First off, WomensNet would like to personally thank everyone for another great year, none of which would be possible without you. We’re so excited to see what 2015 brings us. But, before we get too carried away we still have business to take care of from 2014.

This December we had so many inspiring and well thought out applications making it extremely hard to narrow it down to five finalists- so we changed it Six!

The finalists are listed below. Take a look at their businesses, congratulate them and stay tuned, we’re announcing the winner early next week!

ESL Basics
www.ESLbasics.com
Andrea Giordano

ESL Basics is centered on teaching English through video lessons. So far Andrea has had over 1,000,000 views of her English lessons. With every video lesson she creates, she seek to connects with each learner, giving them an authentic experience with a native English speaking ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher.

Electric Ink
www.myelectricink.com
Corianne Powell

Electric Ink sells gold temporary tattoos that symbolize the power and independence that defines young women. The Electric Ink Company chooses ambitious, young woman at each of its schools to represent their brand, teaching them how to run a small business and empowering them to become entrepreneurs. For each temporary tattoo sold, Electric Ink donates a portion of the proceeds to a philanthropy chosen by the young women buyers themselves.

HUSH Experience
www.hushexperience.com
Frances Tang

Hush Experience designs pop up date night, dinner party experiences for couples who are looking for something different than the same old night out- or who just do not have the time and energy to plan. An exclusive prix fixe menu by a local chef, live entertainment, crafted cocktails, great company and a secret location is provided while only the time, day and theme of the event is revealed to guests. Attendees meet at a central location that is disclosed two days before the event and are whisked away to a once-in-a-lifetime, unforgettable evening.

Hammerstone School
www.hammerstoneschool.com
Maria Klemperer-Johnson

Hammerstone School aims to empower women and non-women alike to use their bodies and minds for creative and useful ends by teaching carpentry classes. By increasing the skills of individual women, Hammerstone hopes to increase the number of women in the trades, and ultimately change workplaces for women in and outside of the trades.

Functional Pelvis
www.functionalpelvis.com
Lindsey Vestal

The Functional Pelvis, Inc. is a private physical and occupational therapy practice dedicated to improving the lives of women and men who suffer from pelvic floor dysfunction and complications.

Though an embarrassing dinner topic for some, pelvic floor dysfunction affects millions of people (33% of women alone) who often don’t know that proven therapeutic exercises and non-surgical treatments are available which can drastically improve their quality of life when suffering from urinary and fecal incontinence, urge incontinence, chronic constipation, pelvic organ prolapse and pelvic pain.

The Functional pelvis empowers all people to regain control of the most basic human functions.

Hazel Lane
Hazel Lane
Samantha Strom & Ashley Dekellis

Hazel Lane, (founded by Sam and Ash) is a previous grant winner of ours from April, 2014. Their goal is to help everyone explore the world without the hassle of tourist traps, expensive flights and currency exchange rates.

Every month Hazel Lane send’s you a carefully curated box of surprise goodies from a selected city that represents it’s spirit. They feature innovative, organic, vegan and sustainable items.

As always, thank you for reading! Remember we award a grant every month – if interested, here’s the link to apply!

It’s been another crazy month here at WomensNet! This month, along with some small site changes, there was a record number of applicant’s -with some truly inspiring stories. You ladies keep impressing us – and making it harder and harder to narrow things down each month. It wasn’t easy, but somehow we managed. Without further ado, here are November’s five finalists for our new qualification grants.

Check them out and stay tuned! We’ll announce the winner next week!

November Qualification Grant Finalists:

Élevé Activewear
365startupgirl Website
Amy Jo Miller

Élevé Activewear was born out of frustration over the lack of functional underwear for women to wear while exercising. After searching the market for proper undies to wear under yoga pants Amy decided she might as well put her ideas and expertise to good use!

Stretch Recipes
www.stretchrecipes.com
Lauren Foster

Stretch Recipes is on a mission to help people eat better and save more. They’re in the process of creating an app that will help allow shoppers to enter their budget, choose their meals, and automatically receive their shopping list with coupons. Stretch also hosts cooking class experiences to teach people how to cook on a tight budget.

