that “look like Yoda huts”, ICON was intent on constructing a home that was functional and modern. Jason Ballard, one of ICON’s three founders, asserted, “For this venture to succeed, they have to be the best houses.”

The Vulcan 3-D printer used durable yet cheap materials and produced little waste in the making of the Austin house. According to ICON’s other co-founder Evan Loomis, the concrete mixture used in the Vulcan is three times stronger than traditional concrete. The Vulcan can produce single-story, 600 to 800 sq ft homes in under 24 hours. Andrew Logan at Logan Architecture, the head designer for the project, added that the Vulcan 3-D printer allowed for more creativity compared to conventional construction. “When you’re talking about standard methods of construction, the guys in the field have a really hard time building that [unique] geometry,” Logan explained. “It’s difficult getting it all lined up properly. But if you have a machine doing it, it’s going straight from the computer to the field. You have infinite design ability to get crazy with your angles and curves and forms.”

Because the Vulcan 3-D printer can build homes faster, more affordably, and sustainably, ICON has high hopes for the tool to be used in humanitarian applications, especially in the developing world. The company is teaming up with the non-profit New Story to address homelessness and global housing shortages. Together, they will construct a community of 100 houses in El Salvador next year using the Vulcan 3-D printer technology.

Loomis said, “We just think homes are not obtainable and affordable and they certainly aren’t sustainable. So we thought that the convergence of robotics, material science, and software would have a novel way for people to afford a basic human need: shelter.”

Working on technological solutions to address some of the globe’s most pressing problems? Did you know your experiments could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

 

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is Texas’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Texas, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes. 

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative

Texan Grocery King H-E-B launches Self-Checkout Mobile App

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Waiting in those long lines and fighting for the best deals can make grocery shopping a real hassle. While self-serve checkout counters have sped up the process, they have inadvertently encouraged theft and thievery. Amazon’s new Seattle warehouse may have overcome those issues with its Amazon Go grocery store but Texas-based H-E-B’s new self-checkout mobile app could give the retail giant a run for its money.

The app allows customers to freely peruse the shelves and scan items they want to purchase. When they’re ready to checkout, users can pay via the mobile app and just need to show the digital receipt to an H-E-B employee before existing. More than just a self-checkout mobile app, H-E-B Go also tells customers the aisles where they can find certain items, a handy feature especially if you’ve ever been inside one of H-E-B’s massive grocery stores. The mobile app keeps track of users’ shopping lists to provide recommendations and reminders on future shopping trips. It offers coupons too, helping users save even more on their shopping trips.

Currently, H-E-B’s self-checkout mobile app is in use at two locations: the South Flores location in San Antonio and the De Zavala Road location near Shavano Park. The app is still in its pilot stage and not yet ready to roll out to other stores, but it’s already a hit among users.

Are you working on experiments to improve the efficiency of grocery shopping and other day-to-day activities? Did you know your experiments could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is Texas’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Texas, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes.  

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative

Briggo’s Robotic Barista: the coffee vending machine that’s actually not that bad

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A barista that consistently makes your favorite coffee perfectly and never spells your name wrong? That’s what Briggo Coffee Haus promises with its affectionately-dubbed “robotic barista”. The Austin-based company developed its automated coffee dispenser to take the craft of coffee and mechanize the experience without sacrificing standards of perfection, personalization, and efficiency.

In a technologically-driven world where customization and convenience go hand-in-hand, the robotic barista seems like a match made in heaven. Coffee drinkers can choose from 13 options and adjust the order to suit their preferences, such as adding vanilla syrup, two shots of espresso, and skim milk. Wait a minute or two, and the perfect cup of coffee will appear. Customers’ orders are saved in the company’s cloud system so they can re-order their favorite recipe at a later time. There’s also a Briggo app that allows coffee drinkers to pre-order as they’re on their way to the Coffee Haus. According to Vending Times’ Paul Schlossberg, the whole process was intuitive, quick, and easy. He added, “Here is a vending machine for the 21st century.”

Briggo’s machine offers a precision that human baristas don’t have. While humans may measure based on dashes and splashes, moments and seconds, the robotic barista has its measurements down to the milligram and millisecond. Briggo CEO Kevin Nater explained, “Based on a customer’s selection, we precisely calculate to the gram the ingredients, as well as the precise frothing parameters needed based on those ingredients.” The Briggo machine can also make 100 cups an hour. It’s fast, convenient, and reliable.

