Comcast Business Names Regional Winners In Innovations 4 Entrepreneurs Program
32 Start-ups and Entrepreneurs Now May Win Up To $30,000 Cash and Consultation from Robert Irvine, Patrick Fitzgerald and Comcast Business Innovation Experts
Public Voting Period Open from April 27 – May 10
PHILADELPHIA – April 27, 2015 – Comcast Business announced that today 32 small business owners from across the U.S. have been named regional winners in the “Innovations 4 Entrepreneurs” (I4E) program, a national competition that will award more than $600,000 to aspiring entrepreneurs who are leveraging technology to enhance their business. Each of the regional winners, 16 startups and 16 entrepreneurs, receives a $10,000 cash award to fuel growth within their business.
Winners were selected based on essays they submitted highlighting how they would use technology to take their business to the next level. Entries were judged by John Jantsch, marketing consultant, speaker and best-selling author of Duct Tape Marketing, The Commitment Engine and The Referral Engine and Anita Campbell, founder, CEO and publisher of Small Business Trends. They come from a wide range of locations, backgrounds and types of businesses, in industries including healthcare, technology, hospitality, retail, media and video production, children’s camps and education, agriculture, counseling, construction and many more. The full list of regional winners and their essays are available here.
The next round of the competition is the public vote, where six businesses will be selected as grand prize winners and receive an additional $20,000 cash award as well as an all-expenses-paid trip to Comcast Business headquarters in Philadelphia. While in Philadelphia, they will have the opportunity to receive one-on-one consulting with nationally recognized business experts: Patrick Fitzgerald, MB & Undergrad Entrepreneurship Lecturer at the Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania and DreamIt Ventures Managing Director; Robert Irvine, Celebrity Chef and Entrepreneur; and Comcast senior executives.
Public Voting will be held April 27 – May 10, 2015. The six grand prize winners will be announced the week of June 1, 2015, with the grand prize winner event in Philadelphia August 12-13, 2015.
“Entrepreneurs and startups can accelerate their growth by leveraging technology to make their business more efficient and scalable,” said Denice Hasty, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Product Management, Comcast Business. “The Innovations 4 Entrepreneurs program celebrates these 32 businesses that are using technology in smart, strategic ways and we are pleased to underwrite the investments they need to help them continue to execute on their plans.”