Angie Hicks '95 Receives McDermond Medal for Excellence in Entrepreneurship

October 27, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — Angie Hicks, the 1995 DePauw University graduate whose entrepreneurial idea right out of college led to the creation of Angie's List, was honored today with DePauw's Robert C. McDermond Medal for Excellence in Entrepreneurship. Hicks was presented with the McDermond Medal this afternoon as she delivered a lecture to Management Fellows at her alma mater. (at left: DePauw President Brian W. Casey with Angie Hicks today)

Knowing that the frustrations she and her friends had finding good contractors were not unique, in 1995 Hicks literally set out door-to-door in Columbus, Ohio, recruiting members and collecting reports from friends and neighbors. Taking the "ask-your-neighbor" approach to a higher level, she used the detailed feedback from members as the basis for providing up-to-date, reliable, unbiased ratings and reviews on local services.

After the first year, with more than 1,000 members throughout Columbus, Hicks had laid the foundation for what would become one of the fastest growing companies in the U.S. Over these last 14 years, she has led the list's expansion from a 100 square foot office to an operation that now covers more than 124 major cities across the U.S. and serves more than 1 million consumers.

Hicks, who was a Management Fellow and economics major at DePauw and earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, contributes to consumer news stories that are seen or read on/in CNN, the Washington Post, New York Times, Redbook, Real Simple, USA Weekend, Good Housekeeping, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, and the Wall Street Journal.

In 2007, DePauw honored her with a Distinguished Alumni Award for Management and Entrepreneurship. She was named a Torchbearer Award winner in March 2009 by the Indiana Commission for Women, in recognition of her entrepreneurial accomplishments and for providing a positive example of the influence women have on their community and the state of Indiana.

The Robert C. McDermond Medal is named for the 1931 graduate of DePauw who endowed the University's Center for Management and Entrepreneurship and the Management Fellows Program. It is awarded to individuals who have played a key role in the formation or growth of an entrepreneurial business venture and/or assisted others in establishing entrepreneurial businesses and who have displayed creativity and innovation in entrepreneurial leadership.

McDermond Medal Recipients

• 2009 - Angie Hicks, founder & chief marketing officer, Angie's List
• 2008 - David Becker, CEO and chairman, First Internet Bank of Indiana
• 2007 - Frank Hagaman, president, Partners in Housing Development Corporation
• 2006 - Allan Hubbard, Assistant to the President of the United States for Economic Policy, director of the National Economic Council and president of E & A Industries
• 2005 - Patricia R. Miller, Secretary of Commerce, Indiana Department of Commerce
• 2004 - Jan Davidson, president and co-founder, The Davidson Institute
• 2003 - William A. Cook, CEO, Cook Group, Inc.
• 2002 - Jack M. Gill, Ph.D., senior adviser of CIMIT, research scientist, lecturer, Harvard Medical School
• 2001 - Jeffrey Smulyan, president, CEO and chairman of Emmis Communications
• 2000 - Richard M. Schulze, founder, chairman, and CEO of Best Buy Company, Inc.

Learn more about Angie Hicks in this recent story.

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