Pole Pressure
www.polepressure.com
Jessalynn Medairy

Pole Pressure is a Pole fitness brand that focuses on gymnastics and dance technique on Pole. Jessalyn has created a License Program to allow her brand to grow in a more feasible way than franchising. With the new licensing program she can use the name ‘Pole Pressure’ to people to start teaching their own Pole Pressure classes in any type of facility; a concept similar to Zumba.

The Serene Bean
www.serenebeanespresso.com
Nicole M.Neal

The Serene Bean Espresso Catering is a portable full service coffee and brunch company. They bring the coffeehouse to you, (indoors & outdoors!) Serene Bean can compliment your current catering service or work as your solo choice of vendor. It’s like having a charming Italian Café at your event.

Spicy Guys
www.spicyguyspretzels.com
Tammy Ogren

Tammy and her friend Mary are the founders of Spicy Guys Pretzels. Spicy Guys makes seasoned, flavored pretzels in three flavors: Original Spicy, Extra Spicy, and Smoky Sweet BBQ. Their Pretzels transforms boring, old pretzels into a gourmet snack.

As always, thank you for reading! Remember we award a grant every month – if interested, here’s the link to apply!

I hope everyone has had an exciting and productive month! This month the WomensNet Facebook page reached an exciting milestone of 500 likes- thanks to all of you!

We’ve been very busy reading all of your great applications and we’ve enjoyed every one of them-which makes it difficult to choose our winner(s)! For now, we’ve narrowed it down to the top five finalists!

Be sure to congratulate them and stay tuned – we’ll announce the May winner within the next few days!

May Amber Grant Finalists — May 2014

BraveHoods
Allison Yacht
www.bravehoods.com
BraveHoods is a one-for-one hoodie company. They sell super comfy hoodie t-shirts with powerful and inspiring messages. For each one they sell, they give one away to a kid fighting cancer.

Allison started BraveHoods in response to her daughters cancer diagnosis. While her daughter, Merry was going through chemo and radiation, she was bald. Because of this she was never completely comfortable exposing her scalp in public until Allison found her a hoodie t-shirt. It worked perfectly. The girl finally felt like she fit in and was comfortable enough to go out and about. Allison then thought about the other cancer families dealing with the same issues and once Merry was feeling better, they started to think about how they could give back to their community.

Spare Change Inc.
Andra Tomsa
www.sparechangeintl.org
Spare Change is a nonprofit organization that fundraises exclusively for Food Bank For New York City. The Spare Change NYC APP allows New Yorkers to round-up their dine-out bills to the nearest dollar to help feed the hungry in their own city.

Each donation is always less than $0.99, but the impact is significant. Each $1.00 Spare Change collects is converted into 4 meals through Food Bank For New York CIty.

Users are able to track their philanthropy on their profile page, where they can see how much they have donated, and how many people they have helped feed. Restaurants participate with Spare Change by offering rewards to users who round up frequently each month.

Feel Better Pops
Marisa Teiner

Feel Better Pops, LLC was created because most kids love ice pops and they’re a great treat to turn to, even (or especially) when kids are sick. Whether they’re ceoling down a sore throat or simply rehydrating a feverish little body, they always seem to make little ones feel better.

After realizing this, Marisa began to develop her own all natural ice pops with ingredients that would make her son feel better quicker and prevent others from getting sick. Many prototypes later, the idea of the Feel Better Pop was born.

The first line of pops, called Feel Better Tummy was released in june of 2013, in conjunction with the Rutgers Food Innovation Center. The pre-launch of Feel Better Tummy is scheduled for Fall 2014.

Aesop Technologies
Tinisha Witt
www.ecoaesoptech.com

Aesop Technologies specializes in the use of new solar technology and integrates it with our everyday lives,which seem to revolve around mobile phones. Their first product is going to be a solar powered protective case for the top selling mobile devices. This will be vital to those who are constantly looking to charge their phones. (Who isn’t these days?!) Tinisha and her team are providing a convenience by utilizing the sun as an alternative source of power at the flip of a switch on our phone case.

Aesop Technologies is currently in a patent pending status and in phase one prototype. Their intention is to launch a Kickstarter campaign in June of 2014. They are hoping to be in mass production and on the market by the end of this year.

Melted Addiction

Catina Mason
www.meltedaddiction.com

Melted Addiction manufactures all-natural and eco-friendly body products and candles. Catina began this business after many products available on the market only aggravated her sensitive skin. She then decided to teach herself how to make all natural soap and candles.

