PHILADELPHIA, PA, March 25, 2005 -- While it's relatively common for a small business to hire the services of a small business development center (SBDC) to aid with a venture, it's not usually the case that a SBDC will provide its resources and furthermore offer grant funding to any particular company. However, that's exactly what happened when the Wharton Small Business Development Center honored iCrederity and its Co-Founders, Alexander Mittal and Rakesh Antala, as a Venture Initiation Program (VIP) team. M

VIP is an educational program managed by Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs to allow University of Pennsylvania students to take a business concept from idea to implementation. Students develop their ventures through the real-world experience of executing the initial stages of their business development through two phases of the program in a supportive, entrepreneurial environment with professional guidance. This was one of the most competitive years for the VIP program.

"Getting selected for incubation by the VIP program has been reinforcing, because it's another sign that people are becoming receptive to a new take on how trust and privacy should be handled online," commented Mr. Mittal.

iCrederity is developing what it describes as a suite of people information verification tools which it hopes will benefit society as a whole.

Acknowledging that a large challenge lies ahead, Mr. Mittal noted, "Particularly this early in the process, when we've yet to commence major execution on our plan, it's nice to have people who believe in change as our partners...we'll need them to tackle an industry where individual privacy rights haven't always been a priority and where certain inefficiencies have become standard practice more out of habit and entrenched thinking than anything else."