Winners of the 2024 Community Awards

After seven weeks of nominations and voting that spanned the final storms of winter and the early shoots of spring, the results of Startup Boston's Community Awards are in. And the finger crossing, anticipation and hand wringing was all worth it.

This was a grassroots competition designed to celebrate the region’s vibrant startup ecosystem. Members of the startup community made the nominations and three judges who are deeply entrenched in that world – Bobbie Carlton, Rachel Leigh Gross and Ian Cain – took the hard decisions to pick winners across nine categories.

The winners reflect the very best of New England’s business community. They span industries from digital healthcare to supply-chain decarbonization, and underscore the power of diversity that makes the region’s startup scene among the country’s most prolific and successful. Above all, these winners represent the future of New England, and point to an economy of inclusion, growth and relentless innovation.

Click here for a full list of winners and nominees and keep reading!

The Winners of Startup Boston's 2024 Community Awards

 

Startup of the Year: UBERDOC 

This female-founded digital healthcare company set out to make healthcare affordable, and has built a nationwide network of physicians across specialties to offer priority appointments for those in need.

Founder of the Year: Brianna Socci

In addition to founding UBERDOC, Brianna is an advocate for diversity in entrepreneurship and has led multiple investment rounds, all while promoting and supporting underrepresented groups in tech.

Investor of the Year: Tasneem Dohadwala 

As founding partner of Excelestar Ventures, Tasneem’s career has focused to a large degree on diversity and inclusion – particularly empowering women. As part of this commitment, more than six in ten of Excelestar’s portfolio companies are minority-led, and half are female-led.

Most Likely to Be the Next Unicorn: Grain Ecosystem, Inc. 

Grain is a pre-seed, revenue positive company with a focus on decarbonizing the supply chain. It’s backed by Schneider Electric Ventures and was incubated at Greentown Labs – and is a resident at QUBIC Labs.

Student Founder: Jashin Lin

Jashin in 2022 founded Growbie, which helps international students with skill development, community building and employment opportunities. In the past year, the startup has grown to more than 600 paying customers and $120K in revenue.

Accelerator: FORGE

FORGE has supported more than 800 startups across sectors ranging from medical devices to cleantech and consumer products; of note, its startup network is more than 40% minority led, 25% underrepresented ethnicity led, and 33% female/non-binary led.

Community Builder: Marisa Nieves

As the Director of MA Programs for Innovation studio, Marisa helps early-stage startups access curriculum, mentorship opportunities and capital. She volunteers as a judge for MassChallenge, serves as a strategic partnership specialist advisor for National Diversity Fairs, and is a business mentor for EforAll Roxbury.

Equity Champion: CIC Social Impact Program

CIC champions diversity programs in Massachusetts through its Social Impact Program, which supports small organizations led by historically underserved entrepreneurs. It offers a network of partner institutions, investors and mentors to deliver content and advice for its cohort of founders to grow and scale.

People First: Building PPL 

Building PPL is a woman-owned learning & development consulting company serving small to mid-sized construction businesses by connecting them with grants and vendors, with an emphasis on finding the right role for the employee that isn’t always tied to their career history.

Congratulations to the 2024 community awards winners! Stay tuned for additional blogs featuring each winner. To stay in the loop, subscribe to our newsletter!

About the author: Randall Woods is a former editor at Bloomberg News and currently is a Senior Vice President at SBS Comms, a communications agency for technology companies and startups.