Starting a company is hard. Scaling one is harder.
Somewhere between the startup and the established business is the most demanding stage of all. Headcount doubles, markets open, processes break, and the chief executive has to change how they lead almost every year.
The Scaleup CEO Awards exist to recognise the leaders who get a company through it, and keep what made it special along the way.
Growing fast.
Leading well.
Recognised.
The leaders taking companies from promising to proven.
The Scaleup CEO Awards are for chief executives of companies growing quickly, whatever their sector or funding.
The Hyper-grower
Doubling the company, and doing it again.
The Market Opener
Taking the business into new countries.
The Culture Keeper
Growing without losing what made the company work.
The Founder Who Grew
Who became the CEO the company needed.
The Operator
Building the systems that let growth last.
The Brought-in CEO
Hired to scale, and scaling.
Which scaleup leader came to mind?
Growth looks easy from the outside.
Hiring more people in a year than the company had in its first five.
Rebuilding every system that worked at twenty people but not at two hundred.
Opening in a new country with no local network.
Keeping early employees engaged as the company changed around them.
Letting go of doing everything, and learning to lead leaders.
This is what scaling asks of a CEO.
Doing it well deserves recognition.
“You grew the company.”
“And you grew with it.”
Scaling isn't only about headlines and funding rounds.
Some of the most impressive scaling happens without a single press release.
Perhaps you grew profitably, without investment.
Perhaps you entered a market the big players ignored.
Perhaps you kept your attrition low while hiring fast.
Perhaps you rebuilt the leadership team without losing momentum.
Perhaps your growth is steady, and that is the point.
The question isn't:
“Are we growing fast enough to qualify?”
A better question might be:
“Have I led this growth well?”
The discipline behind real growth.
Sustainable growth
Growth that the business can actually carry.
Leadership evolution
Changing how you lead as the company changes.
Talent at scale
Hiring quickly without lowering the bar.
Operational strength
Building the processes that let growth last.
Market expansion
Opening new markets with care and conviction.
Culture
Keeping the company recognisable as it grows.
In a scaling company, recognition can fuel momentum.
Credibility
Independent recognition can add weight with customers, partners and investors.
Hiring
It can help attract senior talent to a growing company.
Momentum
A signal to the whole company that the growth is working.
Profile
A story to share as you enter new markets.
Peer network
An evening among CEOs going through the same stage.
A milestone
A moment in the growth story worth marking.
Recognition only matters when it is earned.
The value of an award depends on the integrity behind it, so the way entries are judged should be clear before anyone enters.
Independent judging
Entries are scored by an independent panel, not by the organisers, working under a confidentiality agreement.
Read moreConflicts managed
Judges declare any conflict of interest and stand aside from the entries it touches.
Read moreSponsors support the awards. They never decide the results.
Scaleup CEOs are always looking at the next target.
They may say:
“We're only getting started.”
“Ask me after the next milestone.”
“The team is doing the hard work.”
And sometimes that is exactly why somebody else needs to say:
“Look how far you have come.”
“The team followed you.”
“You deserve to be recognised.”
If a scaleup leader came to mind, perhaps their nomination starts with you.
From a name to the night itself.
Discover
Find the award category that fits the achievement best.
Nominate
Nominate yourself, or a scaleup leader you admire.
Tell the story
Share what was achieved, and the difference it made.
Judging
Eligible entries are judged against the published criteria.
Recognition
Finalists and winners are celebrated at the awards.
Every scaleup has the moment it stopped being small.
Scaling is made of moments like these.
Leading through them is the achievement.
Growth is the result. Leadership is the story.
Maybe it is the CEO who doubled the team.
Maybe it is the leader opening a new market.
Maybe it is the founder who became the CEO the company needed.
Or maybe it is you.
Don't wait for the next milestone.
The story is already worth telling.