Balance Inc.

Balance, now known as Balance Innovation, is a Cleveland product development and innovation firm that helps companies create products based on what people actually need. Its mission: "We turn how people actually live into products they truly need." Using field interviews and human-centered research, its team uncovers unmet needs and turns them into validated concepts, experiences and strategic roadmaps, a process refined over more than 20 years.

Founder Rene Polin started the firm in Chagrin Falls and later moved it into custom-built offices at Tyler Village in St. Clair-Superior. Balance has worked on consumer products including Dirt Devil vacuums and Ninja kitchen gear, and its recent clients include Canadian Tire, GE CYNC and Worthington Enterprises.