About Us

 

The Company

Force Impact Technologies L.L.C was established in 2013 and is located in Los Angeles, California as well as Tempe, Arizona. The company was founded by Anthony Gonzales and Bob Merriman.

Our company integrates technology into sporting equipment to increase detection of potential injuries. The FIT full-motion systems solution, will help promote concussion awareness to youth athletes around the world. We focus on amateur athletes between the ages of 12-25 in any sport, hobby, and activity in which there is any risk for a potential head injury.

Our Mission

Everything we do, we do because we believe in improving sports. We believe in making sports safer for everyone. Therefore, we strive to improve the quality of athletes lives by integrating technology and sports.

The Team

Anthony Gonzales, MBA

Anthony's Bio
Anthony is a veteran in the start-up community. His face is marred with the dust, sweat, and hardship of building and operating various entities. His unique skill set has been battle hardened in the trenches of entrepreneurship. For he knows there is no effort without error and shortcoming; so he demonstrates great enthusiasm, great devotion, and spends himself in a worthy cause.  At his best he knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

 

Anthony's Education
Anthony hold’s a Bachelor Science in Management Entrepreneurship from Arizona State university. Additionally, he obtained his M.B.A in supply chain and logistics from ASU as well. He is currently enrolled at John Hopkins University as he obtains a Master of Science in Biotechnology

 

Bob Merriman, MBA

Bob's Bio
Bob is FIT’s resident voice of reason, analytical thinker, and nag. A second degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Bob is a life long athlete who manages his ADD/OCD through exhaustive exercise. While always passionate about sports, recent discoveries in the scientific community, coupled with fatherhood, fueled Bob’s passion for wanting to keep athletes safer without fundamentally altering the sports themselves. With his own athletic prime in the rear view, Bob looks forward to living vicariously through the sporting exploits of his amazing kids Lincoln and Kylie (FIT’s co-Chief Cuteness Officers). A lifelong Philadelphia Eagles fan, Bob refuses to answer the question of what he’d rather see: Success for FIT or an Eagles Super Bowl win. “Can’t I have both?” – Bob
Bob's Education
BA, Arizona State University
MBA, Arizona State University

Mark Farber, MD PhD

Mark's Bio
Dr. Mark Farber is a pioneer physician scientist with a long track record of success in translational science and biomedical engineering. He has 20 years of experience in biomedical research and has succeeded at many prestigious institutions around the country including the NIH, Harvard Medical School and Brown University among others. His enthusiasm, tireless efforts and attention to detail coupled with his dynamic interests in research have resulted in multiple publications at high impact journals and grants in the fields of immunology, oncology, biomaterials, optical imaging, neuroscience, stem cells and tissue engineering. Dr. Farber is also a practicing physician at Cedars and brings his expertise in engineering, science, and medicine to help biotech startups develop and test their biomedical devices in a way that maximizes their chance for wide adoption by the medical community and medical insurance companies.
Mark's Education
Dr. Farber holds a Bachelors of Science in Chemical Engineering from Brown University in addition to a Masters of Science in Engineering from Brown University. Additionally, he completed an MD/PhD program at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, where he helped develop a new imaging technology from bench to bedside including developing the device and software, obtaining grants, testing the device with several animal models and helping develop the device to optimize heart/lung machine settings during heart bypass operations. Dr. Farber completed his residency in internal medicine at University of South Florida and is currently a hospitalist physician and director of research and development with the Stanford Hospitalist Medical Group at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles.