What first started out as a hobby, slowly turned into a business after demand grew. Her products are now retail ready and she currently offers sales through retail and wholesale accounts.

April showers bring… new Amber Grant winners? Works for us!

We had another fantastic month with some truly inspiring applicants. You ladies just keep impressing us – and making it harder and harder to narrow things down.

It wasn’t easy, but we did it. Without further ado, here are April’s five finalists.

Check them out and stay tuned! We’ll announce the winner(s) within the next few days.

Amber Grant Finalists – April 2014

Whiskey & Whimsy Retreats
Kerrie Blazek
http://whiskeynwhimsy.com/

This idea makes us want to jump on a plane and head straight to Louisville. Kerrie Blazek and her team offer women an opportunity to ditch the daily grind for a luxurious, all-inclusive, one-of-a-kind girls getaway…on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

As their website explains, you can “think of it as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience one of America’s most interesting cities, while re-igniting your innate creative fire, indulging in some delicious eats + fine whiskey, as you cozy up to like-minded sisters and hot guest speakers for some reciprocal sharing and learning – all in one gorgeous place.”

How could that not be the best weekend ever? We seriously might need to make a WomensNet trip for the next one.

Cute-n-Crafty
Kendra Barnes
http://www.cutencraftyshop.com/

When Kendra Barnes got married last April, she made a label for her now husband’s wedding socks that read: “Just to make sure you don’t get Cold Feet, with love, from your bride” and had her Maid of Honor deliver them. It made for a great photo opportunity, put a smile on his face, and most importantly ensured that he didn’t wear a pair of his holey socks to their wedding.

When they received their wedding photos and video, she saw how the “Cold Feet” socks brought a smile to her husband’s face, and thought…”I wonder if other brides would want to buy this”. So, Kendra set up shop on Etsy and within days she was getting sales.

Since then she has sold over 2500 pairs of socks online and in three stores that carry her product across D.C. and Pennsylvania.

How great is that?

ArtInFact Magazine
Semhar Woldeyesus
http://www.artinfactmag.com/

ArtInFact Magazine is the brainchild of four full-time media professionals, all graduates of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, class of 2011. They’ve come together to create a content platform for entrepreneurs, creative thinkers, and independent brands in New York City.

After realizing that mainstream media outlets typically only cover tech-centric ventures, Silicon Valley, or entrepreneurs who’ve received major investment backing, they decided to fill the gap and highlight startups and entrepreneurs that capture the independent spirit of New York City.

In case it’s not totally obvious, we’re big fans of supporting startups and entrepreneurs – so this idea really spoke to us.

Hazel Lane
Ashley DeKellis
http://www.hazelln.com/

Ashley DeKellis found a way to share her love of discovering amazing products from cities around the world with others – and she gets to do it as a stay at home mom, creating a sense of accomplishment that she, her husband and their son can be proud of.

Hazel Lane is a monthly subscription box service that helps others to explore the world, despite financial barriers and travel restrictions. Every month they send their members a carefully curated box of surprise goodies from a particular city, focusing on items that capture that destination’s spirit and signature flavors.

The boxes include healthy, sustainable and organic products from local business and arrive in 100% recycled packaging. Even better? They’re filing as a B Corp and already give 10% back to local charities in their featured cities.

Tuck Me In – Good Night Bedding Securement System
Donna Liimatainen-Peterson
http://tuckmeingoodnight.com

Like many of us, Donna Liimatainen-Peterson is a restless sleeper and a self-proclaimed sheet stealer. Her husband of 23 years would take extra measures to methodically tuck their sheets and blankets into his side of the bed, only to wake completely robbed of all of the bedding.

After spending 21 years as an architect (and even more years as an apologetic wife), she decided to design a solution for her unintentional sheet-stealing problem.

The Tuck Me In Good Night Bedding Retainment System utilizes an innovative lightweight cylindrical rod that easily attaches to the bottom edge of your bedsheets and blankets using coordinating fabric snap clamps, then gets inserted below the bottom edge of the mattress. If a good night sleep, fully covered, isn’t worth the $20 retail price – we’re not sure what is. Donna also sells extra long sheets and blankets to make sure you’ll never be “short sheeted” again.