You've seen the emails. The bits in The Beat newsletter telling you to submit your nominations. But what exactly is Charlotte's Inno on Fire awards?
Great question. First, let's zoom out just a tad.
Across the entire American Inno network of digital media publications, Inno on Fire is considered its premier awards show. It’s a celebration of companies, entrepreneurs and other entities doing particularly incredible work in their respective ecosystems, driving change for the better and improving both their communities and the world.
Charlotte Inno will be no exception, posting (and hosting) its own Inno on Fire awards editorial and subsequent event on Jan. 23.
The winners (those named "on fire") are chosen after the Charlotte Inno team examines nominations from readers like yourselves. Combined with editorial insight, these submissions drive what organizations and individuals make the list. Nominations in Charlotte are open through Nov. 17.
Many often wonder what makes someone — or something — “On Fire,” and worthy of nomination and acclaim. It’s a rather wide net. While Charlotte Inno primarily focuses on area tech- and startup-adjacent communities, we believe that innovation doesn’t necessarily mean a cool new app or millions of dollars in fundraising (although that certainly does count). Has your company expanded from one founder to a staff of five as you scale? It’s On Fire. Is your mission and its story fascinating enough that it’s gotten a lot of press and galvanized clients? On Fire. Did you start mentoring a handful of aspiring entrepreneurs and are noticing growth as your relationship continues? On Fire. The list goes on and on [Check out this and this example from other markets to get an even better idea of what we're looking for.].
Once nominations close, we'll get to work choosing the winners, which we'll debut in an editorial post. We'll then celebrate the inaugural Charlotte On Fire class at the aforementioned Jan. 23 event. There, we’ll not only eat, drink and enjoy the company of those movers and shakers who make up the Charlotte ecosystem, but we’ll also announce the identities of the Inno Blazers — otherwise known as category winners.
The best part? We'll do this again every year.
And while there's certainly a lot of pomp and circumstance regarding the whole process, the mission is simple: to highlight the fact that Charlotte's tech scene is doing incredible things.