Susie Merriman

Susie's Bio
Along with serving as the Director of Operations, Susie is a full time wife to the very handsome Bob Merriman and a full time mother to the adorable FIT mascots, Lincoln and Kylie. In her spare time, Susie enjoys working as a Physical Therapist in a very busy outpatient sports and orthopedic clinic. Susie is a former competitive cheerleader, a physical fitness enthusiast, and a little league coach. Through her professional, athletic and coaching careers, Susie has seen the effects that undiagnosed head injuries can have on young athletes and looks forward to seeing the FITGuard aid in keeping these athletes safer, while playing the sports they love!
Susie's Education
Susie holds a degree in Exercise Science as well as Physical Therapy from Wichita State University. She is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association and has obtained clinical specialist certification – Orthopedic Certified Specialist – through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties.
David Dotan

David Dotan

Executive Director
David's Bio
Director of Canada at Force Impact Technologies, has a strong pedigree in the business of sports. Previously the CEO of Athliesure brand Potential Apparel, David has sponsored over 28 athletes from the NHL to Nascar. During his time as CEO, David launched an annual NHL Charity Golf Tournament – Whistler Invitational – at the Fairmont Chatue benefiting partnered charity Make-A-Wish Foundation.  Additionally, David serves as Portfolio Manager of Algorithmic Trading for xMachina Capital, a Wall Street Quantitative Fund.

Advisers Council

Business

Eric Schindler

Eric's Bio
former CFO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana. Eric spent many years dealing with schools and districts within his state and, as the former CEO of the Montana School Services Foundation, is very familiar with the insurance practices within schools. As a former CFO and CEO, his skills are complemented with a strong business acumen.
Steve Borochoff

Steve Borochoff

Business Adviser
Steve's Bio
A dynamic, senior sales leader who has successfully built and scaled high performing IoT businesses consisting of software, sensors, cameras, and hardware. Expertise in developing go-to-market strategies, crafting strategic partnerships thru business development activities, and building mentoring and leading direct and channel sales organizations globally. Product breadth has included enterprise application software licensed as recurring revenue, development contracts, sensors, cameras, systems, and semiconductors.

 

Experience
includes organizations from Series A to developed companies. Active advisor to start-up companies thru accelerators, university incubators, and angel groups.t

Engineering

Howard Goldberg, PhD

Howard's Bio
Over 20 years of experience in introducing high-tech product solutions to a broad spectrum of industries that include semiconductor, sensors, consumer electronics, healthcare, energy, and automotive. He has held executive positions at Interlink Electronics, DEX, RxTimerCap, Colibrys, Applied MEMS, and Input/Output. t

 

Education
Howard holds both a Ph.D. and M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, a B.S.E.E. degree from Lehigh University, and has conducted post-doctoral research at M.I.T.

Medical

Alan Crunkleton, MD, PhD

Alan's Bio

a serial entrepreneur with over 25 years experience building companies from concept through commercialization, establishing regulatory approvals, reimbursement channels, global distribution and IP portfolios.  Alan has served as CEO of companies ranging from startup to turnaround in heart valve therapy, interventional radiology, preclinical imaging and cryogenic refrigeration for MRI.

 

Education
BS from Georgia Tech, MS and PhD from MIT, and MD from University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Ryan Berger

Ryan's Bio

Ryan Berger is the Director of Business Development at Zynx Health, part of the Hearst Health Network.  He is responsible for identifying and developing new partnerships to deliver vital information.  Prior to Hearst, Ryan held leadership roles in Operations at Kaiser Permanente, Sales and Marketing at Amgen, and Manufacturing at Intel.

Sport

Victory Bartley

Victor's Bio
NEED INFO

Our Investors

Chris Burch

Burch Creative Capital

Burch Creative Capital’s, brand portfolio includes the recent introductions of E.D. by Ellen DeGeneres, Poppin and TRADEMARK to a list of established brands previously embraced by Christopher including the Faena Hotel + Universe, Jawbone, Next Jump, Powermat, Tory Burch and Voss Water.

Kim Perell

Kim Perell

Angel Investor
Kim's Bio
Kim Perell is a seasoned entrepreneur, executive and investor with nearly two decades of experience serving as a CEO and President in the internet technology sector, building high-performing teams, overseeing complex mergers, acquisitions and integrations, and scaling global operations.

