LAKEWOOD, Calif. — 15 finalists have been chosen in the RuleBreaker awards. The unconventional awards program, sponsored by Nextiva, Skype and Constant Contact, celebrates entrepreneurs who ignore conventional wisdom, take the path less traveled and break all the rules in their pursuit of success.
One grand-prize winner will be chosen from among the category winners. The grand-prize winner will be announced at an awards ceremony June 10th at the Tribeca Grand Hotel in New York City.
The category winners are:
Service Provider, Under $1M in Sales: Casey Bankford of Slimbooks, www.slimbooks.com, whose slim books break the rules of publishing
(Tie) Simeon Schnapper of Youtopia, www.youtopia.com, which provides digital rewards for students
Service Provider, $1M-$5M in Sales: Mike Beirne of Vetted Capital, www.vettedcapital.com, which invests in veteran-led businesses
Service Provider, Over $5M in Sales: Mike Agugliaro of Gold Medal Service, www.goldmedalservice.com, which provides home services
Technology Provider, Under $1M in Sales: Jason McAninch of Jtek, www.gojtek.com, a tech recycling company
Technology Provider, $1M-$5M in Sales: Tom Dent of ICLOPS, www.iclops.com, which provides technology solutions for health care providers
(Tie) Shelley Armato of My Smart Plans, www.mysmartplans.com, project management software for construction companies
Technology Provider, Over $5M in Sales: Mitch Rothschild of Vitals, www.vitals.com, which helps consumers find health care providers
Retailers, Under $1M in Sales: Christina Daves of Cast Medic Designs, www.castmedicdesigns, which creates fashion casts
Retailers, Over $5M in Sales: Robert Blackwell of Killer Spin, www.killerspin.com, which designs and sells innovative table tennis products
(Tie)Ben Sayers of VoIP supply, www.voipsupply.com, an online retailer of VoIP products
Manufacturer, Under $1M in Sales: William Brimstone Kucmierowski of Hound Comics, www.houndcomics.com, a publishing company
(Tie) Kristin Elliott of Doodie Pack, www.doodiepack.com, which manufactures dog backpacks
Manufacturer, $1M-$5M in Sales: Ross Evans of Xtracycle, www.xtracycle.com, which manufactures cargo bikes
“We’re proud to honor entrepreneurs who have succeeded by doing it their way,” said Rieva Lesonsky, CEO of GrowBiz Media and a co-host of the RuleBreaker Awards.
“Choosing the winners was a difficult decision,” said co-host Mike Michalowicz, author of The Pumpkin Plan. “It was inspiring to discover so many entrepreneurs revolutionizing their industries.”
“All of our Rulebreakers have one thing in common: They’re passionate about making a difference in business,” said co-host Barry Moltz, author of How to Get Unstuck.
Winners were selected by a panel of judges including:
· Ken Yancey, CEO of SCORE
· JJ Ramberg, co-founder of Good Search and host of MSNBC’s Your Business
· Anita Campbell, founder, CEO and Publisher of Small Business Trends and BizSugar
· Ramon Ray, Marketing and Technology Evangelist of Smallbiztechnology.com and Infusionsoft
Congratulations to all the winners. Well deserved honors for unconventional thinkers!