Featured Entrepreneurs

Mark A. Parsells- Chairman and CEO, Regulatory DataCorp, International

"As the leading provider of Anti-Money Laundering Due Diligence for the world’s largest financial and government institutions, RDC needed to find a convenient location for both Federal Government entities and to the New York City Financial Center clients. Wilmington is ideally located in between these two key centers and is easily accessible by Amtrak’s High Speed Acela Express line. On top of that, Wilmington is also a vibrant financial center in its own right with nearly every major credit card operation located in the City."

"Since RDC’s clients must comply with the US Know Your Customer (KYC) and Patriot Act requirements, there is not a better location in the country with a workforce that is as highly skilled in the area of fraud and anti money laundering prevention."

"In addition, Delaware is a place where things get done – its small size is a HUGE advantage that enables business, large or small, to get things done fast. In fact, when Bain Capital, one of the largest private equity funds in the US with more than $60 Billion under management, came to look at Wilmington as a possible site, the Governor’s Office, The Mayor’s Office, the Delaware Department of Economic Development, First State Innovation, The Committee of 100 as well as many industry and community leaders came out to host their visit, all on very short notice."

"As a result, RDC became the first Bain Capital investment in Delaware. Bain’s partners and principals that attended were so impressed with the level of attention that came together to help promote why Delaware was the right place to locate, they have said they hope to locate other companies here in the future in addition to RDC."

"On top of being a great business environment, it is just a great place to live. It is a beautiful state with a broad array of cultural offerings and world class recreational offerings from wonderful state parks to beaches on the Atlantic. There are fabulous school choices and I love what I call the Wilmington “rush minute,” – we don’t have a “rush hour” here like most of the East Coast urban centers. Bottom line, I am never moving from what I think is the best kept secret in the country – living and working in Delaware. You can visit us online at www.RDC.com or come visit us here in person so you can see why Delaware is a great place to be!"

Elizabeth Browning, Founder and CEO Lluminari, Inc.

"When Dr. Nancy Snyderman, Dr. Susan Love and I founded Lluminari, they were both located in California. We decided to make Delaware our corporate headquarters because of the access to New York media markets and the fact that, as a start-up, we thought it would be easier to make things happen in a smaller state. Our first offices were located at the Delaware Technology Park, giving us access to shared services and other entrepreneurs. Plus, we're funded by local angels. Delaware was a great decision."

Lluminari is a health media company that produces original content and programming through a prestigious network of highly regarded health experts who are great communicators. Members of the Lluminari Network include Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Miriam Nelson, Dr. Alice Domar, Dr. Nancy Snyderman, Dr. Susan Love, and many others. Among them, they have published over 75 books on health for consumers.

Lluminari made its debut in O, The Oprah Magazine, with a year-long series entitled "Here's to Your Health" that provided readers with baby steps to take towards living a healthier lifestyle. Over the last eight years, the company's health stars have worked with all major media as well as leading corporations on both consumer and employee health initiatives.

Andrew Jefferson President, Fort Hill Company

"Being located in Delaware gives Fort Hill the ability to recruit a well-educated, experienced, and highly motivated workforce -- a key element of our success. Additionally, a cost effective quality of life and easy access to many of our clients made Delaware a great choice for starting and building our organization. FSI is an important initiative to connect people, ideas, and capital which will help continue to grow the entrepreneurial economy in the state and the region."

Fort Hill Company is the industry leader in moving corporate learning from a classroom exercise to a process that produces on the job results. Fort Hill provides the tools, know how and support services to ensure that an organization’s strategic, business, and learning objectives are converted into a competitive advantage.

Over the last five years our web-based Follow-Through Tools® (Friday5s®, Development Engine®, Results Engine®) have been used by more than 50,000 managers in over 48 countries to ensure the follow-through necessary to deliver results that improve performance. Our best selling book, The Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning, has received critical acclaim for its ground-breaking approach to corporate learning. Fort Hill works with a wide range of global Fortune 1000 companies in diverse industries to implement follow-through management systems that increase the return on investment of training and development and business initiatives.

