Wells Fargo Announces Grand Prize Winners in Small Business Contest
On May 1, small business owners across the country were invited to enter the contest by submitting a short video or essay that answered five questions addressing why they became a business owner, their mission and purpose, and their business goals and challenges. The finalists and grand prize winners were selected based on their responses, which were judged by a panel of contest judges and through public voting.
- Clean Supreme Inc. of Harvest, Ala., provides carpet cleaning, janitorial services, and trauma cleanup, including bio hazards and more. Courtney Fitchard founded the company in 2002 after suffering a devastating loss in her life. In search of a new beginning, she immersed herself in her business, becoming a certified bio technician and growing the company. As a grand prize winner, Fitchard said she plans to add staff, upgrade equipment and use the guidance from her professional mentorship to learn how to scale her business.
- Curiosity Lab Inc. of Secaucus, N.J., is a science laboratory that uses a four-step approach focused on science, engineering, and math to ignite the curiosity of children, ages 2 to 15, to explore the world around them. Founder Anubha Bhatla said she wants to improve the company’s visibility by designing a kid-sized laboratory, building a strong digital marketing strategy and developing a website.
- Global Sanctuary for Elephants of Brentwood, Tenn., is a U.S.-based nonprofit that was founded in 2013 to provide healing sanctuaries for captive elephants. Its kick-off pilot is an Elephant Care Center in Brazil that will provide spacious, natural habitats for unwanted and neglected elephants in South America. Co-founder Scott Blaise said he wants to tend to the physical ailments that elephants often suffer as a result of captivity.
- SpiceTopia of Ventura, Calif., is a specialty spice and tea store that carries organic products from Fair Trade Certified™ suppliers. Located in downtown Ventura, SpiceTopia was founded when owner Ashley Pope bought the inventory of a local spice and tea shop to start her own venture. Pope said she plans to use her grand prize winnings to update the business’s website with e-commerce capabilities and a subscription box service.
- Volcano Veggies LLC of Bend, Ore., is a certified organic indoor aquaponics farm that uses fish to provide organic fertilizer for plants that are grown in a vertical system. Founded in 2010, the company’s goal is to provide fish and veggies year-round to communities in any climate. Owner James Sabarra said he plans to use his winnings to double business production, expand to new locations and optimize operations.
“Helping small business owners achieve financial success is one of the most important things we do at Wells Fargo, which is why we were so proud to offer the Wells Fargo Works Project contest for a second consecutive year,” said Lisa Stevens, Wells Fargo’s head of Small Business. “We’re looking forward to following the journeys of this year’s winners to see how they will continue to grow.”
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with \\$1.7 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through 8,700 locations, 12,800 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 266,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 30 on Fortune’s 2015 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially.
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