Mira to Toast Tech Titans
Langellier says the Mira Awards come at a time in the tech sector when "the winds are behind us."
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe chief executive officer of Indiana’s technology industry initiative says this weekend’s Mira Awards will provide a major boost for the sector by shining a spotlight on the companies and people fueling its growth. TechPoint CEO Mike Langellier says the organization has made a concerted effort to "amplify the stories" of the winners "beyond the people in the room." More than 850 people are expected to attend this weekend’s event.
He says past winners have inked deals with Fortune 500 companies and secured major investments, with one receiving an invitation from the White House.
In February, TechPoint announced 98 individual, product and company nominations in 14 categories. Since then, a panel of judges has conducted interviews and deliberations to pick winners to be honored at Saturday’s black-tie awards ceremony and gala in Indianapolis.
Langellier says the Mira Awards come at a time in the tech sector when "the winds are behind us." He says 200 college students and new graduates are coming to central Indiana in June to take part in fellowship programs at 45 companies. Those students were selected from among more than 900 applicants from 58 universities in 16 states and multiple countries. Langellier says the sector has also recently seen significant venture and angel investment.
TechPoint has already announced two Mira winners. Indianapolis-based Salesforce Marketing Cloud Chief Executive Officer Scott McCorkle has been named the 2016 Trailblazer in Technology. Former Speakeasy Executive Director Denver Hutt, who passed away in January at the age of 28, is the organization’s first Community Champion of the Year.
Inside INdiana Business Television will feature exclusive interviews with Mira winners during the weekend of April 29-May 1.
The 2016 Mira Award nominees are:
PEOPLE
Rising Star Award
- Adam Gillaspie, Co-founder and Director of Engineering, PactSafe
- Ashton Chaffee, President, DinnerCall
- Jamie Steiner, Product Manager – Analytics, Angie’s List
- Lindsay Ewing, Program Engineer, Raytheon
- Michael Welling, Associate Software Engineer, BidPal
- Teresa Becker, Owner,
- TKB Consulting
- Tim Balz, President, Freedom Chairs
- Tim Hickle, Digital Marketing Strategist, MilesHerndon
- Tom Hanley, Founder and Executive Director, Nine13sports
- Zack Baker, CEO, PassWhiz
Investor of the Year
- Bill Godfrey, 4G Ventures
- Don Aquilano, Allos Ventures
- Don Courtney, eBricks Group
- Hyde Park Venture Partners
- Maggie Musgrave, Innovate Indiana Fund
- Michael Earley, Advisor
- Simon Venture Group
Tech Educator of the Year
- 1st Maker Space
- Andy Harris, Sr. Lecturer, Computer Science, IUPUI
- Ball State Achievements Team, Ball State University
- Calvin Hendryx-Parker, CTO,
- Six Feet Up
- Dan Rigsby, Senior Software Architect, Angie’s List
- Dow AgroSciences Science Ambassadors
- Dr. David Fisher, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
- Dr. Kylie Pepple, Associate Professor of Learning Sciences, Indiana University
- Duke Realty Corporation
- Eleven Fifty Academy
- Miles Z. Sterrett, Partner, Fretless
- Tammy Laughner, CEO and Founder VIMME Learning
PRODUCTS
Best New Tech Product
- BoxFox
- Clear Software
- DATTUS
- DemandJump
- Enspire Commerce, an enVista company.
- Interactive Intelligence
- PAN – Performance Assessment Network
- POLARIS Laboratories®
- Rook Security
- Springbuk Analytics
- TinderBox Close™
Innovation of the Year
- Angie’s List
- DemandJump
- ExactHire
- Lectio
- Mesh Systems
- Monon Bioventures
- Raytheon Mission Data Server
- Rundown
- TinderBox Insights™
- y!kes
COMPANIES
Company Culture of the Year
- Angie’s List
- Delivra
- DoubleMap
- eImagine Technology Group
- Formstack
- Hanapin Marketing
- MOBI
- Moser Consulting
- Return Path
- Squaremouth
- Studio Science
- TrendyMinds
Corporate Innovator of the Year
- Eli Lilly and Company
- InnovateMap
- mAccounting
- Telamon Corporation
- The Schneider Corporation
New Start-up of the Year (Launched 2015)
- BoxFox
- DemandJump
- Eleven Fifty Consulting
- Enspire Commerce, an enVista company
- Sigstr
- Torchlite Marketing™
- Upper Hand
- WorkHere
Tech Company of the Year ($20M+)
- Appirio
- First Internet Bank
- Interactive Intelligence
- Kinney Group
- NextGear Capital
- Renaissance Electronic Services
- Salesforce
- The AME Group
Scale-up of the Year ($100K-$5M)
- Bluebridge
- Cimcor
- Copper Mountain Technologies
- Springbuk
- PactSafe
- Perceivant
- pi lab – Edwin the Duck
- SmarterHQ
- Vennli
Scale-up of the Year ($5M-$20M)
- Blue Pillar
- Bluelock
- CloudOne
- Extension Healthcare
- Geofeedia
- MOBI
- Rook Security
- Scale Computing
Langellier says, with Indiana’s tech industry and work force, “the wind is behind us.”