The Small Business Influencer Awards: Your 2015 Winners are Here
The process to find this year’s champions began with the small business community nominating those who influence them and then picking their choices for Community Choice Honorees. A highly-esteemed panel of Judges selected the final champions based on their involvement and influence in the small business community.
Here are this year’s Champions under the two special categories:
Best Growth Story
Michelle Joseph is the Founder and CEO of PeopleFoundry, an innovative recruiting consultancy headquartered in Chicago. PeopleFoundry started as a one-woman team in 2013 and was profitable in its first month and has seen impressive growth since that time; 2015 year-to-date revenue growth is 98% over 2014 and 233% over 2013. This growth has been achieved entirely through word-of-mouth and client referrals, which is a testament to the value PeopleFoundry brings to every partnership. 2015 also saw the opening of a second office in Cincinnati and an expansion into California via a full-time employee in LA. PeopleFoundry has helped build teams for over 45 companies across the country. PeopleFoundry has been featured in notable publications, such as Forbes, USA Today, Yahoo, and Chicago Tribune, and despite the company tripling in size over the past 12 months, PeopleFoundry has been able to maintain a culture that values teamwork, a healthy lifestyle and giving back.
Best Marketing Campaign
Redd’s Barbershop is a local Austin business specializing in straight razor shaves, precision haircuts and exceptional service. Since its opening in 2013, the shop’s owner, NFL veteran and entrepreneur, Cory “Redd” Redding, had his sights set on expanding beyond Austin to across the U.S. Unfortunately the shop’s small but steady stream of customers was not generating the revenue needed to accomplish this, so Redd’s teamed up with ReachLocal on a highly optimized online advertising campaign aimed at customers in the Austin area.
You can view all the 2015 Tip Champions and Honorable Mentions HERE.