Yodle at the White House as Part of the Empact100 Award Recognition Ceremony

NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Yodle, a leader in local online marketing, today announced that it has been named as an honoree on the 2012 Empact100 list by Empact, which focuses on making entrepreneurship a viable career option. Yodle co-founders Ben Rubenstein and John Berkowitz have been recognized for their accomplishments in starting and growing the company. As a result, Mr. Rubenstein will represent Yodle at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Friday, September 28, both picking up the award and participating in a select panel discussion on entrepreneurship and the economy. 

Now in its second year, the Empact100 recognized Yodle as being among the United States' "Top 100 Companies Started by Young Entrepreneurs." The Empact100 list is comprised of the leading companies in the Empact Showcase, a compilation of the United States' leading entrepreneurs who are age 30 and under, and whose annual revenues or operating budgets (for non-profits) are more than $100,000. The companies included on the Empact Showcase are contributing more than 8,000 jobs to the economy and have generated $1 billion in revenue. 

"The annual Empact100 and Empact Showcase are both a testament to the impact that entrepreneurs are making on our economy, and an inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs," said Sarah Green, Empact100 Co-Founder. "We are proud of all of the 2012 Empact 100 honorees and pleased to support them by celebrating the spirit, dedication and hard work that has made them successful entrepreneurs."

The Empact100 list was finalized by the 2012 Empact Academy that includes leading entrepreneurs from companies such as Priceline.com and OpenTable. Their decision to include Yodle means the company will be represented at the White House for the second time in less than a year following Mr. Berkowitz's participation in an event in late 2011 where he spoke to high school and college students on how to be a successful entrepreneur.

"We are thrilled to receive this recognition from Empact," said Ben Rubenstein, Yodle Co-founder and VP of Sales Operations. "I look forward to joining four of my fellow honorees on the panel discussion and participating in the awards ceremony on this prestigious occasion at the White House."

Yodle Co-founder and VP of National Sales John Berkowitz added: "It has been seven years since we founded Yodle and it's very gratifying to see how the business has grown and evolved during that time. We now have more than 30,000 small business customers that benefit from our local online marketing platform and 800 employees spread across multiple offices. This success illustrates to all entrepreneurs why it's worth taking the risk to start your own business."

About Yodle

Yodle connects consumers to local businesses simply and cost-effectively.  The combination of automated technology and comprehensive customer support makes Yodle easy to use.  Yodle's offering is also ROI-driven: local businesses set a budget for which they receive calls and emails from qualified consumers.  Today, Yodle delivers results for more than 30,000 local businesses.  To do so, Yodle establishes a comprehensive desktop and mobile web presence, implements unique SEO techniques that support a "first-page guarantee", and deploys proprietary paid search technology that dynamically optimizes online media buys across multiple desktop and mobile outlets.  Yodle's solution also includes display advertising, review/offer management and a simple performance dashboard.  Yodle's competitive advantage is derived from the sheer scale of its local performance data across multiple industries. Yodle is ranked #26 in the Forbes list of America's most promising companies.  For more information, visit www.yodle.com, go to the Yodle company blog or see Yodle reviews from customers. You can also follow Yodle on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. If you're interested in working at Yodle, visit the company careers website.

About the Empact Showcase and Empact100

In early 2012, entrepreneurs meeting the minimum criteria from across the country were invited by Empact to apply for the Empact Showcase. The list was judged primarily by revenue, with additional factors such as number of employees, social impact, growth over the past year, and innovativeness coming into play. The official 2012 Empact100 list was determined by the Empact100 Academy who reviewed the entrepreneurs' responses. For more information on the Empact100 , visit www.empact100.com, or connect with the Empact100 via Facebook at www.facebook.com/iEmpact or Twitter at www.twitter.com/iEmpact. Please direct any questions to Empact100 co-founder, Sarah Green, at [email protected].

CONTACT:
Radley Moss
Director of Corporate Communications
Yodle
212-542-5449 
[email protected]  

SOURCE Yodle