Entrepreneurial Leaders from Stella & Dot, Hara, NxStage Medical, Inc., and LinkedIn Corporation receive Ernst & Young's 2011 Venture Capital Award of Excellence

PALM SPRINGS, Calif., Nov. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Five entrepreneurial leaders from Stella & Dot, Hara, NxStage Medical, Inc., and LinkedIn Corporation received the Ernst & Young Venture Capital Award of Excellence on Thursday, November 10, at Ernst & Young LLP's 2011 Strategic Growth Forum in Palm Springs, CA.  Square 1 Bank co-sponsored the awards, which were announced during a luncheon ceremony.

"Entrepreneurs are the key to innovation, economic growth, and job creation that we need so desperately in America right now. When we celebrate the stories of these accomplished winners and tell them often, that's how you build the movement," said Bryan Pearce, Americas Director, Entrepreneur Of The Year® and Venture Capital Advisory Group, Ernst & Young LLP.

The Venture Capital (VC) Award of Excellence winners are selected from Ernst & Young LLP's Entrepreneur Of The Year® regional winners, whose companies have been backed by venture capital funding. The recipients were selected on the basis of VC funding, equity and revenue growth, EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) margins, and the stories of their founding.  The winners were selected by an independent panel of judges, including Lee J. Burrows, Managing Director, VantagePoint Capital Partners; Lawrence D. Lenihan, Jr., Founder, CEO and Managing Director, FirstMark Capital; Adele C. Oliva, Partner, Quaker Partners; and Deepak Sindwani, Principal, Bain Capital Ventures.

"As a bank started by entrepreneurs, which serve entrepreneurs and their investors, we are exceedingly dedicated to that space," commented Doug Bowers, Square 1 Bank President and CEO. "We are proud to once again work with Ernst & Young LLP in support of the Venture Capital Award of Excellence as it recognizes pioneering companies and the fundamental importance of venture capital support."

Highlights from the 2011 VC Award of Excellence winners' stories include:

• Stella & Dot, San Bruno, California – Jessica Herrin, CEO and Founder, has redefined the home-based business platform for our times. The company offers boutique-style jewelry and accessories exclusively through a social selling channel, a network of more than 11,000 independent stylists who sell Stella & Dot products online and through in-home trunk shows. Herrin successfully developed the company from a bootstrapped operation in her living room to an international trendsetter with an expected $200M in revenue in 2011. Herrin distinguishes her company from others in the direct selling market by offering a superior product, and excited, motivated salespeople dubbed "stylists." The concept is presented as the antithesis of the stodgy reputation of "Tupperware parties." Stella & Dot currently operates in the United States and Canada, with expected expansion to Europe in the near future. There are approximately 18,000 stylists pursuing their goals under Herrin's overall direction.
• Hara, San Mateo, California – After multiple successful startup internet companies, Amit Chatterjee believed that he would remain at SAP and sit on the board of non-profit organizations for the remainder of his career. However, after learning more about the International Aid Transparency Initiative, Amit realized the lack of transparency surrounding natural gas in Angola, and that the ability to rid countries, cities, and companies of the transparency of their carbon footprints created a unique opportunity for Amit to be not only successful—but significant.  In founding Hara, Amit discovered his true calling as an entrepreneur.  Hara's platform allows its customers to quantify their spending on energy and amount of energy consumed, and then to reduce their carbon footprint, while enabling a faster return on investment and profitability. Hara has enabled companies to save billions by using through using more efficient energy resources.
• NxStage Medical, Inc., Lawrence, Massachusetts – CEO Jeffrey Burbank has led NxStage Medical in pioneering change in dialysis care and providing life-changing therapy options to patients. NxStage liberates patients from center-based dialysis and enables access to more frequent dialysis with a system that is small, safe and easy to use at home. In 1999, Burbank and some colleagues sketched out an integrated system to deliver renal dialysis in a patient's home. His vision was realized in the System One, which was approved by the FDA in 2002. His invention has revolutionized the dialysis industry by fundamentally changing the manner in which treatment is provided. He has overseen the company through all phases of growth, from inception, through raising over $92 million of venture capital, development of its technology, regulatory approval, commercializing the product in the U.S. and internationally, going public, developing strategic partnerships and closing strategic acquisitions.
• LinkedIn Corporation, Mountain View, California – Conceived by visionary entrepreneur Reid Hoffman former executive vice president of PayPal, LinkedIn was developed out of Reid's aspirations to help improve individuals' lives and society. CEO Jeff  Wiener embodies this same ideal of enhancing the well-being of others, and together, these innovative leaders are working to grow a company that helps people take control of their professional lives. LinkedIn's mission is to connect the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful. Reid understood the difficulty in starting a company that is based on a network of people. In a network, with a group of people who are all connected with each other and sharing an ability to find other people, talent, expertise opportunities, and information; the network is only valuable with people. Since its launch in 2003, LinkedIn has become the world's largest professional network on the Internet with more than 100 million members in over 200 countries and territories.

About Ernst & Young's Strategic Growth Markets Network

Ernst & Young's worldwide Strategic Growth Markets Network is dedicated to serving the changing needs of rapid-growth companies.  For more than 30 years, we've helped many of the world's most dynamic and ambitious companies grow into market leaders. Whether working with international mid-cap companies or early stage venture-backed businesses, our professionals draw upon their extensive experience, insight and global resources to help your business achieve its potential. It's how Ernst & Young makes a difference.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, our 152,000 people are united by our shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. We make a difference by helping our people, our clients and our wider communities achieve their potential.

For more information, please visit www.ey.com.

Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity.

This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a U.S. client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited.

About Square 1 Bank

Square 1 Bank is a full service commercial bank dedicated exclusively to serving the financial needs of the venture capital community and entrepreneurs in all stages of growth and expansion. Square 1's expertise, focus and strong capital base provide solid support for its clients' needs. The bank offers tailored products and solutions aided by the latest in technological innovations. To serve its relationships, Square 1 has offices coast to coast in Austin, Boston, Boulder, Durham, McLean, New York, San Diego, Santa Monica, Seattle and Silicon Valley. For more information, visit www.square1bank.com.

SOURCE Ernst & Young

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