CostumeWorks Wins Chicago Semi-Finals in Alibaba.com Newpreneur of the Year Award

CostumeWorks was named as a semi-finalist from the Midwest Region in the Alibaba.com and Inc. Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year contest.  Five entrepreneurs were chosen out of several hundred applicants from the Midwest to "pitch" their plans and ideas to a panel of judges and 120 event attendees.

Founder and President of CostumeWorks, Ryan Dover, and fellow semi-finalist, Paul Wolf of Wolf Technologies, will move onto the next round of the contest to compete for up to $50,000 in grants.

Following the award, Ryan commented, "I am very happy and surprised.  All five of the entrepreneurs had great ideas and gave great presentations.  And please disregard how I look...  I usually don't look that wrinkled or tired!  Well, ok...  Maybe I do."

More from the the contest and Chicago event are online here.

CostumeWorks and VeriSign Partner to Provide Enhanced Security for Online Shoppers

CostumeWorks is partnering with VeriSign to provide a premium security and authentication solution using VeriSign® Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificates.  VeriSign EV SSL Certificate instantly confirm that visitors are dealing with authentic Web sites and helps keep private credit card information and other sensitive personal data.

The full story is available online here.

CostumeWorks Named Regional Finalist in Alibaba.com Newpreneur of the Year Contest

CostumeWorks Founder and President, Ryan Dover, was selected as a regional semifinalist in the Alibaba.com and Inc. Magazine “Newpreneur of the Year” contest.  Chosen from a field of 900+ applicants, Ryan will be competing with 30 entrepreneurs whose businesses range from recyclable furniture to insulated handbags for men and women for the chance to win up to $50,000 in business grants.

Contestants in each semifinalist round will be hosted and evaluated by an esteemed panel of experts, including Bob LaPointe, President, Inc.; Kirk Aubry and Jim Schelskler, the Inc. CEO Project; Kelly Sang, general manager, Alibaba.com Americas; Bo Burlingham, Editor-At-Large, Inc.; and Tom Searcy, author of Whale Hunting: How to Land Big Deals and Transform Your Company, and RFPs Suck! How to Master the RFP System Once and For All to Win Big Business.

Following the semifinalist events, the 12 finalists will be profiled on www.inc.com/alibaba, where the public can vote for the businesses that they think have the most potential to revive the economy. Based on online voting, the top five Newpreneurs will be invited to the finale event in San Francisco on Nov. 18, 2009, where the grand prize winner will be revealed and win $50,000 to invest in their business. The four remaining finalists will take home awards totaling an additional $50,000.

The semifinalists with compete in the six regional events throughout October in New York, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, Seattle, and Los Angeles.  Ryan will represent CostumeWorks at the event at the W Hotel in Chicago on October 13.


The press release from Alibaba.com is available online here.