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VerticalResponse

Company: VerticalResponse, San Francisco, CA
Company Description: VerticalResponse is a self-service web-based solution enabling small businesses to get up and running quickly and affordably with their email marketing and direct mail campaigns. Founded in 2001 by Janine Popick, VerticalResponse employs 33 people and has been named to Inc.'s Fastest Growing Company list as well as San Francisco Buziness Times Fastest Growing Company list two years running.
Nomination Category: Company/Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Fastest-Growing Company of the Year

Nomination Title: VerticalResponse - Leading Provider of Self-Service Email Marketing and Direct Mail Services

  • Describe for the judges the growth of the nominated company during the
    eligibility period (up to 500 words):

    VerticalResponse, Inc. is a leading provider of self-service email marketing and 
    direct mail services empowering businesses of all sizes to create, manage and
    assess their own direct marketing campaigns. VerticalResponse’s flagship
    product, which allows customers to deliver sophisticated yet easily deployed email
    campaigns, is the most intuitive and affordable Web-based direct marketing
    solution available.

    VerticalResponse, Inc., leading provider of self-service email and direct mail
    services, grew significantly across the company during the eligibility period.
    VerticalResponse's strong showing in the fourth quarter ’06 marked the 19th
    consecutive quarter that the company exceeded results from the comparable
    period of the previous year and the 16th straight time it reported revenues higher
    than those of the preceding quarter.

    Growth Metrics:

    • 40% growth in year-to-year sales
    • 39.4% growth in gross profit
    • 33% growth in number of employees
    • In last 6 months, number of customers grew 28% to 30,000

  • List the URLs (web addresses) of any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that you would like the judges to see that support your entry. IMPORTANT: List each URL on a separate line, begin each URL with http://, and enclose each URL in square brackets. For example, [http://www.yourcompany.com/pressrelease.html]:

    News stories: http://www.verticalresponse.com/about/news_archive.html

    Press releases: http://www.verticalresponse.com/about/press.2007

  • Provide a brief biography of the person or persons who lead the nominated company (up to 100 words):

    Janine Popick is the CEO and co-founder of VerticalResponse (#402, 2006 Inc. 
    500), a leading self-service direct marketing provider to over 25,000 small
    businesses worldwide.

    Janine brings over 17 years of experience leading direct and Internet marketing
    programs for some of the biggest brands in technology and entertainment. Janine
    led the Direct division of NBC Internet as well as XOOM.com. She also managed
    direct marketing for a variety of technology companies like Claris Corp. a wholly
    owned subsidiary of Apple Inc., Insignia Solutions and Symantec Corporation.

    Janine holds a degree from Hofstra University in Communications and English.
    She has been a private investor and serves as an advisor in the U.S. and Europe.

    Janine is VerticalResponse's CEB (Chief Executive Blogger which won the 2006
    ClickZ Best Marketing Blog Award as well as the 2007 Stevie Award for Best
    Blog). She is a columnist for Inc.com “Women in Business” and has been
    published in DMNews as well featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, ClickZ, and B2B
    Magazine. She frequently enjoys trips to Europe as well as Lake Tahoe, California.