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NEVY AwardsHollywood has the Oscars. New York has the Grammys. And while Jay-Z and Jennifer Lawrence weren’t on hand for the evening’s festivities, the New England Venture Capital Association rolled out the red carpet at the House of Blues on Wednesday evening for the third annual NEVY awards, a celebration of the best and brightest players in Boston’s tech and health care startup scene.
“It’s not that the world needs another award show,” NEVCA’s executive director, C.A. Webb, admitted. “But it’s a chance to channel a lot of attention to these really world-changing companies.”
Among this year’s winners were two of the city’s largest technology IPOs in recent time: Wayfair took home the prize for Exit of the Year, while Dharmesh Shah and Brian Halligan of Hubspot shared honors for Entrepreneurs of the Year (Shah was also named Angel of the Year).
Dharmesh Shah and Brian Halligan of Hubspot shared honors for Entrepreneurs of the Year. (Photo: Janelle Nanos)
Webb said the sheer number of biotech companies that went public in 2014 caused angst among judges — there were 17 in all — so they went with the kids soccer team approach and created a video celebrating all of the winners. “It was really earth shattering,” she said. “It was too good of a year to not support all of them.”
Over 800 attendees turned out for the event, which had a “Solid Gold” 70s disco theme.
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Winners in the technology sector
Hottest Startup: Seed – BookBub
Hottest Startup: A+ — PillPack
Rising Star Entrepreneur – Elias Torres, Driftt
Angel of the Year – Dharmesh Shah
Rising Star VC – Nicole Stata, Boston Seed Capital
Next Unicorn – Acquia
Funds of the Year – FKA Atlas and Founder Collective
Exit of the Year – Wayfair
Entrepreneurs of the Year – Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah, Hubspot
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Winners in the healthcare sector
Hottest Startup – Navitor Pharmaceuticals
Rising Star Entrepreneurs – Zoe Barry, ZappRX and Nancy Simonian, Syros Pharmaceuticals
Rising Star VC – Bruce Booth, Atlas Venture
Entrepreneur of the Year – Rushika Fernandopulle, Iora Health
Deal of the Year – Moderna Therapeutics
Janelle Nanos can be reached at [email protected] Follow her on Twitter @janellenanos.
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