CBIC Awards Gala 2026
Massive shoutout to Alisa Foytik for capturing the electric atmosphere at our 27th Annual Gala! ⚡️ Her artistry brought our mission to life in every frame. Thanks for being the essential eye behind our community’s biggest moments!
Blink and you’ll miss it. ⚡️ From the red carpet to the main stage, the 27th Annual CBIC Gala was pure, relentless momentum. See the highlights, feel the energy, and witness the talent defining the Charlottesville tech scene. This is how we celebrate.
The CBIC Annual Awards Gala is where innovation lives. Each spring, we gather to recognize the individuals and organizations driving Charlottesville’s technology and entrepreneurial future.
For 27 years, this celebration has honored achievements in entrepreneurship, commercialization, and breakthrough applications across private, public, and educational sectors.
As CBIC’s largest fundraiser, the Gala fuels our mission — enabling us to deliver programs, resources, and services that empower members and strengthen the region’s innovation‑driven business community.
Because innovation lives here, we all rise together.
Master of Ceremonies
Shawn Mulligan
Founder, Design Clarity
Shawn Mulligan, Founder of Design Clarity, is a business consultant and executive coach dedicated to helping leaders “suffer less and thrive more.” With over 20 years of experience as a sustainable Architect and Project Manager, he acts as a strategic “dot connector,” helping teams solve complex problems and complete difficult projects with joy and efficiency.
Event Location
The CODE Building is Charlottesville’s hub for creativity and collaboration. Located in the heart of downtown, CODE brings together entrepreneurs, innovators, educators, and community leaders in a dynamic space designed to spark ideas and fuel growth.
With modern architecture, flexible event spaces, and a spirit of openness, CODE embodies the energy of Charlottesville’s innovation ecosystem. It’s more than a venue — it’s where bold visions take shape, partnerships thrive, and success grows.
Discover the future at The CODE Building, where innovation truly lives.
Step into the spotlight at Innovators Row during the 2026 CBIC Awards Gala—where bold founders meet the region’s top investors, executives, and ecosystem leaders.
Showcase your startup, spark real conversations, and seize opportunities positioned at the heart of the Gala’s high-energy receptions. Compete for the People’s Choice Award—a $500 cash prize and lifetime CBIC membership (for companies under 25 employees).
This is your chance to ignite innovation, inspire the crowd, and accelerate your momentum.
Recognizes one tech or tech-centric business or organization that serves as a model of achievement to which others can aspire, including such indicators as financial success, growth, healthy work environment, commitment to innovation, and contribution to the community., which can include attracting positive attention to the Charlottesville region.
Recognizes one K-12 educator who has set an example of incorporating the principles of innovation, entrepreneurship, invention, and/or technological achievement in a classroom setting.
Recognizes one individual who currently embodies all the elements of successful tech-centric entrepreneurship, including innovation, employment, leadership, finance, determination, and persistence.
Recognizes an individual or organization for their creativity and resourcefulness in the development of a new product, service or product candidate. Can also include the means by which their innovation will reach its end user.
[Formerly named Top Jobs Creator] Recognizes one tech or tech-centric business that creates an environment that attracts, develops, and retains highly skilled talent in a way that enhances our ecosystem and local economy. Consider factors such as internships, mentoring, upward mobility, vertical movement, and equity-mindedness.
Recognizes new partnerships built in the last 18 months that model collaborative innovation and achievement which inspires others, and resulted as well in successful outcomes for the partnership itself, local businesses, education, non-profits, and/or the community at large. Preference will be given to partnerships that transcend each member’s respective purview.
Recognizes one company or organization with efforts focused on social good. Their goal, in part, is to identify needs, improve our communities, and provide a meaningful benefit to the general public. Examples of social goods are clean air, education, clean water, racial equality, and access to housing and healthcare. This award celebrates the positive impact that startups and businesses have on the greater Charlottesville community. Preference will be given to candidates that are tech and tech-centric businesses.
Recognizes an innovation-centric company or project that seeks to develop and validate a scalable economic model that aims to grow large beyond its small entrepreneurial-centric beginnings. Preference will be given to those that have experienced the classic startup path such as a lean beginning, development of an MVP, and early market validation and whose principals exhibit passion, devotion, and innovation. Candidates will have demonstrated significant progress over recent years and / or made an impact as determined by jobs created, revenue generated, or other startup success metrics.
Recognizes one student entrepreneur, or a team of student entrepreneurs, who have successfully created or advanced the development of an idea, new product, service or product candidate. This entrepreneur or team of entrepreneurs provide an example to other students to pursue entrepreneurship while at school. Candidates are students in a K12 school, college, or university.
Recognizes CBIC volunteers who have gone above and beyond the average to make substantial and lasting contributions to the cause of advancing the organization, which is recognizing and rewarding the innovative entrepreneurs and companies in our community.
The CBIC Educator of the Year recipient receives a Technology in Education Grant award of $2,500 to be used on a technology investment of their choice for their classroom or students.
Recognizes someone who has gone above and beyond the average over many years or decades to make substantial and lasting contributions — a powerful impact — advancing our tech, innovation, startup ecosystem (nominee can be awarded posthumously).
