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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more of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each
of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global
Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide
services to clients. For more information about our organization,
please visit ey.com.
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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