eBay announced the winners of the 2019 Shine Awards for Small Business. Taking the top spot was Jodi Rosenbaum of More Than Words, who was named Small Business of the Year.
Platinum winners were Clara Jeanne LaCelle of Surfinjunkie and Elijah McCloskey of Freewheel Madison.
Gold winners were Todd Hallada of 2Bros Sports Collectibles LLC; Sahil Kumar of Wholesalebiz01; John Macris of Philadelphia Candies; Dov Schreiber of frames_n_optics; and Nanette Zupon of American Artifacts.
eBay announcement follows:
This week, 1,600 sellers attended eBay Open 2019 in Las Vegas. Over the course of three days, sellers were provided updates on the latest eBay news, practical insights to apply to their businesses, and the opportunity to network with eBay’s diverse seller community.
The most anticipated moment of the week was the announcement of the 2019 Shine Awards for Small Business winners. Sponsored by Intuit Quickbooks, the Shine Awards celebrates sellers and entrepreneurs who pursue their dreams by founding businesses they believe in.
“The Shine Awards for Small Business recognizes the most inspiring sellers on our platform,” said Jay Hanson, VP and COO of Americas, eBay. “Our sellers sit at the very heart of this business, and it’s our responsibility to support and celebrate their successes.”
In its fourth year, Shine applications were accepted from April 24 through May 15, 2019. With more than 1,600 submissions received, eBay identified eight inspirational sellers who exemplify the passion, dedication and entrepreneurship that make up our global marketplace.
From July 15 to 25, the eBay community voted to select the 2019 eBay Small Business of the Year out of our eight inspiring candidates. Upon winning, the Grand Prize recipient has the opportunity to select a nonprofit organization supporting small business growth and inclusive entrepreneurship to receive a $10,000 donation from eBay.
Yesterday, we were honored to announce all of our winners at eBay Open’s concluding ceremony.
As voted by the eBay community, we are proud to present the 2019 Small Business of the Year Award to Jodi Rosenbaum of More Than Words. As the Grand Prize recipient, she has chosen to donate $10,000 to Sky’s The Limit, an organization that helps underrepresented entrepreneurs build and grow their businesses.
Jodi Rosenbaum: More Than Words
Jodi Rosenbaum founded More Than Words (MTW) in 2004 with a vision to provide at-risk young people the training needed to run a successful business. As a nonprofit social enterprise, MTW empowers nearly 400 Boston-area young people, ages 16-24, who are in the foster care system, court-involved, out-of-school or homeless to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business. The young people run a successful $4M bookstore—which includes a brick-and-mortar store and eBay ecommerce bookselling operation—and leverage the business to hit measurable, positive outcomes in education, work and life.
Click on the link below to see the full announcement containing more winner profiles.
SOURCE: eBay Announcement
