Advanta Announces First Monthly ideablob.com Finalists

Advanta Corp. (NASDAQ:ADVNB; ADVNA) today announced October’s eight ideablob.com finalists for the $10,000 monthly contest prize. They are: Jason Belanger of Jacksonville, FL; Alex Botham of Castlerock, CO; Elizabeth Dehart of West Jordan, UT; James A. Gillmore of New York, NY; Thomas Krieglstein of Chicago, IL; Kerrin Russell of Laytonsville, MD; Scott Stadum of Washington, DC, and Georja Umano of Santa Monica, CA. Launched by Advanta in September, ideablob.com is where small businesses and entrepreneurs can share and grow their business ideas – and have a chance to win $10,000 towards fulfilling them. The finalists include the top two winners from each of the first three weeks of October, as voted on by the ideablob.com community. In addition, the finalists include two contestants who received the most votes overall from the community throughout the first three weeks. The finalist that receives the most votes from the ideablob.com community between October 20, 2007 and October 30, 2007 will win October’s $10,000 prize. The ideablob.com community is free to join and open to anyone. "We’re thrilled that the initial group of finalists represents the diversity of small business and entrepreneurship across America,” said Ami Kassar, Advanta’s Chief Innovation Officer. "These eight finalists are great examples of the innovative spirit inherent in today’s small business community.” Here is more information about the finalists and their ideas. Jason Belanger, Jacksonville, FL Jason is a 33-year-old software engineer. His idea is WhenToVote.com, an election information website created to provide voters with information about the national, state and local candidates and issues. Alex Botham of Castlerock, CO Alex works in District Sales for one of the world’s largest IT companies. His idea is to create a scheduling and booking website for meeting and event planners. Elizabeth Dehart, West Jordan, UT Elizabeth is a 32-year-old mother of two. Her idea is to start a company that designs and installs rainwater collection systems for garden and yard irrigation. James A. Gillmore, New York, NY James, 21, works in web marketing and develops web 2.0 applications. His idea is to create a real estate website that offers tools to help people find properties (for sale or rent, residential or commercial) by video. Thomas Krieglstein, Chicago, IL Tom is a 31-year-old life-long entrepreneur. His idea is to develop freshman orientation software that integrates with MySpace and Facebook. Kerrin Russell, Laytonsville, MD Kerrin is an entrepreneur and 30-year-old mother of three. Her idea is to develop a pacifier that lights up when it falls out of a child’s mouth. Scott Stadum, Washington, DC Scott is a 30-year-old contractor with the U.S. Government. His idea is to develop an application for Facebook that will connect Peace Corps volunteer projects around the world to Facebook members who are willing to donate time/energy/resources to those projects. Georja Umano, Santa Monica, CA Georja is an actress and adult education teacher. Her idea is to create a dog beach in the Santa Monica area, a project she has been working on for about three years. Beginning on November 1, 2007, the ideablob.com contest will begin again with all new ideas. October entrants may re-submit ideas for November and subsequent months. Eight finalists who will compete for November’s $10,000 contest prize will be named approximately one month from now. There is no purchase necessary to enter the ideablob.com contest. Contest began on 9/24/07 at 12:00:00 am CT and ends on 3/31/08 at 11:59:59 pm CT. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. states and D.C. who are of the legal age of majority in their state of residence at the time of entry. Void where prohibited. Official Rules are available online at www.ideablob.com. Sponsored by Advanta Bank Corp, PO Box 30715, Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0715. About Advanta Advanta is one of the nation’s largest credit card issuers (through Advanta Bank Corp.) in the small business market today. Advanta’s exclusive focus on this market, as well as its size, experience and commitment to developing meaningful product offerings and a high level of service tailored to the needs of small businesses, differentiate the company from other issuers. Founded in 1951, Advanta has long been an innovator in developing and introducing many of the marketing techniques that are common in the financial services industry today. Learn more about Advanta at www.advanta.com.