Kim is currently the CEO of Amobee, a global marketing technology company, serving the world’s leading brands and agencies across North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia. Amobee ‘s recent acquisition of Turn for $310 Million underscores the company’s commitment to become a global digital marketing leader. In 2016, Amobee was named one of Fortune’s “Top 10 Workplaces in Advertising & Marketing” and listed as one of Fortune’s 100 Best Medium-Sized Workplaces.

Prior to Amobee, Kim was the CEO of Adconion Direct, which was acquired by Amobee, a subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications, for $235 million in 2014. Prior to Adconion, Kim was the CEO and founder of Frontline Direct, a leading digital marketing company which she self-funded and grew to over $100 million in annual revenue. Frontline Direct was acquired in February 2008 by Adconion Media Group.

Kim’s achievements as a CEO and entrepreneur have been widely recognized including being named one of AdAge’s 2017 “Marketing Technology Trailblazers,” one of Business Insiders “Most Powerful Women in Mobile Advertising,” honored as American Business Association’s “Women of the Year 2015,” and in 2013 earned the Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” award. Kim has also been profiled in CNN Money, The New York Times, Forbes and The Huffington Post.

A great believer in paying it forward, Kim loves to help young entrepreneurs achieve success and is an early stage investor in over 70 start-ups, 12 of which have successfully been acquired by some of the largest Fortune 500 companies.

Make In LA

Make In LA

Accelerator Seed
Accelerator Program

Make In LA, Los Angles first hardware-accelerator: “Our resource-concentrated facilities enable rapid prototyping, product development, and mass manufacturing. Make in LA provides you with ample space and all the necessary equipment to take your concept to market and help scale your business.”

Brinc

Accelerator Program
Brinc is an ultra hands-on hardware accelerator that supports entrepreneurs looking to unlock the world’s data through connected solutions. We offer a comprehensive program tailored for hardware startups looking for speed, access and the know-how to build successful companies.

With Brinc, founders get access to resources in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta with a proven approach that de-risks and accelerates the product development process. We know that speed matters when it comes to hardware so we built a platform for founders to get it right the first time.

The result is that Brinc startups get the best of both worlds: manufacturing in the PRD, access to global markets, all while having a team based in Hong Kong. 

 

Why We Started This Company

As a former collegiate Rugby participant, Anthony is very familiar with the potential for concussions in sports. During a game in 2011, Anthony was involved in a multiple player collision that left him unable to recall where he was or what position he had been playing. Undeterred, Anthony attempted to resume play just minutes later. Thankfully, a teammate who was a trained EMT and pre-med student recognized the signs that Anthony may have suffered a concussion. His teammate recommended that he remain out of the game until further examination. Had this observation and recommendation been overlooked, Anthony could have continued playing, leaving him vulnerable to long term brain injury. Overlooking the potential for concussion is a common occurrence in organized sports, and our company’s motivation is to address this problem. The solution is the FITGuard, a mouthpiece designed to detect the force of an impact and indicate the probability of a concussion.

What Sets Us Apart

The FIT Platform was developed by industry leading manufacturers, uses components of only the highest standard, and has been developed by exceptional engineers. Our FITGuard device displays an instant visual indication of detected force using high-luminosity LED’s. This innovative indication mechanism significantly increases the likelihood of early detection of concussion risk and the overall safety of athletes around the globe. The data used to develop the product software is supported by some of the most well-respected clinical researchers and is documented in dozens of scholarly journals.

Our Keys To Success

Our sensor technology is embedded into a mouthguard that improves the safety of all athletes, in sports both with and without helmets. The FITGuard successfully delivers indications of cranial force by use of the most accurate indication mechanisms on the market. Our product uses both an accelerometer (linear) and a gyroscope (angular) to measure acceleration caused by force. These mechanisms have been clinically proven to offer the most accurate indications of concussion potential. In addition to the innovative technology used in the development of the FITGuard, our goal is to produce a product affordable for the mass market of youth athletes, thus allowing sports to be safer for everyone.

Our Accomplishments

Please visit our press page to see the latest news stories related to our company. www.forceimpact.tech/press