DailyCandy Selects Twelve Small Businesses to Become the Next Big Thing as Part of its Career-Making Start Small, Go Big Contest

NEW YORK, Aug. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- DailyCandy, the popular email newsletter and website known to launch the newest and best designers, boutiques, restaurants, products, and personalities, announced the twelve small businesses selected by its editors to become the next big thing as part of its second annual Start Small, Go Big contest.

Now through September 14, the public can vote daily at www.dailycandy.com/startsmallgobig to determine which four deserving entrepreneurs will win the chance of a lifetime to attend DailyCandy's Start Small, Go Big Academy. The winners, to be named on September 16, will fly to New York to attend the one-day event, where they will 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 Emails sent to its influential subscriber base, prominent visibility on the company's website, promotion to DailyCandy's 800k+ avid Twitter followers and Facebook fans, and an invitation to attend a blowout bash held in their honor.

The twelve finalists of the DailyCandy Start Small, Go Big Contest are:

• FASHION: Le Loup-Garou, a one-woman-curated online fashion boutique from Bronxville, New York; Iman Toloui, a designer of American-made leather handbag and accessories from Santa Monica, California; Iva Jean, a bike-inspired fashion line from Seattle.

• FOOD + DRINK: Bully Boy Distillers, a Boston-based spirits company specializing in whiskey, vodka, and rum; Tifamade, an organic sandwich and baked-to-order cake company in Denver; and Quinn Popcorn, an organic and artisanal popcorn company with compostable packaging from Arlington, Massachusetts.

• HEALTH + BEAUTY: Nectar Skincare, a sensitive skin care beauty line based in Los Angeles; Cold Spring Apothecary, an all-natural beauty company for hair, skin, body, and home from Hudson Valley, New York; and BijaBody, a holistic beauty company with fair trade and tea-blended products from Missoula, Montana.

• HOME: Amelia, an Oxford, Mississippi, based shopgirl with an eye for home design (and a killer brick-and-mortar) planning her own line; Suburban Camping Company, a custom-camp-building company that creates new outdoor memories one backyard at a time from Brick, New Jersey; and Fire Escape Farms, a pop-up shop that helps space-starved city folk plant and hatch their country farming dreams in the San Francisco area.

The DailyCandy Start Small, Go Big contest capitalizes on DailyCandy's unique power to launch undiscovered businesses as a way to provide a select group of entrepreneurs the tools to take their businesses to the next level. All 12 should expect to see a lift in sales, website traffic and distribution, and partnership and media interest — as evidenced by last year's finalists, including Acme Party Box Company, Food Flower Style, and Sir Kensington's Ketchup, who have gone on to open new stores, expand their product offerings, and distribute product to upscale must-eat restaurants nationwide.

The voting polls are open now through Sept 14, 9 a.m. EDT. Voters are entered to win a Lauren Merkin clutch each day during the voting period.

Ink from Chase, the small business credit card portfolio from Chase Card Services, sponsors the contest.

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 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