Lisa Daly impressed everyone so much with the development of a sensory device for people with autism that she is on her way to starting a new business.

Daly was the first place winner of the Rockville Economic Development's annual StartRight! business plan competition. Now in its ninth year, the contest aims to foster women in business by investing in female entrepreneurs to pitch a detailed business plan, which are then put in the running for $20,000 in prize money.  

Founder of Sensory Shield LLC in North Bethesda, Md., Daly designed a device for people who are highly sensitive to touch or have difficulty processing information from their senses. According to Daly, who said she is autistic herself, it is a condition common in people with autism.

The $268 million Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union in Germantown, Md., recently presented Daly with a $5,000 check for winning the StartRight! competition.

She said she will use the money to help further the development of an apparatus that creates a physical barrier between two people when seated in a crowded location as well as to continue her business.

All of the StartRight! winners were honored at REDI's recent Women Business Center Power Conference in at the Bethesda Marriott Hotel in Bethesda.

Based in Rockville, Md., REDI is a public-private partnership formed in 1997 to strengthen and broaden the city's economic base through business recruitment, retention, and expansion programs, according to the organization's website.

This is the second year that Mid-Atlantic FCU has supported the StartRight! competition, said Michael Richardson, vice president of community relations.