There’s no better way to end the year than with a great holiday party, and that’s precisely what we did this evening at the General Assembly & Tech Cocktail Holiday Party! Not only did we get the chance to hang out with all our friends in Chicago’s tech scene (and meet some new ones along the way), but we also got the opportunity to recognize those in the community who have made a true, lasting impression in the past year.
After getting your nominations and tallying your votes, we are happy to announce the winners of the General Assembly & Tech Cocktail Chicago All-Star 2014 Awards!
Best Design:
Chitter – The company aggregates and expedites the business or brands evolution to using their consumers content for marketing and promotional purposes. As the connected consumer becomes more and more the norm, traditional marketing becomes less and less effective because the connected consumer is savvy. User generated content is relied upon and trusted most by this consumer, however, most traditional marketing budgets don’t reflect this. They provide a front-to-back solution from consulting, to a mobile app, to behavioral analytics that make an easy transition for the business to maximize the Dynamic Customer Journey.
Most Innovative Product:
NexLP – NexLP’s predictive intelligence software helps companies sift through electronic data (such as emails) to discover and connect specific information into patterns and stories. Dan Roth, an expert in artificial intelligence, developed the search technology behind the platform, which can also transform data into profiles about the people, places, and events for which the data is about.
Best Mascot:
Caktus Music – Caktus is a social music platform focused on sharing, exploring, and discovering new music through a one-of-a-kind media player that allows users to listen to music from multiple libraries, both on-device and streamed, without ever leaving the app. Caktus continues to receive high praise from audiophiles, casual listeners, bands, and the music industry for its ability to organically connect users and artists through its social network and a love of music.
Most Active in Local Community:
Popular Pays – Popular Pays is a platform that incentivizes Instagram influencers to post about brands. Brands can list offers on our app, ranging from a free cup of coffee for people with 500 followers to a paid gig opportunity for the biggest influencers. As a result, brands get content 12x cheaper than buying ads direct from Instagram and much more authentic and effective since it’s coming from a real person instead of the brand itself.
Best Company Culture:
dough – Dough offers a new kind of investing platform. Through informative and entertaining programming, dough serves as a new kind of visual trading platform for veteran stock traders, as well as great tool to learn the foundations of investing.
Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you for the great work you’ve done to boost the Chicago tech scene!