Mentor Media Group and Entrepreneur.com Announce Winner of
"Win Your Own Small Business" Contest

Single mother of four awarded
$10,000 in startup capital

Norwalk, CT, April 8, 2002— Melisa Cowden, a single mother of four from Denver, Colorado, has won $10,000 in startup capital in the "Win Your Own Small Business" Contest, sponsored by Mentor Media Group and Entrepreneur.com.

The contest, which drew over 300 entries from across the United States, challenged budding entrepreneurs to come up with a great business pitch that would convince the contest judges that their business dream was a cause worth funding.

"At Mentor, the entrepreneurial spirit has enabled us to achieve great success, and I recognized that same spirit in Melisa," says Dan Gallo, CEO of Mentor. "She managed to combine a real creative product with a well thought-out business plan, and her enthusiasm and energy were apparent. As a single mother of four, she is driven to succeed and we know she will put the $10,000 to excellent use in building her business."

Cowden's idea, M.C. Kid's Publishing Company, will publish, market and sell literature for children-stories that Cowden herself has written over the past 10 years. She also plans to author and sell parenting books and other products to help boost children's self-esteem and provide parents with ideas on how to connect with their kids.

A former first grade teacher, Cowden, 37, initially created the stories to entertain her own children, ages 11, 9, 7 and 6. Observing how enchanted they were by her tales of Humphrey the Water Dragon and other colorful characters from her imagination, Cowden began giving readings of her stories at her children's schools. After captivating scores of young students, she was encouraged by parents and teachers to try to market the books on her own.

Ten years out of the workforce and with four children to care for, Cowden was seeking a way to earn money that would give her flexibility and control over her career and her working hours. She also wanted to retain the copyrights to her work so she could have the option to reprint her titles and sell them via both wholesale and retail channels.

Cowden plans to use her winnings to hire an illustrator and contract a printer and binder for her children's volumes. "I plan to make the $10,000 go as far as possible," she says. Cowden has a comprehensive plan for marketing her products and has also pledged to donate a small percentage of the earnings from her new business to Project Mercy, a Denver-based children's charity.

Cowden, who has already written six titles, was stunned by her win. "I can't thank Mentor and Entrepreneur.com enough for giving me this chance to make my business dream a reality." she says. "Even my kids are excited."

Mentor Media Group (www.trymentor.com) is the developer of the Mentor™ line of communication, learning and support applications that enable users to be successful using computer software and technology, without training. They've sold more than 6.5 million products and software licenses to individuals in homes, home offices and small businesses, as well as to some of the largest businesses in the world. Entrepreneur.com (www.entrepreneur.com) the award-winning Web site of EntrepreneurEntrepreneur magazine, features more than 70,000 pages of content, and is one of the largest and most popular small-business Web sites on the Internet.

The "Win Your Own Small Business" contest was open to anyone dreaming of starting his or her own business. Competitors were required to write an essay describing themselves, their business or business idea, and why the prize money should capitalize their vision. Fifteen semifinalists were named, and then narrowed down to three finalists, who each had to develop a business plan and then pitch their story to a panel of judges from Mentor Media Group and Entrerpeneur.com during a sixty-minute presentation and discussion.

The two other finalists were Anne Warren of Boca Raton, FL, and Strom Peterson of Edmonds, WA. Ms. Warren wants to start a company manufacturing apparel for women who have just had surgery. A former development director for nonprofit charities, she says, "I still have the need to make a difference in the world… starting my own company using my creativity and desire to help others would satisfy many personal and professional objectives."

Peterson's business dream is Olives Gourmet Foods, Inc., a gourmet foods store, take-out deli and exhibition kitchen (which he'll be opening with partner Michael Young in Edmunds, Washington in May). He envisions "exciting in-house promotions such as cheese tastings and gourmet cooking demonstrations… in order to create an atmosphere of excitement and comfort with the idea of gourmet food." His seven-year goal is to open other stores in promising markets, as well as to launch his own brand of gourmet spices.

As runners-up, both Warren and Peterson will receive a full suite of Mentor products and a one-year subscription to Entrepreneur magazine.

"The success of the contest proves that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in America," says Gallo. "Owning your own business remains a major component of the American dream - one that a company like Mentor can especially relate to. I'm thrilled we could help make that dream come true for a deserving entrepreneur."

Adds Karen Spaeder, an editor at Entrepreneur.com and the Managing Editor of EntrepreneurEntrepreneur magazine who also served as one of the contest judges, "Mentor represents what can happen when a great business concept is carried out effectively. Likewise, as a former schoolteacher and a mother of four, Melisa Cowden clearly understands her market and has created a viable business strategy. She is a terrific representative of the audience we serve at Entrepreneur.com."

About Mentor Media Group

Mentor Media Group is a leading business communications company offering innovative custom and off-the-shelf e-learning products. With over six million user licenses sold, Mentor™ helps companies get more out of their new technology by making users successful as soon as the systems are deployed. Now available to individual users at major retail outlets and eCommerce (www.trymentor.com), in addition to businesses, a Mentor can be added to any software to motivate and instruct users and give them instant access to the most accurate knowledge on how to perform its functions. With the proven ability to dramatically reduce the cost of end-user support, Mentors are appropriate for a wide range of products and services offered by Software Developers, Hardware Manufactures, Internet Service Providers, Device Manufacturers, and developers of e-Business systems or exchanges.

Mentor delivers just-in-time, sight-and-sound multimedia Communication, Learning, and Support via local networks, CDs, local hard drives, or streamed over the Internet. Mentors are available in multiple languages for Lotus products such as Notes, Sametime, QuickPlace, and TeamRoom; for popular Microsoft products such as Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Internet Explorer; and custom applications. Mentor has become a learning standard at Fortune 500 companies like IBM, DuPont, Verizon, DaimlerChrysler, GE Capital, Duke Energy, Colgate-Palmolive, and many smaller companies. Mentor can be experienced online at . .

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