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A new document creation service has hit the web, and it’s inspiring individuals and businesses to change the way they collaborate on documentation. LUNARR, founded in 2006 by entrepreneurs Toru Takasuka and Hideshi Hamaguchi, creates a virtual “back page” which includes all of the email communications, informal notes, and discussions that go in to perfecting any given document. This not only provides a real-time look at all the ideas surrounding a document, but also solves the versioning problems that so often plague offline documents. Takasuka and Hamaguchi are hoping to change the way teams collaborate with their unique interface and web-based service. LUNARR is well-positioned to join the ranks of SAAS companies making an impact not only on businesses, but on individual users as well.

Toru Takasuka is a well-known entrepreneur in Japan, having started a company called Cybozu which develops collaborative groupware for enterprise use. Cybozu was a resounding success, and it is still the top groupware company in Japan, surpassing IBM and Microsoft. Takasuka, however, was looking for a new challenge in a more dynamic and daring atmosphere, so he left his position at Cybozu in the spring of 2005.

Hideshi Hamaguchi is also a respected expert in his field, and his work concentrates on creative concept and strategy development. When Takasuka, his former colleague from Panasonic, told him he was venturing out from Cybozu on April Fool’s Day, Hamaguchi assumed it was a prank. “I asked Toru if he had a concept for his new company, and he said no. He just knew that the market was ready for something big and new, so we sat down and developed the concept together.” Their brainstorm produced the front page/back page strategy that became LUNARR, which was named for the two faces of the moon.

LUNARR’s founders drew inspiration from Japanese business philosophy and aesthetics. As Hamaguchi explains, “Japanese people rely on intuition for many business decisions, but Americans use logic for making decisions. The mixture of intuition and logic is totally different in the two cultures.” The back page concept reflects this mixed mode of decision-making, allowing teams to explore not only intuitive changes and whims, but also collect and analyze all the information about a project. The user interface is the essence of simplicity, which Hamaguchi compares to a traditional Japanese stone garden. “The general idea in web applications is ‘more is better’, but in Japanese culture, less is better…we kept subtracting features and design elements to reflect this minimalism.” Hamaguchi compares LUNARR’s clean interface, which is essentially a document with a dog-eared corner that flips to your back page, to Google’s miniamlist landing page. It’s the essence function without any distractions.

Takasuka and Hamaguchi hope to influence the very idea of document creation, though their goal is not to replace current technologies. “We want the dynamic and agile work styles seen with whiteboard note-taking, emails, and web conferences to continue, but we want people to slow down and change their work styles. You take your time and organize the front page, but then you’re able to flip and see the chaos, the additions, and your initial impressions,” says Hamaguchi. “LUNARR provides that relaxed mode of collaboration.” Because of their ambition to change the way people use documents, they are not using the beta launch to gather specific feedback about features for future releases. Takasuka and Hamaguchi see iterative methods as a means by which to improve an existing product, not a tool for innovation. “People do not know what they need from innovative companies. It’s our job to tell them.”

This confident, devil-may-care philosophy is also reflected in Takasuka’s marketing strategy for LUNARR. With Cybozu, he was on the cutting edge of web advertising, but he’s exploring what Hamaguchi describes as a “crazy approach” for this new venture. Since the internet market in the U.S. is saturated with conventional ads, LUNARR has rented an old-school billboard for a year off San Francisco’s Highway 101 near Oracle headquarters. The messages, handwritten and striking, will change every month. The area’s high concentration of tech workers has created a human network that Takasuka is confident will spread the word about his product.

LUNARR is one of the most promising SAAS applications which enables collaboration and vibrancy for any creative team. The service is in a free beta at the moment, though plans are in the works to develop a enterprise version and corresponding pricing structure. As Hamaguchi puts it, “We hope people will see their documents differently, not just a depository, but a work-in-progress, a living thing.”

The lives of doctors, and the experiences of patients, may get a lot smoother thanks to technology pioneer Dr. Matt Burton. Dr. Burton’s new company Holutions, Inc. is working to integrate clinical data systems within hospitals and clinics to facilitate communication, training, and patient care for health care workers. Based in Indianapolis, Holutions is poised to make an impact on everything from patient records to medical school curricula.

Dr. Burton has a strong background in process engineering and product development, and at United Technologies he became interested in applying lean/kaizen activities beyond the manufacturing floor. His expertise in IT led him to create the first online course at the University of Michigan Medical School as he was earning his M.D. “I was always interested in academic medicine and surgery, and I came to realize how inefficient and ineffective some of their tools were.” He begun looking for solutions to these inefficiencies, which led him to Patientkeeper.

Patientkeeper, based in Newton, MA, is the leading provider of physician information systems. The company employs physicians like Burton to create systems that can be used across their daily clinical activities. “We offer the industry’s only suite of applications that support physicians throughout their entire day — enabling them to review electronic patient records…write prescriptions…enter charges…dictate notes…document encounters…place orders…even consult with other caregivers — wherever they are” (Patientkeeper website). Dr. Burton’s initiative takes the goals one step further, towards a seamless integration of computer technology and medical care.

Holutions aims to translate manufacturing processes like lean/kaizen into different settings. Dr. Burton describes a “half-art, half-science research approach,” and he works with everyone from industrial engineers, cognitive scientists, clinical staff, and even game designers to define and enhance clinical workflows. His company supported a team of graduate students at Indiana University in their quest to create a video game aimed at tweens which promotes wellness, nutrition, and exercise. The game, which would run on Nintendo’s Wii platform, won a national award for design, and could provide Holutions with models for other applications that can be used in a clinical context.