Matthew B. Swanson CEO, FineStationery.com, Inc.

"The momentum that FSI is creating will directly benefit entrepreneurs but also create lasting secondary effects for the broader business community by bringing high growth jobs and innovation back into the regional economy."

"With a deep pool of local talent and a quality-of-life that recruiters dream about, Delaware has proven to be an excellent base for building the strong management team we needed."

David Atadan CEO, Trellist Marketing and Technology (formerly Integrated Media Concepts, Inc.)

"I attribute part of Trellist’s success to being located in Delaware. There is a rich pool of talent in this region; complementing a thriving business climate."

"Trellist has developed, over the years, an extremely discerning hiring practice, testing skills, personality, and values. As a result, we continue to attract and retain top level talent - over 40 people as of today."

"Trellist's reputation has grown where we are regularly recognized as one of the area's leading marketing and technology firms. Building our reputation to this point is one of my proudest accomplishments as an entrepreneur."

"I have had the opportunity of working with great entrepreneurs and business people in the EAG. This combined vision, with Ernie's leadership, created FSI, which I feel will be an important part in helping to build our region's economy."

"In business, you always need to find the right balance. If you can surround yourself with a staff that supports this concept, you can build a very powerful team."

Featured Entities

Select Greater Philadelphia

Select Greater Philadelphia is an economic development marketing organization dedicated to building the economy of the Greater Philadelphia region.It focuses its resources on enhancing the profile and image of the region's business community in order to attract businesses.

Select Greater Philadelphia markets the region nationally and globally in order to establish Greater Philadelphia as a top-tier place to do business. The Greater Philadelphia region encompasses northern Delaware, southern New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania.

Select Greater Philadelphia is a non-profit organization directed by a board of 60 CEO's called the CEO Council for Growth, which is an affiliate of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey and the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce.

Select serves as the central point of contact for companies considering an expansion or location in the Greater Philadelphia region. It works cooperatively with eleven county economic development organizations in Greater Philadelphia. The counties are:

Delaware: New Castle County
New Jersey: Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Mercer and Salem Counties
Pennsylvania: Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties

Select's services are confidential and complimentary. It proactively recruits companies seeking to expand or locate, provides accurate information about the region, connects companies to service providers, facilitates site and incentive analysis and acts as a liaison between company representatives and economic developers in this tri-state area.

For more information, visit www.selectgreaterphiladelphia.com.

The Delaware Small Business Development Center

The Delaware Small Business Development Center helps Delaware entrepreneurs grow and manage their small businesses by providing them access to business information, training, and counseling.

The Delaware Small Business Development Center exists to strengthen Delaware’s economic base by providing quality services, such as, management assistance, education programs, and resources to Delaware’s business community and potential entrepreneurs. Since the day we opened our doors in 1983 our goal has been to provide the best quality assistance to Delaware’s business community. Today our four locations house training facilities, libraries, and a wide variety of resources to help your business grow. Our staff of over twenty business professionals comprises the best that Delaware has to offer. All of our Business Advisors have the combination of academic credentials and practical business experience that give them what it takes to help your business. In addition, each and every one has a rigorous professional development requirement. We can’t help your business unless we keep up on what is going on in today’s ever-changing business environment.

The DSBDC, which operates in partnership with the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, and Delaware Technical and Community College can turn to faculty, students, and state-of-the-art business facilities to answer business questions. In addition, the DSBDC can access a national network of over 4000 professional business consultants as well as a National Research Clearinghouse to meet the unique needs of Delaware’s businesses.

The DSBDC is accredited by the Association of Small Business Development Centers. This quality assurance process, patterned after the Malcolm Baldridge Quality Standards, is unique among federally-funded assistance programs.

Delaware Economic Development Office (DEDO)

The goal of the ETC is to eliminate entry barriers to market for the entrepreneurs in our State by providing access to: a) intellectual property, b) early stage pre-venture capital and c) low-cost business resources. All we need now are the entrepreneurs.