It’s been a tough year for startups, with many forced to tighten their belts and lay off employees as venture capital funding dried up. Despite the national funding slump, Philadelphia-area startups continue to prove they’ve got fight in them, with the region landing among the top metros for venture capital deals in the first quarter and being ranked among the world's top 30 startup ecosystems with a value of $68 billion.
Even in the face of adversity, local startups continue to innovate. It is for their adaptability and persistence that we are recognizing this year’s Fire Awards honorees. Now in its second year, the Fire Awards are PHL Inno’s premiere awards program, showcasing the businesses, institutions and individuals driving the region’s innovation scene forward.
This year we are recognizing a total of 20 companies and individuals across four categories. Companies range from growth-stage startups to local tech pillars while individual honorees include founders, CEOs, accelerators and investors.
In order to determine the honorees, PHL Inno sought nominations from the public as well as suggestions from our editorial team. We’ll celebrate the honorees at an event on Aug. 10 at Yards Brewing in Philadelphia as well as in a special print edition of the Philadelphia Business Journal on Aug. 11.
In print and at the event, we’ll reveal this year’s Blazers, those that are making the biggest waves in the innovation ecosystem locally.
Here are all of this year’s Fire Awards honorees in alphabetical order:
- Annovis Bio – Berwyn
- Bach – Philadelphia
- Boomi – Chesterbrook
- CampusESP – Philadelphia
- Cecilian Partners – New Hope
- Clinical Ink – Horsham
- Ellen Weber, Robin Hood Ventures – Philadelphia
- Hopeworks – Philadelphia
- InductEV – King of Prussia
- Kamel Khalili, Temple University’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine; Excision Bio – Philadelphia
- Kathleen Brunner, Acumen – Blue Bell
- LoanStar Technologies – Swarthmore
- Mac Macleod, Carvertise – Wilmington, Delaware
- NeuroFlow – Philadelphia
- Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center of Bucks County – Doylestown
- Pennovation Works – Philadelphia
- PurpleLab – Wayne
- Sylvester Mobley, Plain Sight Capital, Coded by Kids – Philadelphia
- The Innovation Space – Wilmington, Delaware
- Trinity Packaging Supply – Voorhees Township, New Jersey
