Press Release Headlines

Healthy Alternative to Sugary Sodas Wins National Startup Competition

Drazil Foods, A Herbal-Tea Based Drink For Kids, Wins Weekly Dream Big America Competition; Next Set Of Contestants Are Announced

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Dec. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Dream Big America, the first-ever live nationally syndicated radio show pitting startup business ventures against each other, and broadcast on Doug Stephan's Good Day Show (www.dougstephan.com) each Tuesday at 9:10 am ET, announces Drazil Tea as this past week's winner.

Christine Wheeler, Co-Founder and CEO of Drazil Foods (www.drazilfoods.com), won this past week's competition, securing a spot in the December 31st Finals Show. Drazil Foods is the creator of Drazil Kids Tea, a naturally caffeine-free organic blend of herbal teas infused with fruit juices. Drazil Kids Tea is a healthy alternative to most kids' beverages because it contains 50% fewer calories and 35% less sugar. There is no added sugar as all sugar comes naturally from the fruit juices. It also provides a good source of antioxidants and 100% daily value of vitamin C.

This month's competition highlights past finalists and semi-finalists from Get In The Ring: The American Startup Clash (www.kauffman.org) competition. Founded by the Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship, Get In The Ring gives America's most exceptional entrepreneurs an opportunity to compete against founders from across the country and around the world.

"Get In The Ring perfectly aligns with our mission at Dream Big America," explained Doug Stephan. "Each Tuesday we showcase the amazing entrepreneurs in the country, and give them a chance to share their story with America. We're excited to further the reach and exposure for these startups."

The upcoming December 17th show features three new Get In The Ring semi-finalists including ABPathfinder, AlumaSki, and NanoFex.

ABPathfinder (www.abpathfinder.com), presented by CEO and President Jeff Blackwood, is a software support tool designed to aid therapists and special educators in the implementation of ABA therapy for Autism. With this tool, ABPathfinder hopes to improve the effectiveness and quality of autism therapy and allow autistic children to achieve the best quality of life possible.

AlumaSki (www.alumaski.com), presented by Founder Brian McKinnon, is a company dedicated to making innovative watercrafts for recreation, defense and response. Their flagship product, the AlumaSki, is a ruggedized personal watercraft designed to greatly perform in all water, but specifically dominates in rivers all the way from class six Rapids to shallow and skinny creeks with a high payload capability.

NanoFex (www.nanofex.com), presented by CEO David Culpepper, uses cane sugar and chitosan from crab and crawfish shells to clean contaminated soil and groundwater. NanoFex microspheres travel in groundwater to where contamination is located, bringing the solution to the problem to save time and money.

Dream Big America (www.DreamBigAmerica.us) airs each Tuesday at 9:10am to 9:40am ET on Doug Stephan's Good Day Program, syndicated to over 500 markets across the United States with a weekly listening audience of 3.5 million. In addition to being broadcast on the radio, the Dream Big America Show can be heard via live podcast on the DreamBigAmerica.us website.

Voting begins immediately after the show at 10:00am ET and continues for 28 hours until 2:00pm ET each Wednesday. Voting is by text (Text DBA to 612-22-DREAM (612-223-7326)) once voting is live or via the DreamBigAmerica.us website.

The Dream Big America Show features three entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas for two minutes each, followed by an expert panelist who offers feedback and suggestions. Tapping into the surging entrepreneurial movement spreading across the country, Dream Big America strives to educate and support startups, all while providing an exciting venue for America to choose which new businesses it wants to see hit the market.

Dream Big America partners with the Kansas City-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (www.kauffman.org) and its 1 Million Cups (www.1millioncups.com) startup education program, Chic CEO (www.chic-ceo.com), and the San Diego-based Nutritional Capital Network (www.nutritioncapital.com). Each organization supports the show by providing vetted startup ventures for consideration to the Dream Big America selection committee.

For more information about the Dream Big America competition or to schedule an interview with any of the Dream Big America participants please call Beth Chapman at 816.835.0306 or email her.

Media Contacts:
Beth Chapman, Dream Big America
816.835.0306, Email

Barbara Pruitt, Kauffman Foundation
816.932.1288, Email