Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Awards
Highlighting and celebrating women business owners who are doing big things in our region.
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Nominations are closed for 2025.​
Scroll down to learn more about the award categories and selection process.
Woman Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Award
Criteria
The nominee must be the majority owner of a currently operating business registered and based in Northern Kentucky, Greater Cincinnati or Greater Dayton, OH. She must be an active owner with managerial, operational and financial oversight.
For this category, the nominee's business must be in a tech field or has developed new technologies, platforms, SAAS or apps.
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In addition, the following will be considered:
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Overall revenue
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Overall impact on customers and community
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Investment money raised
2024 Winner: Helen Todd, Creativity Squared​​
Woman Health Entrepreneur of the Year Award
Criteria
The nominee must be the majority owner of a currently operating business registered and based in Northern Kentucky, Greater Cincinnati or Greater Dayton, OH. She must be an active owner with managerial, operational and financial oversight.
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For this category, the nominee's business must be in a health or health tech field.
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In addition the following will be considered:
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Overall revenue
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Overall impact on customers and community
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Team size
The Winner: Alison Connor, Greenway Innovations​​
Young Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award
Criteria
The nominee must be the majority owner of a currently operating business registered and based in Northern Kentucky, Greater Cincinnati or Greater Dayton, OH. She must be an active owner with managerial, operational and financial oversight.
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For this category, the business owner must 23 years old or younger.
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In addition, the following will be considered:
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Overall revenue
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Overall impact on customers and community
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Team size
The Winner: VaLanDria Smith-Lash, Coarse Culture​​
Abbey Cummins, Everything Cincy
Philanthropic Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award
Criteria
The nominee must be the majority owner of a currently operating business registered and based in Northern Kentucky, Greater Cincinnati or Greater Dayton, OH. She must be an active owner with managerial, operational and financial oversight.
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For this category, the nominee's business must be a for-profit business that has given back significantly to the community or to a specific population.
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In addition, the following will be considered:
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Overall impact on customers and community
Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award
Criteria
The nominee must be the majority owner of a currently operating business registered and based in Northern Kentucky, Greater Cincinnati or Greater Dayton, OH. She must be an active owner with managerial, operational and financial oversight.
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In addition, the following will be considered:
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Overall revenue
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Overall impact on customers and community
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Nominee's community involvement
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Nominee's previous awards
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2024 Winner: Lisa Woodruff, Organize 365​​
New for 2025!
Woman Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year Award
Criteria
The nominee must be the majority owner of a currently operating business registered and based in Northern Kentucky, Greater Cincinnati or Greater Dayton, OH. She must be an active owner with managerial, operational and financial oversight.
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For this category, the nominee must be an honorably discharged veteran of the US Armed Forces.
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In addition, the following will be considered:
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Revenue
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Team size
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Impact on customers and community
Selection Process
Criteria
Each award category has its own criteria, outlined above.
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Process
Once we receive a nomination, we will contact the nominee to get more information on her business, such as length of time in business, revenue, team size, etc. This information will be given to the Selection Committee to use when making their decisions.​
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Selection Committee​
Our Selection Committee reviews all nominations and selects 3 finalists and 1 winner for each category.
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Timeline
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July 4: Nominations close
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August 16: Finalists are announced
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September 4: Awards are presented at Flight Night, our annual celebration of women entrepreneurs.