Dr. Burton aims to use gaming environments like the one developed at IU for clinical training and observation. Doctors and nurses could test new applications during their daily clinical activities to determine their usefulness and integration. Administrative hospital staff would also be involved in testing applications developed in game-like environments. The information gathered from these usability tests could then be used to facilitate communication between hospitals and IT systems vendors, who would provide medical facilities with the systems they need.

Dr. Burton attributes his success to his unique insight into the daily activities of busy hospitals and clinics. “The fundamental usability challenge [of clinical systems] is that designers don’t understand clinical workflow,” he laments. Holutions would fill this need by conducting the testing that IT vendors need to develop systems that meet the direct needs of hospital staff. Through more active and integrating testing, he believes hospitals can be convinced to use the same systems in their workflow that they use for everyday training. Nursing staff could use the same software that he uses to understand clinical workflow to train new staff to handle various scenarios. This would dramatically reduce inefficiencies within the systems and enable hospital staff to concentrate on patient care.

So what does Dr. Burton’s vision of integrated systems mean for patients, the ultimate end-users? He wants to see hospitals “track ‘patient flow’ the same way they track clinical workflow and assure their time is maximized too.” For example, radiology would be able to communicate with in-patient nurses to ensure that patients aren’t taken for X-rays when family and friends are visiting. Patients might be able to use an interface which allows them to order lunch or ask for assistance that would send their request directly to the nurse best able to help them. Every provider, from surgeons to nurses to family doctors, would have access to the same quality information, reducing medical mistakes and missing records. Burton’s company proposes a revolution that stands to benefit everyone in the health care industry, and his ability to synthesize technology and clinical practices is bound to spread to other industries and disciplines.

A few weeks ago, we published an article about an up-and-coming website called Greenshopper.com. This unique business allows environmentally-friendly shoppers to locate green alternatives to their everyday purchases. Consumers who want to make socially responsible purchases can find everything from organic shampoo to hemp swimwear. The driving force behind this project is Zachary Bouchard, who founded Greenshopper.com after a successful career in financial services. I had a chance to speak with this remarkable 27-year old entrepreneur about his business and his passion for our planet.

Bouchard was focusing on responsible green investing when he decided to write a book about how to make good consumer choices that would reduce your environmental impact. “I had read forty or fifty books on the subject, and the research for my book developed into the foundations of the website,” he said. Bouchard had done some small website projects during his investment banking career, and his interest in web development coupled with the programming expertise of his stepfather led him to pursue Greenshopper full-time.

The philosophy that drives Bouchard is ‘vote with your dollars.’ He argues, “Capitalism is an essentially democratic process, probably more democratic than our two-party system. You have only two choices for president, but you have thousands of choices for every product that you buy.” It’s a compelling idea, and Greenshopper hopes to show people that it’s possible to influence the market by “voting” for environmentally-friendly companies. The website’s FAQ sections explains how it works: “Every purchase of a green product or service increases the demand for that product, making it more appealing for other companies to produce a similar, sustainable product.” By supporting eco-friendly products, shoppers can push responsible products to the mainstream and create a demand for items that do not contribute to the climate crisis.

He speaks with a passion and an urgency about our need to stop the climate change which threatens the planet. “Every ecosystem on Earth is on the verge of collapse, and what the politicians are proposing isn’t going to work. Small steps work on an individual level, but politically we need big steps.” His goal is to reach out shoppers who are just beginning to change their habits. “Our target market is people who are on the fringe, just starting to worry about the environment.” He stresses that the little things, like walking or biking instead of driving or swapping old light bulbs for energy efficient models, has the potential to make a huge impact.

To reach these consumers, Bouchard engineered an affiliate deal with Amazon.com, which allows customers to access the best green products from retailers all over the country. “Our ‘buy online’ section opens directly into your Amazon account, and we get credit for every purchase.” Amazon gives Greenshopper a cut of all sales, though Bouchard declines to reveal the exact percentage. He’s very excited about an upgrade to the site that will allow consumers to find local green businesses. “We want to be the one-stop shop for buying green, locally and online. Our customers will soon be able to find local green businesses that aren’t necessarily sold directly though Greenshopper or Amazon. This will reduce the environmental impact of shipping and allow local businesses to reach responsible shoppers in their areas.”

Other plans for the website include discussion forums and product suggestions, which will enable the community at Greenshopper to suggest new products that should be available on the site or identify products that should not be included. Bouchard has not yet conducted any national advertising for Greenshopper, though as their revenues increase and site’s design improves, he expects to see growth. As the revenue grows, so will Greenshopper’s philanthropic efforts; at present 10% of all their profits are donated to environmental organizations, and he hopes to up that number in the future.

To those who say that the younger generations are apathetic and uninvolved, I would point to Bouchard as an example of someone who has committed his life to a worthy cause. He is a true believer, and it is his hope for change that drives him to influence others. “When you start to understand the real problems we face, it can be scary and overwhelming. You have to have a tremendous amount of hope which overcomes the panic you sometimes feel.” While the problems our planet faces are indeed daunting, Bouchard is doing his part to educate the public and make it as simple as clicking a mouse to do the right thing.