Dwolla receives the Startup of the Year honor at the inaugural Silicon Prairie Awards in 2012.
Is it too late to give a nod to a Kansas City company for Startup of the Year? An Iowa City founder for Startup Executive of the Year? Or a University of Nebraska senior for Student Entrepreneur of the Year?
Nope—the deadline to nominate an individual, company or organization for a Silicon Prairie Award has been extended through the weekend. Now until 11:59 p.m. Sunday, you can give your props to your fellow Silicon Prairie startups.
Thanks to our sponsor
Nominations are the first step in a two-month community voting process that selects the 12 award honorees. Here’s an overview of that process:
- July 9-July 28 – Public nominations
- July 30-August 2 – Finalist voting by selection committee
- August 6-21 – Winner voting by public
- August 22-26 – Winner voting by selection committee
- August 29 – Awards celebration in Des Moines
It all culminates the evening of August 29 at the Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines, where the winners will be announced live on stage. This event features a keynote by The Brandery co-founder Dave Knox, an opening and closing reception and, of course, a few surprises.
Click here to snag a Silicon Prairie Awards ticket!
Rules: See bottom of this post for the complete rules of the Silicon Prairie Awards.
Nominate
Community Awards
Rules
The Silicon Prairie Awards celebrate Internet startups, investors, service providers and other startup community members in the Silicon Prairie.
To be eligible for the awards, companies or individuals must be headquartered or reside in the Silicon Prairie,* a region that is defined by its three flagship cities of Omaha, Des Moines and Kansas City, but includes the surrounding area: as far north as Sioux Falls, S.D. and Cedar Falls, Iowa; as far east as Iowa City, Iowa and Columbia, Mo.; as far south as the southernmost reaches of the Kansas City metro area; and as far west as Manhattan, Kan. and Lincoln, Neb.
The awards are given in recognition of business achievements and community contributions between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013. Selection of the finalists and winners is the result of community voting (via Silicon Prairie News’ website) and a selection committee representing a cross section of the region’s startup ecosystem. The committee will select four finalists per award category. Each finalist is invited to attend the award ceremony.
Companies and individuals may be nominated for more than one award and also may be finalists or winners in more than one category. Sponsors of Silicon Prairie News are eligible for the awards but will not be given special consideration. Everyone, regardless of geographic location, is invited to nominate companies and vote for the winner. There is no cost to submit an award nomination or to cast a vote. Silicon Prairie News reserves the right to discard any and all votes that are reasonably determined to be fraudulent.
The award winners will be selected through a popular vote on Silicon Prairie News’ website (one vote per category per IP address per day) and the selection committee. The winners will be announced at the Silicon Prairie Awards on August 29 in Des Moines.
*The Silicon Prairie Ambassador award requires that the individual no longer reside in the region but either have been born in or have strong ties to it.
More announcements are on the way. Sign up to stay in the know.
Sponsor the Silicon Prairie Awards: We’re looking for companies that would like to get up in front of hundreds of entrepreneurs, innovators and startups. If you’d like to learn more about our sponsorship opportunities for the awards, contact Regan Carrizales at regan@siliconprairienews.com.
Hat tip to the folks behind the Seattle 2.0 Awards who set an example for an awesome awards event showcasing a community.
Credits: Photo by Malone & Company.
