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VerticalResponse - Female Executive

Gold Stevie Award Winner 2013, Click to Enter The 2014 Steve Awards for Women in Business

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 email marketing, surveys and direct mail campaigns. Founded in 2001 by Janine Popick, VerticalResponse employs 95 people and has been named to Inc.'s 5000 list as well as San Francisco Business Times Fastest Growing Company list five years running.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Female Executive of the Year – Business Services –11 to 2,500 Employees

Nomination Title: Janine Popick, CEO/Founder

Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated executive since the beginning of July last year (up to 525 words):

Janine Popick launched VerticalResponse in 2001. Since then, the company has helped more than 100,000 small businesses and non-profits succeed with a full suite of affordable, easy to use online marketing tools including email marketing, social media marketing, event marketing, online surveys and direct mail postcards.

The business world continues to take note, and last year the company was named Blue Ribbon Small Business of the Year by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, among many other accolades. Additionally, VerticalResponse has been ranked on the Inc. 500|5000 list of fastest-growing companies every year since 2006, the Deloitte Fast 500 list every year since 2007, and the San Francisco Business Times list of fastest-growing firms for seven years in a row.

Janine’s entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to small business drive VerticalResponse’s continued leadership in its category. Her award accomplishments in 2012 and 2013 include:

• 2013 Small Business Influencer Honorable Mention
• 2013 Stevie American Business Awards – 4 wins: Gold, Two Silver and Bronze
• 2013 Stevie International Business Award – 4 wins: Two Gold and Two Bronze.

Janine’s key achievements from July 2012 to present include:

• Led successful acquisition of VerticalResponse by Deluxe Corporation for $27 million. After 12 years and building a customer base of 4 million, Janine decided it was the right time to sell her company to the right buyer. She weighed the best interest of customers, employees and shareholder and felt this deal was right for everyone. Deluxe is a great brand that serves millions of small businesses and shares a long-term vision to be the best destination for small business marketing. VerticalResponse filled a niche that Deluxe wanted to offer in email and social media marketing.

• Consulting on the launch of the Pro-webinar series, which connects small business with industry pros. The VerticalResponse ProWebinar Series http://www.verticalresponse.com/prowebinarseries was designed as a venue to connect industry leaders with small business owners to share practical, real-world tips and advice. More than 3500 registered to attend from March to August 2013.

• Led the launch of several new tools, including VerticalResponse Event Marketing, Coupons and Clipper. VerticalResponse Event Marketing lets users easily create a Web page for their events, sell tickets and/or collect donations online, track sales, and promote their events via email marketing and social media. The Coupons tool lets businesses generate custom coupons that can be published as a Facebook tab on their Facebook page and/or as a standalone Web page. Clipper lets users save interesting Web pages to their account whenever they’re browsing online; the “clipped” URLs will appear in their VerticalResponse Social content library for easy sharing when they’re ready to create a social media post or campaign.

Beyond tech tools, Janine offers her expertise to both customers and non-customers on the award-winning Marketing Blog for Small Businesses. She also has a column with Inc. magazine, is a featured blogger on The Huffington Post Small Business section, and blogs at American Express OPEN Forum.

With more than 20 years of experience, Janine exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit, and serves as an inspirational role model for fellow leaders in business.

Provide a brief biography of the nominated executive (up to 125 words):

Janine Popick is the CEO and founder of VerticalResponse. She won a Stevie Award for Entrepreneur of the Year every year from 2008 to 2011 and Executive of the Year in 2012, and was an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist from 2006 to 2009.

Janine also won the U.S. Small Business Administration award for Small Business Person of the Year and was named a Small Biz Influencer Champion by Small Biz Trends. Janine brings over 20 years of experience leading direct and Internet marketing programs for some of the biggest brands in technology and entertainment.