An online entrepreneur from British Columbia won first place in the annual "eBay Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year Awards" for the second year in a row. Marilyn Bild of Vancouver, B.C. (eBay user ID: totallytextiles) won first place and was named 2006 eBay Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year. In addition to running her own business selling Indian saris on her custom-built eBay online store, Marilyn Bild also teaches "The Basics of Selling on eBay" at Vancouver's Langara Community College (http://stores.ebay.ca/Totally-Textiles).
Chad Pescod of Whitby, ON (eBay user ID: envirosponsible) was second place winner. His hobby selling electronic equipment online through eBay turned into a full-time job when he grew his inventory from 50 listings to more than 1,600 in less than nine months (http://stores.ebay.ca/envirosponsible).
And coming in third place was Shera Wust of Surrey, B.C. (eBay user ID: thrash8ac). In four years, the stay-at-home-mom turned her original forty dollar investment into a hundred thousand dollar business selling jewelry, diamonds and gems to buyers around the world (http://stores.ebay.ca/Below-Wholesale-Gems).
Close to 300 entrants from across Canada entered the awards. Entrants were judged on their written submissions, which asked them to describe the growth and evolution of their online businesses, and specific online innovations they created to adapt to the changing needs of their customers.
The judges were Catherine Swift, chairwoman, president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business; Nancy Hughes Anthony, president and CEO of The Canadian Chamber of Commerce; and Ian Portsmouth, editor of PROFIT Magazine. Prizes were $5,000 for first place, $2,000 for second place and $1,000 for third place.
