PHL Inno, the Philadelphia Business Journal's innovation and technology vertical, celebrated its 2024 Fire Award honorees on Aug. 15 at Yards Brewing Co. in Philadelphia.
The Fire Awards are PHL Inno's premier awards program, showcasing the businesses, institutions and individuals driving the region’s innovation scene forward. In total, this year's Fire Awards recognized 15 individuals and companies across four categories: igniters, igniting, ablaze and blazers.
To determine the honorees, PHL Inno sought nominations from the public as well as input from our editorial team. Companies range from growth-stage startups to local tech pillars while individual honorees include founders, CEOs and investors.
The afternoon event kicked off with networking and was followed by a one-on-one interview with Sneha Shah, head of new business ventures at SEI. The discussion was led by PHL Inno reporter Ryan Mulligan and touched on what Shah looks for when investing in a startup, the evolution of artificial intelligence, the differences between corporate backing and traditional venture capital, and Greater Philadelphia's startup ecosystem as a whole.
Click through the gallery below to see highlights from the event.
2024 Fire Awards
The 2024 Fire Awards were held Aug. 15 at Yards Brewing
Sam Carlen Visuals
The 2024 Fire Awards were held Aug. 15 at Yards Brewing
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Nicholas Shettsline of Morgan Lewis & Bockius chats with two other attendees.
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Nathan Buchbinder of Proscia networks ahead of the awards program.
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From left: Lewis Sorokin of Wilftek, Robert Tobia of KPMG, honoree Mark Gaudiosi or Burro, Anthony Salter of KPMG and Rebecca Paranto of KPMG.
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Thomas White, Derek Hammel and Matthew Firuta accepted the award for iEcure, one of this year's honorees.
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From left: Katie Teuber, Aize Asowata, Laura Plunkett, Allison Bishop and Kristina Rahusen attended on behalf of honoree Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs.
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Kristen Fitch (center) and Sandra Gomberg (right) of the University City Science Center chat with Charles Sacco of Drexel University.
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Jennifer Cardinale (center) and Meghan Moses of Bank of America chat with another attendee.
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From left: Johannes van der Loo, Nathan Buchbinder, Katherine Helbig, Susan Furth and Peter Groilman
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Reporter Ryan Mulligan interviewed Sneha Sheh of SEI during the event.
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Sneha Shah, head of new business ventures at SEI, sat down with reporter Ryan Mulligan for a one-on-one interview.
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Attendees listen to the interview with Shah.
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Shah touched on various topics including artificial intelligence, corporate funding for startups, and the ecosystem in general.
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Susan Furth, Johannes van der Loo, and Katherine Helbig accept the award on behalf of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
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Allison Bishop, Aize Asowata, Laura Plunkett, Kristina Rahusen and Katie Teuber accept the award on behalf of Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs.
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Gloria Bell and Isabelle Kent accept the award on behalf of Philly Startup Leaders.
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Mark Gaudiosi accepts the award on behalf of Burro.
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Derek Hammel, Matthew Firuta, and Thomas White accept the award on behalf of iEcure.
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Nathan Buchbinder accepts the award on behalf of Proscia.
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Rob Huberty accepts the award on behalf of ZeroEyes.
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Donna De Carolis accepts her Blazers award.
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Sam Whitaker accepts his Blazers award.
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Tiffany Wilson accepts her Blazers award.
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The 2024 Fire Awards honorees pose for a photo.
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Read more about this year's Fire Awards here.
