Founders Awards

Each year Founders Alliance gives out the several distinctions of Founder of the Year at the Founders Awards. The purpose is to inspire the sustainable creation of companies by rewarding and spotlighting particularly successful companies. 

The founders and their companies have been ranked on the basis of the Founders Alliance Index with criteria based on sales, profitability, growth, ownership, internationalization and societal benefits, but also includes the number of employees and community involvement.

The Growth Rings

What all founders have in common is that they themselves are a seed that grows into a successful company. Just like the trees in a forest, the founders are the most important organism in the ecosystem that creates growth in the world.

The symbol that pays tribute to these successful founders we call the Growth Rings.

“It starts as a seed in the founder’s mind. For it to grow strong, patience is required and real perseverance. During a company's development, strong years with good conditions alternate with meager and tough years without development. Founders Awards annual growth rings symbolize this story”.

To encourage long-term, sustainable and equal ownership, Founders Alliance pays attention to women and men in every step of the entrepreneurial journey and honor winners in six categories: from the young founder, through all phases of a company’s growth cycle to the founder who through a lifetime achievement has developed one or more companies, and who embodies a true role model for other founders.

At the Founders Gala at Stockholm City Hall September 16 2021, Founders Alliance will be announcing the winners in each category, chosen by qualified founders acting as jury during the Founders' Gala, where they will receive the Growth Rings in Gold and Silver.