Philly Startup Leaders mercilessly roasted these Summer BBQ award winners

Around 450 people gathered at the Piazza at Schmidt’s Commons last Thursday, against the backdrop of WeWork’s NoLibs location, to network and schmooze at Philly Startup Leaders’ Summer BBQ.

The reggae sounds of Cultureal at last night's Philly @startupleaders BBQ pic.twitter.com/vUI5jpbxSM

— Technical.ly (@Technical_ly) August 12, 2016

Still reeling from the day before — when we at Technical.ly held Super Meetup — the tech crowd gathered once again to chat about the state of affairs over some burgers and drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, a trend we hope is catching on).

We're at Philly @startupleaders' Summer BBQ #PSLBBQ2016 pic.twitter.com/DwmlAgh8f8

— Technical.ly (@Technical_ly) August 11, 2016

But besides the swapping of business cards and the elevator pitches so natural to tech events, this BBQ was also the venue for the Summer Roast Awards, an attempt to have a very polite laugh at the preconceived notions of Philly tech organizations.
With categories like “The Emerging Politician” — which poked fun at Curalate’s DNC announcement — and “The Eternal Winner” — a nod at the how Scholly, ROAR for Good and MilkCrate seem to always win one thing or another — the awards were a symbolic shoutout to the community’s lead characters.
Oh, and our constant support of the Philly tech scene earned us the Happiness Heroes Award.
Here’s the full list of winners:

1. “The Emerging Politician” Award (Presented by UKTI)

• Nominees: Azavea, Skyless Gaming, Curalate
• Winner: Curalate

2. “The Building Burster” Award (Presented by Saul Ewing)

• Nominees: Zoomer, Sidecar, Relay
• Winner: Zoomer

3. “The Brave New World” Award (Presented by Safeguard Scientifics)

• Nominees: Biomeme, BioBots, ThirdEye Technology
• Winner: Biomeme

4. “The Eternal Winner” Award (Presented by Pepper Hamilton)

• Nominees: MilkCrate, ROAR for Good, Scholly
• Winners: Three-way tie (of course)

5. “The Happiness Heroes” Award (Presented by Broadpath)

• Nominees: RevZilla, Seer Interactive, Technical.ly
• Winner: Technical.ly

“The BBQ was awesome,” PSL honcho Yuval Yarden told Technical.ly the following day. “Every year the event grows so much. It’s a community I love and I feel awesome because we get to bring them all in one place.”
During the event, PSL also officially launched Philly Tech Guide, a quick way to answer some key questions about Philly and its tech scene (you should also check out this infographic guide we put together during the 2016 Tomorrow Tour).