Women entrepreneurs awarded cash prize for DC-regional business plan competition

Rockville, Maryland (March 11, 2005)— Three DC-area women-owned business start-ups were awarded cash prizes totaling $8,500 during the sixth annual Women in Business Conference held on March 11 at the Montgomery County Conference Center in North Bethesda.

The winning finalists took part in the region-wide StartRight! Business Plan Competition for women entrepreneurs sponsored by Rockville Economic Development, Inc. (REDI) and the Rockville Chamber of Commerce.

The first place cash prize of $4,000 was awarded to Susan Bowen and Kim Groark, yoga instructors and owners of Thrive Yoga, LLC, a newly-opened yoga center in Rockville, Maryland. The second place cash prize of $2,500 was awarded to Cindy Crump, President and CEO of Lovettsville, Virginia-based AFrame Digital, LLC, which provides health monitoring to the eldercare market. The third place cash prize of $2,000 was awarded to Nancy Shulman, owner of Germantown, Maryland-based Experience America, Inc. (EAI), an international student exchange program between the United States and Spain.

“We congratulate all of the women who participated in the competition and applaud their courage, determination and vision in developing the framework for their business,” said Sally Sternbach, Executive Director for REDI. “The business plan competition was designed to encourage and help guide women who are considering launching a business and to accelerate the start-up process for women-owned businesses in the region.”

The annual StartRight! business plan competition is open to businesses that are at least 51% women-owned, active and in business for two years or less, and qualified to do business in Maryland, the District of Columbia or Virginia. Participants in the StartRight! competition have an opportunity to win one of several cash prizes and supplies and services from sponsors, while receiving invaluable advice and support from an experienced panel of judges. Prize sponsors for this year’s competition include Comcast Cable Communications, Inc., EagleBank, Chevy Chase Bank and Taliesan Associates.

Yoga instructors and first place business plan winners Susan Bowen and Kim Groark started their business partnership in the parking lot of a yoga studio in Bethesda, Maryland.

“Kim and I had the same ideas about what we wanted in a studio; a nature-inspired welcoming place that builds community and a yoga class that moves you physically, spiritually and mentally in Rockville,” said Groark. “If you live in Rockville, Potomac, Gaithersburg, Kensington and North Bethesda, there are few places to go to practice yoga,” she said.

That all changed when Bowen left her high-pressured corporate sales position with a highly regarded technology company and Groark, an experienced yoga instructor, came together to launch Thrive Yoga LLC in Rockville. The yoga center offers adult and children group yoga classes to beginners and continuing students, private yoga sessions and workshop, and features a boutique of yoga products and yoga clothing.

Second place winner Cindy Crump is President and CEO of AFrame Digital, LLC based in Lovettsville, Virginia. The company is working to provide health monitoring to the eldercare market through the development of wireless remote sensor applications. The company’s product, AFrame Digital Mobilecare Monitor, provides non-instrusive and automatic health and medical alert monitoring of the independent and active senior citizen both at home and on the go.

“The idea of developing the Mobilecare Monitor for the nursing home and home healthcare markets came came to us out of necessity and concern for our own parents,” said Crump.

Nancy Shulman established Experience America, Inc. (EAI) as a way to enjoy her passion for the foreign exchange experience while also working from home and caring for her two children. Based in Germantown, Maryland, EAI is an international student exchange program between the United States and Spain.

EAI’s purpose is to introduce students from Spain to the linguistic, cultural, and historical experiences the Washington, DC metropolitan area has to offer. The program will provide high school students from Spain with the opportunity to live with a North American family and enhance and perfect their English skills, in both written and spoken modes through classes offered twice weekly.

For further information about the StartRight! business plan competition for women entrepreneurs, contact REDI at (301) 315-8096 or visit www.RockvilleREDI.org. Information can also be obtained through the Rockville Chamber of Commerce at (301) 424-9300 or at www.RockvilleChamber.org.

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The mission of Rockville Economic Development, Inc. (REDI) is to strengthen and broaden the economic base of Rockville. As part of that mission, REDI promotes Rockville as a great place to work and live; assists businesses looking to relocate or expand in Rockville; facilitates the site selection, permitting and licensing processes; serves as a liaison to the people and programs in other levels of government; and maintains and disseminates information on the community, workforce and economic climate of Rockville, where we are “Known for the Companies We Keep”.