Contact Information: Contacts: Aimee Ertley 770-724-4556 Aimee.ertley@sage.com Kara McClain 404-995-4531 Kara.mcclain@porternovelli.com
Local Company, WebIRB, Named Runner-Up in Sage's National Small Business Start-Up Contest
WebIRB Recognized in Entrepreneurial Contest on MyBizCounts.com
| Source: Sage
JACKSON, TN--(Marketwire - October 22, 2009) - Sage North America today announced the winner
and runners-up in its $20,000 MyBizCounts.com Start-Up Cash
Contest, aimed at helping entrepreneurs turn their business dreams into
reality. Jackson-based WebIRB was
named a runner-up in this nationwide contest spotlighting the
entrepreneurial spirit.
"As a new business, it is a tremendous honor for us to be recognized in the
company of our peers, and we really appreciate the exposure afforded to us
in the contest process," said Cheryl Scoledge, founder, WebIRB. "We are
very excited for our future and appreciate the support from Sage!"
Contest participants were tasked with creating a brief video commercial for
their business idea or new business (less than two years old), along with
their business plan and a brief essay. Based on online votes, the 20 most
popular videos advanced to the final judging round. Videos, business plans
and essays were then evaluated by a team of small business experts,
including Wayne Rivers, co-founder and president, Family Business
Institute, and Bob Shephard, Director External Affairs - Florida, SCORE.
"Small businesses are the main engine driving the economy, and while the
past year has been difficult from an economic perspective, the passion and
creativity that drive small business owners to success is as strong as
ever," said Doug Meyer, Chief Customer Officer, Sage North America. "The
gifted entrepreneurs who participated in our startup cash contest -- and
millions of others like them across North America -- are the reason that
Sage employees come to work each day, supporting small businesses' dreams,
vision, and goals."
WebIRB is a unique new microbusiness providing a customized, Web-based
software system to the niche market of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs).
An institutional review board, also known in other parts of the world as an
independent ethics committee (IEC) or ethical review board (ERB), is a
committee that has been formally designated to approve, monitor, and review
biomedical and behavioral research involving humans to ensure that they are
scientific, ethical, and regulatory. Because it can be run from a local
computer or from a server on the Internet, WebIRB is available worldwide,
even for third-world countries.
WebIRB ensures that boards comply with mandated government regulations,
while eliminating the need to print monthly paper packets typically
distributed to board members for review, averaging 1,000 double-sided
pages, or nearly 25,000 per IRB monthly. By moving this function to the
web and eliminating the need for copies, collation, binding, filing
cabinets and storage space saves institutions money and contributes to
Green Initiatives.
As a runner-up in the MyBizCounts.com contest, WebIRB receives software and
services with a retail value of nearly $4,000 to assist them in managing
their businesses: Peachtree by Sage Premium Accounting 2010
Multi-user Version with one year of Peachtree Freedom Support; ACT! by Sage
2010 with 5 user licenses; Timeslips by Sage 2010
5-user version; Palo Alto Software's Business Plan Pro Standard Edition
Version 11; and Palo Alto Software's Marketing Plan Pro.
About Sage North America
Sage North America is part of The Sage Group plc, a leading global supplier
of business management software and services. Sage North America employs
more than 4,100 people and supports nearly 2.9 million small and
medium-size business customers. The Sage Group plc, formed in 1981, was
floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and now employs 14,500 people
and supports 5.8 million customers worldwide. For more information, please
visit the Web site at www.sagenorthamerica.com.
©2009 Sage Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Sage, the Sage logos,
Peachtree, Timeslips, ACT!, and the Sage product and service names
mentioned herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sage Software,
Inc. or its affiliated entities. All other trademarks are the property of
their respective owners.