Briggo recently introduced its robotic barista at the University of Texas’ renowned ice cream shop Moojo in Austin. Briggo asserts it doesn’t plan on replacing baristas. Rather, it seeks to bring its robotic barista to locations where good quality coffee is hard to find, such as corporate campuses, hospitals, and airports.

Working on improving the efficiency of coffee-making? Did you know your experiments could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is Texas’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Texas, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes.  

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative

Mobility and disability are no longer mutually exclusive thanks to Go Baby Go

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“Ever since he was a baby, we’ve always said we want him to be the same as anyone else, he is no different,” Brenda Fernandez said of her son Abel Salazar. “We never told him you can’t do it.” Abel, 4 years old, was born without fully formed bones in his body, making mobility and other functions difficult. Last month, engineering math students from Victoria West High School in Texas retrofitted a battery-powered miniature red jeep as part of the Go Baby Go program and soon, Abel was on the move.

Brenda said, “He was scared at first, then he saw the Captain America sign and his face turned into a big huge smile. After that, he got on [the car].” Abel is part of the Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities where therapy and specialized programs help him develop cognitive, social, and mobility skills. By learning to drive the electric jeep, Abel is more likely to be a candidate for a mobility chair in the future. “The ultimate goal is independence,” said Amanda Kern, occupational therapist.

Last September, the engineering math students from Victoria High School began making adjustments to the red jeep which required testing and re-testing. Upgrades included modifying and stabilizing the seat’s position and rewiring the foot accelerator to the steering wheel. Safety features like a five-point strap belt were also added and the electrical work had to be rewired. The students said that the project gave them a real world look into math and engineering, and that the project was more fun than work.

Abel’s red jeep project was part of Go Baby Go, a nationwide program that modifies off-the-shelf battery operated toy cars to make them accessible for children with disabilities. The program’s founder had identified a gap in the market, particularly that mobility devices for young children were non-existent while adult motorized wheelchairs cost upwards of $17,000. In comparison, by modifying existing battery operated toy cars, the total cost is only around $200. The Go Baby Go program offers children with disabilities to develop independent mobility, cognition, coordination, balance, social, and other skills.

As Abel drove the red jeep throughout the halls of Dudley Elementary School and honked the horn, he smiled. “There’s no better feeling than seeing your son smile,” Brenda stated.

Are you working on experiments to retrofit existing off-the-shelf products and make them accessible for people with disabilities? Did you know your experiments could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is Texas’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Texas, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes.  

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative

“$1.1 million flop” – Failed Wind Turbines in Addison Demonstrate the Need for R&D

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Almost a decade ago, the city of Addison, TX set its sights on constructing a new water tower powered by eight wind turbines that would sit atop of the tower. Intended to become an artistic and renewable energy landmark, the project was designed by an artist who claimed that when people see the tower, “They will know they are in Addison.” Unfortunately, the once-optimistic project would instead become known for its failed wind turbines.

In 2011, Landmark Structures was commissioned to build the water tower and Urban Green Energy manufactured the wind turbines which were installed in February 2012. One of the turbines fell off the tower only three months after installation. While no one was hurt, the turbines continued to demonstrate poor craftsmanship even after repairs. In December 2012, a blade hit a nearby building, destroying a conference room.  In 2013, the turbines were removed, re-fitted, and reinstalled. However, another blade flew off the turbine in 2014.

While the water tower was functional, the failed wind turbines, made originally in China, proved to be a safety hazard. According to Dave Lieber, the project was “a $1.1 million flop” and “not one kilowatt of electricity was generated.” As a result, the city of Addison is issuing a lawsuit against Landmark Structures and Urban Green Energy who had designed and handled the construction of the project. Until the legal case is sorted, the failed wind turbines will remain atop of the water tower.

