EY Announces leaders from Medivation, MongoDB, Trulia, and zulily inc. recipients of its 2014 Venture Capital Award of Excellence

NEW YORK, Oct. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Four entrepreneurial leaders from Medivation, Inc, MongoDB, Trulia and zulily inc. will receive EY's 2014 Venture Capital Award of Excellence which will be presented as part of the EY Strategic Growth Forum and National Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Program in Palm Springs, California, on Wednesday, November 12, 2014.

"Venture Capital isn't strictly about start-up companies anymore," said Jeff Grabow, US Venture Capital Leader, EY.  "More companies are using venture capital to scale and are getting investments at the revenue generation and profitable stages than at the start up or product development stage. This gives investors the ability to play a larger role today in getting companies off the ground. The Venture Capital Award of Excellence was created to recognize companies that have truly benefitted from the funding, robust networks and guidance VC's are able to provide."

Now in its ninth year, the Venture Capital Award of Excellence winners are selected from those EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ regional winners whose companies have been backed by venture capital funding.  The recipients were selected on the basis of VC funding, equity and revenue growth, EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) margins, and the executive's stories.  The winners were selected out of nearly 80  nominees by an independent panel of judges, comprised of five leading venture capitalists from across the country including: Jeanne Cunicelli – Bay City Capital; Jeff Fagnan – Atlas Venture; Steve Goldberg – Venrock; Richard Heitzmann –
FirstMark Capital; and Evan Morgan – Revolution Growth.

"The spirit of entrepreneurship flourishes and positively impacts the global economy today thanks in part to the guidance and support of venture capital," said Edward S. Baumstein, president and CEO of SolomonEdwards. "It is our distinct pleasure to sponsor this award to recognize and honor these great CEOs and their companies."

Highlights from the 2014 Venture Capital Award of Excellence winners' stories include:

Medivation (Nasdaq:  MDVN), David Hung, M.D., Founder, CEO and President:
Innovation is in Medivation's name. The company employs new approaches to old diseases, and it is this new way of doing things, down to how clinical trials are run, that has led to revolutionary results. Hung understands the importance of time, as for many of the patients who suffer from the diseases his drugs fight, time is the one thing they do not have. It is with this understanding that Hung has positioned Medivation to challenge the biotech industry to successfully identify drugs that fight the most difficult diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. Hung is passionate about the more challenging diseases, and he and his team have not only developed a novel treatment for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, but have done so more quickly than traditionally perceived possible. Currently Medivation has developed into a truly global company, employing chemists in India and biologists in Chile, in addition to the hundreds of employees in San Francisco, allowing the company to tap different pools of talent.

Trulia, Pete Flint, Founder, CEO:
Pete Flint is the definition of a Silicon Valley entrepreneur in the modern age of the Internet. During his college days he witnessed the Internet's transition from novelty to mainstream. He saw the Internet as a meaningful solution to business problems, and to him, there were endless possibilities to innovate existing business models. Based on his own house hunting experience, Flint began developing an interactive resource for home buyers to do research. While the Internet has a plethora of information, there were limited consumer-centric tools. Flint saw the significant potential of building a marketplace that delivers insights to consumers and provides a service for real estate professionals to connect to them. In 2005, Sami Inkinen and Pete Flint founded Trulia. As CEO of Trulia, Flint has led the company through turbulent economic times to its eventual and successful IPO in 2012. Trulia continues to grow as a unique resource for home buyers and sellers as well as real estate professionals.

zulily, inc, Darrell Cavens ,CEO:
At the time Darrell Cavens founded zulily inc, he noticed ecommerce was focused solely on intent-based shopping, where many online retailers catered only to people has a specific item they were shopping for. Cavens saw an opportunity to build an ecommerce model based on a browse-and-buy experience for those customers who enjoyed browsing, similar to the traditional shopping experience at a boutique store. At the same time, he had young children and noticed the lack of unique yet affordable clothing and gear options available to them. Cavens and his co-founder, Mark Vadon, put these two creative sparks together to provide a new way for people to shop. From the beginning, zulily has demonstrated a sustained capacity for creativity and innovation. The company operates as a low inventory model, in which it holds little inventory, yet, handles the shipping and fulfillment of those products it sells. This unique and innovative approach mitigates risk and allows the company to operate with positive cash flows. Cavens believes the "embrace change" culture he has created at zulily and the company's attentiveness to detail, will allow them to continue the company's strong growth path and bring something special to moms every day.

MongoDB, Dwight Merriman, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman 
A serial entrepreneur, Dwight Merriman has continuously demonstrated the knack for providing commercial solutions-via the use of technology-to various obstacles in the market. As co-founder and board member of Gilt Groupe; Business Insider; and MongoDB, Merriman spends about 90% of his time on building the business of MongoDB. The company is one of the few pure technology companies in New York City, with a business model based on non-relational database software. MongoDB is an open source technology however, the company offers an Enterprise Edition that includes advanced features, access to management tools, comprehensive support and on-demand training.  To turn this vision into a reality, MongoDB runs 14 offices worldwide. While many of its engineers are predictably located in its Palo Alto office, the company employs the majority of its engineers from its corporate offices in Manhattan. Merriman's leadership stems from his ability to take a conceptual idea and turn it into a tangible product. For decades, relational database software has been the industry standard where software developers earn revenue through the sale of software licenses along with maintenance support and upgrades. However, due to the advent of cloud computing, open source code, and a new generation of database software, Mr. Merriman could envision an environment where enterprises would soon demand a better database software product, which minimizes time spent in production, scales easier, and demands less risk.

About EY's Strategic Growth Markets Network
EY's worldwide Strategic Growth Markets Network is dedicated to serving the changing needs of rapid-growth companies.  For more than 30 years, we've helped many of the world's most dynamic and ambitious companies grow into market leaders. Whether working with international mid-cap companies or early stage venture-backed businesses, our professionals draw upon their extensive experience, insight and global resources to help your business achieve its potential. It's how EY makes a difference.

About SolomonEdwards
SolomonEdwards is a privately held professional services firm focused on strategy execution.  Our customized solutions provide the right combination of expertise and experience to help our clients achieve their business objectives. Our strength lies in our ability to execute program and project management initiatives through our functional and industry experts, across initiatives related to finance & accounting, risk advisory, transaction support & integration, mergers & acquisitions, communications management, business process optimization, regulatory compliance requirements and others. For more information please visit www.solomonedwards.com.

About EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

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This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a member of the global EY organization that provides services to clients in the US.

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