After a Record 102,000 Votes Logged and Close Races in Each Category, DailyCandy Unveils the Four Deserving Entrepreneurs Who Are Set to Become the Next Big Thing

NEW YORK, Sept. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- It was an unbelievably close race, but the public spoke loudly. With more than 102,000 public votes logged, DailyCandy, the women's digital brand known to launch the newest and best designers, boutiques, restaurants, products, and services, unveiled today the winners of its career-changing second annual Start Small, Go Big Contest, which is sponsored by Ink from Chase, the small business credit card portfolio from Chase Card Services.

Logging more than double the number of votes from last year's contest, the DailyCandy 2011 Start Small, Go Big winners are:

• FASHION: Iva Jean, (http://www.ivajean.com) a bike-inspired fashion line from Seattle.

• FOOD + DRINK: Quinn Popcorn, (http://www.quinnpopcorn.com) an organic and artisanal popcorn company with compostable packaging from Arlington, Massachusetts.

• HEALTH + BEAUTY: Cold Spring Apothecary, (http://www.coldspringapothecary.com) an all-natural beauty company for hair, skin, body, and home from Hudson Valley, New York.
• HOME: Amelia, (http://www.ameliapresents.com ) an Oxford, Mississippi, based shopgirl with an eye for home design (and a killer brick-and-mortar) planning her own line.

DailyCandy first named its top twelve Start Small, Go Big finalists in August, at which point they asked the public to help choose the winner by voting daily online at www.startsmallgobig.com. These deserving entrepreneurs will receive an all-expense-paid trip to New York to attend DailyCandy's Start Small, Go Big Academy, where they will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be mentored one on one by a roster of industry luminaries including interior design guru Jonathan Adler; Stacey Bendet, founder of Alice + Olivia; Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx; Bravo's Andy Cohen; Lev Glazman and Alina Rotyberg, founders of Fresh; renowned chef and author Marcus Samuelsson; John Sencion and Brad John, founders of Flight 001; Top Chef's Gail Simmons; skin care line creator Kate Somerville; and Douglas Quint and Bryan Petroff, founders of Big Gay Ice Cream Truck.

Winners will also receive their own highly sought-after DailyCandy Dedicated Email sent to its influential subscriber base, prominent visibility on the company's website, promotion to DailyCandy's 800,000-plus avid Twitter followers and Facebook fans, and an invitation to attend a blowout bash held in their honor, where they'll mix and mingle with NYC's digital media, tech, food, and fashion industries.

The DailyCandy Start Small, Go Big Contest capitalizes on DailyCandy's unique power to launch undiscovered businesses and provides a select group of entrepreneurs mentorship, as well as tools to take their new businesses to the next level. All four winners should expect to see a lift in sales, website traffic, media interest , and customer engagement — as evidenced by last year's winners, including Nella Pasta, Dolly Pearl, and Thursdays, who have gone on to distribute their products nationally.

To learn more about the winners, DailyCandy Academy, and Start Small, Go Big Contest, please visit www.dailycandy.com/startsmallgobig.

About DailyCandy

DailyCandy, the insider's guide to the sweet life locally and online, delivers 3+ million email subscriptions via 26 editions in the U.S. and London. Read about under-the-radar neighborhood joints, fashion lines, and indie events in the daily emails; visit DailyCandy.com for a roundup on the latest and greatest lifestyle trends nationwide; experience your neighborhood in new ways with DailyCandy Deals' exclusive savings at our favorite local businesses; and score apparel and accessories brands we love at up to 70 percent off online at Swirl.com.

DailyCandy publishes an Everywhere edition, twelve city editions (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.), and twelve Kids editions (one national, eleven local). DailyCandy also publishes DailyCandy Deals Everywhere, Everywhere Kids, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, with more on the way. DailyCandy is a unit of NBCUniversal's Entertainment & Digital Networks and Integrated Media.

SOURCE DailyCandy