Are you working on projects attempting to improve wind turbines and prevent future accidents and lawsuits like Addison’s failed wind turbines? Did you know your experiments, even those that were unsuccessful, could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you could receive 14% back on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE credits as well as CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Dallas-Fort Worth Airlines leading the charge towards Inflight WiFi

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Soon, “Airplane Mode” on your laptops and mobile devices may become a thing of the past. More and more airlines are introducing inflight WiFi, according to the 2018 WiFi Report by Routehappy, a flight shopping platform. The Report found that 82 airlines worldwide now offer inflight WiFi. That’s 12 more airlines compared to last year. “Two years ago, there was only a one in three chance you would board a flight with Wi-Fi,” said Jonathan Savitch, Routehappy’s chief commercial officer. Now, it’s almost a 50% chance.

Not only is inflight WiFi becoming more common, it is also getting faster and more advanced. WiFi systems are categorized into three types: basic, better, and best.  Airlines are increasingly moving away from basic connectivity – with no streaming media capability – to the “better” category which allows for web browsing and limited media streaming.  57 percent of WiFi systems are using “better” connectivity. The “best” WiFi system consists of satellite-based broadband service that allows for video streaming and is comparable to your WiFi connection at home. While only 16 percent of inflight WiFi systems currently have “best” connectivity, it’s already a 129 percent increase from last year and the shift from “better” to “best” connectivity isn’t slowing down. Jason Rabinowitz, director of airline research at Routehappy, said, “It is now likely that Wi-Fi at 32,000 feet may be cheaper and faster than the WiFi at many airports.”

86% of carriers in the United States offer full or partial inflight WiFi, with Dallas-Fort Worth airlines leading the charge. Southwest Airlines, based in Dallas, is  one of only three carriers in the world that guarantees inflight WiFI on all of its flights. The other two are Icelandair and Virgin Atlantic. Routehappy also measured inflight WiFi availability by Available Seat Miles (ASM) which determines airline capacity. The Report found that Fort Worth-based American Airlines ranked second only to Delta in terms of most ASMs with inflight WiFi. Both American and Southwest have committed to upgrading its WiFi systems to become faster and more reliable.

The United States’ leadership in the inflight WiFi market isn’t guaranteed, however. Savitch said, “When we look at this from a long-haul perspective, we see where the next battleground is. Emirates has the lion’s share.” Last year, Emirates had included WiFi connectivity on its fleet rollout of Boeing 777s. Lufthansa is also catching up with its introduction of a hybrid satellite and LTE connectivity for its narrow-body fleet.

Inflight WiFi in the United States has come a long way but there is still room for improvement. Are you working on innovative ways to improve WiFi connectivity on American flight carriers and helping the United States maintain its position as a leader in aerospace travel? Your efforts could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you could receive up to 14% back on your expenses. To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE credits as well as CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

EverlyWell Home Testing Kits Could Transform Healthcare

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Securing a groundbreaking $1 million line of credit on Shark Tank for 5% equity in the company, EverlyWell home health testing kits may well transform the healthcare industry as we know it. CEO and Founder Julia Cheek came up with the idea after receiving thousands of dollars in unexpected lab bills after a diagnosis for chronic fatigue months earlier. Deciding this was not good enough, she left her corporate job and formed EverlyWell. The business aims to make medical testing more accessible to consumers by providing testing kits with a simple, one-off price tag.

A range of tests are available, from food sensitivity, women’s health and fertility, sleep and stress to the very popular STD test for men and women. The kits have helped thousands of people to improve their quality of life. One customer took the abnormal results she received using EverlyWell’s Vitamin D test to her doctor, who subsequently discovered that she had Thyroid cancer. She is now in remission.

The company are continually expanding their selection of tests. Recently, EverlyWell joined with DNA company Helix so that customers can learn the impact of DNA on their weight, DHA levels and metabolism. Further down the track, the company plan to sell their kits in retailers, in addition to their online store, to make the tests even more accessible.

The improvement of existing processes and products can have a profound effect on established industries. Cheek herself has stated that, “This is a really great time for female entrepreneurs. I think that women developing ideas and creating products from their personal experiences is powerful– we represent a large majority of the purchasing power in the country.”

EverlyWell has developed its own technology platform, genomic panels and are continually working on various features and new tests. These types of activities generally qualify for research and development tax credits where innovative businesses can receive a refund of up to 14% for eligible expenditure. Sound good? For further information, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or try our free online eligibility test to see whether you qualify.

