The Austin Chamber of Commerce’s A-List awards are open for nominations, but you need to apply by Friday, April 8. The A-List, created in conjunction with SXSW, is the chamber’s list of Austin’s most innovative startups. The goal of the awards is to “increase visibility and recognition of Austin’s hottest innovators and startups to help recruit additional venture capital and top talent to Austin,” according to the A-List website.
This type of competition is increasingly important to Austin, as Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy’s recent study revealed that Austin is the only Texas city that is growing in Venture Capital investments. With the extremely diverse array of startups that call Austin home, this is likely to be some interesting competition, and we’re eager to see who makes it to the end.
The application seems fairly straightforward-company information, executives and partners information, etc. Investment stage categories include Emerging (early stage), Growth (mid stage), and Scale (later stage). Judging happens on a 1 to 5 scale with a focus on how innovative a company’s core ideal is, how practical and deliverable the idea is, whether the idea can create a sustainable business, and whether the company has the correct leadership to properly execute. The application closes at midnight on Friday.
The final awards ceremony will be held on May 11, 2016 at ACL Live at the Moody Theater. Winners will be revealed at this invite-only cocktail reception and signature fireside chat featuring startups, entrepreneurs, investors, innovators, and other VIP guests.
2015 winners of the A-List award included Sparefoot, Volusion, and Everfest.
Featured image from Pexels.com, Creative Commons licensed.
