Celebrate your tech community: Nominations are open for the 2024 Technical.ly Awards

It might not have the same impact as a funding raise or big promotion, but recognition from peers is one of the most rewarding things a hardworking professional can receive — and you have a chance to help spread the love.

Nominations are now open for the 2024 Technical.ly Awards. This is your chance to shout out the people, companies, products and programs moving your region’s innovation ecosystem forward. 

What are these awards? Throughout the year, we honor startups, technologists and ecosystem builders with our RealLISTs. These awards let the community shout out more of the great work and people contributing to the local landscape.

We’ve hosted these community-driven shoutouts annually for more than half a decade. We’ve highlighted dozens of impactful efforts, and the recognition has boosted reputations, sparked new connections and led to new deals. 

This year we’re back with a new set of categories. Check them out below and then rack your brain for the best contenders from your area. Who’s shaking up the creator economy? Building things with impact? Sharing necessary knowledge, crafting the infrastructure, activating capital or making waves in their industry? 

Nominations are open through 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 21, and then we’ll be back to let you vote on which finalist should receive top honors.

Keep reading for details on this year’s categories.

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. Nominate here.

• Impact can be defined in several ways: made lives easier, made people happier, encouraged economic growth or mobility — whatever it means to you.

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. Nominate here.

• Nominees could include accelerator mentors, academics, K-12 teachers, leaders of non-scholastic educational programs, professional development experts or others.

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. Nominate here.

• Nominees could include conferences, events, recurring meetups, professional development opportunities, accelerators or incubators, marketing efforts and more.

Creator of the Year

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

• Nominees could include influencers, artists, activists or even brand accounts, if appropriate.

Power Move of the Year

Making waves: The strategic move that made the most difference to the local region overall. Check our monthly Power Moves roundups for inspo. Nominate here.

• Nominees could include public or private sector partnerships, cross-organization program launches, headquarters or new office openings, big hires, new roles created or several others.

Money Move of the Year

The financial transaction that made the biggest splash in the local innovation community. Breeze through some of our monthly Money Moves roundups to get ideas. Nominate here.

• Nominees could include contracts won, fundraising rounds closed, grants awarded, acquisitions or exits, investors or funders otherwise engaged and others.

Our ultimate goal is to bring folks together and recognize the hard work that’s been happening, as well as what remains to be done. Join us by telling us who should get the spotlight.

Need inspiration? Check out Technical.ly Award winners from previous years, and also take a spin through the honorees in our RealLIST Startups, RealLIST Connectors and RealLIST Engineers.

Then submit your noms by the deadline of Oct. 21 — and maybe tell your colleagues to do it, too. More nominations doesn’t necessarily mean someone will be selected as a finalist, but it doesn’t hurt to show support.