DailyCandy Names Top Twelve Start Small, Go Big Contest Finalists; Voting Public Now to Choose the Next Big Thing

NEW YORK, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Since August, thousands of fledging fashion designers, food purveyors, and app innovators flooded DailyCandy's first Start Small, Go Big Contest. DailyCandy's editors narrowed the field to their top twelve - four in each of the fashion, food, and fun categories - and today, the finalists have been named. DailyCandy readers and Facebook fans can now cast their votes at www.dailycandy.com/startsmallgobig to determine which three deserving entrepreneurs will win big (finalists listed below). Polls are open September 9 until September 29. In addition, voters can also enter to win an editor's handbag filled with beauty essentials each day the polls are open.

For the past decade, DailyCandy has been alerting its readers to the newest and best restaurants, services, products, and personalities every day.  And, thanks to that attention, more than a few of those companies have leapt from tiny enterprise to big-time. To mark its 10-year anniversary, DailyCandy created the Start Small, Go Big Contest to provide a select group of entrepreneurs the tools to take it to the next level. Winners will get $10,000, a write-up by DailyCandy editors delivered to its 3.3 million subscriptions, a seat at the DailyCandy Academy, promotion to DailyCandy's 440K+ Twitter followers and Facebook fans, and visibility on DailyCandy.com. To boot, the three winners (and their guests) will attend a blowout celebration to hobnob with movers and shakers from NYC's digital media, tech, food, and fashion industries.

Confirmed participants at the DailyCandy Academy include Isaac Mizrahi, Marcus Samuelsson, Rebecca Minkoff, and Brian Murphy of Loeffler Randall, with more to follow. The day will be specifically created to suit each winner's entrepreneurial needs, meeting with various industry notables and experts bringing their knowledge in the areas of tech, product, marketing, branding, PR, and finance. Dany Levy, founder and editorial director of DailyCandy, will also meet with each winner.

The twelve finalists are:

FASHION: District Homme, a made-to-measure menswear company out of Los Angeles; Dolly Pearl, an NYC-based runway fashion designer; Fischer Clothing, a Brooklyn-based menswear and women's wear designer using only local manufacturing; and The Clarity Project, an ethical diamond engagement ring seller that redirects profits to build schools in mining communities.

FOOD: Homeroom, a mac 'n' cheese restaurant using local cheeses opening in Oakland, California; Nella Pasta, Boston-based handmade pasta company; Sir Kensington's Ketchup, an artisanal and tasty take on the essential condiment; and Urban Cannibals Bodega & Bites, an organic "gateway" market for healthy-eating Atlantans.

FUN: Acme Party Box Company, stylish and ecofriendly party-throwing helper; Food+Flower+Style, a bike-powered flower delivery service in San Francisco; Thursdays, a recipe and entertaining website for girls' get-togethers out of Indiana ; and Twig Terrariums, Brooklyn-based masters of moss-covered specialty worlds in jars.

The voting polls are open September 9 through Sept 29 at 8:59 a.m. EDT; the top three vote-getters, one from each category, will be announced in an e-mail, online at DailyCandy.com, and via Facebook and Twitter on September 30, 2010. Readers and Facebook fans can also enter to win an Editor's Handbag - an M Z Wallace Black Francis bag filled with our editors' favorites from Ban.do, Benefit, Blinc, Clinique, Essie, and Hollywood Fashion Tape. One bag will be given away at random each day, so come back each day to vote!

The Start Small, Go Big Contest winners (plus one guest each) will be flown to New York City to participate in the DailyCandy Academy and attend the company's anniversary celebration on October 28.

A timeline of some of DailyCandy's past big discoveries, created by its editorial staff, can be found on the Start Small, Go Big microsite.

About DailyCandy

DailyCandy, a free e-mail newsletter and website distributing 3.3 million subscriptions daily, is the insider's guide to what's hot, new, and undiscovered - from fashion and restaurant news to gadgets and travel. DailyCandy publishes 29 editions via e-mail, including 12 local editions covering New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Dallas, London, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Philadelphia, Miami, Seattle; one national edition (Everywhere) featuring online picks; and 16 weekly editions comprising 11 local Kids editions (published Mondays); 2 national Kids editions (Tuesdays and Thursdays); DailyCandy Travel (Wednesdays); and DailyCandy Deals (Tuesdays and Thursdays), which features special sales and promotions exclusively for DailyCandy subscribers. DailyCandy Weddings, published Mondays, is a new e-mail and website hopelessly devoted to the bride's big day. ShopTalk delivers great gift ideas online and in e-mail every Tuesday to the NYC, L.A., and Everywhere editions. Swirl, Sample Sales by DailyCandy (swirl.com) features apparel and accessories from the up-and-comers and brands we love at up to 70 percent off. DailyCandy is a unit of Comcast Interactive Media.

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