Where companies are recognized for their efforts & skills

What is TiE50?

TiE50 is TiE Silicon Valley's premier annual awards program, contested by thousands of early to mid-stage startups worldwide. Participating technology startups benefit from significant exposure to venture capitalists, angels, and entrepreneurs; in-person product showcasing, and business partnering/networking.

Now in the fourteenth year, the prestigious TiE50 awards recognize the top technology and technology-enabled startups. We invite all startups worldwide to participate, particularly early-stage companies to participate.

Since the inception of the TiE50 program, about 85% of the winners and top startups have been funded with over a billion dollars. Many of these companies got acquired or went IPO. At least 29 of the exits were over $100 Million, e.g., FireEye (IPO), Mulesoft (IPO), Pearl Therapeutics (acquired by Astra Zeneca), and Velocloud (acquired by VMware).

TiE SV and the TiE50 program is also in partnership with the "Meet the Drapers" show. Approximately 10 to 12 companies from the 50 winners will be selected by the Draper Team to pitch to them at TiEcon 2023 and have a chance to win a spot on season 6 of "Meet the Drapers" show.

How does TiE50 work?

A select panel of experts, including venture capitalists, angel investors, corporate executives, and successful entrepreneurs will screen the companies on TheBizPlanner Competition edition. Scoring is done on each company's IP, business model, traction, and team. This process weeds through the applicant pool to select the very best startup finalists.

The selected startups will pitch on May 4 at TiEcon 2023 with a 3 minute video recording and will have the opportunity for live Q&A.

• Application Benefits
  • 1 Free Pass to attend TiEcon conference
  • Discounted additional passes to TiEcon
  • Discounted expo booth
  • Discounted Startup Bootcamp
  • Discounted VC Connect
• Winner Benefits
  • Opportunity to network with Venture Capitalists, Angel Investors, and some of the brightest minds of Silicon Valley
  • $800+ VALUE encompassing Annual Membership to TiE Silicon Valley chapter for 1 team member ($150 value), One Complimentary pass to TiEcon 2023 ($249 value), discounted prices for additional team members to attend TiEcon 2023 and discounted rates for VC Connect & TiEcon Expo ($300 value), & Complimentary Mentor Connect ($49 value)
  • Year rounding branding on the TiEcon website
• Awards Ceremony
  TiE50 winners will be announced by email and on the website on April 24th. Winner Showcase (3 min presentation and 2 min. live Q&A with investors for feedback) will be held on Thursday, May 4. The Awards Ceremony will be announced after the opening Grand Keynote on Wednesday, May 4 at 9:00 AM.
• Do I qualify?
  Companies must be privately held and of good legal standing.
• How do I apply?
  TiE50 has partnered with TheBizPlanner for the infrastructure to run the awards program. All 2023 applicants must apply and register on TheBizPlanner to apply for the TiE50 Awards Program.
• Who are the judges?
  Judges' identities, their affiliations, company representations, scoring patterns, and all information related to their participation in the TiE50 selection process are confidential. Each external judge will work independently and will not know the scores or identities of the other judges. External judges are selected only by invitation and are subject to TiE Silicon Valley's strict confidentiality and disclosure guidelines.

Registration details

• A nominal application fee includes one complimentary single two-day pass to the TiECon 2023 conference, discounted Virtual Expo, VC Connect, and complimentary Mentor Connect.
• Incomplete nominations or incorrect contact details automatically disqualify the registry. No further contact will be made. Successfully completed registrations with fully paid application fee are automatically confirmed by email. Any individual, founder, CTO, or authorized representative of a technology start-up can register their company.
• Nominating individuals must use a website domain email address.
• Awards Program Recognizing World's Technology Startups

Application fee

Apply on TheBizPlanner website and pay for the application fee to successfully submit your application.

• $249 by March 22 - Back by popular demand & courtesy of our sponsors.
• $399 by April 02
• $499 by April 09
• $549 by April 16 - Final registration deadline, Sunday 11:59PM.

Important Deadlines

• Registration open: Wednesday, February 15 at 8:00 am PST
• Registration close: Wednesday, April 12 at 11:59 pm PST
• Winner announcement: Monday, April 24th ***Winners will be announced by email and on our website***
• TiE50 Showcase: Thursday, May 4 from 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm PST
• Awards Ceremony: Thursday, May 4 at 9:00 am PST
• Meet the Drapers: Thursday, May 4 at 11:15 am PST
• Sponsored Social Event: Thursday, May 4 at 4:30 pm PST