In Charlotte, technology talent is bursting at the seams. On April 4 at Founder’s Hall, Charlotte’s technology scene came together to celebrate that talent at the Blue Diamond Awards.
Charlotte Area Technology Collaborative (CATC) recognized local companies for their work in technology. CATC is a non-profit dedicated to “uniting businesses, education, government, economic development and community organizations to inspire students, advance the technology profession and grow a diverse talent pipeline.” This is the group's fifth year hosting.
The Honors
At the awards ceremony, well-known local founders shared stories and presented awards in different categories. The hosts honored many Charlotte-based companies.
Firstly, the small-to-medium Business Impact category looked at the company with the greatest business value via use of IT solutions. That award went to IT business decision engine CloudGenera.
Next came the entrepreneur who turned a vision into a profitable business through the direct application of IT. For that, Rob Cummings from DealCloud came out on top for the IT Entrepreneurship award.
Cummings, whose SAAS company provides merger and acquisition deal management, recently sold to Silicon Valley software company, Intapp, for an undisclosed amount.
In addition, the Cool Innovation category award recognized a new approach to an old problem for lasting changes. Customer analytics and feedback company Stratifyd took that crown. Founded by Derek Wang, who just closed out his Series-B funding, Wang said he and his team were honored to receive the award.
“We place our loyalty in our clients, we place our loyalty in the city of Charlotte,” Wang said. Moreover, he hopes to add jobs in Charlotte while supporting women in tech, and minorities in tech.
Wang also said the company plans to open an incubator to embrace entrepreneurship in the area.
In addition, American Tire Distributors (ATD) took home three awards: Human Capital, Corporate Business Impact and the Analytics and Big Data Business Impact categories. Huntersville-based ATD distributes tires to independent dealers throughout the country.
In conclusion, Kay Read, CATC’s executive director, thanked everyone and discussed the future of the Charlotte tech and business scene.
