Borrego & Bendel Corporation is a smart city technology company focused on increasing safety and efficiency on our roadways while reducing cost and providing useful and accurate data to shape the future of transportation. Influential People spoke with Nick and his team.
Téa Phillips is the CTO and cofounder at Borrego & Bendel Corporation. She leads the technology development at B&B by utilizing her engineering and leadership skills to create truly revolutionary innovations. Téa holds a Mechanical Engineering degree and certificate of Innovation & Entrepreneurship from Tennessee Tech University, and has specialized experience in materials, additive manufacturing, aerospace, and nuclear.
Randy Ridenour is the Founder & COB at Borrego & Bendel Corporation. He has deep expertise in building corporate value for advanced technology and professional services organizations is his expertise. Whether challenged to create a complete finance function for a start-up venture, reengineer existing financial operations or provide financial leadership for a fast-track growth company, He has delivered strong and sustainable results. He has identified and pursued technology market opportunities, rolling out SAP to Fortune 100 organizations and integrating new Enterprise Solutions including Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and eCommerce into a high-growth professional services organization.
Nick, share your background and what led you into entrepreneurship.
Everything stemmed from when I was a child, at the age of 10 I began taking a new perspective of how I could make an impact, create a legacy, and change the world for the better. It all started with my Idea A Day, essentially a small business plan… it included product title, description, similar products and services, how much would it cost to develop, how much would I sell it for, who was my customer and a quote from Forbes. Today I am a 24-year-old serial entrepreneur that has dreams of making a positive impact on the planet. For me, my purpose is to leave the planet in a better position than when I first arrived. I will do this through hard work, discipline, innovation and execution.
Tell us about Borrego & Bendel Corporation.
Starting with the Borrego & Bendel Corporation internationally award-winning TL20G1, a highly effective and efficient smart traffic device that will revolutionize technology and transportation. Our goal is to exponentially increase safety, efficiency, accurate data collection while reducing the detrimental environmental and economical costs associated with present traffic management. We will do this by imbedding an impressive series of algorithms, IoT interconnectivity, and blockchain designed by our world-renowned Silicon Valley engineers and Oak Ridge National Laboratory engineers. Then we will finalize our prototype and begin testing, implementation and receive our desired global impact.
I have also partnered and became part owner of ATS Innovations. We have developed the MetaFlex glove to relieve the pain of arthritis. We have invented several prototypes, received a patent, and won two awards for our design. We have now secured our manufacturing partner and are going to market with our proven technology. The best part is we aim to revolutionize the medical industry. We can easily sell these gloves for a lot of money per glove, but we are focused on the impact over the profits. We want to make a difference in people’s lives, we want to be the difference that so many people need but can’t afford. That’s why my business partner (Tèa Phillips) and I have agreed that we will go to market selling each glove for no more than $32 per glove.
How is Borrego & Bendel Corporation revolutionizing traffic management?
Borrego & Bendel Corporation is a multi-internationally award-winning smart city technology startup that is focused on revolutionizing traffic management by providing an all in one solution at a globally affordable price. Our organization focuses on tackling real world problems stemming from safety, efficiency, high cost, and inaccurate data located at signalized intersections. Our team has spent thousands of hours, researching, brain storming, and innovating our solution to create the perfect product that uses a mix of autonomous and fully customizable features to fit every city’s needs. We are revolutionizing traffic management by providing a premium product at a globally affordable price, from Dubai to Dallas. Although Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and Adaptive Traffic Control Systems have been recognized as the answer to the worlds traffic management problems, we can see global hesitation from the average cost of $65,000 per intersection. On top of this, current systems primarily focus on one of the four major problems, such as efficiency. Borrego & Bendel’s TL20G1 prides itself of being compatible with present and future technology while adjusting the technologies focus to create the safest, most efficient, cost-effective driving environment, while creating the necessary and accurate data to shape the future of transportation. We do this by incorporating 23 (and counting) software and hardware solutions in the world’s most user- friendly interface for both drivers, local governments, data scientist and traffic engineers.
How is the TL20G1, effectively and efficiently increasing safety, and providing accurate data collection while reducing the detrimental environmental and economical costs associated with the present traffic management?
