Thaís and Ismael Akiyama had big plans for 2020. It was the year they would expand Akiyama, their Brazil-based biometric identification authentication business, to new markets. Their two spin-off companies, Neoyama, an industrial automation supplier, and Natosafe, which specializes in biometric identification of newborn infants, were poised for explosive growth. Massive projects were lined up, and profits were expected to hit record highs.
By the end of 2019, the gym that physiotherapist Brandi Binkley started in the garage of her Nashville home had grown into a thriving operation. Physiofit was housed in an 8,300 square-foot training studio and employed seven exercise physiologists. Business was booming.