ProUnitas: Using Data to Help Students Succeed

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How can technology help mitigate the ongoing challenges that schools and students face both in and outside of the classroom? With poverty, hunger, homelessness, and other non-academic issues creating barriers to success in low-income neighborhoods, experts are acutely aware that schools are not always equipped to deal with these forces. Andrew Cunningham, Global Education Advisor at Aga Khan Foundation, said, “In many communities, Coca-Cola knows their supply chain better than the local education officials [know their] kids.” To provide schools with more knowledge and better forecasting tools, ProUnitas was founded by Adeeb Barqawi in Houston.

Barqawi was working with Teach for America at Kashmere High School in 2014 when he witnessed firsthand the impact of these issues on student success. During his experience there, he noted, “I was ready to teach, but my kids walked in hungry, or had mental health issues, but our school counselors were overwhelmed.” Located in a low-income neighborhood in Houston, Kashmere High School was designated as an “Improvement Required” school at the time. Counselors and teachers would often go above and beyond to help their students but the result was typically staff burnout or a lack of institutional memory when a teacher or counselor left the school. Barqawi explained that the problem wasn’t individual teachers or counselors; the problem was systematic: “We cannot build schools on superheroes.”

Part of the problem is lack of accessibility to resources. Kashmere High School’s former principal Reginald Bush said, “When you make a comparison, a school with the services versus the school without, one is going to be a higher-performing school, one is going to be a lower-performing school.” To help students get access to these services, ProUnitas gathers data to help the school identify the needs of their students sooner. It measures key metrics on a weekly basis: attendance, in-school behavior, and satisfactory homework performance. If the system finds a student deviates from any of the categories, a ProUnitas counselor visits the student and uncovers the cause of the behavior change, such as death in the family, homelessness, lack of clothing, and so on. From there, the counselor could connect the student with the necessary resources, whether it is mentorship, food services, health services, counselling, and others.

Because of its data approach, ProUnitas’ platform allows the school to keep track of a student’s progress instead of relying on an individual teacher’s memory. Its rationalized strategy to delivering services to at-risk students helps allot resources more efficiently. Albert Wei, Director of Partnerships and Special Projects at ProUnitas, acknowledged, “We couldn’t rely on a haphazard collection of programs to serve students’ needs. There needed to be coordination and someone analyzing feedback to see if and how students were impacted.” Because of its approach, ProUnitas is having a major impact on Kashmere High School, with the school only two students’ test scores away from no longer having the “Improvement Required” designation. Barqawi hopes to one day apply the scalable technology nationwide.

Are you building and innovating software to improve at-risk schools and help students overcome barriers to success? Your experiments could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses. To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is Texas’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Texas, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes.  

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative

 

 

ViaGen’s Cloning Service For Beloved Pets

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Remember Dolly the sheep, the first successful mammal cloned by Scottish scientists in 1996?

Twenty years later and the technology has evolved to cloning our favourite furry companions. ViaGen have been successfully cloning livestock for over 15 years – sheep, horses, pigs and cows – and two years ago, extended the service to cats and dogs.

How does the process work? Four small skin samples are taken from the pet and millions of cells are then cultivated from the cells, containing the pet’s full DNA for cloning. A cloned embryo is implanted into the surrogate mother chosen to carry the pup.

The resulting animal is like a genetic twin of the original, except born on a different date. It will have the original pet’s characteristics including its intelligence and temperament. However, as with human twins, the pet’s personalities will differ – while genetically identical, they will not be exact replicas of the original pet.

This groundbreaking technology has been used to clone pets for people who want to keep their beloved pet in their lives for longer, since cats and dogs have a much shorter lifespan than humans. It has also been suggested that cloning police and other service dogs with ideal characteristics could create some very successful working dogs.

While cloning your dog currently costs $50,000 ($25,000 for cats) and there is a three month waiting list, ViaGen aim to further develop the technology to allow more people to clone their pets at a lower price.

ViaGen are an innovative Texan company undertaking research and development to create new knowledge on a global scale. The company is thus eligible for a rebate on its R&D expenditure. Companies in any industry who are developing new products may be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit. Complete our quick eligibility test to see whether you can take advantage of this credit to lower your company’s tax bill.