Gradsave Winner of South FL Business Journal Business of the Year, H. Wayne Huizenga StartUp Award

Miami, FL, May 19, 2013 --(PR.com)-- GradSave was recently announced as the winner of the South Florida Business Journal, Business of the Year H.Wayne Huizenga Startup Award. South Florida is home to many successful innovative businesses and entrepreneurs. Marcos Cordero, Chief GradSaver and CEO of College Savings Holding LLC, is leading his team to success, while maintaining true to the mission of making college easy for families across the country. GradSave is changing the way families save for college.

Today the skyrocketing costs of sending kids to college are making it difficult for parents. According to a survey by the College Board, a moderate budget to attend a private college is $43,289. The average number of children in an American family is 2 per household. This means the average American must save over $80,000 if they want their kids to get a higher education without the burden of student loans. That is a lot of money for 2 people to come up with, even more of a stretch for families with a single income. GradSave is doing their part by helping thousands of parents save for their child’s college costs by using the crowd-funding model.

GradSave provides online tools that allow their members an easy way for friends and relatives to contribute to a child's 529 college savings plan. GradSave will link to the 529 college savings plan of your choice, giving parents the freedom to use an already established or new 529 plans which the account owner feels will best benefit their family. Once a free GradSave account is setup the parent can create a child profile. Members then share their profile via social media, email or web link, which can be printed or shared. Birthdays, Bar Mitzvahs, school accomplishments, memorial services, baptisms, birth announcements and baby showers are just a few ways parents are using their GradSave accounts. Visitors to a GradSave profile can contribute with a credit card or electronic check for a one-time contribution or set up automatic monthly contributions.

GradSave was created by Marcos Cordero and Irma Grondin. Grondin, a successful corporate attorney at a global law firm and mother, realized that she didn’t want any more “stuff” for her newborn daughter. Instead, she thought, “Why not have our family and friends share in our child’s special occasion by giving them a gift that would last a lifetime. Even a $10 gift will grow to so much more when it’s time to go to college.” Prior to GradSave, Marcos Cordero had a successful career in management consulting, primarily in the Strategy and Operations Group at Deloitte Consulting, where he advised a variety of Fortune 500 clients. Marcos holds a BS in mechanical engineering from MIT and an MBA from Harvard Business School.