The TL20G1 increases safety exponentially on our roadways. Some examples of these safety features include instant public communication (speed limits, safety messages, etc.), autonomous vehicle communication to improve AV safety and success rates, crash detection and emergency responder assistance to get to the scene as safely and quickly as possible. Regarding the collection of data, Borrego & Bendel Corporation has developed a unique proprietary software that allows live time data collection, organization, and dissemination into simple to understand graphs. The data collection technology compacted in the TL20G1 gives cities the ability to understand the safety and efficiency of a single intersection, multiple intersections to the entire city from live time, specific times of day, all the way to two years. This improves safety and efficiency at signalized intersections because it assists traffic engineers in addressing specific and immediate problems, such as red light running or distracted driving at specific locations. Economical and environmental costs associated with traffic management are astronomical. The world can see this first hand from the pollution emitted into our environment from idling vehicles and the amount of money governments throw into traffic management solutions. Borrego & Bendel not only understands these problems, but is putting our foot down to minimize the detrimental impacts of economical and environmental costs. Regarding our environmental solutions, we have incorporated self-sustainable energy to reduce our carbon footprint as well as highly advanced artificial intelligence that detects vehicles, pedestrians, and micro-mobility users to maximize traffic flow and minimize the amount of idling vehicles. When it comes to economical costs B&B has incorporated several forms of highly advanced technology to improve efficiency to limit the loss of productivity. On top of this Borrego & Bendel has integrated FinTech to produce an ROI to cities and create tax-deductible incentives for communities, this will provide necessary and additional income for future revolutionary innovations. With a combination of the 23 software and hardware integrations found in our technology, the world can expect a true win-win-win-win scenario when it comes to saving lives, time, money and creating the accurate data to shape the way our world moves.
Is your company a game-changer?
Borrego & Bendel Corporation is the world’s game-changing solution to traffic management. To put this in perspective, our technology compared to current traffic management solutions is the difference between the wooden wheel and the rubber tire. This is due to the fact that we have created an all-in-one solution to not only address the world’s problems, but to actually fix them at a globally affordable price. One example that we can all relate to is when we are sitting at a red light with no one else around. With our technology, we will be able to detect your approaching vehicle, scan the intersection, recognize that you’re the only vehicle, and give you a green light so you no longer have to sit there and wait! Current statistics show that the average driver spends 20% of all time driving waiting for a red light to turn green. If you truly think about how long you spend driving, that 20% adds up to thousands of hours at a red light over the span of an average lifetime. This is just one example of how Borrego & Bendel is a game changer. On a more technical level, we have created an all-in-one solution to problems as simple as giving you the green light to as complex as communicating with self driving cars to assist in the detection of pedestrians, driving behavior, and objects in the road. The world is focused on providing the solutions of the future, when they have simply forgotten about the problems of today. Our organization focuses on both – an example of this is our ability to communicate to vehicles that don’t have modern day technology to vehicles that harness the future of transportation. With the integration of our technology the world can expect the difference we have all been waiting for, thus making Borrego & Bendel Corporation a game-changer. The best part is, it doesn’t stop at the TL20G1. We intend to revolutionize several industries by creating new opportunities and innovations to become the world’s standard in technology.
Tell us about your team and the strengths they bring to Borrego & Bendel Corporation.
Borrego & Bendel Corporation is home to visionaries, dreamers, revolutionist, globally recognized engineers, smart city experts, white collar executives and so much more. The most important thing that our entire team can relate to is the fact that we all have an un-extinguishable passion to create a better world. Our strengths not only correlate with our impressive previous experience but truly reside in our discipline, motivation and perseverance to create novel innovations that will save lives, time, money and create the accurate data to shape the future.
Randy, how has your experience given you the leading edge in technology?
Working in the SAP space for 32 years has given broad exposure to businesses in all industry verticals since SAP dominates all industries including fortune 1000, 500 100 etc. The technology is agnostic across all industries along with specialized industry solutions specific to each vertical. IS- Utility, IS – Gas & Oil, IS – Life Sciences, IS – CPG, IS High Tech etc. Not only were the core modules agnostic, but they also developed Industry solutions for each industry and Industry RoadMaps to follow with Global Templates for Global Roll outs. In addition, each country specific had localizations for banking, shipping, invoicing, finance dependent on the country. And all the SAP Software was available in 100 different languages from the very early days when they translated it from Germany. This enabled me to learn new technologies, IOT, Blockchain, Cloud, 5G, AI, ML. PA, PM and many other technologies like MII for shop floor applications. So SAP could communicate from the shop floor to the CEO / Boardroom and with consolidated balance sheets global closings the last day of each month.
You have successfully built companies, notably you orchestrated a $300M Enterprise Solutions SAP Practice. Tell us more.
We were an early SAP Services company and able to capture first mover status in the US since I had previously worked for a German company in the 80’s using SAP R2 which was the very early iteration. We then had SAP R3 in the 90’s, ECC 5.0 / 6.0 in the early 2000’s then S/4 Hana the Cloud Solution which was a massive change in strategy from a licensed based per user sales model to a subscription based monthly fee.
