You may be asking yourself, how will I know if my business is an Innovator? We are glad you asked because in our eyes, “innovations" can be almost anything. It could be a cutting-edge product that solved a business need. Or maybe it is your cool new reward and recognition program to improve employee morale. Or it could be anything in between! We welcome the ingeniously simple as well as the staggeringly complex. The answer is we’re looking for any and all innovations that have made a positive business impact.
Application
- To get started, tell us what your innovation is and why it should be celebrated. Don’t forget to answer the following if applicable:
- How is your innovation/innovative practice impactful and who does it impact (i.e. - the greater business marketplace, your employees, humanity etc.)?
- Does your innovation have disruptive potential?
- Are you disrupting an existing process or industry?
- Are you creatively competing with yourself?
- Do you have a culture of innovation or a corporate strategy of innovation?
- Do you have an R&D budget, a Chief Innovation Officer, or other demonstrable way of showing your innovation strategy?
- Is your CEO at the forefront of your industry or sector? How?
- Do you have a culture of continual improvement?
- How do you seek continuous improvement?
- How else are you innovative?
- NOVA Chamber membership is not required to apply or win.
Event Partners


To help us name the Mid-Atlantic Innovator of the year, we're enlisting the help of a business dream team. Each will bring his or her own expertise and more importantly an innovator's mindset to our judging panel.

Melissa Bradley
1863 Ventures
Allie Burns
Village Capital
Jeff Galvin
American Gene Technologies
Lawrence Greenberg
Motley Fool Ventures
Anita Gupta
KiwiTech
David Heyman
Smart City Works Venture Labs
Laura Hill
EquiFi
Moe Jafari
HumanTouch LLC
Erika Chan Killian
Leidos
Stacey LaMontagne
Cherry Bekaert
Esther Lee
Refraction
Jackie Luo
TCV Growth Partners
Jen O'Daniel
Virginia Venture Partners
Rosemarie Truman
The Center For Advancing Innovation
Mark Walsh
Ruxton Ventures
Tien Wong
Opus8How can you submit a Mid-Atlantic Innovation application?
Step 1: Click on this link to be directed to our application portal. Create an account or login to existing account.
(Note: This is different from your Chamber membership account.) Membership in the Chamber is not required to apply for or win an award.
Step 2: Submit your application. Use the guidelines mentioned on the application form to create your entry. You will need to describe your innovation in 500 words or less. Include any supplemental materials you have such as a pitch deck and video no longer than 2 minutes in length.
Note: Complete this form as thoroughly as possible. If selected as a finalist, you will be notified by April 14th and required to submit a 1-2 minute video by April 28 showcasing your innovation as part of your eligibility for an award (if not submitted with your original application). All finalist videos will be played at the awards ceremony on May 12th.
Questions? Contact the Chamber's Director of Programs, Tammy Deem.