Women Entrepreneurs Win Yahoo Grants

Three women who founded businesses focused on babies and children won Yahoo grants for growing their firms, the online media giant announced Tuesday.

The women entered the Seeds for Success competition and won $20,000 in cash, $5,000 worth of Web site consulting, and Web site hosting from Yahoo.

Pediatric speech pathologist Karla Duncan of Birmingham, Ala., will expand her firm Head2Toe Publications, a developer of toys and educational materials for special needs children. Abby Port of Woodstock, Ga., won for Red Koala, which makes custom home décor with an eye on children's rooms and nurseries. Dana Rubenstein of New York City co-founded Dapple, which will produce earth-friendly and baby-safe cleaning supplies for babies' hands, toys, and feeding tools like bottles and kids cups.

The contest received more than 5,500 applications in just three weeks.

"We were very impressed, not only by the quality of the ideas, but also the strong interest among women in creating businesses built on providing solutions for real life, everyday problems," said Susan Vobejda, vice president of marketing for Yahoo Small Business. "While many of the best business ideas centered around children's concerns, we also saw a variety of submissions focused on social responsibility. A reoccurring theme was that women see entrepreneurship as the best path for balancing the demands of home and family life with economic needs."

The grant recipients will spend the next six months using these resources to grow their businesses, ultimately competing for a $10,000 bonus grant to be awarded in October. The trio and their mentors will log their progress on the Web site seedsforsuccess.smallbusiness.yahoo.com.

By Sharon McLoone |  April 29, 2008; 10:38 AM ET Profiles in Entrepreneurship
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