Forward Mobility has been named "Newpreneur of the Year" following a nationwide competition by Alibaba.com and Inc. Based in Seattle, Forward Mobility designs and distributes breakthrough medical mobility products to help users maintain their independence. The company is dedicated to creating high quality jobs for people that are disadvantaged or disabled providing sustainability for the individual and their community.

In total, 13 "Newpreneur of the Year" finalists convened in San Francisco following their strong showings in six regional events held across the U.S. in October. Each finalist presented their business plan to a panel of noteworthy judges and an audience of more than 300 well-known members of the San Francisco business community. The judges selected the following winners:

• Grand Prize: Joel Smith, Forward Mobility, Seattle – $50,000
• Second Place: Drew Jones, DJones Tailored Collection, Dallas – $25,000
• Third Place: Jonathan Ross Shriftman, Sole Bicycles, Miami – $15,000
• Fourth Place: Imran Karim, TrophySkin, Dallas – $5,000
• Fifth Place: Katie Shea & Susie Levitt, FUNK-tional Enterprises, New York – $5,000

The other eight finalists each received a $5,000 business grant from Alibaba.com to recognize their commitment to entrepreneurism and building businesses in the down economy.

Alibaba.com David Wei said, "Newpreneurs represent a new breed of entrepreneurs who are using the recession to start a business or develop an idea. "They serve as catalysts in reinvigorating our current economy, while seizing opportunity with passion and ambition. Alibaba.com established the Newpreneur of the Year contest to help people with big ideas and a deep passion but not necessarily deep pockets. We're thrilled to honor our final 13 finalists by providing business grants that will help them start or continue to grow their business."

The contestants were evaluated by a panel of experts, including David Wei; Kelly Sang, general manager, IBDM, Alibaba.com Americas; David Louie, business reporter, KGO-TV; Jane Berentson, editor, 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.

The event keynote was delivered by Tom Peters, one of the most influential and distinctive voices in the business world and the author of numerous books including In Search of Excellence, which has been dubbed one of the greatest business books of all time.

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