“It is an honor to be here among so many outstanding leaders and innovators.

Congratulations to all of the winners – I am certainly inspired by the creativity and energy that you bring to your work!”

* Appolicious, whose websites catalog apps for mobile devices

* Callibra, which provides translation software for hospital discharge instructions

* Narrative Science, whose software can write articles and reports from data

* Red Frog Events, creator of a brand new industry: offbeat races

* Trustwave, which makes antihacker software for credit card processors

* World Bicycle Relief, which provides bikes to the impoverished in Africa

In addition, Fresh Moves, which turned a retired CTA bus into a mobile green market on the West Side, received the “Peoples Choice” award, based on votes on the Chicago Innovation Awards’ website.

The Harris Theater buzzed Tuesday night as a full house of technology, business and entrepreneurial types cheered each other’s successes at the 10th annual Chicago Innovation Awards show.

Pete Kadens

“Customers drove this innovation. You can’t innovate in a vacuum. In our industry, it’s collaborative. I listened. I met people. I didn’t always know what I was talking about. I learned what not to do by listening to others. Being a competent listener is half the battle in innovation.”

—Pete Kadens, Co-founder and President of SoCore Energy, which makes solar energy more flexible, accessible and affordable.

Tim Qualheim

“We constantly ask our utility customers about their needs. We want to know about their operating practices . . . what works for them . . . and what doesn’t work as they’d like. This product was developed as a result of such questioning. We listened to our customers and delivered what they needed.”

—Tim Qualheim, Vice President, US Business Unit, S&C Electric Company⎯a century-old Chicago-based global provider of equipment and services for electric power systems.

Karan Goel

“The college experiences that we benefitted from the most were teachers engaging us in dialogue or interaction—not just lectures. So, we are trying to let technology deliver the core instruction and let our people drive engagement and higher-order thinking.”

—Karan Goel, Founder and CEO, PrepMe LLC, maker of customized test preparation software, acquired by Blackboard-buyer Providence Equity in August, 2011.