We grew exponentially in the early 90’s more then doubling every year for 3 years and from negative cashflow historically as a Service Bureau to positive Cashflow in 3 months when we went into SAP Services and double-digit EBITDA. We were approached in 1996 but Accustaff for M&A and I negotiated the sale at 7 times EBITDA which was unheard of at that time. I stayed on post – acquisition and led Modis Professional Services which was the name change of Accustaff as the President / COO and did 8 strategic acquisitions 6 in the US and 2 in the UK and integrated them all accretively while continuing our Organic growth at more than 35 % YOY. We made strategic geographic acquisitions to add revenue and clients and complementary SAP Services Staffing companies as well as SAP Professional Services companies to cover the entire US and brand them all into Modis Professional Services. So, I had a $200M SAP Practice a $50M Oracle Practice as well as a $50M Peoplesoft Practice and a $100M ecommerce practice all with direct reports leading each Practice reporting to me.
What is your vision for Borrego & Bendel Corporation?
I see the initial B&B solution as a building block as the foundation if you will as with Nick’s strategic vision and Te’a’s vision we lay another brick every few years and build on this platform from a garage to a house to a 90-story high rise. The possibilities in this space are endless with additional features, functionality and with new technology we can grow exponentially into EV / AV space in many industries not just the automotive vertical. The possibilities are endless. We want to capture first mover status in the Smart Traffic Light and Traffic Management Systems.
Téa, tell us about how you have utilized your engineering and leadership skills to create truly revolutionary innovations.
One of the first innovations I helped create was with a small team of students at my university. We designed, fabricated, and delivered a crawl-through and interactive play area for a local neurodivergent child with sensory issues. Our creation helped him learn ON/OFF, OPEN/CLOSE, and provided several safe areas and devices to keep him entertained and learning. We delivered this to his family in time for Christmas, and immediately I knew what my purpose was. That is to create, build, innovate, and then use those innovations to help others around me. As one of my favorite childhood movies, Robots, said “Find a need, fill a need”. Since then, I haven’t stopped innovating. At 22 I was named an inventor on my first patent (created for the first company I founded, ATS Innovations), in a few weeks I will have a second with the TL20G1, and following that will be many, many more. I’d like to tell you what’s coming in the future, but you’ll just have to keep an eye out to see what we create next. I can tell you that each innovation will bring us another step forward towards a better future.
Téa, “All my life I’ve been inspired by others around me who continually push the boundaries of what the world could look like.” Explain.
Scientists, artists, writers, poets each of these explorers have influenced my view of the world. Since studying Shakespeare as a child, mythologies as a teenager, and countless other works throughout my life I’ve been inspired. Inspired to learn, to travel, and to meet new people with different world views. This combined with my love of science and science fiction has inspired me to innovate, to create new things, and combine ideas from one group of people with ideas from another to create something beautiful for us all. Collaboration is the key to innovation, and at B&B we welcome challenging how things have “always been done”, and with those small steps in a new direction we can build a brighter future.
What thrills you the most about being part of the team of Borrego & Bendel Corporation?
The answer to that would be the team itself and the culture we’ve built here based on our vision to create a better future. We have been very intentional about who we’ve brought onto the project, and as a result of that selection process the B&B team contains experts in sectors such as traffic engineering, cyber security, artificial intelligence, IoT, and more. Additionally, the working atmosphere is amazing. B&B operates on a flat organizational structure which prevents delay, rework, waste, and lost opportunities that come with working on a hierarchical structure where X talks to Y, then Y talks to Z. With us X can talk to Z as well as A, B, and C allowing us to operate more smoothly. Finally, our technology and the missions of B&B, short term: to revolutionize traffic management; and long term: to innovate and improve the world we live in.
What do you enjoy most about being an engineering leader?
I think one of the most important things about being an engineering leader is being a lifelong learner, and all of my mentors would say the same. Technology is advancing at such a rapid pace that if you don’t stay curious your organization ends up wasting time, money, and energy just by being behind the game. That’s why I’m thrilled to be at Borrego & Bendel Corporation where we are leading the world into the future of traffic management by utilizing AI, IoT, blockchain, fintech, and renewable energies. Every day we’re inventing new technologies to add to the growing list of software applications available with the TL20G1, currently at 23.
Nick, what do you see for the future of your company?
I see a team of outstanding individuals coming together to solve real world problems that will create a massive impact. I also believe that Borrego & Bendel will be around for many generations to come, this is due to the fact that the world will continually evolve and our organization will be there to create the necessary innovations to transform the future.
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