10th edition Tech Trailblazers Awards open for entries

Today sees the opening of the 10th edition of the Tech Trailblazers Awards, with the big news of two new categories being added: Diversity Trailblazers and Investment Trailblazers, opening up entry to an even wider range of participants in the startup ecosystem.

The Tech Trailblazers Awards, the first independent global awards program dedicated to enterprise tech startups, is open to companies less than six years old and at C-series funding or below. The awards recognize outstanding innovation in AI, big data, blockchain, cloud, containers, developer tools, fintech, IoT, mobile, networking, security and storage. Enter at www.techtrailblazers.com.

Trailblazing technologies and the tech startup community wouldn’t be where they are without the people driving them, therefore the Female CxO and Male CxO categories recognize exceptional leadership. In addition, early-stage startups (two years old or less, without VC funding) are eligible for the Firestarter bursary, where they can apply to one tech category free of charge and will be entered automatically for the Firestarter Trailblazers award.  

New for 2021

It doesn’t stop there – two new categories have also been introduced for 2021 – the Diversity Trailblazers and Investment Trailblazers awards.

• The Diversity Trailblazers award is open to organizations within the enterprise tech startup ecosystem who are championing the full spectrum of diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives (including – but not limited to – age, disability, ethnicity, gender, neurodiversity, race, sexuality, and socioeconomic background).
• The Investment Trailblazers award is open to organizations of any age and size within the wider enterprise tech startup ecosystem who are developing innovative approaches to startup funding – including but not limited to accelerators, banks, government bodies, legal firms and VCs.

Judging these categories, Gerald Brady, Managing Director of Silicon Valley Bank, joins the global panel of industry experts including Head Judge Steve O’Donnell (CIO, The Coventry Building Society), Joe Baguley (CTO EMEA, VMware), Dr. Jacqui Taylor (CEO, FlyingBinary), and Enrico Signoretti (Analyst, GigaOM) to name but a few. 

Rose Ross, Founder and Chief Trailblazer of The Tech Trailblazers Awards, said: “Since launching The Tech Trailblazers Awards in 2012, we’ve worked to champion startup growth and shone a spotlight on new, innovative technologies. For our 10^th edition, we felt it was crucial to highlight growth within not just the startups, but the wider tech startup ecosystem with a focus on financing with the new Investment Trailblazers award, and the importance of nurturing strong DE&I culture across the tech startup landscape with the Diversity Trailblazers award. 

“The awards are an excellent opportunity to gain valuable exposure to our panel of industry experts, potential investors and industry itself. Winning an award is a strong indicator of future success, our alumni pool of winners and runners-up have raised a jaw-dropping $9.8 billion in VC funding post-winning, and 54 of them have since been acquired by enterprises including Cisco, Google Cloud, IBM, Microsoft, RedHat and VMware. An impressive track record!”

Winners and runners-up are determined by a global judging panel, combined with a public vote. Entrants are assessed in the following areas: agility, diversity, leadership, go-to-market strategy, innovation, and demand for technology. 

Key information

Dates for your diary:

• Early Bird deadline is August 4^th at 23:59pm Pacific Time. 
• Entries close on September 10^th at 23:59pm Pacific Time. 

FREE: remember that early-stage startups (two years old or less, without VC funding) are eligible for the Firestarter bursary, where they can apply to one tech category free of charge and will be entered automatically for the Firestarter Trailblazers award.

For more information, visit www.techtrailblazers.com, follow @techtrailblaze, or listen to the #OnFire podcasts.