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San Francisco is well known as one of the greatest hubs of innovation in the world. Winning a local award for innovation or excellent business practices is an honor in any city, and even more so in the Bay Area.
By winning a prestigious award, it can boost your B2B tech company’s credibility, solidify your brand as an industry leader, and attract top talent. Whether you have an internal marketing or communications associate, or work with a tech PR agency in San Francisco, these awards are worth keeping track of each year.
Each award program comes with its own benefits, networking opportunities, and resources. Winning a local award could help propel your business and give your company the recognition it deserves. Plus it just feels good to win! Here are some local awards to keep your eye on (or work with your tech PR agency to secure) in the San Francisco Bay Area:
The San Francisco Business Times and the Silicon Valley Business Journal join forces to honor and recognize companies of all sizes for outstanding company culture and business practices. The criteria is determined entirely on employee satisfaction via a survey provided by Best Places to Work. The survey covers topics such as trust in leadership, collaborative culture, personal engagement and satisfaction of individual needs through great benefits and perks.
There are four categories to enter based on company size: smallest (25-49 employees); small (50-99 employees); midsize (100-249 employees); large (250-999 employees); largest (1,000+ employees). All employees must be employed in the Bay Area to be eligible. As an Honoree of the Best Places to Work in the Bay Area Awards, companies will be featured in both the San Francisco Business Times and the Silicon Valley Business Journal publications.
The nomination period starts in January and ends in February. Businesses who made the list will be notified in March. The celebration event and publication of the Best Places to Work in the Bay Area are in April. A few companies to win this award in the past include Splunk, Salesforce, and Credit Karma
SInce 1963, the San Francisco Foundation Community Leadership Awards have honored non profits and individuals who strive to not only be leaders in the community but also strive to make a difference. The award is designed to advance the community-driven, sustainable, and innovative solutions that solve critical problems in the Bay Area.
While a for profit company is not eligible for this award, individuals working for any type of company or industry are. Previous award winners are not eligible and nominees must be in the San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo). Individuals can apply for the Leadership Award while non profit organizations can apply for both the Impact Award and Innovation Award. Past honorees include Childrens’ Book Press, Educators for Fair Consideration, and East Bay Community Law Center.
The East Bay Economic Development Alliance presents the East Bay Innovation Awards, honoring organizations and companies in the East Bay area who have demonstrated innovation and entrepreneurship. Being recognized as a East Bay Innovation Awards honoree could increase a company’s market strength and position them for partnership and investment.
There are 10 categories companies can be nominated in: Advanced Manufacturing, Arts and Culture, Built Environment, Community Impact, Education, Engineering and Design, Food, Life Sciences, Sustainability and Technology. Companies will be judged on the impactfulness of their innovation, what problems the innovation addresses, how the innovation affects the industry, leadership qualities of the company and the growth trajectory of the company based on the innovation.
Winners receive a feature in the San Francisco Business Times, they will be featured on the East Bay Innovation Awards website for a year, and they will be recognized in two media press releases. The award announcements take place in March. Past honorees include Medinas, Urban Bloc, and C3Nano.
Another prestigious award to be received from the San Francisco Business Times is the Fastest Growing Private Companies Award which recognizes both the Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area and the Top 50 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the East Bay Area. This award recognizes driven and dedicated companies that have shown incredible growth over a three year period. If a company has grown at least 10% in the past three fiscal years, they are encouraged to apply.
To qualify a company must be independent and privately held whether it be a corporation, proprietorship or partnership. The company must also show a three year sales history; for the 2021 awards the sales history will be for 2018, 2019 and 2020. Revenues in the fiscal year of 2017 must be greater than $200,000. The nomination deadline is in June and the awards are held in September.
Companies who are honored on either the 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area or the 50 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the East Bay Area will be recognized on the San Francisco Business Times website, in the San Francisco Business times paper, in The Book of Lists, and at the awards ceremony (whether it be virtual or not). Companies that have won a Fastest Growing Private Companies Award in the past include BayOne Solutions, Freedom Financial Network and Outschool.
About Savannah Burns: Savannah is a marketing and communications intern for Swyft, which is a tech PR agency in Austin and Houston and a top digital marketing and PR agency in Denver since its founding in 2011. Swyft recently opened a satellite office where it offers tech PR in San Francisco. Swyft was also listed as one of the top tech PR agencies in Texas by the B2B services review site, Clutch.co.
