Saul Kaplan

State of Innovation: R.I.’s ecosystem for entrepreneurs shows resilience

Cover Story 07/08/2022

For the developers of Pointz, a navigation app geared toward safer routes for cyclists, Rhode Island offered a wealth of mentoring and networking opportunities,...

Legislation on ‘no-poaching’ between states raises questions about enforcement

Economy 04/08/2022

Two Rhode Island lawmakers are calling for a truce in the economic border war waged with tax incentives with neighboring states, but some authorities...

THE R.I. OFFICE OF INNOVATION closed permanently last June without a public announcement except for a notice on its website. The office was created under Gov. Gina M. Raimondo in 2016. PBN FILE PHOTO/CASSIUS SHUMAN

Change in state leadership led to permanent closure of R.I. Office...

Economy 02/16/2022

PROVIDENCE — A shift in state leadership hastened the closure of the R.I. Office of Innovation, according to state and former office employees who...

LunaYou launches public benefit corporation, plans staff expansion

Entrepreneurship 02/03/2022

PROVIDENCE — LunaYou, a Business Innovation Factory-launched platform focused on pregnancy and postpartum care, is continuing to scale as its team works toward public...

MOVING AHEAD: Saul Kaplan, founder and chief catalyst of the Business Innovation Factory, says the loss of the Tech Collective and the R.I. Office of Innovation won’t have a lasting effect on innovative efforts in the state. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Will closures hurt R.I.’s innovation efforts?

Education 01/21/2022

For more than two decades, Providence nonprofit the Tech Collective provided training, recognition and other guidance for innovators ranging from aspiring entrepreneurs to seasoned...

Entrepreneurship 11/26/2021

You can’t discuss business innovation in Rhode Island over the last two decades without mentioning Saul Kaplan. Since his days in the early 2000s at...

SAUL KAPLAN, the founder of the Business Innovation Factory, speaks at a summit in 2015. / PBN FILE PHOTO/STEPHANIE ALVAREZ EWENS

Business Innovation Factory pivots to self-initiated programs

Economy 06/28/2021

PROVIDENCE – Innovation and design thinking are the business of the Business Innovation Factory, but for the past year, the Providence-based company has applied...

NHPRI, Business Innovation Factory partner on maternal health program aimed at...

Health Services 06/20/2021

SMITHFIELD – Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island is partnering with the Business Innovation Factory on a two-year pilot program for Neighborhood’s pregnant members. Designed...

PRODUCT TEST: Amanda Jamieson, left, assistant professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Brown University, holds plaque assays of GC Ink, a graphene ink developed by Graphene Composites USA Inc. that is believed to kill viruses when applied to surfaces. Brown researchers, including Delia Demers, center, and Meredith Crane, are testing the product thanks to a grant GC received from the R.I. Commerce Corp.’s Innovation Voucher Program. / COURTESY GREG SERPA

Where is Commerce headed? McKee may give R.I. agency new direction...

Coronavirus 04/16/2021

Amid the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic last June, Daniel J. McKee appeared frustrated. McKee, then Rhode Island’s lieutenant governor, took the unusual step of...