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Whirlpool Mother of Invention Grant
CONTACT:
Mail: 2005 Whirlpool Mother of Invention Grant
Zeno Group
444 N Michigan Ave, Suite 600
Chicago, IL 60611
Web Site: http://www.whirlpool.com/moms
BENTON HARBOR, Mich. –Mom’s the word when it comes to building businesses. As of 2005, there are an estimated 10.1 million majority-owned, privately-held, women-owned firms in the U.S., according to SCORE, the Counselors to America’s Small Business. For moms apprehensive to jump on the business band wagon, the Whirlpool 2005 Whirlpool Brand Mother of Invention Grant maybe just the ticket for them to get on board.
The 2005 Whirlpool Brand Mother of Invention Grant provides moms with the necessary business resources, such as seed money and expert advice, to bring business dreams to fruition. While the Whirlpool brand is synonymous with appliances, the contest isn’t about finding the next great range or refrigerator innovation. The objective of the Grant is to recognize motherly ingenuity and provide support to fellow innovators.
Each day mothers are identifying challenges and coming up with innovative and inventive solutions. In fact, Whirlpool brand products are developed with insight from the mouths of moms. This prompted the Whirlpool brand to create an all-call for moms to submit their great ideas to be considered as a grant recipient.
While the 2005 Whirlpool Brand Mother of Invention Grant provides the means to jump start a business, moms will still have complete autonomy over their business venture,” said Audrey Reed-Granger, director of consumer insight for the Whirlpool brand. “The Grant allows moms to receive free funding and access to experts of a Fortune 500 company, while still holding the reins of their company.”
The 2005 Whirlpool Brand Mother of Invention Grant will be judged on the following criteria: if the business idea/product provides a compelling consumer solution to a current problem, is unique and/or different from product on the market, is a viable business and has an interesting story around the creation or the development.
Serving as guest judges for the program are catalogue innovator Lillian Vernon and Baby Einstein creator Julie Aigner-Clark. To round out the judging panel, Whirlpool brand experts encompassing product development, business strategy, innovation, technology and marketing will also review entries.
Obtaining needed funding and expert advice is half the battle to getting a solid business off the ground,” said Julie Aigner-Clark, guest judge and creator of Baby Einstein. “Having access to entrepreneurs or people who live and breathe product development on a daily basis is invaluable to any business person.”
One grand-prize winner will receive a $15,000 grant, a new home office, and Whirlpool brand’s most innovative products: a Duet® washer and dryer and the new Whirlpool Gold® kitchen appliance suite. The grand-prize winner will also attend a one-day business boot camp to leverage Whirlpool expertise from product development and marketing to everything in between.
The ideas submitted in this contest remain the sole property of the contestant. The judges and the sponsors do not claim ownership of any ideas submitted. Sponsors will provide limited confidentiality of the ideas submitted so that submitters will have a limited time to seek patent protection if desired.
Moms interested in applying for the 2005 Whirlpool Brand Mother of Invention Grant or need more information are encouraged to visit www.whirlpool.com/moms. The deadline for entries is August 14, 2005.