Launches two new categories: Diversity Trailblazers and Investment Trailblazers
London, UK – June 22nd 2021 – The 10th edition of The Tech Trailblazers Awards, the first independent global awards program dedicated to enterprise tech startups, opens for entries today.
Tech Trailblazers logo
Companies less than six years old and at C-series funding or below are encouraged to enter at www.techtrailblazers.com. The awards recognize outstanding innovation in AI, big data, blockchain, cloud, containers, developer tools, fintech, IoT, mobile, networking, security and storage.
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.
What’s new in 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 10th 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 dates for your diary: the Early Bird deadline is August 4th. Entries close on September 10th at 23: 59pm Pacific Time.
For more information, visit www.techtrailblazers.com, follow @techtrailblaze, or listen to the #OnFire podcasts.
[ends]
Notes to editors
Founded in 2012, the Tech Trailblazers Awards was the first independent awards program dedicated to enterprise information technology startups, helping identify the most innovative companies and concepts in a range of categories. Entrants from anywhere in the world are invited to nominate themselves, with shortlists for each category chosen by the Tech Trailblazers’ panel of leading IT industry experts. Winners are identified by a combination of judging panel opinions and public vote.
The Tech Trailblazers Awards are supported by sponsors and industry partners including AfriLabs, Amoo Venture Capital Advisory, beSUCCESS, bnetTV, China-Axlr8r, Cloud Security Alliance, Computing, Enterprise Times, The Green Grid, GSMA, The Icehouse, Infosecurity Magazine, Innovation Warehouse, Launchpad Europe, L’Informaticien, MIT/Stanford Venture Lab, The Next Silicon Valley, Outsource, Prezi, The Register, Silicon Cape Initiative, Skolkovo, StarTau, Startup America, Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA), Tech in Asia, TechNode, TiE Silicon Valley, Wazoku, Ventureburn and VMware.
For more information, visit www.techtrailblazers.com or follow @techtrailblaze.
# # #
Media contact
Vicki Porter
Omarketing
+44 (0)20 8255 5225
[email protected]