Ready to vote (again), Delaware? Meet your 2024 Technical.ly Award nominees

We know: You just voted. You spent weeks hearing about voting, discussing voting, and maybe you just want to move on from voting. But this time it will be more fun, we swear.

It’s time to celebrate the best of Delaware’s tech and entrepreneurship ecosystem in the annual Technical.ly Awards, as chosen by our readers.

These annual year-end honors go beyond our RealLISTs to let you recognize more of the hard work put in to build up our tech, startup and related communities.

Our categories this year expand the definition of “innovation,” incorporating social media creators, educators and programs. We curated the following nominees from a mix of reader nominations and our own research and prior coverage. 

Check out this year’s Technical.ly Awards finalists below, then cast your vote. Voting closes Nov. 18, and we’ll announce the winners by Thanksgiving.

Learn more about the nominees below.

Product of the Year

Think of this as the Sliced Bread Award: The technology product, service or upgrade from your area that had the most impact this year in society at large. 

• HouseCallVR — Originally created as a VR healthcare hub in Horizon Worlds, HouseCallVR took its immersive patient education platform to doctor’s offices, where patients can learn about conditions and procedures in VR without having to own any special equipment.
• NESTER — This app helps homeowners and homebuyers estimate how much money they need to save each month in anticipation of inevitable home repairs, and estimates when the work will need to be done. New Castle County is among the app’s clients, offering it for free to eligible homeowners/buyers.
• Smart Food Program app — Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long spearheaded this app with the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services. It uses algorithms to help SNAP customers save money on groceries while reducing food waste.
• Versogen — This Newark Greentech company hit a groundbreaking milestone in green hydrogen production. It can now produce clean energy at a scale that can power mass-produced hydrogen vehicles.

Educator of the Year

Who’s the Madam C.J. Walker of your community? The person, program or organization that made the greatest strides in helping people or companies in your area become more knowledgeable and aware.

• Deanna Bledsoe — Through her organization Kai Coders, this founder has created classes and summer camps for kids that incorporate software coding with hands-on, 3D projects.
• Vincent DiFelice — This popular prof at the University of Delaware Horn Entrepreneurship helps create aspiring entrepreneurs. One nominator described him as “the best professor I ever had.”
• Ashlee Cooper — The founder and CEO of Droneversity and a flight training specialist, Cooper is working to spread equitable drone education across Delaware.
• Dan Stabb — As director of admissions and professional development at Zip Code Wilmington, Stabb has helped many people in the region learn software development and find careers in tech.

Program of the Year

What brought all the buzz this year? The activation or effort that was the most memorable, touched the most people or made the most difference in the local innovation community.

• Swim with the Sharks — Now in its 7th year, the annual community pitch competition for startups and small businesses run by the New Castle County Chamber has evolved into a celebration of local entrepreneurship.
• Futures First Gaming — An esports education company with programming that includes partnerships with Red Clay School District and WilmU, FFG opened its brick-and-mortar esports center this year.
• Startup302 pitch competition — Originally created for Horn Entrepreneurship’s ill-fated 2020 NeoFest, the competition draws startups from all over the country, while also having a category just for Delaware entrepreneurs.
• VentureOn — This Horn program offers aspiring entrepreneurs resources and services, as well as weekly community sessions.

Online Creator of the Year

The online creative who best represented your hometown by sharing original, informative or engaging content — on social media or elsewhere.

• Jane Clark, BrandSwan — This Newark branding and marketing firm’s CEO shares relatable motivational content and eye-catching posts.
• Leonard Young, DelawareBlack — With a website and active social media following, DelawareBlack helps keep the culture connected and in the know.
• Alexis Harris, First State Destinations — This travel brand on Instagram and TikTok that gets people excited to visit places in Delaware, whether as a local or as a tourist.
• Jordan Gonzalez, 40 Second News — UD grad Jordan Gonzalez delivers the latest news in under a minute on Instagram and TikTok.

Power Move of the Year

Making waves: The strategic move that made the most difference to the local region overall.

• DuPont’s 3-way split — Post-Dow DuPont is strategically splitting into three smaller, more focused companies.
• Carvertise to triple revenue — This Wilmington-based national outdoor advertising company that wraps cars in client messaging is one of the fastest growing companies in the US. It’s been on a hiring spree this year as part of a plan to triple revenue in 5 years.
• Rep. Griffith heads new AI commission — Delaware launched an AI commission, and state Rep Krista Griffith was selected to lead it.
• Tariq Hook joins HXInnovations — The cofounder and former CIO of Code Differently returned to software developing as a senior software engineer with Wilmington sport tech company HXInnovations.

Money Move of the Year

The financial transaction that made the biggest splash in the local innovation community.

• Synnovation Therapeutics’ $70M raise — This precision medicine startup, based at the Delaware Innovation Space, had Greater Philadelphia’s biggest deal in Q4 2023. 
• Capital One’s $35B Discover acquisition — This major finance deal between two banks has lots of local ramifications, as both have a major Delaware presence.
• TeenSHARP receives $300k grant — WSFS Cares awarded the funding to this Wilmington-based organization that helps underresourced youth achieve their goals of attending top-tier universities.
• Incyte acquires Escient for $750M — Cancer drug developer Incyte entered the dermatology pharmaceutical sector with the acquisition of the company that developed an effective treatment for skin pigment loss.