Local firm in running for Forbes contest

By Michael Schwartz

Inside Business

Virginia Beach-based SOLUS Solutions and Technologies has made it to the semifinals of a national business contest put on by Forbes magazine.

From a field of 1,500 small companies and entrepreneurs, SOLUS, which develops and licenses aerodynamic energy-efficiency solutions for the transportation industry, is one of 20 semifinalists in Forbes’ “Boost Your Business 2008,” a contest that judges small companies poised for growth. The best plan will win $100,000 to be used toward making that growth happen.

The initial pitch to get into the contest was daunting and began in May. Richard Wood, SOLUS’ founder, president and lone full-time employee, had just 500 words to convince judges why his tech firm is truly up-and-coming.

Concentrating in inventions for the heavy truck industry, Wood and SOLUS invented and patented several devices that are more like appendages that attach to trucks and trailers to boost aerodynamic flow and ultimately reduce fuel costs for the 2.5 million trucks and 7 million trailers that burn down American highways.

The pitch also had to include capitalization information and how each company plans to use the $100,000 prize money. Wood started SOLUS around 1997, before fuel prices began their incline. Using the aerodynamic attachments, Wood believes the trucking industry can reduce fuel use by 2 million gallons a day within the next two years.

In his video pitch, Wood touts the company as a green aerodynamic tech firm that has thus far licensed five inventions that increase fuel economy 10 percent. Revenue has increased 200 percent.

According to SOLUS’ entry, the company became profitable in 2007, with revenues of $86,000. Its assets now include an intellectual property portfolio worth $1.8 million, $100,000 of test equipment and guaranteed royalties exceeding $100,000 per year. Wood said in his entry that the company’s royalties are conservatively projected to increase 100 percent per year with revenue in 2008 projected at $210,000 with a net profit of $50,000. The revenue in 2009 is projected at $520,000 with a net profit of $150,000.

Wood said in an interview last week that the prize money would be used to fund further development of inventions.

He now waits to see if he’ll make the Forbes top five, a status based solely on fan voting. Until the end of September, users can go to the Forbes Web site and watch 30-second video pitches of each of the 20 finalists and vote for the one they feel has the best growth potential. The top five will then present a full business plan to a panel of judges in New York for the chance at $100,000.

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