The winner of the Small Business Breakthrough sponsored by the Jacksonville Jaguars and web.com is Modasten, Inc., a local company that makes premium sunglasses out of recycled skateboard wood. Gil Dror, CEO and owner of Modasten, was introduced as the winner on Friday during the Jaguars' preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jaguars owner Shad Khan, President Mark Lamping and Web.com CEO David Brown made the announcement.
"This was looking at all the creative talent in Jacksonville, looking at the companies and really helping promote the local economy," Khan said. "We picked Modasten, who makes sunglasses from recycled skateboards; so Jacksonville, so creative. We want economic growth and the Jaguars can play a big role in that."
Modasten (Modasten.com @modasten), based in Jacksonville Beach, has several product lines in various shapes and colors made from skateboards. A supplier agreement with the largest skateboard recycling company in the United States, Art of Board/I Ride I Recycle, allows Modasten to create its product line.
The grand prize, which Modasten won over a field of nearly 500 applicants, is a complete digital makeover from Web.com and a 2015 Jaguars sponsorship, together valued at over $250,000. The final round of the competition, called The Cage, was composed of a panel of five judges: Khan, Lamping, Brown, NFL Senior Vice President, Marketing, Brand & Creative Jaime Weston, and Lee Wesley Companies Executive Vice President Camille Lee-Johnson.
Modasten's comprehensive sponsorship of the Jaguars will include both traditional and non-traditional assets such as: logo designation and usage rights; video board presence and commercial inventory; television and radio commercials featuring a Jaguars player or coach as an endorser; digital media presence on jaguars.com and in Jaguars social media; in-business appearances by Jaguars players, coaches, and/or personalities; premium hospitality at EverBank Field on game days; and client and prospect experiences with the Jaguars, and more.
The digital makeover Modasten receives will provide access to Web.com's full suite of industry-leading solutions, including: state of the art custom website; digital strategy session to boost customer reach – SEO/SEM, advertising, email marketing, ecommerce, and social media optimization; and a dedicated account manager to provide ongoing website updates and optimization.
Small Business Breakthrough Powered by Web.com was launched in an effort to help small businesses discover new ways to boost their marketing and earn next-level exposure. The recent launch of the Jaguars Black B2B initiative – designed to provide small businesses with the most complete corporate experience in professional sports, and entertainment and Web.com's position as an industry leader in helping build customers' businesses by harnessing the full potential of the web – made this partnership a perfect fit.
